Nolan Sental Smith Jr. (born January 18, 2001) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

outside linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

for the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team plays ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

, where he was a two-time CFP national champion before being selected by the Eagles in the first round of the

2023 NFL Draft The 2023 NFL Draft will be the 88th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players. The draft is scheduled to be held in the plaza outside of Union Station in Kansas City, Missouri, on April 27–29, ...

High school career

Smith played for

IMG Academy IMG Academy is a preparatory boarding school and sports training destination in Bradenton, Florida, United States. IMG Academy is set across over 600 acres and features programs consisting of sport camps for youth athletes, adult camps, a board ...

in high school but also attended Calvary Day School in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

. Over the course of two years Smith played in 15 games totaling 88 tackles, 10.5 sacks, an interception, and he forced fumble. Nolan was rated as the number one player in the country and 20th best all-time by 247Sports.com and his comparison was

Pro Bowl The National Football League All-Star Game (1939–1942), Pro Bowl (1951–2022), or Pro Bowl Games (starting in 2023) is an annual event held by the National Football League (NFL) featuring the league's star players. The format has changed thro ...

pass rusher Khalil Mack. As a senior he was named to the

USA Today All-USA high school football team Each year, American newspaper ''USA Today'' awards outstanding high school American football players with a place on its All-USA High School Football Team. The newspaper names athletes that its sports journalists believe to be the best football ...

and a first-team All-American by

MaxPreps MaxPreps is an American website that specializes in coverage of American high school sports. The site is owned by Paramount Global and is a division of CBS Sports. Founded on August 1, 2002, the company has covered up to 29 sports, including b ...

. Smith signed to play college football for the

University of Georgia , mottoeng = "To teach, to serve, and to inquire into the nature of things.""To serve" was later added to the motto without changing the seal; the Latin motto directly translates as "To teach and to inquire into the nature of things." , establ ...

College career

Smith saw 11 games in his freshman season. In these games Smith recorded 18 tackles and 2.5 sacks. In the home opener against

Murray State Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper level and graduate courses in Paducah, ...

, Smith had 1.5 sacks and 3 tackles. Smith played in all 10 regular season games. In these games Nolan's stat line was 22 tackles and 2.5 sacks. Smith started his first game against

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

. In this game he would only have one tackle. In the season opener vs

Arkansas Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

, Smith would tally 6 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Smith played in 11 games. In the SEC opener against

South Carolina )''Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

, Smith would record a career high 8 tackles and he would also force a fumble. In the game vs Vanderbilt, Smith was named a team captain. Against rival

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Smith forced a fumble and got his first interception of his career in just a 39-second span. Against

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

, Smith blocked a punt that resulted in a safety. Smith's final stats were 40 tackles, 1.5 sacks, 2 forced fumbles, and one interception. Smith announced that he would return to Georgia for his senior season in 2022 rather than enter the

2022 NFL Draft The 2022 NFL Draft was the 87th edition of the National Football League's annual draft and was held from April 28–30, 2022, at the Caesars Forum on the Las Vegas Strip in Paradise, Nevada. The first round was held on Thursday, April 28, and w ...

. On October 29, 2022, Smith exited the game against

, tearing a

pectoral muscle Pectoral muscles (colloquially referred to as "pecs") are the muscles that connect the front of the human chest with the bones of the upper arm and shoulder. This region contains four muscles that provide movements to the upper limbs or ribs. P ...

and prematurely ending his season. Smith finished the season with seven tackles, three sacks, and 16 quarterback hurries.

Professional career

Smith ran a 4.39-second

40-yard dash The 40-yard dash is a sprint covering . It is primarily run to evaluate the speed and acceleration of American football players by scouts, particularly for the NFL Draft but also for collegiate recruiting. A player's recorded time can have a he ...

at the 2023

NFL Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Footba ...

, making him the second-fastest defensive lineman since 2003 after

Amaré Barno Amaré Barno (born April 26, 1999) is an American football defensive end for the Carolina Panthers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Butler Community College before transferring to Virginia Tech. Barno was draft ...

(2022). Smith was drafted by the

in the first round, 30th overall, of the

References

External links

Philadelphia Eagles bio

Georgia Bulldogs bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Nolan Georgia Bulldogs football players American football outside linebackers Living people 2001 births IMG Academy alumni Players of American football from Savannah, Georgia Philadelphia Eagles players