Tech’s Orwin Smith seeks pinnacle
Orwin Smith’s personal goal for the season is flavored with boldness and hints of audacity.
The Georgia Tech A-back wants to lead the country in all-purpose yardage, which would require him to assemble one of the greatest seasons in school history. Smith, whose chiseled 6-foot-0, 205-pound frame contains ample boldness, is game.
“I thought all-purpose was something that was unique,” he said. “(I) haven’t really heard anyone set it as a goal before, so that’s kind of how it came.”
Whether he achieves it or not, Smith has placed himself in position to make an earnest attempt. He is running without problems after surgery to repair turf toe. He has an experienced offensive line to open alleys and a familiar quarterback to deliver the ball, both on option pitches and in the passing game. His likely A-back partner is a sound blocker.
Smith said he wanted a goal “that’s going to take hard work (but) I feel like I can still reach it at the same time.”
Tech’s most dynamic ball carrier, Smith is reaching into the statistical stratosphere. Recent NCAA all-purpose yardage kings have averaged around 200 yards per game. Last season, Smith led the Yellow Jackets with 106.1 yards, split up among rushing (51.2), receiving (25.5) and kickoff return (29.3). Eddie Lee Ivery, Tech’s single-season record holder for all-purpose yardage, averaged 170.8 yards per game in 1978.
“I have no problem with him setting big goals, as long as he understands that, with that comes responsibility, and that’s what I expect from him every day,” A-backs coach Lamar Owens said.
Tech’s offense complicates Smith’s pursuit. While Smith’s speed and explosiveness make him a logical candidate to rack up carries, Tech’s option-based spread offense can’t be effective by repeatedly giving him the ball. A defense determined to keep Smith from receiving option pitches can do so by sending defenders at him. And, while the offense includes plays that can get him the ball on direct handoffs and passes, an overemphasis on getting the ball in Smith’s hands could unbalance the offense.
Finding Smith’s maximum utility would seem to require a delicate touch.
As coach Paul Johnson is fond of saying to those who gape at Smith’s career 9.7 yards-per-carry average and call for him to get the ball more, “The guy’s not going to average 10 yards a carry if you hand him the ball 40 times, I promise you. We’ve got to find ways to utilize him in the system.”
Smith’s productivity will also depend upon how much B-back David Sims can draw heat, how accurately quarterback Tevin Washington can deliver him the ball, how well A-backs like Robbie Godhigh and Deon Hill and the wide receivers can block downfield.
“It’s going to take an entire team effort for us to be successful offensively for him to even have a shot at that,” Owens said.
Smith is not obsessed by the goal. As defenses will devote attention to him, Smith figures he can be an excellent decoy. In fall camp, he focused on improving his blocking – a weakness. But it isn’t for Smith’s knack for baiting defenses that Smith is featured on billboards around metro Atlanta, an honor that led Sims to campaign for a change Smith’s nickname from “Big O” to “Billboard O.” Within Tech’s pursuit of an ACC title, Smith wants to deliver.
Smith trained furiously over the summer, adding pool workouts, yoga and exercise with resistance bands to the daily team training sessions. (Parts of it can be seen on a Youtube video Smith made with former Jacket Elris Anyaibe, titled “How Bad Do You Want It?”)
The only player in Tech history in gain 100 yards rushing and receiving in the same game (Kansas last season) and the holder of the highest career yards-per-carry average (9.7) of any ACC player with 1,000 rushing yards won’t get the ball 40 times a game. But he’ll get it enough.
“Last year, I didn’t end like I started, so I’m really eager to start off like last year again and just keep it going this year,” he said. “It’s my last year, and I want to make it my best.”
In case you missed it:
T.J. Barnes kicking it into gear
Wednesday’s practice notes: Days to play ’somewhere’ for Tech against Hokies
Smith goes for 265 yards against Kansas
Ken Sugiura, Georgia Tech blog
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143 comments Add your comment
GTfan2012
August 24th, 2012
12:50 pm
Yeah, I think Chuck Oliver is actually fairly knowledgeable about college football, in general. But I think he’s a total SEC homer and as such his he spends his time and efforts on the SEC, meaning that his knowledge of the ACC is severely lacking. Evidence of this can be seen in his discussion of the Clemson v. GT game last year. Its like he’d never even looked at the recent history of Clemson or Clemson vs. GT. There was a reason the line on that game was just 3 points, Vegas understood what Chuck Oliver didn’t.
