The last time offensive D’Ante Smith played in a competitive football game, it was a humid 80 degrees in North Carolina.
On Sept. 26, 2020, Smith played the first game of his senior season at East Carolina against No. 13 UCF. According to ECU offensive line coach Steve Shankweiler, Smith had missed most of training camp due to contact tracing for the coronavirus.
Smith was playing well, but Shankweiler later said he shouldn’t have played Smith on so many snaps. Smith left the game with a concussion, and he didn’t play the rest of the season.
“He missed a ton of weightlifting last year because of COVID,” Shankweiler said.