Georgia readies itself for world without Nolan Smith on Saturday
ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia head coach Kirby Smart said on Monday that the chances of Nolan Smith playing Saturday against Tennessee don’t look good. Smart noted that Smith has a pectoral injury as opposed to the initial thought of a separated shoulder. That being said, the Bulldogs are preparing themselves for what it might be like to play without one of their star defensive leaders in a game that’s expected to give them the biggest defensive test yet.
Smith got hurt in the first quarter of Georgia’s 42-20 win over Florida on Saturday so they did get a look at what things might be like. Super-senior Robert Beal, who led Georgia in sacks last year, played his highest number of snaps this season while sophomore Chaz Chambliss made his return from a hamstring injury that had been bothering him the three previous games. Chambliss last saw the field versus Kent State on September 24th. He finished with three tackles including one for loss while Beal had two with a quarterback hurry. Georgia was without five-star freshman Marvin Jones Jr. against Florida due to him having the flu and also has former five-star MJ Sherman available in the outside linebacker room.
“Well, Robert played. He played a little more number of snaps once Nolan was injured,” Smart said. “Chaz did a nice job coming in. It was great to get him back. Didn’t know that he would have to play that much in that role. His hamstring has still been bothering him. It bothered him a little bit the other night after the game. So it’s one of those that we’re going to see how he does today and moves around. Looking to get Marvin, MJ, all those guys going. So nobody really played more because it was just Chaz and Robert, really.”
Of course the Georgia defense has gotten used to being without one of its best players for much of the season. Defensive lineman Jalen Carter has been limited between an ankle injury that slowed him early on and a knee injury that his sidelined him as of late. He returned to action on Saturday, but during the time that he was gone, the defensive linemen in the room around him took steps forward. That’s exactly what Smart is looking for out of the outside linebackers in the absence of Smith.
Beal has 10 tackles and 10 quarterback pressures on the season. On his career he’s got 56 stops in five seasons, the majority coming last year as Beal took on a larger role late following the departure of Adam Anderson following the Florida game. Meanwhile, Chambliss stepped up big for the Bulldogs last year when Smith went down injured – ironically against Tennessee. Now the test will be combining all of those factors – a late-season emergence after Florida, a step up for Smith and his absence versus the Volunteers – again in 2022.
