DONTAE SMITH

GTWannaBee said:
Whole lot of assumptions in this thread instead of just giving Dontae his just due praises.
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Key didn't do anything to dismiss the speculation.

1. He wasn't injured
2. Glad he re-established himself
3. Wtte of it was an internal issue, leave it at that
4. Clarified it was not disciplinary, ie grades, weed, etc

So he could have played because he wasn't injured, he wasn't on some sort of double secret probation, and he was relegated behind Colley and Haynes- #3 back apparently. He needed to win his position back meaning the coaches did not think he was good enough to play over the other guys.

There was nothing Key said that I would think was not true. It was a coach's decision to have him ride the pine and not a good one. For whatever reason, they felt they couldn't wait any longer and they finally put him in. We saw what this kid could deliver (we've been watching him for a while now and already knew) but for some reason they didn't think they could get this out of him playing. Pretty sure he showed them last night. Very puzzling chain of events, but glad we seem to be past it.
 
Screen grabbed this from a great post-game video put out by the GTAA. Nice moment and looks like all is well now between the two of them. Good to see. Looking forward to seeing #4 wreck a few more defenses.

1698629251741.png
 
coit said:
They need to find another way to punish players other than punishing the entire team by not putting the best player on the field.

Hard for me to believe a coaching staff would literally sacrifice wins to make a point.
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That's why I don't believe it.
 
I know there has been some question as to "hurt vs. doghouse" with Dontae. I heard something in the very first coaches show before Game 1 that felt off to me from Coach regarding Smith and him not having as large a role as he thought he would, and this was before the first game. I hadn't taken the time to go find it during the season when this was being lightly discussed, but now that it has come back up more in the past few days discussions in this thread I thought I thought I would go dig it up. Coach himself seems to insinuate some tense convo with Dontae about playing time. Take a listen at 32:15 to 34:00 and judge for yourself. Either way, injury or doghouse, hope its all water under the bridge and he balls out the rest of the year:

 
Gobees said:
Screen grabbed this from a great post-game video put out by the GTAA. Nice moment and looks like all is well now between the two of them. Good to see. Looking forward to seeing #4 wreck a few more defenses.

1698629251741.png
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That right there is a great recruiting tool. Between the pressers and the coverage/interviews by the ACC Network it was a non-stop commercial for our program. When Haynes and Key kept using the language 'Tech men', play the 'Tech way = grinding it out', did more for our marketing that in the last several years under the previous regime. While Key is a disciplinarian, he shows he can relate to the players and play the best man and show that it isn't personal. The fact that he roots for every one of his players and knows that they will have good and bad times and how they respond speaks volumes. It was a very good weekend for the program, on the field and off.
 
coit said:
They need to find another way to punish players other than punishing the entire team by not putting the best player on the field.
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I do not agree with this at all. I didn't reply right away - wanted to give it some thought. If - if - if that is what the whole keeping Dontae on the sideline was all about then I support it 100%. This is a clear sign to me that Key knows how to manage a locker room.

Its a complicated question. But here we have a kid playing for his fourth OC, he's a senior (RS Senior) - its not hard for me to imagine some friction. DS just doesn't seem like a malcontent pouting for no reason.

But getting back to the question, I think it sends a critically important message to the locker room that the staff will not just put a kid on the field just because of who he is. If Haynes and Cooley are following the staff's instructions and putting in the work but a hypothetical "higher ranking" player is not and said hypothetical player gets a significant share of snaps, that is a gut punch to team morale.

Whatever went on leading up to before UNC appears to be forgiven and forgotten, the RB corp as well as the other position groups have to be happy with how it worked out and likely have a lot more respect for the process.

And I can't shake the idea that this turnaround happening the same weekend CPJ was in town is not a coincidence. I can easily imagine two coaches and a player getting together with "permission to speak candidly" in effect.
 
Liberty said:
Key didn't do anything to dismiss the speculation.

1. He wasn't injured
2. Glad he re-established himself
3. Wtte of it was an internal issue, leave it at that
4. Clarified it was not disciplinary, ie grades, weed, etc

So he could have played because he wasn't injured, he wasn't on some sort of double secret probation, and he was relegated behind Colley and Haynes- #3 back apparently. He needed to win his position back meaning the coaches did not think he was good enough to play over the other guys.

There was nothing Key said that I would think was not true. It was a coach's decision to have him ride the pine and not a good one. For whatever reason, they felt they couldn't wait any longer and they finally put him in. We saw what this kid could deliver (we've been watching him for a while now and already knew) but for some reason they didn't think they could get this out of him playing. Pretty sure he showed them last night. Very puzzling chain of events, but glad we seem to be past it.
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Was this in the post-game press conference? In previous pressers Key indicated Dontae was "back to full speed" which indicates he has been battling injuries.

If he hasn't been fighting through injuries or working through something disciplinary then there is absolutely no reason he shouldn't have had more carries throughout the season. You saw what the difference is when he is in the game. Our record would be different right now if he had been playing full speed all year.

Key even said in the preseason interview with Demetra linked above that Dontae is the "feature back". So what gives?

None of this makes any sense.
 
So do we rest him for UVA and bring him back for Clemson, or does he play out the string?
 
joeye said:
Which part didn't you understand? I threw a comma in there so it would read slower for you.

If it's possible he's prone to injury, wouldn't you want him at full strength for Clemson? I'd hope we can beat UVA without him.
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I’m less confident in our chances against UVA than against Clemson at this point. You gotta win the game in front of you, with every weapon that you have available.

Hopefully we have a 4 TD lead and can rest the starters in the 4Q, but Bowling Green and BC should tell you that we aren’t good enough to get cute with teams we “should” beat. Especially given that we’re an underdog to UVA.

JRjr
 
vapspwi said:
I’m less confident in our chances against UVA than against Clemson at this point. You gotta win the game in front of you, with every weapon that you have available.

Hopefully we have a 4 TD lead and can rest the starters in the 4Q, but Bowling Green and BC should tell you that we aren’t good enough to get cute with teams we “should” beat. Especially given that we’re an underdog to UVA.

JRjr
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We are more than capable of losing dreadfully to any team on our schedule. We have also shown we can beat any team on our schedule. I have no clue why we can’t focus and play a solid game in games where we are favored. It’s maddening.
 
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