How Georgia's Arian Smith overcomes his drops to be one of Bulldogs' most clutch players

ATHENS, Ga.

It was the most cutting analysis.

It came midway through the second quarter of the SEC Championship Game when Arian Smith had another drop on a ball right off his chest.

Hes not a natural ball catcher, said Kirk Herbstreit, his sigh almost audible through the screen.

Not a natural ball catcher.

It was a striking thing to say about a receiver but seemingly very fair about Smith, who leads the nation with 10 drops this year, per Pro Football Focus.

And theyve come at glaring times, whether it be a deep ball at Alabama or a couple of instances in the SEC championship.

Its enough to make fans wonder why Georgia keeps trotting Smith out there and keeps throwing him the ball.

Advertisement Well, its because Smith has been one of Georgias most clutch players with another huge opportunity coming against Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl in the College Football Playoff .

Its not a stretch to say Smith, a fifth-year senior, embodies this Georgia team: He makes glaring mistakes and helps put his team in a hole but rallies and comes up big in the clutch.

He had two critical drops in the first half of the second matchup against Texas .

But in the second half, he caught Gunner Stockton s first completion, converted a fake punt, made an open-field tackle as Georgias punt team gunner and recovered a teammates fumble, ultimately saving the team 3 points.

Everything he does is full speed, Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said.

And theres a reason he gets thrown a lot of balls: Hes open.

Hes the fastest guy on the field.

That has led to two other clutch moments this year when Smith very much caught the ball: The first matchup with Texas when Georgia faced third-and-long, pinned deep in its end, clinging to a 23-15 lead.

Smith beat his man on a sideline pattern and hauled in the 21-yard pass from Carson Beck .

That kept alive a drive that ended in a touchdown.

The game against Florida in almost the same scenario: Georgia was pinned deep, tied in the fourth quarter, facing third down.

Smith ran an almost identical pattern to the sideline, and Beck hit him for a 34-yard gain.

Georgia scored a touchdown and won by two touchdowns.

The drops, its not what you want.

But they happen, Smith said.

Its how you respond from those.

As long as you keep a clear head throughout the game and be ready when the ball comes to me the next go-around, thats all that really matters.

It is well-documented that Georgia has not had a 1,000-yard receiver in 22 years.

Smith is sitting at 750 yards, with as many as three games left.

Just imagine the yards he has left on the table.

Advertisement So whats going on with the drops? Herbstreit hit on a key point during the SEC championship: Smith appears to jump, unnecessarily, as the pass arrives: Why does he jump right there? Theres no reason to jump.

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Hes a great player, but man thats been a big problem for him.

It happened again in the final minute of the first half of that game.

A Texas cornerback was right on him, so it wasnt an easy catch, but Beck put the ball right there, and the ball glanced off Smiths hands.

Thats another example of him jumping on a ball thats thrown right on the money, Herbstreit said on the broadcast.

Asked about it Saturday, Smith didnt say it was his entire problem but did say on one of the plays, I probably did misjudge it and jumped too early.

That happens as well.

He was also circumspect about the drops as an issue.

When he was asked if theres a difference between how Stockton and Beck throw the ball, Smith didnt take that as an excuse.

GO DEEPER Gunner Stocktons cows, Mike Bobos self-awareness: Takeaways before the Sugar Bowl Thats really not the issue, Smith said.

As a receiver, the problem is the drops, and Ive got to fix that.

Its a flaw that Georgia coaches have factored in as a necessary risk.

As Bobo said, Smith is the teams fastest receiver and gives Georgia a vertical threat as well as someone it can throw screens and short passes to and hope he breaks them.

Hes averaging 15.7 yards per catch this year and 19.2 per catch in his career and has a litany of big plays his first four years: a 76-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter of the 2022 CFP semifinal against Ohio State ; a 55-yard catch in the 2020 Peach Bowl against Cincinnati ; a 52-yard catch against then-No.

1 Tennessee in 2022; and a 51-yard catch against Alabama in the 2023 SEC championship.

Theres a history that opponents know and have to respect.

When he gets on the field, people know hes on the field, Bobo said.

I know we want to catch every one of them, but sometimes when you put that pressure on the defense that heres No.

11 in the game and were throwing that ball deep, it has an impact on it whether we catch it or not.

Advertisement Smith has credibility within the program because of all the injuries he has endured: a broken wrist that limited him to four games in 2020; a torn meniscus and then a broken fibula that limited him to four games the next year.

Then two weeks before the 2022 season opener against Oregon when Smith was poised for a big role, he broke his ankle, was out the first four games and played sparingly the rest of the way, although he had an impact against Tennessee and Ohio State.

It was only last year that Smith finally played in every game, although without much impact.

This season was finally his breakthrough in good and bad ways.

GO DEEPER Notre Dame-Georgia Sugar Bowl analysis: Who's under more pressure? Hes a really resilient person in general, guard Tate Ratledge said.

Hes been through ups and downs his whole career here.

Just to see how a play may not go his way and three plays later hes making a huge play.

His mood never changes on the sideline.

Hes never in a bad mood.

Just the way he handles himself, the way he keeps control and keeps going out there and making plays.

(Top photo: Todd Kirkland / Getty Images).

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