Arian Smith hoping to put past behind him, reach potential in 2024

ATHENS, Ga. — The Arian Smith story has been told too many times to count. If you’re reading this, you probably know what I’m talking about. High school track star arrives in Athens hurt, but he performs on the football field when healthy, showcasing his signature speed only to suffer some sort of injury that sets him back and leaves fans wanting more. Sound familiar? Some variation of it happened to him in 2020, 2021 and 2022.

Well, it didn’t play out that way for Smith in 2023, however, his healthiest season to date was also his least productive. Yes, he played in all 14 games, but his eight catches was just one more than the seven he had in 11 outings in 2022. It turned into 153 yards – less than the year before – and two touchdowns – equal to his total from four games in 2021.

Through it all, Georgia’s coaches have remained confident in Smith and his ability. So too has the Lakeland, Fla. native and now fifth-year senior.

“He’s a guy every time we’ve needed him to make a big play, he’s made a bunch of big plays,” head coach Kirby Smart said about Smith. “I don’t think a lot of the health he can control. There’s some things you can control. There’s some things you can’t. Most of the injuries he’s had have occurred by circumstance or collisions.”

“I’m very pleased with where he is and I’m excited about the leadership he’s shown in that room in spring and through the summer and even now,” he continued. “He’s much more confident in himself, and I think he feels like he and Dillon Bell and Dom (Lovett) are the leaders in that room. I’m excited to see what he can do with it.”

Smart is spot on about the way Smith sees himself. He understands he’s a veteran and the oldest in the wide receiver room. While he hasn’t produced in the way people – himself included – imagined, he’s seen about everything there is to offer in the game of football.

“I feel like the leadership role, not like fell upon me but I just felt like I had to step into that category and be that person for my teammates because we have a lot of young guys,” Smith said. “Losing Marcus (Rosemy-Jacksaint), losing Ladd (McConkey), I was the last one of that class. I’ve been here for a while. I know the ins and outs of the program, I know what to do, what the standard is and how to win.”

“It wasn’t a hard decision because I felt like I didn’t do what I planned and the goals I had set for last year,” Smith said about his decision to return to Georgia for another season despite the fact the Bulldogs were pursuing other pass catching options in the transfer portal. “Just talking to my teammates, Carson, the other receivers and seeing where they sat with things, talked with Coach Smart and my position coach and came to the conclusion that I wanted to come back. And I was still hungry. Felt like I didn’t play that much over the years and being injured and things like that.”

The biggest thing standing between Smith and the season he desired in 2023 for the first time wasn’t health. Instead, it was drops. Several times did he get behind the defense but couldn’t haul it in. It’s something both he and quarterback Carson Beck have worked on this offseason: improving their deep ball connection.

“On a daily basis I get to spend a lot of time with Arian. He’s definitely a big special teams player for us, and that’s been a big role for him, but a lot of times he’s repped so many things in special teams I get to have him during those special teams periods and really work on techniques of running certain routes,” Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “We’re not running full speed all the time, but talking about routes and body control, working on the deep ball, adjusting to the deep ball with our eyes — not necessarily running, you know, a full-speed post or a full-speed go.”

“Anytime you’ve got a guy like Arian or anybody that’s got track speed when they’re on the field, sometimes you might not see the impact they have on a play because we might not have gone to them, but I guarantee you that defense knows when No. 11’s on the field because of the speed and the ability to make not just a 20-yard explosive. He’s a guy on our team that can have a 70-yard explosive at any time,” Bobo continued. “The thing with Arian is that we’re trying to be consistent every day. He’s a track guy that played track I believe his first two years, was injured a lot before I got here, knock on wood, and is trying to be consistent in being an overall receiver. He’s a really good kid and works extremely hard, and we’re excited he’s back this year.”

Smith is excited to be back too. He knows the type of talent that’s in Georgia’s receiver room and hopes he can fit in with a hunger to consistently contribute that persists.

“Keeping that hunger, regardless of what I did, yeah it was a good play and yeah it helped the team, yeah I can look at it and fathom how much I’ve grown, but it’s not going to keep me healthy, it’s not going to make that play when I need to make that play in the future,” Smith said. “I just try to look into the future and just focus in camp and do what I have to do so when the season gets here I don’t have to worry about putting the work in because I already did the work.”

“I want to get out what kind of person I am,” he continued. “Like regardless of what happened – me getting hurt, me dropping balls and not being the player that I want to be – I just want to be that player that never gave up and gave my all and was my standard at the end of the day.”