Nolan Smith came to Georgia as the No. 1 ranked recruit in the class of 2019 out of IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida.
He is yet to start a game for Georgia at outside linebacker, but he’s already showing why he was deserving of that top overall ranking.
Last week against Murray State, Smith led the Bulldogs in sacks with 1.5 en route to a 63-17 Georgia win.
The week before, in Smith’s college debut, he came just inches away from recording his first sack of the season but tackled Vanderbilt quarterback Riley Neal just after he crossed the line of scrimmage.
So far, Georgia fans are not the only ones excited about Smith. Kirby Smart spoke on the true freshman on Monday and had great things to say.
“Nolan is smart, Nolan listens, so when you give Nolan a plan and say, ‘this is the way I want you to rush on this defense,’ or, ‘this is the way I want you to rush on this particular tackle,’ he does it,” Smart said.
“He applies what he learns. He plays with just maximum effort. He’s like a wild man, hair on fire, I’m never over.”
Smith’s football skillset speaks for itself. He’s fast, he’s strong and he has great technique. However, what makes him such a dominant pass rusher, according to Smart, has more to do with his effort than anything.
“A lot of football is effort, (and) you can take 10 five-stars, and 10 three-stars and you go out there and put one other guy on the team to make 11 and the team that plays the hardest usually finds a way to win the game,” Smart said.
“And that’s what Nolan does, he plays hard. That makes football important to him.”
