<a href="https://www.on3.com/db/nolan-smith-93907/">Nolan Smith</a> was thought to have been a Draft day steal after the Philadelphia Eagles snagged the former Georgia standout with the 30th pick of the first-round.



Thus far through training camp, that’s been the correct characterization with Smith one of the early standouts. Eagles offensive tackle <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/jordan-mailata-65695/">Jordan Mailata</a> went a step further with his praise, saying that Smith reminds him of a player who racked up 16.0 sacks last season — teammate <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/haason-reddick-47311/">Haason Reddick</a>.



“Mini Haason Reddick, man,” Mailata said, via <a href="https://www.inquirer.com/eagles/eagles-rookie-nolan-smith-edge-rusher-impressive-20230811.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">EJ Smith of the Philadelphia Inquirer</a>. “He’s elusive, quick, he’s a smart player.”



Smith enters his rookie season in the NFL following four accomplished and productive seasons with the Bulldogs. He was a perennial starter and an important leader in Georgia’s back-to-back national championship wins. Smith ended his collegiate career with 114 tackles, 21 tackles for loss, 11.5 sacks, three forced fumbles, and an interception. He started eight games last season for the Bulldogs before suffering a season-ending torn pectoral muscle against Florida.



Ahead of his NFL debut Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens, Smith reflected on the injury which cut his final season short at Georgia.



“It don’t matter, preseason, practice, I’m giving it my all because I remember that feeling in my heart when I couldn’t play another snap,” Smith said. “Most people think it’s a game but, man, if you really live that shit day in and day out, and you walk off that field and knowing ‘Man, I don’t know if that’s going to be my last snap’…well, you’ll go hard, harder than you’ve even been.”



<h2 id="h-nolan-smith-earning-high-praise-from-eagles-teammates">Nolan Smith earning high praise from Eagles teammates</h2>



It certainly hasn’t taken long for Smith to earn praise from his teammates, including veteran offensive tackle <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/lane-johnson-137071/">Lane Johnson</a>. While Mailata compared Smith to a mini Reddick, Johnson said he sees a lot of Dallas Cowboys edge rusher <a href="https://www.on3.com/db/micah-parsons-87202/">Micah Parsons</a> in him.



“I’m not comparing him to this guy, but you see Micah Parsons,” Johnson recently said, via <a href="https://www.nbcsportsphiladelphia.com/nfl/philadelphia-eagles/eagles-training-camp-notes-nolan-smith-earns-praise-devontas-quick-feet-and-more/531809/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">NBC Sports Philadelphia</a>. “A guy that has tremendous speed, was undersized, was at linebacker and then they put him on the line of scrimmage and you see what he’s doing now. A guy with that type of quickness, that type of burst is a threat every time he’s on the ball because he can get a tackle turned. And once he does that, he can kind of have his way. You can never have enough explosive guys on the edge. Everybody has their uniqueness.”

nolan-smith-suffers-injury-goes-to-locker-room-after-injury-against-browns-georgia-bulldogs

5GOATs

Jordan Mailata compares Nolan Smith to 'mini' Haason Reddick

team image

Pro News

NFL News

NFL Draft News

NASCAR

NBA News

NBA Draft News

Culture

Sports Betting

About

Football

Basketball

Women's Basketball

Softball

Baseball

Alabama

Arizona State

Arizona

Arkansas

Auburn

Baylor

Boston College

California

Removed

Clemson

Colorado

Duke

Florida

Florida State

Georgia

Georgia Tech

Illinois

Indiana

Iowa

Iowa State

Kansas

Kansas State

Kentucky

Lettermen Row

Lettermen Lounge

Louisville

Maryland

Miami

Michigan State

Michigan

Minnesota

Mississippi State

Missouri

NC State

Nebraska

North Carolina

Northwestern

Notre Dame

Ohio State

Oklahoma

Oklahoma State

Ole Miss

The Main Board

Oregon

Oregon State

Penn State

Pittsburgh

Purdue

Rutgers

South Carolina

Stanford

Syracuse

Tennessee

Texas A&M

Texas

Texas Tech

UCLA

Utah

Vanderbilt

Virginia

Virginia Tech

Wake Forest

Washington

Washington State

West Virginia

Wisconsin

BamaOnLine

BOL Round Table

Inside Texas

IT Members Only

DawgsHQ

Dawg Walk

Scoop Duck

Recruiting & Sports

AuburnSports

The Corner

WeAreSC

GarryP's Trojan Huddle

The Wolverine

The Fort

The Lions Den

The Wolfpacker

The Wolves’ Den

GatorsOnline

Swamp Talk

Alabama A&M

Alabama State

Albany

Alcorn State

Abilene Christian

Appalachian State

Akron

Army

Austin Peay

Arkansas-Pine Bluff

Arkansas-Little Rock

Arkansas State

Air Force

Ball State

American

Wofford

Winthrop

Wisconsin-Milwaukee

Wisconsin-Green Bay

Wichita State

Western Carolina

Volleyball

Gymnastics

Men's Lacrosse

Women's Lacrosse

Men's Soccer

Women's Soccer

Women's Track

Men's Golf

Women's Golf

Men's Hockey

Women's Hockey

Men's Swimming

Women's Swimming

Wrestling

Men's Tennis

Women's Tennis

Annual $1

Annual Premium

Annual $1 

Monthly

Annual

Unlimited Access to This and All Articles.

Article (On3 Plus Rivals)

Forum (On3 Plus Rivals)

Intro

Join

College scoop, experts, and community - all in one.

Winback

Most impactful transfers

Instant Impact

Defends Bama, Charles Bediako

Coach K

Top transfer commits

Jordan Seaton

Goes scorched earth on Ole Miss

Dabo Swinney

New details emerge

Bediako ruling