FL Jacket
August 24th, 2012
12:50 pm
680 isn’t much better…While Chritopher Ruud is entertaining and a dynamic personality, I have to put up with…
- Perry Laurentino acting like anyone who under-achieves committed a personal affront to him. That and his thinly veiled partisan comments about politics.
- Leo Mazzone deciding which days he wants to show up on time, and which ones he doesn’t. The only positive he brings to the table is stories from the time he was coaching the Braves.
- Sandra Golden throwing in the occasional “human interest” question but absolutely having no place whatsoever, not becuase of her gender, but because of her complete lack of sports acumen.
HighTech
August 24th, 2012
12:52 pm
Well, Chuck does have the endorsement of our resident expert…
WnE
August 15th, 2012
4:22 pm
I am glad that the Walk-on Paige has earned a scholly.
But GEEZ LOUISE!
How many under-sized, runt, A-Backs does one HC need?
It seems like we have 15 schollies tied up in a-Backs & “generic athletes” and only 2 NTs on scholly.
I’m to believe that 6-2 215 lb Synjyn Days doesn’t need to be moved to Safety and that we are OK with 6-ft 180lb Carlson playing behind Holton, a guy that missed a full yr. with an Achilles injury.
Our Depth chart at safety is VERY THIN, but CPJ is too selfish to give Days to CAG to shore up his Defense.
Chuck & Chernoff will be talking about GT at 4:46 pm EST on AM 680 in Atlanta.
1 4 GT
August 24th, 2012
12:52 pm
FLJ—interesting comparison, that!! Especially since so many on this blog say GT should emulate other schools, often mentioning Stanford. I, and I suspect, most of us prefer our model. The kids are student athletes first & foremost. And GT respects that fact!! And big success comes along in sports when the proper coaches are hired that also respect that fact. And our day is coming!!
FL Jacket
August 24th, 2012
12:54 pm
1 4…the cupboard is full for David Shaw, I’m curious to see where he takes it. The history is not on his side, that’s for sure.
George Stein
August 24th, 2012
12:56 pm
Agreed, FLJ. Laurentino is just another mouth breather on the radio with a total of eight brain cells at his disposal.
Even when I agree with the politics, I don’t like it.
GTfan2012
August 24th, 2012
1:03 pm
FL Jacket,
I agree… I get the sense that the Stanford admin makes the Hill look like a bunch of amatuers related to getting athletes in. How many universities have NFL caliber coaches? Factor in (or out) the once in a lifetime (well I guess it would be twice for Stanford) event of getting the best QB of a generation, and I think the likelihhood of Stanford falling back to the middle of the pack is very high.
Of course, then again GT had an NFL caliber coach before its current one (he’s in the NFL right now), and we actually got rid of him to bring in a coach that has more wins. That kinda puts some of the DUMB criticism of CPJ into perspective doesn’t it. GT upgraded from an NFL caliber coach and has more wins to show for it. Where else could we go from here coaching wise?!?!
FL Jacket
August 24th, 2012
1:04 pm
GS…I hear Barnhart and Durham is coming back during the football season. At least there’s some hope…
1 4 GT
August 24th, 2012
1:07 pm
HT—-I expect nothing less from the Georgie homer radio station in Atlanta. And 790, the so called GT home radio station, is worse. 790 mentions Georgie much more than they do GT.
1 4 GT
August 24th, 2012
1:09 pm
Plus 680 tries so hard to reach the “young” demographic. All the childish BS!!
1 4 GT
August 24th, 2012
1:26 pm
GTfan2012—-Yeah, right. Gailey is a NFL caliber coach?? He took over a the Cowboys with championship chances * drove them into mediocrity with records of 10-6 & 8-8 and was fired. Middle of the pack, average semi competitive teams. Just like at GT. But good enough for “Brainless”.
