Arian Smith reveals his mindset after Kendall Milton injury

On3 imageby:Andrew Graham03/30/23

AndrewEdGraham

Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith knows a thing or two about dealing with an injury — he’s had three notable ones in his career, he said. So when running back Kendall Milton went down with a hamstring injury, Smith knew just the right message to convey.

There’s no use in dwelling on the past and spending time day dreaming about getting to greener grass does nothing to actually get one closer to it. All Milton — or anyone — can do, Smith said, it focus on the present and getting healthy and back as soon as possible.

“I really focus on the time, the present. I don’t try to think about the future or the past. Like it happened, it happened. Unfortunately, I had three, so had to deal with it a lot,” Smith said. “I told Kendall earlier today, just ‘It happens, man’ My roommate, Daijun [Edwards], he had to deal with something too. So I was like, ‘Just keep your head straight, focus on the present and what you can do to get better and get healthy.'”

Originally, Milton suffered a hamstring injury early on during spring drills, but it turns out the perceived minor injury is more serious than originally thought, and the star running back will miss the rest of the springaccording to DawgsHQ.

However, the report from Jake Rowe of DawgsHQ did provide some positive news as well, as it’s expected that Milton will recover swiftly, and be ready for preseason camp.

“Sources tell DawgsHQ that he is expected to make a full recover and in time for preseason camp,” wrote Rowe. “It’s a tough injury for Milton, who has battled injuries in each of his four years at UGA.

“He made the decision before the 2022 season was over that he would be coming back for one final season in red and black. The California native is expected to be the Bulldogs’ feature running back.”

Alas, Milton is entering another season with the Bulldogs chock full of expectations and dreams, as he’s previously stated that he’ll “work everyday” both on and off the field this spring, finishing out his degree and preparing for another campaign under Kirby Smart‘s leadership.

Milton was Georgia’s third-leading rusher on the 2022 national championship team, with Edwards and senior Kenny McIntosh taking the bulk of the carries. However, Milton was effective during his reps, averaging 6.9 yards a carry and scoring eight touchdowns.