Georgia defensive players have plenty to prove at NFL Combine

Georgia had eight players taken on the defensive side of the ball last season including five in the first round. While the number isn’t going to be quite that high again in 2023, there are a few Bulldogs that are making some noise and could catch the eye of a team this week at the NFL Scouting Combine.

Cornerback Kelee Ringo has been projected by many as a first round pick. That was absolutely the case before the 2022 season and throughout much of it, but as the year came to a close and folks saw him in the spotlight, he started to slip some. The stats are still impressive with 42 tackles and two interceptions, but expectations were always high for the No. 1 cornerback coming out of high school in 2020. He’s a freak athlete at 6-foot-2, 210 pounds and sure to impress in Indianapolis. That split opinion is something that intrigues NFL draft expert Daniel Jeremiah.

“Yeah. Kelee is going to be — I don’t want to say polarizing. I just think he is going to fit certain teams. He is not going to necessarily fit others,” Jeremiah said. “I think there’s a real chance he goes in the first round, especially when he puts on a show when he runs. Track background. He is going to be 6’2″, 200 pounds. He is going to fly. I think I’m curious to see him in some of the change-of-direction stuff. He is a little rigid. He is a little bit tight. I think if you are a cover-3 team, you are going to love him. He is going to fit beautifully with that, and he is physical and tough. He can find and play the ball. He just has to be in phase to be able to find and play it. Sometimes he is a little too much separation because he is a little sticky and a little bit tight.”

“I like him as player. You watch him as a gunner. You watch him on kickoff. That tells you a lot about a guy of that stature, that type of recruit, that type of reputation as a defensive player to not only be on teams, but to be playing with maximum effort and be a good player on special teams,” he continued. “I think it tells you a lot about him and his makeup. I think he there’s a real chance he goes in the first round. He won’t get out of the early part of the second round if that were to be the case, if he doesn’t go round one.”

Another intriguing player is outside linebacker Nolan Smith. Like Ringo, he was a top recruit coming out of high school. In fact, he was THE top recruit in the Class of 2019. Smith was impressive during his final two seasons at Georgia, finishing 2021 with 56 stops and totaling 18 in eight games before an injury ended his 2022 season. That included nine tackles for loss in ’21 and another seven in ’22. The production is there, but how is his health? If he can answer that question this week, Jeremiah has him as a first round pick.

“Nolan Smith, he reminds me of Haason Reddick coming out. I pulled their numbers too. We’ll have that at the combine. There’s some similarities there in terms of how big they are and how they move around. We’ll see what that looks like there,” Jeremiah said. “He is just — I just wrote down, he is just juicy. He has big-time juice and burst coming off the edge. He can change directions. He has a good feel at the top of his rush. He can bend and close. He will grab the wrist. He has a really good job of controlling the wrist of opponents. One of the plays with him you are watching Auburn. It’s special teams. They run a fake punt. He sniffs it out and makes a play. Just showed you the overall football player that he is. Just a really good player.”

Finally there’s Christopher Smith. He wasn’t the star recruit coming out of high school that the previous two players were. In fact, it took a position change for him to really catch on at Georgia. However, he developed into a star at safety and earned consensus All-American honors this past season, one of just 13 players in program history to do so. Smith finished fourth on the team in tackles with 61 stops, tied for the team-high with three interceptions while also forcing a fumble and recovering another. He’s already put his skills to the test at the Senior Bowl and will do so again in Indianapolis.

“Christopher Smith, you know, it will be big for him, no pun intended, to see if he can add some weight. He was 188 pounds at the All-Star Game. He is a little undersized there. You want your safeties to be a little bigger than that,” Jeremiah said. “He is a playmaker. He plays fast. He has range from the middle of the field. He has no wasted movement. Again, plays with confidence. Quick to read and drive. He sits there flat-footed and then drives on the ball. Unfortunately, he was one of Hyatt’s victims there getting vertical from the slot. He did that to everybody. He is a really, really instinctive player who plays fast. I guess the expectation is he is not going to maybe run as fast as you think, but I would be more curious to see if he can add a little bit on the frame. He was 188 pounds.”

On-field sessions for these three and all the other Georgia players begin on Thursday. Defensive linemen and outside linebackers take the field, and while Jalen Carter won’t work out, Nolan Smith and Robert Beal are also a part of that group. Then, on Friday, it’s the defensive backs and specialists with Kelee Ringo, Christopher Smith and Jack Podlesny on display. The offensive players showcase their skills over the weekend with quarterback Stetson Bennett, wide receiver Kearis Jackson and tight end Darnell Washington going Saturday and running back Kenny McIntosh along with offensive linemen Broderick Jones and Warren McClendon on Sunday. Coverage of the combine can be seen on NFL Network starting at 3:00 p.m. ET Thursday and Friday and 1:00 p.m. ET on Saturday and Sunday.