Second-year surge: Georgia WR C.J. Smith
The summer is here and Kirby Smart’s eighth Georgia football team is putting in a lot of work behind closed doors. The entire 2023 class has arrived on campus and the Bulldogs are marching toward history.
A third consecutive National Championship, in the modern era, is unprecedented. But so was a back-to-back titles in the playoff era. In order for Georgia to stay on top of the mountain, it’ll have to rely on some players heading into their second season.
With that in mind, DawgsHQ is rolling out a series where we look at every scholarship player who is entering year two. Next up is a young wideout with speed to burn.
WR C.J. Smith
Size: 6-foot-3 175 pounds
On3 Industry Ranking: No. 311 overall, No. 52 wide receiver, No. 36 in Florida
2022 Stats: Smith got into the Auburn and Samford games a season ago but didn’t catch a pass in either game.
Smith strengths and weaknesses…
The Orlando native, on the hoof, appears to be a shade shorter than his listed height but he’s also heavier than 175. With that said, the size/speed combination is impressive. Let’s assume that Smith is a true 6-foot-2 and tips the scales at 190, with sub 10.3-second speed in the 100 meters, those are impressive tools for a wide receiver.
Smith is a very strong athlete. From what we’ve seen and heard thus far, he has good, strong hands as well. He does a nice job of running after the catch, using his size and speed to his advantage. The raw tools are there in spades.
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To realize that potential he is going to have to stay healthy. Smith didn’t have any major injuries as a freshman but he did as a senior in high school. He was also dinged up with minor stuff for a significant portion of his freshman season.
The Buzz…
DawgsHQ had to do some additional checking before writing this article and here is why. We didn’t hear a ton about Smith from this spring but when we looked at our notes, we saw that he spent a lot of time running with the No. 2 offense and even got some first-team reps. That means that he’s in the mix.
After checking with some sources, it’s clear that he got better and did some good things. Smith showed a physical prowess on the practice field and the ability to block. He’s still refining his tools as a route runner but he’s able to take the top off and showed the Georgia cornerbacks that he has the kind of explosiveness that must be respected.
In 2023…
Georgia is deep and experienced at wideout after adding a pair of transfers in Rara Thomas and Dominic Lovett. Getting on the field in a major capacity this year is going to be tough. But we do expect his snap count to increase and for Georgia to work him in as much as possible. That’s because Smith has a chance to be a major factor at the flanker/z-receiver position in 2023 if Ladd McConkey moves on to the NFL. This is a very important season for the former four-star prospect and one he can use as a launching pad.
