Kirby Smart has high praise for senior Nolan Smith, his leadership

College Football is a sport these days where veterans are rare. Teams are made up of freshmen and sophomores while upperclassmen, especially seniors, have moved on – whether that be to the NFL or in the transfer portal. However, that doesn’t mean that the so called “old guys” aren’t important. In fact, they may be more important than ever before with so many youngsters running around. That’s certainly the case for Georgia senior linebacker Nolan Smith on a Bulldog defense that is replacing eight players lost to the NFL Draft this past spring.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was asked about Smith’s style of leadership on Wednesday during the SEC Coaches Teleconference and shared that it’s different than you might expect. In a day and age where personal brand is important for NIL marketing, Smart said that Smith doesn’t seem to care what others think about him. He’s more worried about the team and how he represents the University of Georgia.

“He came in as a tremendous athlete, probably more of a pure pass rusher that had a great mentality for toughness. That’s just gotten better. He’s worked really hard to improve himself, really in all facets,” Smart said. “He’s not just a football player. This guy is probably one of our most dynamic leaders just in terms of the confidence. He doesn’t really care what other people think about him which is a unique trait in today’s day and age where everybody worries about it, he doesn’t really care. He cares more about the actions, the leadership and how he represents Georgia.”

“I think when you start talking about guys that can be impactful the rest of their life and represent Georgia the right way, he does a tremendous job of doing that,” Smart continued. “He pushes everybody to care just as much as he does. That’s more than just the ability to sack a quarterback or stop the run. He certainly can do those things, but he can do a lot of things off the field as well.”

As Smart said, Smith is capable of big things both on and off the field. He’s demonstrated that leadership that Smart speaks of by representing UGA at SEC Media Days earlier this season and has spoken to the media countless times during his career, including after almost every game this season. Smith is likely to be voted a permanent team captain at season’s end and has served as a game captain for Georgia’s season-opener against Oregon as well as the Bulldogs’ home games against Kent State and Auburn. Meanwhile on the field, the former No. 1 overall player in the Class of 2019 has 15 tackles and a team-high 13 quarterback hurries so far this season. He’s had his best two games of the season the last two weeks with four tackles at Missouri and three this past Saturday against Auburn. He recorded a tackle for loss in both of them and has one in each of the last five outings with sacks against Kent State and Missouri.

“I thought we flew around and we played together and we had fun. That’s all it’s about, having fun and flying around with your boys,” Smith said after Georgia’s 42-10 win over Auburn. “My opportunities are getting real limited man. I’m about to start crying after some games because it just means so much.”

“The connection is there. People talk about Pop (Jamon Dumas-Johnson) on ESPN yelling at Kamari (Lassiter), I mean, that always happens. That’s a connection piece,” Smith added when asked about the defense and his role as a leader. “When you get closer and love a brother, you can tell him when he’s doing wrong and tell him when he’s messing up, and he’s not going to get in his feelings … The connection has been there since Game One. I would say that. It’s always about getting those game reps and getting a feel for guys and being able to play off of each other. Certain times we don’t have enough time to make a call, and I can just look at him, nod my head and he knows what I’m talking about. People see connection and think high fives. I’m talking about non-verbals. If I look at you, you know we’re running something, and we’ve got to make this play.”

Smith and 6-0 Bulldogs take on Vanderbilt this Saturday, the homecoming game at Sanford Stadium. Kickoff time between the hedges is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.