Dontae Smith: RB · Georgia Tech · #4.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Dontae Smith
Does a little of everything without one standout trait. The five seasons at Georgia Tech span two head coaches: Geoff Collins and Brent Key. One game to point at: 178 rushing yards and 1 rushing TD against North Carolina — Week 9, 2023.
Play style
Plays within the scheme — consistent production without a dominant dimension.
Closer · Q4-with-lead carry share
The closer
20.9% of carries overall (96/459) → 24.2% of Q4-with-lead carries (16/66) — 75.0% of those in competitive (≤16-pt) games.
Counted from the play-by-play, so a carry or two can differ from the box score.
Short-yardage / goal-line · enumeration
Who gets the tough yard
6 of the team's 21 inside-the-5 carries (28.6%).
No outlet on our list has written about this player by name this season.
Sports Illustrated Oct 27Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Georgia Tech | 100 | 504 | 5.0 | 4 | 70 |
| 2022 | Georgia Tech | 87 | 419 | 4.8 | 5 | 51 |
| 2021 | Georgia Tech | 68 | 378 | 5.6 | 4 | 29 |
| 2020 | Georgia Tech | 43 | 296 | 6.9 | 3 | 36 |
| 2019 | Georgia Tech | 10 | 65 | 6.5 | 0 | 25 |
| Career | 308 | 1,662 | 5.4 | 16 | 70 |
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2023 | Georgia Tech | 10 | 92 | 9.2 | 1 | 32 |
| 2022 | Georgia Tech | 19 | 125 | 6.6 | 0 | 24 |
| 2021 | Georgia Tech | 7 | 33 | 4.7 | 0 | 16 |
| 2020 | Georgia Tech | 6 | 52 | 8.7 | 0 | 20 |
| 2019 | Georgia Tech | 2 | 13 | 6.5 | 0 | 10 |
| Career | 44 | 315 | 7.2 | 1 | 32 |
Game log · Week-by-week
2023 season · 10 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | CAR | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 34-39vs Louisville | 7 | 18 | 2.6 | 0 | 7 | |
| Wk 2 | W 48-13vs South Carolina State | 5 | 32 | 6.4 | 0 | 14 | |
| Wk 5 | L 27-38vs Bowling Green | — | — | — | — | — | |
| Wk 8 | L 23-38vs Boston College | 1 | 11 | 11.0 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 9 | W 46-42vs No. 17 North Carolina | 22 | 178 | 8.1 | 1 | 70 | Season-high 178 yds |
| Wk 10 | W 45-17@ Virginia | 15 | 78 | 5.2 | 2 | 33 | |
| Wk 11 | L 21-42@ Clemson | 7 | 16 | 2.3 | 0 | 9 | |
| Wk 12 | W 31-22vs Syracuse | 12 | 38 | 3.2 | 0 | 11 | |
| Wk 13 | L 23-31vs No. 1 Georgia | 15 | 68 | 4.5 | 0 | 12 | |
 Bowl | W 30-17vs UCF | 16 | 65 | 4.1 | 1 | 11 | |
| Total | 100 | 504 | 5.0 | 4 | 70 |
Week 9 · 2023
W 46-42
178 rush yds (22 car) · 1 TD
Edged out North Carolina at home in a shootout.
With H. King — 287 yds · 4 TD · 1 INT · QBR 95.4 · 90 rush yds (8 car) · D. Shanahan — 48.5 yards per punt · 2 punts · 1 inside the 20
The plays that mattered most
Rush profile · Shape, efficiency, and ball security
How he gets his yards, and how often it works
Success rate
49%80 carriesStuffed
0 or fewer ydsGrind
1–3 ydsChunk
4–9 ydsExplosive
10+ yds5.0 yds/carry on 100 carries · 12% explosive (10+ yds) · 49% success rate.
Splits · Per-game
2023 season · 10 games
Home vs Road
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Home6g | 54.5 | 6.6 | 0.2 |
| Road2g | 47.0 | 3.8 | 1.0 |
First half vs Second half
| YDS/g | YPC | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-74g | 28.8 | 4.4 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+6g | 64.8 | 5.7 | 0.5 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Brent Key
Pass share
43.8%
377 pass / 483 run
Plays / game
66.2
13 games
Team sack rate
3.9%
388 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Run-leaning.
Player standing · 2023
About as many touches a game as a typical FBS running back who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #107 at the position.
How it ended
Five seasons at Georgia Tech, 1,662 rushing yards — the college career is complete.
A stat line in 49 games over five seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2019–2023
2 coachesCoaching transition mid-career: Geoff Collins → Brent Key. Worth noting in scheme + development context.
