Kirby Smart offers latest on Nolan Smith injury
JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — Georgia had some trouble with Florida on Saturday, mainly in the third quarter, but still found a way to grab a convincing 42-20 win. The Bulldogs did that mostly without the services of senior outside linebacker Nolan Smith.
Kirby Smart spoke with reporters after the game and didn’t offer a ton of information. He says that Nolan Smith has what he believes is a separated shoulder and that he’s not sure of the severity of the injury.
Nolan Smith left in the second quarter after sustaining what looked like a shoulder injury. It is unclear whether he ever entered the injury tent but he eventually put his helmet back on and spoke with multiple coaches and players on the sideline. It wasn’t long after that the it was announced by the Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network that Smith would miss the rest of the game.
The Bulldogs had gotten quite a bit from Nolan Smith before his injury. He had two solo tackles, one for loss, and a quarterback hurry halfway through the second quarter.
Georgia’s defense responded well to Smith’s absence at first but started to give way some in the final two quarters. Florida gained 283 of its 371 yards in the second half. The Gators also scored 17 points in the third and fourth quarters but 10 of those game off Bulldog turnovers.
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Nolan Smith is Georgia’s leader in sacks and tackles for loss. He has three sacks and seven stops behind the line of scrimmage to go with 16 total tackles, a pass breakup, and numerous quarterback hurries. He had a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and an interception in this game last season.
Smart told reporters last week that Nolan Smith is more than just a productive edge player for the Bulldogs. He has a larger role within the team.
“Leadership, toughness,” Smart said of Smith. “Nolan is a natural leader. He’s been that way since I met him when he was in eighth grade and he came up here to camp. He’s been a natural leader, comes from a great family, but his leadership is more important than his ability and his ability is pretty strong. He creates a toughness about the he holds people to a standard of the way you strike blocks, the way you close on counters, the way you rush with effort, special teams, I mean, he plays on all special teams. He’s just a core guy.”
Georgia hopes to get Nolan Smith back in time for a showdown with No. 3 Tennessee next Saturday. That game could be No. 1 vs. No. 2 depending on what the College Football Playoff committee decides when it releases its first set of rankings on Tuesday. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
