Georgia football rookies have been with their new NFL teams for a couple months now, and they are all currently in camp and making their first impressions with their new team. Jalon Walker with the Falcons was the first rookie Bulldog to receive a lot of public praise from his new team, but wide receiver Arian Smith is beginning to make some waves as well.
Smith was drafted in the fourth round by the New York Jets, but he had a lot of question marks surrounding him entering the league. The biggest reason why was because of his issues with drops during this past season.
But that appears to be a thing of the past as Jets head coach Aaron Glenn shared how impressed he is with Smith so far.
"Arian has some juice, don't he? God," head coach Aaron Glenn shared via si.com. "He can run and he's bouncy. He's a really good athlete."
Arian Smith’s finding an early role with the Jets
Smith’s first hope is to carve out a nice role in the Jets’ wide receiver room, but he appears to be finding a new role on Special Teams with the Jets as well.
“I know people talk about his hands in the past, but he’s honestly shown us some great things here early on,” Special Teams Coordinator Chris Banjo said. “Some guys, people don’t even know they have returner capabilities. We were fortunate enough to draft Arian and he’s been able to flash some things, some very, very good things.”
A lot of the rookie Bulldogs project to be big contributors on their new NFL team this fall, but Smith may be the Bulldog who makes the biggest impact this season. Not only will he get a lot of opportunities to prove himself on offense, but it sounds like he could become the starting returner for the Jets as well.
So be sure to pay close attention to Smith this fall, because he has a chance to become an immediate star with the Jets.