Nolan Smith announces return to Georgia for senior season
Quite possibly the biggest news of decision season came for Georgia on Monday, the final day for underclasssmen to make their NFL Draft decision, as Nolan Smith announced his return to Georgia for next season.
“Dawg Nation, what a ride it has been during my junior season. I feel I’ve grown tremendously during my time at Georgia thus far, as both a football player and as a man. I can’t express what it meant to me to bring a National Championship home to Georgia,” Smith wrote. “After careful consideration, I have decided to return to Georgia for my senior season and continue with what we have been building. Let’s run this thing back! Go Dawgs!”
Smith, the No. 1 ranked player in the 2019 signing class according to the On3 Consensus, made an immediate impact. He played in all 14 games as a freshman was named co-winner of the Defensive Newcomer of the Year with 18 stops including 2.5 sacks. He also had 15 quarterback pressures, fourth-best on the team. As a sophomore, he continued his streak of playing in every game, starting against Tennessee. In the season-opening win over Arkansas, he posted what at the time was his career-high number of tackles with six. However, the best season of his career came in 2021, playing in 14 of 15 games – starting all 14 of those, with 56 total tackles, fifth most on the team. He also finished with 9.0 tackles for lost yardage, second on the team with 3.5 of those coming on quarterback sacks. Smith pressured the quarterback 27 times in all.
Smith earned SEC Defensive Player of the Week twice during that junior season, finishing with a team-high, and career-high, eight tackles in Georgia’s win over South Carolina. One of those came on a sack that resulted in a safety. However, the better of the two performances was against Florida when he forced turnovers on back to back possessions. First it was a forced fumble and fumble recovery. Then it was an interception. All of that was within a 39-second span in the second quarter and part of a 21-0 run for the Bulldogs.
Smith’s return gives Georgia a solid foundation defensively headed into 2022. Smith will join the likes of Jalen Carter and Kelee Ringo, both of whom didn’t have a choice to make as second-year players, as well as Christopher Smith in being tasked with leading the defense in the turnover from 2021 to 2022.
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