Dontae Smith’s introduction to his new running backs coach came via a phone call in December. Mike Daniels had just been hired to replace the beloved Tashard Choice, and Daniels wanted to connect with Smith, Georgia Tech’s leading returning rusher.
Via FaceTime, Daniels told Smith he wanted to come see him.
“But when he was on the phone, you could just feel the energy, the enthusiasm, and that right there just let me know how he would be as a coach,” Smith said. “Sure enough, it followed out here (to spring practice), translated out here. It’s just energy, hard coaching, love and all that.”
One of the handful of Yellow Jackets remaining on the roster who went through the coaching transition from Paul Johnson to Geoff Collins, Smith is experiencing another shift with a new offensive coordinator, a new position coach and a position group that has had massive turnover from last season. He has rolled with the change.
“Honestly, the first couple of days when you go into practice or conditioning and lift, and you don’t see the other people you’re used to, it’s different,” Smith said. “But, surprisingly, it didn’t really change. The vibe didn’t change. OK, the vibe now is changed, but it’s not because of the people that left. I think the vibe is changed because everybody’s bought in. Everybody’s like, no more of what’s been happening. It’s time to really do this.”
After three consecutive three-win seasons, Smith is trying to help lead a resurgence. He’ll do so as the top back (or one of two top backs) on the roster after the upheaval at the position, where Jahmyr Gibbs, Jordan Mason, Jamious Griffin and Tony Amerson all moved on with eligibility remaining. (Mason turned professional, and Gibbs, Griffin and Amerson all went into the transfer portal, with the All-American Gibbs landing at Alabama.)
A productive backup for the past two seasons – he ran 68 times for 378 yards last season and a team-high 5.6 yards per carry – Smith now is expected to share the load with grad transfer Hassan Hall (from Louisville). An opportunity that seemed it might not be realized for Smith in a stacked position group is now in his hands. Speaking Friday following the team’s 10th workout of spring practice, Smith recalled a pearl of wisdom shared by Choice that “everything that you want one day is going to be in front of you, so you’ve just got to be prepared.” The advice stuck with Smith.
“So I’ve always kind of trained myself to always be ready, and it’s finally here,” he said.
While Smith lost a valued mentor in Choice, now coaching running backs at Texas, Daniels said that Smith has welcomed him with open arms.
“He’s a guy that’s been here for a while, and so I appreciate him and his love and just willingness to take in the new style of coaching,” Daniels said.
Smith has liked what he has seen in spring practice, starting with the scheme of new offensive coordinator Chip Long.
“I like it better,” Smith said. “I don’t know, it’s just something about the flow and you can see it’s day and night from what we were doing to what we’re doing now.”
He said the first few days of spring practice were “a little iffy” as players learned the signaling and adjusted to the faster play-to-play tempo of Long’s offense, but that players have picked it up.
“Like coach Long always says, if we’re tired, the defense is 10 times more tired than we are,” Smith said. “I see why we like to speed things up and go fast.”
He likes what he has seen from quarterback Jeff Sims, going into his third season as the starter.
“Every time I watch film, I have to just express out loud how much better Jeff has gotten,” Smith said. “That’s another thing. I feel like he’s more confident. I think him having a quarterback coach like he does now (Chris Weinke) – which is another great coach that I like a lot – I think having him is something that the quarterbacks needed as far as development. And now they’ve got it and you can see it.”
And he’s on board with Daniels, too.
“(If) you’re not feeling good or you’re tired, coach Daniels is coming in there every day juiced up,” Smith said. “If you come out here loafing around, coach Daniels is going to wake you up. And that’s not even just with running backs, that’s with the whole team. He’s giving that energy to the whole team. It’s good to have.”
Daniels feels similarly.
“He’s a tough young man, cares about football, it’s important to him. And he’s got big dreams and aspirations, and it’s part of my job to help him achieve that,” he said.
He approves of Hall, who came to Tech from Louisville after gaining 3,841 all-purpose yards in four seasons with the Cardinals.
In a running back meeting room that consists of freshmen (redshirt or otherwise), Smith and Hall, Smith appreciates having another veteran in the group.
“It’s a small group right now, so definitely having Hassan is big,” Smith said. “Dude can play. Dude is fast. He can play, and so I’m really appreciative that he came in with us.”
In an offseason of change, in a position group where that change is perhaps felt most directly, Smith is ready to move forward and make the most of his opportunity.
“We feel we made the changes that we needed to make,” he said. “So now it’s really time to come together and just put it all in and just go hard.”
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