Inside the Chart: Stae Ready

Stae Ready:  The mindset, habits and hobbies that have allowed RB Dontae Smith to get the most out of his carries.

By Andy Demetra (The Voice of the Yellow Jackets)

Maybe it’s the outdoorsman in him, Dontae Smith mused.

The running back likes to hunt and fish when he has free time back home in Spring Hill, Tenn., 30 miles south of Nashville.  Those pastimes require their share of patience.  The woods seem still.  The water barely ripples.  Hours pass without a rustle of activity.

But when Smith feels a tug on his line, or when an animal suddenly appears from the shadows, he knows he has to be ready.  It may be the only chance he gets.

“It might be where the mindset came from,” he said.

Football glamorizes the workhorse back.  It glorifies the two-back system.  Even the terms “complementary” or “change-of-pace” have a bit of a backhand compliment to them.  Georgia Tech doesn’t distinguish between starters and backups on its “Above The Line” chart, though it’s clear that Jordan Mason and Jahmyr Gibbs, a pair of hard-charging, All-ACC running backs, handle the bulk of Tech’s carries.

But a lighter workload hasn’t made Smith feel overlooked in the Yellow Jackets’ offense.  The 5’11,” 202-pound redshirt sophomore has instead shown an uncanny knack for capitalizing on every carry.

He did it again last weekend against Kennesaw State, rushing eight times for a career-high 82 yards and a touchdown in the Yellow Jackets’ 45-17 win.  The week before against Northern Illinois, Smith came in for his only play of the game, a high-leverage fourth-and-1 with Tech trailing midway through the fourth quarter.  He betrayed no nerves as he took an option pitch and sprinted 15 yards for the game-tying score.

Dontae Smith’s (4) first carry of the 2021 season went for – of no surprise to anyone – his first touchdown of the season.

 

As Georgia Tech heads into its ACC opener against No. 6 Clemson Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET, Georgia Tech Sports Network from Legends Sports), Smith is averaging a whopping 7.4 yards per carry over 62 career attempts.  He still has a ways to go to crack Tech’s all-time rushing average list – the school record books require a minimum of 200 carries to qualify.  But Smith’s teammates and coaches agree:  to call him a “change of pace” back would be to drastically undersell his abilities.

School record – Yards per attempt
(minimum 200 carries)

1. Roddy Jones (2008-11) – 7.59
2. Dontae Smith (2019-pres.; 62 atts.) – 7.4
3. Anthony Allen )2009-10) – 6.36
4. Jonathan Dwyer (2007-09) – 6.24
5. David Sims (1974-76) – 6.00
6. Charlie Rogers (1995-98) – 5.85

“He’s balling.  You see that.  Everybody else sees that,” said Mason.

College football’s advanced metrics cognoscenti see it too. Despite being the third running back to come into the game, his performance against Kennesaw State earned him the second highest grade among Power-5 running backs last week according to Pro Football Focus.

Highest graded power five RBs in Week 2

1.Keyvone Lee, Penn State – 90.7
2.Dontae Smith, GA Tech – 90.6
3.Evan Hull, Northwestern – 90.0
4.Zach Evans, TCU – 85.0
5.Devyn Ford, Penn State – 83.6 pic.twitter.com/qXjhVDhdu7

— PFF College (@PFF_College) September 12, 2021

“He can really do anything in this game, from a protection standpoint, running routes, toting the rock.  All of those, he does at a really, really high level,” said head coach Geoff Collins.

He also does it at an efficient level:  Smith has scored a touchdown on five of his last 30 carries dating back to last season.  He’s still known around the team as “2KTae” – a nod, ironically, to his days as a heavily-used, 2,000-yard rusher in each of his last two seasons in high school.  His recent scoring binge, though, has inspired some brainstorming.

After the Kennesaw State game, “Jalen Huff was like, ‘Your new name is Touchdown Tae,’” Smith said.

Dontae Smith (4) continued his efficiency by rushing eight times for a career-high 82 yards and a touchdown on Sept. 11 against Kennesaw State.

 

Learn more about his habits and it’s clear why Smith has gained a reputation for maximizing his opportunities.  In practice, his Catapult GPS numbers are “the highest every single day” according to Mason.  On game days, he’s hardly a passive spectator when Gibbs or Mason are on the field.

“When you’re on the sideline and you’re not in, you have to have laser focus.  When I’m on the sidelines, I’m looking at the JumboTron seeing what they’re doing, what they’re blitzing, how that’s going, and I’ll ask other players how they feel,” Smith explained.

He also notes that by the time he appears on offense, he’s plenty warmed up.  Smith has become one of the Yellow Jackets’ special teams aces, serving as the Jackets’ top gunner on punts – a “premier position in this program,” according to Collins.  He also works on the Yellow Jackets’ kickoff units. Collins cites him as a key reason why kickoff specialist Gavin Stewart has started the year a perfect 12-for-12 on touchbacks, with his speed scaring away potential returns.

“Every time there’s Dontae, hitting 21, 22 miles per hour,” said Collins, who also named Smith the Jackets’ special teams player of the week against Kennesaw State.

Dontae Smith (4), or “Touchdown Tae,” has scored a touchdown on five of his last 30 carries dating back to last season.

 

That unselfishness hardly makes him unique among Georgia Tech’s running backs.  Mason serves as Gibbs’ personal protector on kick returns.  Tech’s backs all describe their room as a family.  Mason, a native of Gallatin, Tenn., and former rival of Smith’s on the 7-on-7 circuit, hosted him on his official visit.  Smith says the kindness Mason showed his Mom that weekend still sticks with him.  Any yards they collect are considered a group achievement.

“We don’t get in our feelings about playing time or anything like that.  We just cheer on whoever’s out there, and we mean it.  There’s nothing fake about it,” said Gibbs.

However many carries he gets Saturday, Smith’s average will get a daunting test from Clemson, which ranked 7th, 13th and 1st in the nation in yards per carry allowed over the last three seasons.  Coincidence or not, Gibbs offered up an interesting comparison when describing Smith’s running style this week.

“He reminds of how Travis Etienne used to run in college,” Gibbs said, referring to the former Tiger and all-time ACC rushing champion.

Smith may not vie for any career rushing yards records.  But as he prepares to play in Death Valley, the redshirt sophomore will stay resolutely ready, his habits never changing, always heeding the words of running backs coach Tashard Choice.

“One thing that Coach Choice preaches a lot is everything that you want one day is going to be in front of you.  So you’ve just got to be prepared.  That’s something that always stuck with me,” he said.

Defenses may think they can catch their breath when a third back comes in.

With Smith, they may want to hold their breath.