Joe Burrow collected a shiny award as the game's MVP. LSU's fans had another trophy on their minds. 'Heisman! Heisman! Heisman!' they chanted. The coronation is likely complete. Burrow turned in another dazzling performance on the big stage, leading No. 1 LSU to a spot in the College Football Playoff with a 37-10 rout of No. 4 Georgia in the Southeastern Conference championship game Saturday. “Joe is the heartbeat of this team,” running back Clyde Edwards-Helaire said. The Tigers, going for their first national title since 2007 season, will either return to Atlanta or head west to suburban Phoenix for a semifinal game on Dec. 28. They surely made a persuasive case to be the top overall seed when the four-team field. and pairings are announced Sunday. Burrow was all over the stat sheet for LSU (13-0, No. 2 CFP). He threw for 349 yards and four touchdowns. He was the Tigers' second-leading rusher with 41 yards on 11 carries, often leaving the Bulldogs grasping at air as he twirled this way and that. He even caught a pass on a ball that was batted down at the line and wound up his arms, taking off for a 16-yard gain. ''He's a great athlete, man,' Georgia safety J.R. Reed said. “We had a lot of plays out there we were supposed to make, and he'd just squeeze out of it.' The Heisman-worthy moment came late in the third quarter. With Georgia (11-2, No 4 CFP) bringing the heat, Burrow spun to his left to get away from lineman Travon Walker, whirled back to his right to send Walker sprawling to the turf, then delivered a pass on the run while sprinting toward the LSU sideline with another defender in hot pursuit. Justin Jefferson hauled in the throw just beyond midfield and took off down to the Bulldogs 9 for a 71-yard play. Three plays later, Burrow delivered his third TD pass of the game, hooking up with Terrace Marshall Jr., on a 4-yard touchdown pass that essentially finished off the Bulldogs. “It was all improvised,” Burrow said. “Justin ran a 6-yard hitch route and saw me scrambling and took off deep. We got a great feel for each other. I knew exactly where he was going to be when I got out of there.” Burrow wasn't done. Derek Stingley's second pick of Jake Fromm turned the ball back over to the prolific LSU offense at the 13, and Burrow wasted no time finding Jefferson for an 8-yard TD in the waning seconds of the third quarter to send many in the predominantly Georgia crowd heading for the exits. LSU left no doubt it is the king of the mighty SEC, completing its run through a gauntlet of the league's top teams. The Tigers had already knocked off Alabama, Florida and Auburn. Now, they can add the Bulldogs to the list, ensuring the SEC will only get one team in the national playoff. LSU came into the game as the second-highest scoring team in the country behind Ohio State. They figured to have a tougher time against Georgia's stellar defense, ranked No. 2 in points allowed. but Burrow kept the Bulldogs on their heels the entire game. It was by far the most points Georgia has given up their season. Until Saturday, they held every opponent under 20 except South Carolina, which stunned the Bulldogs in double overtime nearly two months ago. There was no such drama in this one. Just total domination by the Tigers. It was a painful loss — literally — for the Bulldogs, who were making their third straight appearance in the SEC title game. Two players were carted off the field with apparently major injuries. Another player wobbled off with a concussion after being leveled on a kickoff. Fromm twisted an ankle and had to go to the medical tent to get taped up, though he missed only one play. Not that it mattered. Fromm, who guided Georgia to the cusp of the national title two years ago as a freshman, was 20 of 42 for 225 yards with those two interceptions. He didn't get much help from his teammates: Tyler Simmons dropped a deep ball on the very first possession, and Matt Landers couldn't hang on to a throw in the end zone. Georgia finally reached the end zone with just under 12 minutes remaining on Fromm's 2-yard TD pass to George Pickens. “That is a really good football team,” coach Kirby Smart said. “We were going to have to make explosive plays. We were unable to do that.” INJURY REPORT Georgia's sideline looked like a M(asterisk)A(asterisk)S(asterisk)H unit. Receiver Dominick Blaylock crumpled to the turf after going up for a catch in the first quarter. He was carted to the locker room with a left knee injury. Outside linebacker Walter Grant suffered a concussion in the third quarter from a special teams hit. LSU’s Tory Carter was ejected for targeting. Backup middle linebacker Quay Walker (right shoulder) and cornerback Tyrique Stevenson (apparent leg injury) also left the field with injuries. Star running back D'Andre Swift clearly wasn't at full strength, either, after going out of the regular-season finale against Georgia Tech with should injury. He had just two carries for 13 yards. THE TAKEAWAY LSU: The Tigers could certainly take pride in putting up 481 yards on a defense of Georgia's caliber, but the most encouraging aspect of this game was another strong performance from LSU's defense. Maligned much of the season, they followed up a 50-7 rout of Texas A&M in the regular-season finale with another championship-worthy showing against the Bulldogs, who were held to 286 yards. Georgia: Fromm came into the season projected as a high NFL draft pick who would likely go pro after his junior season. Now, it's not a reach to say he might be better off returning for his senior season to try to boost his stock. He has now failed to complete even half his passes in five straight games. UP NEXT LSU: Makes its first appearance in the College Football Playoff, which began in 2014. The Tigers last played for a national title during the 2011 season, when they won 13 straight games before a dismal 21-0 loss to Alabama in the BCS championship game. Georgia: Appears likely to make its second straight appearance in the Sugar Bowl against Baylor, loser of the Big 12 championship game. ___ More AP college football: https://apnews.com/Collegefootball and https://twitter.com/AP_Top25 ___ Follow Paul Newberry on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pnewberry1963 His work can be found at https://apnews.com

