Arian Smith continues to bring major value to Georgia despite drops
Arian Smith isn’t shying away from the fact that he has dropped more passes this season than he should. He has 11 of them according to Pro Football Focus, making him the leader of an offensive group that leads the nation in the category.
Smith owns each and every one of them. He knows they should have all been caught. If you’re a frustrated Georgia fan wondering what’s going through his head after each one, wonder no more.
“I mean, yeah, I take accountability on all my drops. I try to not make excuses, I never do that,” Smith said on Saturday. “A drop is a drop, coach always tells us. My job is to catch the ball, regardless of how it’s thrown. If you’re short, if it’s overthrown, if it’s too high, I make sure I make effort to get it.”
But Smith, even when you factor in the drops, catches over 65 percent of his targets. That leads Georgia’s receivers and ranks him ahead of some of the most productive pass catchers in the SEC.
His 47 catches for 750 yards leads the team and that’s on 71 targets. Georgia is averaging over 10.5 yards each time Smith is targeted. The drops are a problem. The drops are a source of frustration for everyone invested in the Georgia football program, but not once this season as Smith’s game-by-game story ended with a drop.
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Like most of Georgia’s drops as a team, Smith’s have come in early stages of games. He had a bad one early against Alabama to go with an incorrect route that resulted in an interception. Smith had another bad drop against on UGA’s first play vs. Mississippi State and a tipped-ball interception came on the very next play.
Smith had an early drop against Tennessee, another against Georgia Tech, and another against Texas in the SEC Championship game. He came back to make a big play in every single one of those contests. Whether it’s a huge third-down catch, a converted fake punt, or a hustle-play fumble recovery, Smith hasn’t allowed a drop rate north of 17 percent define his season.
“Everything he does is full speed, and there’s a reason he gets thrown a lot of balls,” Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said of Smith. “He’s open. He’s the fastest guy on the field, and when he gets on the field people know he’s on the field. I know we want to catch every one of them, but sometimes when you put that pressure on the defense that here’s No. 11 in the game and you’re throwing that ball deep, it has an impact on them whether you’re catching it or not.”
