Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith believed to have suffered season-ending injury vs Florida

Nolan Smith left Georgia’s rivalry game vs. Florida last week with a pectoral injury, and Kirby Smart said he was “probably doubtful” against Tennessee. It turns out it’s worse than expected.

Smith is believed to be out for the year with the injury, On3’s Matt Zenitz reported Tuesday morning. He’s a key part of the Bulldogs’ revamped defense this year, leading the team with 7.0 tackles for loss and 3.0 sacks while also adding 18 tackles.

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It’s quite a hit for Georgia, which is gearing up for its biggest test yet against No. 2 Tennessee this week. Smith was a preseason All-American and a leader on the defensive side of the ball as the 8-0 Bulldogs continue their quest to defend last year’s national championship. Georgia currently has the No. 2 scoring defense in the FBS, holding opponents to 10.9 points per game one year after leading the nation in that category.

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Smith left the game against Florida following a tackle for a loss late in the first quarter. During his Monday press conference, Smart said he was still waiting to gather more information on the severity of Smith’s injury, but didn’t sound optimistic about his chances to play in Saturday’s game against Tennessee.

“His availability has not been determined,” Smart told reporters. “It does not look good for availability this week. He’s got, it’s a pec muscle. So it’s one of those deals we’ve done an MRI on. We’re still getting some opinions on it, but he’s probably doubtful for this week.”

Smith is also garnering plenty of hype in NFL Draft circles, as well. In Pro Football Focus’ latest mock draft, he came in as the projected No. 11 pick in April’s draft amid his strong season. He’s certainly living up to the hype he received as a recruit, when he came in as the No. 1 prospect in the nation from the class of 2019, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

Smith has also seen his NIL Valuation soar this season, going from $105K in January to a peak of $608K in August. He currently has an NIL Valuation of $343K, which puts him at No. 17 in the On3 College Football NIL Rank.

The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets the standard market NIL value for high school and college athletes. The On3 NIL Valuation calculates the optimized NIL opportunity for athletes relative to the overall NIL market and projects out to as long as 12 months into the future.