He is fresh off his first career 1,000-yard season at Alabama, but Devonta Smith is not satisfied.
A native of Amite, La., Smith was one of multiple players that decided to forgo the NFL Draft and return for his senior year with the Crimson Tide.
The 6-foot-1, 175-pounder is a clutch wide receiver, especially when the game is on the line.
Of his 23 career touchdown receptions, two were game winners — including his 41-yard catch from Tua Tagovailoa as a true freshman in the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Game versus Georgia.
Despite his exploits, Smith knows Alabama did not finish 2019 the right way and he has returned to correct it.
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He was voted as a permanent team captain at the end of the 2019 season, and becoming a better vocal leader is something Smith expressed to the local media in his Zoom call on Tuesday.
“There are some things that I could have done better last year that I’m definitely going to do this year,” Smith said. “Some people can see what you do and it really does not register to them. You have to talk to them and talk people through things.”
Regardless of student-athletes having permission to not play this season, due to Coronavirus concerns, Smith wants to make things right for the Crimson Tide football program.
“If I was thinking about not playing, I would not be here right now,” Smith said. “I did not like the way we finished last season, so getting my degree and helping us finish the right way is why I came back.”
He will have to coach up the young receivers, but Smith also has to teach a secondary that lost four veterans to the National Football League in April.
One thing he appreciates about the group is its willingness to learn.
“They go out there every day and give it their all,” Smith said on the secondary. “You can see they want to learn everything there is about it. They are excited to go against us and we are excited to go against them.”
When it comes to the new strength staff of David Ballou and Dr. Matt Rhea, Smith likes both coaches.
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He said both guys have done a great job of focusing on weaknesses, improving strengths, cutting out injuries and getting power numbers up on each student-athlete. In terms of safety from the COVID-19 pandemic, he said the campus is the safest place for him and the medical staff at Alabama has the program in the right direction.
The state of today’s world did not give him a spring practice with the team, but Smith is highlighting true freshman Bryce Young as someone to watch in the future at quarterback.
Young, a five-star from California, arrived in the 2020 signing class under a lot of excitement and anticipation. He was the Offensive Most Valuable Player at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
“He (Young) is going to be a great quarterback,” Smith said. “With him not having a spring and just coming in he summer, he learns quick and I like what I am seeing. He is ready and just the way he approaches the game, the way he handles himself, he is going to be a great quarterback.”
Discipline was a term Smith used a lot in his interview.
It was a character trait that Alabama lacked at times in the last two years. This time around, Smith and the Crimson Tide anticipate finishing the season with a CFP National Championship Trophy.
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Stephen M. Smith is the managing editor and senior writer for Touchdown Alabama Magazine. You can “like” him on Facebook or “follow” him on Twitter, via @CoachingMSmith.
