Kirby Smart: Lewis Cine is a special talent for Georgia

The Georgia Bulldogs are attempting to break through expectations and return to the College Football Playoff in 2021. As the days in August slip away, head coach Kirby Smart singled out one player as a special talent in his press conference yesterday.

“Yeah, Lewis [Cine] is a special talent,” Smart said, via Dawg Nation on YouTube. “He has extremely good speed, he has extremely good toughness, has good ball skills, good size.

“When you design a safety, he’s got all the qualities. And he’s really been a student of the game. He came in as a raw talent that had played up in Boston in high school, and then in Texas. He bounced around and, you know, he never really learned a scheme where he learned how to play the position. He’s really grown at that.”

Moreover, Smart mentions that Cine is playing multiple positions for the Bulldogs this season. Evidently, he’s one of the team’s most important players.

“He’s playing three positions for us,” said Smart. “He’s playing the free, the strong, the money position. So he’s been able to do a lot of different things athletically. And he’s tough. He’s fast.”

Against the offenses of opponents like Clemson, who the Bulldogs open the season against, Cine will be one of the premier players on the field. If Georgia’s defense can hold Dabo Swinney’s squad at bay, they can start the season off with a bang.

“He is an interesting kid, because his motivation . . .”

Additionally, Kirby Smart added that Cine isn’t simply motivated by football. While it’s one of the prominent things in his life, the safety combines it with many external factors to be the best player he can be.

“He is an interesting kid, because his motivation is his daughter, his family, his father, his mom. And he’s spent a lot of time outside of football working on his career,” said Smart. “He’s been adamant to me about his career after football and making sure he’s good, making sure that he’s making good investments when he makes good money.” 

“That’s more important to him than anything. And he’s done a lot of internships to kind of better himself.”

Furthermore, it can be rare to find a potential NFL Draft pick already thinking about his career outside of football. While it’s an important aspect of a players career, sometimes it’s overlooked by both prospects and professionals alike.

However, Cine wants to set up himself and his family, regardless of how his football career shakes out. While football may provide his loved ones with wealth that could last a lifetime, it also can be a cruel game that doesn’t work out for one reason or another.

This season, Lewis Cine is focused on getting the Georgia Bulldogs to a National Championship. Uniquely, the safety will juggle the future of his career outside of football throughout the season as well.