GTfan2012
August 24th, 2012
1:41 pm
I only point that out because he is a HC in NFL right now. There are only 32 of those jobs. You may have a view on how stupid Buffalo was to hire him, but that’s a totally different issue. The fact is, he’s an NFL head coach right now, and GT fired him and upgraded the HC in my view. I don’t know how GT could do better from a coaching standpoint given our resources and place in the college footbal landscape.
FL Jacket
August 24th, 2012
1:43 pm
“He took over a the Cowboys with championship chances * drove them into mediocrity with records of 10-6 & 8-8 and was fired”
1 4…just remember who runs the show in Dallas. The same guy who invested large in Quincy Carter and Tony Romo…is the same guy who has run off Bill Parcells and others.
1 4 GT
August 24th, 2012
1:47 pm
Not arguing with you GTfan2012. Like MLB, the NFL recycles the good ole boys too much. Not as much, but still too much. Why would you keep giving a failure a job? And yes, GT definitely upgraded their HC. I think we will begin seeing the benefits of this soon.
1 4 GT
August 24th, 2012
1:58 pm
I know FLJ. I tried to tell Jerry not to give Quincy that $60 million contract. Buy he wouldn’t listen. He thought he knew best. Quince thought, “looky here at what this crazy white man is doing for me”? He would have been more stupid than Jerry if he had said, “Mr. Jones, I can’t take this money. I don’t want to cheat you.” And $72 million to Romo!! JJ left him! Switzer left! Parcells left! Must be really hard to work for! How can a man smart enough to make all those billions be so dumb about his NFL team?
GTVegas
August 24th, 2012
3:23 pm
ARROGANCE
Panama
August 24th, 2012
3:56 pm
What is up with Tech trolling Georgia State blog?
GTVegas
August 24th, 2012
4:24 pm
I did not even know there was a Georgia State Blog…
BLT
August 24th, 2012
4:36 pm
Hey Panama, how many hits have they had? Two dozen?
I’ve complimented State before but rarely go there. Anyway, good luck and be thankful you don’t have WnE trolling your blog.
GTfan2012
August 24th, 2012
4:36 pm
We had GSU Ben over here for a while. He wised up and left.
run Orwin run
August 24th, 2012
5:00 pm
ORWIN SMITH FOR HEISMAN,
1 4 GT
August 24th, 2012
5:32 pm
Panama—-I reckon if what you say is true (I have to assume it is, since you say so), I reckon he/she is akin to any troll…………nothing better to do. I myself, like GTVegas, didn’t even realize there is a Ga State blog. Oh well. Live & learn, huh?
option this
August 24th, 2012
7:56 pm
GT has the most productive offense in the ACC. 34.3 points
and 458.8 yards per game, more than any other ACC team.
All that’s missing is a productive GT defense.
1 4 GT
August 24th, 2012
8:51 pm
Let’s not forget gsu 2 X 4
1 4 GT
August 24th, 2012
8:52 pm
For the Ignorant……gsu 2 X 4 = GSU Stud
Paul in NH
August 24th, 2012
9:14 pm
@FLJ
Dempsey will be gone from Fulham by mid September – and maybe sooner. I can’t see him ending up at Everton – Moyes has just signed Mirallas and I can’t see them picking up another striker right now. Besides, the Blues have a quota of no more than 2 Yanks in the line up and they are keeping the 2nd spot for Landon Donovan!
I can see Dempsey across Stanley Park playing for Liverpool – John Henry seems to like to get people on the down slope of their careers for both of his sports clubs
blackandwhitestripes
August 25th, 2012
6:12 am
you idiot mutt fans on here have a lot to talk about. Every year is the year and you go no where with your jail bird 5 star recruits. Give me a break. I believe Tech is going to trim them stupid hedges this year and shove them under your goal posts.
smitty
August 25th, 2012
9:40 am
just give the damn ball to orwin……
Gorilla Biscuit
August 25th, 2012
10:23 am
VT 35 GT less than that.
crackbaby
August 25th, 2012
10:45 am
@HighTech
Oliver makes some valid points in his writeup. It’s not that bad. But he’s not making RELEVANT valid points IMO.
