Eagles Nolan Smith Earning 'Baby Haason' Nickname: 'Love It!'

Philadelphia Eagles rookie Nolan Smith sponging up everything Haason Reddick has to offer, notching a quarterback hit against the Ravens and a sack against the Browns

PHILADELPHIA – There was once Simba, the nickname Chip Kelly gave to then-Philadelphia Eagles linebacker Jordan Hicks who was being tutored by Mufasa, the nickname given to DeMeco Ryans, then an Eagles linebacker who is now the head coach of the Houston Texans.

Now comes Baby Haason. That’s what some have taken to calling Eagles rookie Nolan Smith, who is being tutored by Philly pass-rush standout Haason Reddick.

“I love it,” said Reddick following Monday evening’s first of two joint practices with the Cleveland Browns. “Even when he was coming in, he was like, ‘Man I’m here to watch you, I’m here to learn from you, I’m excited to have this opportunity to be able to learn from you.’”

Reddick said when he joined the Arizona Cardinals as the 13th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft he would study Von Miller tape and learn from Chandler Jones, one of the Cardinals’ standout rushers.

“Having guys like that to look up to gives you something to strive towards,” he said. “I’m excited that I’ve worked hard enough to be able to be that for somebody else, let alone somebody on my team."

Smith played 24 snaps in the preseason opener against the Baltimore Ravens in the Eagles’ 20-19 loss on Saturday night.

“There are some things I can do better,” he said afterward in the locker room. “I have to look at things I need to fix, how I can compete better, and how I can help the team from special teams to rushing better off the edge.

“A lot of people don’t know I just came off surgery, so I was just happy to be out there hitting somebody. …I had some good rushes. I could’ve done some things better. Me and Coach Wash (defensive end/linebackers coach) will look at it and critique it.”

Smith had a well-executed, dip-and-bend rush that ended with a quarterback hit. He followed that up on Monday with a sack against the Browns when he was unblocked, something teams will soon learn is a no-no against the 30th overall pick in last spring’s draft.

“I wouldn’t say that’s my best pass-rush move,” said Smith about the QB hit. “I got some things in the bag, but you know, you play the game inside the game, and you try to set things up.”

Smith, just 22, is still a work in progress as all rookies are, and even veterans.

“He is a sponge,” Reddick said of Smith. “He asks questions. He’s watching, he’s learning and another guy having a good camp. But just continue to learn. 

"I say that for everybody because no matter how long you’ve played this game there’s always something you can learn and get better at.”

Ed Kracz covers the Philadelphia Eagles for SI's EaglesToday.

Please follow him and our Eagles coverage on Twitter at @kracze.

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