Nolan Smith refuses to give 'clickbait,' talks up Alabama-Georgia rivalry

Nolan Smith was the toast of the NFL Combine after his Day 1 performance, where he recorded the second-fastest 40-yard dash time (4.39 seconds) in history among guys in the EDGE position group. Following his huge day of testing, the NFL Network caught up with him to ask about his performance and how the University of Georgia prepared him for the opportunity.

“Yeah, Georgia 100% is a great school and I’m trying to get more recruits because that’s how you continuously win,” said Smith of his alma mater. He then went on to emphasize that the Dawgs have to keep recruiting high-level players like himself in order to stay competitive with teams like Alabama.

“You gotta recruit, you gotta out-recruit schools like Alabama,” said Smith, who still holds very high regard for the Crimson Tide. “I know a lot of people say… ‘Well, ‘Bama fell off.’ It’s the University of Alabama, let’s go ahead and clear it up that as long as Nick Saban’s there, they’re contenders. And I’m not going to give him any clickbait, I’m not going to give him anything to post in the locker room. I just want them to go at it again in the SEC Championship. I can’t wait to go to the first game.”

Nothing but respect from the two-time champ towards perhaps their biggest competitor during those years.

Smith was then shown a video of his teammates celebrating his terrific 40-yard dash performance on Thursday. Of course, Smith said that it’s a testament to how tight-nit this year’s team was.

“Yeah man, those my guys. Man, it’s just crazy because, you know, that’s what we work for. And being in those locker rooms with those guys, they know I love them. We just went back-to-back national championships, I gotta throw that in there. We won our first one here, actually, in Indianapolis. So it was just amazing seeing those guys in the locker room just all crowded around.”

Nolan Smith with nothing but positive things to say not only about his Georgia Bulldogs, but also about Nick Saban and Alabama. Humble guy who smiled throughout the interview and seems to be enjoying the pre-draft process.