First, fat Chuck’s academically equal perspective of Vandy and Tech are way off base. Yes, both schools have tough admission standards, but Vandy has much more liberal arts majors that are easier for athletes to succeed in. Tech has very few.
Next, neither Vandy nor Tech want their head football coaches to have a high “free agent” profile. Why? Because once they gain enough popular demand with success they will be bought out by a bigger football factory school and Vandy/Tech is back to square one (or zero).
Recruiting rankings don’t matter. What does matter is wins and losses. CPJ is old school and doesn’t tweet. Coach Franklin does so he can communicate more with kids. So Franklin has the edge there, but wins and losses speak volumes and so does placing players in the NFL.
GT will never be a perennial national championship contender. That’s okay. CPJ should try to win the Coastal division and conference on a regular basis, stop the bleeding against UGA and every few years have a magical season.
No team, especially Tech, can expect to win every game. What the fans can and should expect is entertaining football. CPJ delivers this on a consistent basis.
BTW – If Groh’s defense doesn’t step up this year, CAG needs to go. With Tenuta’s D, no matter how overmatched talent wise, Tech always had a puncher’s chance. Yeah they got burned sometimes, but they made exciting plays on the other side of the ball.
Big Crimson 75
August 25th, 2012
12:23 pm
Tech 28 – Tech 23
It’ll be a good one!!
GT is a 4th rate high school team
August 25th, 2012
3:49 pm
I thought football at North AVE has been dissolved due to persistent mediocrity. LOL
Daddy Jacket
August 25th, 2012
5:11 pm
Great work…..I wish we could just play Va Tech, skip all the rest of the games, and then take on the Mutts and start scheming for the Orange Bowl. This is our year!
Not Disappointed!
August 25th, 2012
8:54 pm
Have a great year Orwin Smith! Go Jackets!
BLT
August 26th, 2012
12:13 am
“I thought football at North AVE has been dissolved due to persistent mediocrity. LOL”
I was under the impression that criminal behaviour will not be tolerated until I read and hear numerous stories about UGA football. The “tradition” continues. Now I get to “LOL”.
BLT
August 26th, 2012
12:17 am
“UGA is a fourth rate chain gang”. Bunch of worthless illiterate bums. “LOL”
dry dirt road
August 26th, 2012
6:56 am
I’d like to see Vad Lee play instead of TW. I recall the Georgia game, and it seemed TW intentionally did not play at full speed like he did after last summers break, his season efficency curve expiring at its lowest on an X and Y positive numbers scale. I’ll watch the kid, but I have seen Lee on hs vids from the shotgun throw the long bombs. TW has to let his blood pressure catch up with him when he receive LOS snaps during pass plays when he drops back and then has to stop, standing taller when he stops than when he was dropping back, his bood pressure doing all kinds of adjusting then. Shotgun passers keep their blood pressure stable so they are calmer when they look for receivers.
dry dirt road
August 26th, 2012
7:04 am
I used to get dizzy standing up from squatting down, and my cardiologist said that was a titration of a blood pressure medicine he had me on that caused the titration. Blood pressure changes from a low to a high position of the body. These teams that use the shotun are avoiding bp changes, and that’s why all the teams use the shotgun now. Remember NC Sate a few years ago on Grant Field when they put on the shotgun clinic, and only used LOS snaps within the red zone?
dry dirt road
August 26th, 2012
7:05 am
that caused the dizziness, not the titration, sorry about that
keep up the good work
August 26th, 2012
2:33 pm
The Jackets had more points and more yardage gained
than any ACC offense last season.
GTfan2012
August 26th, 2012
3:21 pm
dry dirt road,
NC State used the shot gun because their QB (who might be an NFL starter this year, by the way) was 5′11″. Much easier for a 5′11″ QB to see the field if he starts out in the shotgun, rather than taking a 5 or 7 step drop. I’m not saying we shouldn’t do it, I’m just pointing out that NC State used so much shot gun for a very specific reason and had success with it against us because their QB was an NFL quality talent despite being only 5′11″.
superDawg
August 26th, 2012
7:53 pm
you nurds are all puffed up with no where to go!
Wal-Mart Retards
August 26th, 2012
8:16 pm
…and the frawgs are all full of themselves with nowhere to go… but down.