Nolan Smith exits Georgia as a captain with a champion's legacy
Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith spoke before the College Football Playoff semifinals about the role he had taken on since suffering a season-ending shoulder injury in October. It certainly wasn’t how the senior envisioned his final season of college football playing out, but it was what was needed – both for him and the team – at the time.
Come Monday night and Georgia’s 65-7 victory over TCU in the 2023 National Championship Game, Smith was emotional. He knew it was his last time putting on a Georgia uniform – that’s why he decided to go away from supporting teammates by wearing their jerseys like he did during the regular season and SEC Championship. Putting on his No. 4 jersey was important to him, and whether or not he was out on the field, Smith wasn’t going to be denied of one last chance to do so. That’s a commitment that Kirby Smart called “unlike many others.”
“Well, my relationship with Nolan is unique because Nolan had a commitment to Georgia that was unlike many others. He was highly touted, considered one of the best players in the country, debatable always, but he committed to Georgia at an early stage in his career and he stayed committed,” Smart said on Tuesday morning during the champions press conference. “Nolan is one of those rare guys that saw the value in being from Georgia, committing to Georgia, never wavering from Georgia, and leading the class. It reminds me of Richard LeCounte where he said, you know what, I’m coming; that’s where I’m going and I’m going to affect others. He never veered from that. He has some of the toughest DNA qualities I’ve ever been around. The guy – physical toughness. You can ask these guys, he never shuts up in the locker room. He’s like a motor mouth. But people embrace and enjoy him.”
Smith was one of Georgia’s four captains for each of the last two games of the season, signifying his status as one of the team’s permanent captains. It was something that was a goal of his before the season and part of his plan to leave a legacy at Georgia. His teammates certainly saw that, both before he arrived and helped shaped the recruiting class and during his time on campus as a vocal member of the team.
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“Of our captains, he was the leading vote-getter. It tells you that everybody respected him,” Smart said. “He was not playing, and he was going to check out and go train and go work out. I said, ‘Nolan, it will be the greatest mistake of your life if you leave right now and don’t finish this because people will remember how you finished. Whether we win or lose is irrelevant. But the rest of your life you will be remembered, were you a captain, were you there for everybody? Did you stand by this team? Did you impact them in a way without being on the field?'”
“NFL teams will value someone who can impact their team when they’re not playing,” he continued. “I told him, the Ohio State win, about 20 percent of that win goes to him because he was over on that sideline never doubting, and just kept preaching. It’s little things like that that make a difference in a team.”
Smith has yet to make an official announcement as to his intentions to enter the 2023 NFL Draft, however one is expected in the coming days. He’ll finish his collegiate career with 114 total tackles including 21 for loss with 11.5 sacks in 46 games at Georgia.
