Christopher Smith Named Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist

Georgia's defensive back Christopher Smith has been named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award.

Georgia's Christopher Smith has been named as a semifinalist for the Paycom Jim Thorpe Award. The prestigious award is given out annually to the best defensive back in college football. If Smith wins the award, he would join Deandre Baker on the list of Georgia players to win the award. 

Smith is a senior on Georgia's defense and has been an anchor for them. The Bulldogs lacked experience coming into this season, but Smith is as experienced as they come. Prior to this season, Smith had played in 28 games and served as a starter for the Bulldogs in 2021. He also was on the field for every single defensive snap in three games last year. 

.@cpsmithdb has been named a Paycom Jim Thorpe Award Semifinalist.#GoDawgs pic.twitter.com/r9oXmnJSPN

— Georgia Football (@GeorgiaFootball) October 24, 2022

Georgia's secondary has been one of their more impressive positional units this season and a lot of that has to do with Smith. In seven games this year, he has two interceptions, three tackles for loss and 21 total tackles. Impressive for a player who typically doesn't line up near the line of scrimmage pre-snap. 

Smith does it all for the Bulldogs at safety. He's highly instinctual in the backfield, a very studious player and a great leader on defense. Clearly, people are beginning to take notice of the product that Smith has displayed on the field this season. 

Georgia has built up quite the resume so far this season and a lot of the team's success has come from what Smith and the defense have done. If Smith can continue his success through the second half of the season, he'll be in a good position to bring home the national award. 

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