The Georgia Tech running back group is nothing if not competitive, a rivalry among teammates stoked by position coach Tashard Choice. With the aid of his prodding, the Yellow Jackets’ set of running backs, headlined by Jahmyr Gibbs, may be the best in the ACC.
“He’ll be like, ‘Somebody’s ahead of you right now,’” running back Dontae Smith said of Choice. “You need to pick your stuff up because somebody’s about to come take your spot.”
But all indications are that it also is a supportive unit, and Smith showed that when he answered a question after preseason practice Wednesday about who was the fastest. Typically, backs and other skill-position players are quite eager to claim the title for themselves, but Smith shared the crown.
“It’s between me and ‘Jah,’” he said, referring to Gibbs. “You’ve got to set a distance. I think, in the first 30, 40 yards, I got him, but 60, I think Jahmyr. And then 100, I might have to give it to Jamious (Griffin). Jamious has gotten faster.”
Smith is back running fast after a hamstring injury suffered in spring practice. The injury required treatment and rest, but he said that he noticed over the summer that it wasn’t as bad as he thought.
“Then we get back for summer workouts, and I started opening up in my running, like going fast, and I was like, I’m better,” Smith said. “I’m good. It’s healed.”
Griffin, too, had his own injury to recover from, after tweaking his ankles last season. He confirmed Smith’s assessment of his enhanced speed.
“I feel like I got pretty fast,” Griffin said. “I’ve been training, getting faster, getting quick with coach Lew (Lewis Caralla, the team’s strength coach). So I feel like I got faster.”
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