Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith shines at NFL Combine, gives recruiting pitch for the program
Georgia edge rusher Nolan Smith shines at NFL Combine, gives recruiting pitch for the program
Georgia’s Nolan Smith returned to Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis on Thursday with one goal in mind, which was to take over the 2023 NFL Combine and represent his school.
Well, the former Bulldog did just that as he excelled in multiple workouts. He impressed NFL coaches and general managers with his abilities during Thursday’s events.
Smith checked in a 6-foot-2, 238 pounds, which is impressive since he hasn’t taken a snap since suffering a season-ending injury in Georgia’s win over Florida on Oct. 29, 2022.
Either way, he’s still considered a first-round selection in the upcoming draft following his outing at Lucas Oil Stadium, where the Bulldogs won a national title in 2022.
Smith impressed in the vertical jump with a 41.5-inch rep, which was the best among all defensive linemen. He also finished fourth overall with a broad jump of 10 feet, 8 inches.
However, most notably, Smith ran an official 4.39-second time in the 40-yard dash. His unofficial time was clocked in at 4.44 seconds, although he wasn’t too happy about it after.
"I was just upset,” Smith said to the NFL Network after his rep. “I wanted to just do everything at full speed today. I thought I didn’t run my best race. Cap said it looked good. Ryan (Capretta) at ProActive, he said it looked really good. I thought I didn’t run my best race. I thought I had a little more juice. I kind of felt like I was going 85 percent."
After Smith learned of his official time, the Savannah, Ga., native said it “made his day.”
Smith had the fastest time among all position groups on Thursday, and his official 4.39-second mark was the fastest by a defensive lineman at the NFL Combine since 2003.
Per UGASports.com’s Patrick Garbin, Smith ran the seventh-fastest time by a former Georgia player at the NFL Combine since 1999. He’s in good company with the top six, who are Champ Bailey, Keith Marshall, Tim Jennings, Mecole Hardman, Chris Conley and Lewis Cine. Smith is the only defensive lineman in that group of former Bulldogs.
Meanwhile, in Athens, a lot of Smith’s former teammates were watching the NFL Combine at UGA’s Butts-Mehre football complex. A video on social media showed them cheering in excitement after Smith’s final sub-four second 40-yard dash time was posted.
Smith reacted to his teammates on live TV and gave a recruiting pitch about UGA to potential prospects.
“If you ever want to go to Georgia we've got a new locker room, new weight room. Let me give my spiel on Georgia," Smith said. "We have an indoor facility, outdoor facility, we just put in a brand new restaurant. Let me say that again, a restaurant. It's called Bones. It's amazing. Shoutout to Ms. C, Collier (Madaleno) our nutritionist, she's amazing. We eat steak, lobster, the best of the best. Go Dawgs and go to Georgia."
Smith returned to UGA for his senior season in 2022 and left a two-time national champion. He finished his career as a Bulldog with 114 total tackles, 21 TFL, 11.5 sacks, one interception, four pass breakups, three forced fumbles and one fumble recovery.