Christopher Smith addresses his approach to handling championship expectations

It’s halfway through the college football season, which means Georgia is halfway towards making the SEC championship game and possibly another trip to the College Football Playoff. Georgia enters this week’s matchup against Vanderbilt 6-0 overall and 3-0 in conference play. And their stellar play on offense and defense has only heightened the expectations of the Bulldogs finishing this year as champions again. But is Georgia able to manage that level of pressure? As senior defensive back Christopher Smith recently explained, managing the championship expectations comes with the territory for the players.

“I would say it’s fair. And the reason why I say it’s fair is because we have those same expectations for ourselves,” said Smith. “It’s no different when other people hold us to that same standard. With the way that the world is today, social media age and me being on social media, you see things. but I don’t pay much attention to it.

“The opinions that matter to me are the opinions in this building and (from the people) putting in work with me every single day; the coaches, my family, and the fans as well. Expectations are high but it is nothing that we don’t hold ourselves too. So, it doesn’t bother me at all.”

As the reigning national champions, there is a certain level of success presupposition attached both from within the program and externally. It appears as if the Georgia players are fully aware of that and are meeting that challenge head-on. As Smith explained, the Bulldogs expect to be champions at the end of this season. So, Georgia cannot be weighed down by the expectations of others when they already hold themselves to that level of standards.

More on Smith at the Bulldogs defense

Smith is a former recruit from the 2018 recruiting class for Georgia. he is a native of the state, hailing from Atlanta, GA. He played high school football at Hapeville Charter, located on the city’s southwest side. In his class, he was a solid four-star recruit, according to On3’s census recruiting database. Smith would rank 356 nationally, 27 at the safety position, and 36 in players to come out of Georgia.

After losing a staggering nine players along with their defensive coordinator following the 2022 national championship victory, Georgia still has one of the more imposing defenses in college football. One of the reasons behind that has been the stellar play of Smith and the Bulldogs secondary. Smith is one of two players in Georgia’s defensive backfield with two interceptions. As a team, Georgia has caused a total of eight turnovers, six interceptions, and two forced fumbles recovered. Overall the Bulldogs’ defense is allowing just 10.7 points per game which ranks fourth in the country.