Why Georgia Tech football commit Isaiah Groves is all smiles headed into senior season

CROSS PLAINS – It's not only the big hits, the ones that send her son tumbling to the turf, that scare Shadrika Groves.

Just as terrifying, at times, are the tackles that Isaiah Groves barely feels, shrugs off and stays on his feet.

"Isaiah is super tough," Shadrika said. "He amazes me every game. ... Some games in the stands, I'll be saying 'Just go down.' Just how tough he is, he's always been like that, his whole life. He will not tell you if he's hurting or anything. He's just gonna keep going no matter what."

Isaiah is No. 11 in the Tennessean's Dandy Dozen, the newspaper's list of the top college football recruits in the class of 2025 in Middle Tennessee. The 5-foot-11, 185-pound running back, a Georgia Tech commit , is a 3-star athlete and ranked No. 19 in the state per the 247Sports Composite and No. 50 in the nation at his position.

Last season, Groves authored one of the greatest seasons from a running back in TSSAA history. He ran for 3,085 yards and 31 touchdowns, averaging over 11 yards per carry, and finished with 3,510 all-purpose yards, 120 shy of the state's single-season record. In the process, he helped East Robertson reached its first-ever BlueCross Bowl, in which it fell to Riverside in the Class 2A state championship game. He was named the Tennessee Titans Class 2A Mr. Football.

"I'm gonna try to beat (last season's rushing total) this year," Groves said. "And get that gold ball."

Isaiah is one of many upholding his family's athletic legacy . His older brother, Elijah Groves , is a freshman defensive back at North Carolina State. His younger brother Zach Groves , a junior at East Robertson, is a 4-star defensive end with offers from Tennessee, Vanderbilt and Kentucky.

Carlus Groves , Isaiah's cousin, led East Robertson basketball to state championships in 1988 and 1989 before playing at Tennessee, San Diego State and professionally. More recently, another set of cousins, Taylor and Shaun, teamed up with Elijah and Isaiah to lead East Roberson to a basketball state title in 2022. Taylor Groves signed with Ole Miss football but has since transferred to Volunteer State to play basketball, while Shaun Groves plays football at UT-Martin.

According to Shadrika, who played basketball and soccer at East Robertson, Isaiah has never felt pressure to live up to the achievements of his cousins and brothers. It's just not in Isaiah, who she describes as perpetually smiling, laughing, and never visibly angry.

"Isaiah is very nonchalant," Shadrika said. "He doesn't worry about any of that. He's just gonna do what he do."

Isaiah, Elijah and Zach always competed with each other as children, even for titles as mundane as the fastest walker in the family. While the heated competitions still take place, their relationships have evolved as they've grown. Isaiah, who went on every one of Elijah's official visits to colleges, was a sponge when it came to his older brother and is taking on a teaching role for Zach.

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Isaiah remains in constant contact with Elijah, texting back and forth about how good East Robertson can be this fall. Elijah's also there if Isaiah needs any words of advice — "be me, do everything that God wants us to do," in Isaiah's words.

Lately, that's entailed being a team leader, which Shadrika says Isaiah's talked about even more going into his senior season. It's a responsibility he feels as the eldest Groves still at East Robertson, and as the engine of a team that returns many of the top players from a 13-win campaign.

"We expect to get the ball in (Isaiah's) hands a lot," East Robertson coach Chase Brooks said. "We're gonna put him in different positions. We're gonna put him in the slot some, maybe put him at quarterback some. We're looking to move him around to get him the ball and try to take advantage of different schemes and things."

Don't expect Groves to change anything about himself in the process. While he agrees with his mom's assessment of his character, he does admit that he can get "a little mad" when games heat up. In those cases, his helmet might hide what's really going on inside his head, but his play won't.

"Last season, I can't remember what game it was, but the whole defense was on him," Shadrika said. "He was in the middle of the pile. Everyone in the stands thought he was down, and he just came out of the pile. Ever since Junior Pro, it pretty much takes at least five people to get him down."

Jacob Shames can be reached by email at jshames@gannett.com and on Twitter @Jacob_Shames.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Why Georgia Tech football commit Isaiah Groves is all smiles headed into senior season