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Georgia Football Recruiting: 2019 Commit Nolan Smith II

By Alistair Penny

COLUMBIA, SC - OCTOBER 9: Quarterback Perry Orth #10 of the South Carolina Gamecocks is sacked by Georgia football defensive lineman Tyler Clark #52 of the Georgia Bulldogs and outside linebacker Davin Bellamy #17 on October 9, 2016 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages)
COLUMBIA, SC - OCTOBER 9: Quarterback Perry Orth #10 of the South Carolina Gamecocks is sacked by Georgia football defensive lineman Tyler Clark #52 of the Georgia Bulldogs and outside linebacker Davin Bellamy #17 on October 9, 2016 at Williams-Brice Stadium in Columbia, South Carolina. (Photo by Todd Bennett/GettyImages) /
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Georgia Football is going to be recruiting the best players in the country for the 2019 class. Nolan Smith is one of the most complete defensive players in this year’s class and could be a real leader for UGA.

Continuing on from the series I’m writing about 2019 prospects, I didn’t want to ignore some of the kids that are already committed to Georgia Football in that cycle. Now we know that not all commitments stick in this day and age. It’s important that fans don’t start taking these guys for granted or consider them Dawgs no matter what. But I think there is a really good chance that most if not all of the current commits do end up in Athens.

Today we’re going to look at a player that a lot of fans worry about. Nolan Smith committed to Georgia back in January last year. He’s from Savannah and he’s someone who has talked a lot about how much he would love to represent his home state. But as a top 10 player, every program in the country is coming for him and Smith hasn’t shut it down yet. We’ll go into his recruiting in a bit, but first, let’s look at the kind of player Smith is.

Looking at the tape:

Smith transferred from Savannah to IMG Acadamy for his junior season. He will likely stay in Florida again in 2018. While that keeps him away from his home state, it seems that Smith has really developed since he joined the prestigious Florida school.

To be clear, Smith was always going to be a highly rated talent. His athletic ability is absolutely freaky and he’s a natural when it comes to rushing the passer. But playing at IMG seems to have helped him take his game to a new level and that’s good news for both him and UGA.

Smith has a fantastic first step coming off the edge and is pretty impossible for offensive linemen to block. He’s a smooth and shifty player who on film, seems to glide through protections. The guy has a natural nose for the ball as well which seems to help him make big plays. When you combine those two, you have a player who could be an absolute star at outside linebacker.

I’ve watched more of Smith’s Sophomore tape than I have Junior. That’s mainly because it was easier to find, but what I have seen from 2017 was special. There isn’t much that the guy can’t do and it’s easy to see why he’s such a highly regarded prospect. To me, he could be even better than Jarvis Jones coming off the edge. That’s just how special he looks on tape.

Will he stick with his commitment?

Smith has been committed to UGA for more than a year. However, the fact that he till takes visits to other schools causes plenty of worry for Georgia fans. He spent the past weekend at Alabama and posted lots of pictures of him there. He did the same when he went to Clemson last year and he’s very close with 2018 Tigers signee Xavier Thomas.

Smith is going to keep taking visits to other schools. Despite that, I do think fans are worrying over nothing. Owen Pappoe (who we’ll be looking at later this week), told Jeff Sentell at Dawgnation that Smith was recruiting him to Georgia as hard as any of the coaches. That isn’t the actions of a guy who is going to sign elsewhere.

It’s worth remembering that IMG is a boarding school and Smith is far from home. He can spend his weekends touring some of the best schools in the nation and having the red carpet rolled out for him. Or he can stay in his room, alone, while most of his friends and teammates do exactly that. Put yourself in his shoes. I sure as heck know what I’d want to do with my weekends, and it’s not my homework!

Smith is one of the best players in the entire country. I understand why rival fanbases want to believe they are going to get him. But he’s been close to Kirby Smart for a long time now. New coach Dan Lanning called him almost immediately after taking the OLB job. He’s already part of the family.

Next: Defensive Backs to watch

UGA treats Smith like he’s a part of their program already for a reason. There’s a lot of mutual respect and trust between both sides and has been for a while. Let other fans get all hyped up and freak out over a twitter picture. Georgia and Smith are far too focused on building the 2019 class to care.

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