Yet another Georgia prospect with near-miraculous combine scores and the pedigree of a former blue-chip recruit. In the case of Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith, go ahead and add the #1 overall recruit in his highschool class to the ever growing list.
Smith dazzled at the 2023 NFL Scouting Combine, running a 4.39 second 40 yard dash, faster than most wide receivers. Smith posted an unofficial 9.21 Relative Athletic Score, his size the only thing slightly docking him in that statistic.
At 6’2” 238 pounds, Smith is undersized for an NFL edge rusher. However, we’ve seen similar players like Eagles star Haason Reddick go on to great success in the NFL, and Smith’s combine numbers are even better than the smallish edge rushers before him.
Smith played highschool football for IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida. As a senior at the highschool powerhouse, Smith was named a first team All-American and was named to the USA Today All-USA high school football team. 24/7 sports listed Smith not only as the #1 overall recruit, but as the 20th best highschool recruit of all time.
It took a couple of years for Smith to gain traction playing for the college powerhouse Bulldogs, but he leaped onto the scene in a big way in 2021, forcing three fumbles while gathering 55 tackles and 3.5 sacks. Smith started his senior season in 2022 playing the best ball of his life, gathering 18 tackles and 3 sacks before his year was cut short by a torn pectoral muscle.
Smith is a natural leader, and is enthusiastic as they come. “I’m player-led and self-driven. You’re not going to have to tell me to go, I promise you I’m going to go naturally on my own,” Smith told the media at the combine. “I wake up out of bed, I’m juiced up, ready, just excited. Man, we play the best game in the world.”
“I’m player-led and self-driven. You’re not going to have to tell me to go, I promise you I’m going to go naturally on my own”
-Nolan Smith
After tearing his pectoral muscle, Smith decided to stay with his team rather than leave to focus on rehab and training for the draft. Georgia head coach Kirby Smart doesn’t think the Bulldogs would have won their second straight national championship without Nolan Smith’s leadership and presence.
“NFL teams will value someone who can impact their team when they’re not playing,” Smart told writers at Dawgnation. “I told him [Smith], the Ohio State [playoff game] 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.”
“NFL teams will value someone who can impact their team when they’re not playing. I told him [Smith], the Ohio State [playoff] 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.”
-Georgia HC Kirby Smart
Smith is projected to go anywhere from as high as pick 11 to as low as the early second round. His size is a major factor of his fluctuating value, but his athleticism cannot be downlayed. Nolan Smith will be a truly fascinating story to watch in the first two rounds of the 2023 NFL Draft.
