Kirby Smart 'thankful' for Nolan Smith's time in Dawg Nation
Kirby Smart was able to take to Twitter for a third time on Thursday evening, as the Georgia head coach offered his congratulations to former Bulldog Nolan Smith following his selection by the Philadelphia Eagles.
“Congrats @SmithNoland2 !! You meant so much to this program, school & community. I know tonight is a dream come true for you & your family. Your story will be told for years to come & I’m thankful #DawgNation was a part of it. The @Eagles got a great player and man. GO DAWGS!!,” Smart tweeted upon Smith’s being taken with the No. 30 overall pick in the first round.
Smart a longtime supporter of Nolan Smith
Thursday night was far from the first time Smart has been vocal in his feelings toward the Georgia outside linebacker.
“He’s going to make their organization better, he’s going to make their community better,” Smart stated this spring. “First of all, he’s a very bright individual. He’s a huge personality. He’s a hard-worker. He’s coachable. That’s why they draft those guys in the first round, they want to look and say, ‘Where are the pitfalls?’ When you look at Nolan Smith, you’re not going to get many. His character stands out. He’s got a great mom and grandma at home. They raised a bright, young man. He’s fun to be around. He texts me all the time.
“You can tell he’s just, I miss him. Because when you walk in the team meeting room he’s sitting there smiling, loud as hell. Always talking. They’re going to get a great personality, that I think he’ll represent whatever organization picks him, he’ll represent them the right way.”
The pre-draft buzz on Smith
In his pre-draft evaluation, NFL Network draft analyst Lance Zierlein offered up the following on the former Georgia pass rusher:
“Lower weight class edge defender with the toughness to mix it up with bigger players. Based purely upon his sleek but smallish frame, one might expect him to be more effective as a rusher than run defender but the opposite is true. Smith is hard to move off of his spot due to his technique and leverage, and he can be disruptive when firing into gaps,” Zierlein said. “He can get off the mark as a rusher, but lacks the counters and contact balance to consistently assault the pocket at a high rate. Smith falls below the size standards some team might have for a 3-4 outside linebacker, but he plays team-first defense with quality technique that should help him translate to the pros.”
