ATHENS — Arian Smith arrived at Georgia having recorded a 100-meter dash in 10.1 seconds. As high school athletes go, that’s considered world-class.
But Smith always has had this nagging distraction when it comes to his unique talent of God-given speed. He just so happens to love football.
Like, passionately.
So, five years after leaving Bradley, Florida, to sign with Georgia as a wide receiver — and run a little track on the side — Smith has hung up his spikes and finds himself watching on television the very Olympic Games of which he once dreamed of being a part.
“I ran track here for two years, so track will always have a special place in my heart,” Smith said during UGA’s preseason camp media day Thursday. “But it wasn’t a hard decision (to give up track).”
Smith not only is now a fully committed, full-time football player, he’s a leader to boot. Smith’s presence at the dais Thursday on the first day of preseason camp underscored Smith’s status within the locker room and among his fellow receivers.
Along with fellow senior Dominic Lovett, Smith is the veteran now, the first in line during drills and on the field. A quiet teammate most of his career, Smith now is one of the first speak up on the practice fields and inside position meetings.
During Thursday’s first practice of the preseason, Smith was observed giving instructions to a pair of freshman wideouts. When he saw teammate Dylan Fairchild hollering for water between an offensive drill and no managers immediately responding, Smith quickly stepped up with his water bottle and told the junior offensive lineman, “take mine.”
“I feel like it kind of – well, not fell upon me – but I felt like I had to step up and step into that category and be that person for my team,” Smith said a couple of hours before the Bulldogs took the field. “Because, we have a lot of young guys. Losing Marcus (Rosemy-Jacksaint) and losing Ladd (McConkey), I’m the last (wide receiver) of that class. So, I’ve been here for a while. I know the ins and outs of the program and know what to do and know what the standard is and how to win.”
To date, Smith has had an up-and-down college career. He has made some of Georgia’s more explosive offensive plays during this run of 42 wins in 44 games. No one will soon forget his 76-yard touchdown catch against Ohio State in the 2022 College Football Playoff semifinals. And he lit up Mercedes-Benz Stadium again last year with a 51-yard reception against Alabama in the SEC Championship game.
When it comes to big plays, no wideout has recorded more “chunk plays,” as coach Kirby Smart likes to call them, than Smith. His six career touchdowns entering his final collegiate season averaged 45 yards in length.
Even when he doesn’t score, Smith’s pass receptions tend to cover a lot of ground. He’s caught 20 passes in four seasons with the Bulldogs. The average gain – 27 yards.
That’s great, and Smith is proud of it. But he seeks to become more than a deep threat. More than ever, the 6-foot, 185-pound receiver hopes be more intimately involved in every aspect of Georgia’s passing attack. With some significant drops also being part of past, Smith also hopes to become a more frequent and reliable target.
He can take a step in that direction simply by staying healthy. Because of various injuries, Smith has participated in only 33 of 54 games – or 61% – of the Bulldogs’ games the past four seasons.
That, more than anything, was Smith’s motivation for coming back for a fifth season.
“I feel like I didn’t do or play up to the goals I had set for last year,” Smith said. “So, just talking to my teammates, like (quarterback) Carson (Beck) and other receivers, and seeing where they sat on things, and I talked to coach Smart and my position coach, I came to the conclusion that I wanted to come back.
“I’m still hungry,” Smith added. “I feel like I haven’t played that much over the years, being injured and things like that.”
Smith’s coaches and teammates have no complaints. He was known initially as a sprinter who uses world-class speed to smoke opposing defensive backs deep, but now the Bulldogs see Smith as a football player and nothing else.
“Well, I think Arian has reached his potential,” Smart said this week. “I mean, he’s a guy that every time we’ve needed him to make big plays, he’s made a bunch of them. A lot of the health (issues), he can’t control that. There’s some things you can control, some things you can’t. … So, I’m very pleased with where he is. I’m excited of the leadership he showed in that (meeting) room spring through the summer, and even now he’s much more confident in himself.”
Again, speed helps.
Smith ran track for the Bulldogs his first two seasons in college. He recorded a 10.1-second 100-meter dash at the 2021 NCAA East preliminary qualifying meet, and he was a member of Georgia’s 4x100 relay team that finished second in the 2022 NCAA Championships.
Since his training now is limited only to what he does on the football field, Smith is not as sure that he’s as fast as he once was. But, as his teammates will attest, he’s still ridiculously fast.
“He’s fast,” Georgia cornerback Daylen Everette said matter-of-factly. “He’s got crazy speed. I mean, he’s definitely a good player, too. But speed kills and that shows with him.”
The Bulldogs actually have a lot of burners on offense. Like Smith, sophomore flanker Anthony Evans III and freshmen Dwight Phillips and Nitro Tuggle all “can fly.” And don’t count out veterans such as senior receiver Dominic Lovett when it comes to “football speed.”
“They can run with me,” Smith said. “They keep me on my toes.”
But Smith maintains that there’s little doubt, should they line up in a row on the Spec Towns track and race to a ribbon 100 meters away at the sound of starter’s pistol who’d get there first.
Not that we’ll ever get to witness such a race.
“No, they don’t want those problems,” Smith said with a snicker. “They know.”
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