Arian Smith Could Be the Key to An Explosive Georgia Offense
10.39 seconds. That is the fastest verified 100 meter dash time of 2020 Georgia signee Arian Smith. The exact same time was posted by current Dawgs Tyson Campbell and Eric Stokes in their high school track days. It is obvious to see that the speed in Georgia's secondary has helped to create one of the more dominant units in all of college football.
The offense, however, was another story in 2019.
The players considered as the fastest of the offensive unit this past season were Tyler Simmons and Demetris Robertson. Simmons and Robertson were 10.6 and 10.9 100 meter runners respectively in high school and each dealt with injuries in 2019.
The lack of elite speed to take the top off of the defense and prevent opposing coordinators from aligning safeties closer to the box contributed to a lot of the frustration of the Dawgs passing attack this past season.
Arian Smith will be the fastest player on the offensive side of the ball by a relatively healthy margin the first time he steps on campus. He'll give the Dawgs their fastest weapon since the departure of Mecole Hardman to the NFL. The comparisons to Mecole Hardman are warranted in terms of his speed. However, there are reasons to believe that Smith could have a quicker and larger impact than even the newly minted Pro-Bowl player did at Georgia.
For one, Arian Smith is bigger and faster than Mecole Hardman was when he first arrived at the University of Georgia. Listed at 6'1" and 170-pounds, Smith has three inches and five pounds on the speedster from Elberton, Georgia circa 2016.
The added height will give Smith a slightly larger catch radius and the ability to be utilized a little differently than Hardman. The speed advantage of Smith over the former Georgia great as a Senior in high school is notable as well. Hardman's best in the 100 meters was 10.64 and the verified 40 was 4.42. Smith boats 10.39 and 4.38 in the 100 meters and the 40-yard dash respectively.
This should be exciting for the immediate future and Smith's career development because Hardman ended up going from a 4.42 out of high school to a blistering 4.33 at the NFL Combine.
Another promising factor for Arian is that he is a tried and true wide receiver heading into his time in Athens. Mecole was listed as an Athlete and bounced from defense to offense during his time at UGA. And though Smith played a bit of quarterback in high school like Hardman, Smith has spent a year and a half prior to college focusing on the wideout position. So, he's a bit more refined headed into Athens.
Hardman was a vital part of offenses in 2017 and 2018 that averaged 35.4 and 37.9 points per game. In those two seasons with Mecole as a deep threat, Georgia failed to score 30 points on only 9 occasions in 26 games.
In 2019 the Dawgs failed to score 30 points in 7 of its 14 contests.
WR, Arian Smith
One reason for this is that even when Hardman was not getting the ball, he was usually occupying the attention of safeties. Those safeties were having to align deeper to be able to prevent the blazing Bulldog from burning right past them. This not only created opportunities underneath and also one-on-one shots for reliable targets like Javon Wims, Terry Godwin, and Riley Ridley without safeties lingering, but it also created space for the members of Georgia's talented backfield. The running game is always going to look better when you don't have safeties and corners flying in the box like their hair is on fire.
At the end of the day, speed kills! You've seen it with the more dynamic spread like attacks that have become in vogue throughout the country, and especially the SEC West.
A large collection of highly skilled receivers with speed is a nightmare for opposing defenses. Arian Smith, in my opinion, is the player that the Dawg faithful should be most excited about in this 2020 class.
His speed and confidence are a deadly combination and one that the University of Georgia has seen work wonders for their offense in the rent past. If Smith is willing to come in and "chop wood" from the onset, it'll be a devastating combo once again, even one that could put the Bulldogs over the top.
