Christopher Smith on Jalen Carter pickup: He only picks up offensive players

During the SEC Championship Game, Georgia defensive lineman Jalen Carter picked up LSU quarterback Jayden Daniels. It was a shocking moment. After all, the strength to physically pick up another player while they’re playing the game isn’t common.

After the game, ESPN’s Laura Rutledge asked Georgia defensive back about the move by Jalen Carter.

“Yeah, I seen it,” Christopher Smith. “I told him out of all the crazy things I’ve seen him do man, that’s by far the craziest. He’s just a crazy athlete and a great asset to our team.”

Laura Rutledge then wanted to know if Jalen Carter had ever picked him up. However, Christopher Smith shut that idea down as quickly as possible.

“Nah, nah nah nah… he only picks up offensive players, I’m on his side so he isn’t trying to pick me up,” joked Christopher Smith.

Jalen Carter will have at least one more game to pick players up, starting with the Peach Bowl, a College Football Playoff semi-final, against Ohio State. The winner of that game will go on to play for the national championship.

Kirby Smart praised Jalen Carter

Following the game, Kirby Smart praised Jalen Carter for how he acted when he picked Jayden Daniels up. Instead of doing something, like throwing him to the ground, which could have earned a penalty, Carter stayed poised.

“I’ve seen players do that and they usually didn’t end well, they usually don’t have the restraint. And I told him, I said, ‘you proved to a lot of people that there’s a thought process and great restraint to keep from doing something dumb,'” Kirby Smart said.

“It showed great discipline on his part to not do anything, we had a penalty in this game early in the year, I think it was Kamari on a, I don’t know if you call it, a body-to-body suplex tackle, and you don’t do that.”