21 faculty members across UGA’s schools and colleges met to discuss the development of UGA’s Innovation District on Dec. 3 in the Peabody Board Room of the Administration Building. The Innovation District Faculty Advisory Council will meet throughout the year to provide input on the Innovation District initiative, with particular focus on programming, resources and support for research commercialization and university-industry engagement. The council will be led by the Innovation District leadership team: Kyle Tschepikow, special assistant to the president and director for strategy and innovation; David Lee, vice president for research; and Rahul Shrivastav, vice president for instruction. The members of the council are: Jenay Beer, Insitute of Gerontology Karen Burg, College of Veterinary Medicine Justin Conrad, School of Public and International Affairs Andrew Crain, Graduate School Joseph Dahlen, Warnell School of Forestry Naola Ferguson-Noel, Poultry Diagnostic and Research Center Chris Garvin, Lamar Dodd School of Art Chris Gerlach, New Media Institute Kristina Jaskyte, Institute for Nonprofit Organizations Kirk Kealey, Food Product Innovation and Commercialization Center Eileen Kennedy, College of Pharmacy William Kisaalita, College of Engineering Kevin McCully, College of Education Sergiy Minko, College of Family and Consumer Sciences Michael Myers, Small Business Development Center Jonathan Murrow, AU/UGA Medical Partnership Usha Rodrigues, School of Law Pejman Rohani, Odum School of Ecology Christine Szymanski, Complex Carbohydrates Research Center Amitabh Verma, College of Environment and Design Dee Warmath, College of Family and Consumer Sciences

U.S. Rep. Doug Collins was as pugnacious as ever as he delivered his opening remarks during Wednesday’s House Judiciary Committee hearing on impeachment. The Gainesville Republican repeated his critique that the Democratic-led investigation was primarily fueled by contempt for President Donald Trump. He described the probe as a rushed attempt to ram through charges without evidence that the president had done anything wrong. “This is nothing new, folks; this is sad,” said Collins, the ranking Republican on the committee. There were some points of levity — including when Collins joked about the room’s chilly temperature and uncomfortable chairs — but most of his comments were pointed and biting, both toward the Democrats on the committee and the three constitutional law experts who backed impeachment. Collins also used his opening statement to criticize the decision to invite four constitutional law experts to the hearing, three of whom were recommended by Democrats and one called by Republicans. One of them, Stanford University law professor Pamela Karlan later said she took offense at his insinuation they had not reviewed the House Intelligence Committee’s impeachment report before testifying. “Mr. Collins, I would like to say to you, sir, that I read transcripts of every one of the witnesses who appeared in the live hearing because I would not speak about these things without reviewing the facts,” she said. “So I’m insulted by the suggestion that as a law professor I don’t care about those facts.” Throughout the meeting, Collins and other Republicans forced procedural votes on requests varying from postponing the hearing to requiring House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff and an anonymous whistleblower to testify. Democrats, who are in the majority, objected each time.

The Athens Symphony will perform the first ever public performance of a new arrangement of “O Holy Night” at their annual Christmas concerts on December 7 and 8.    The piece, arranged by Hollywood film scorer Chad Rehmann, was initially featured in the 2018 film A Christmas Arrangement. Following rave reviews, Rehmann re-arranged the score for orchestral performance and dedicated it to his wife Kari.    “After reaching out to a few regional orchestras known for their holiday concerts,” said Rehmann, “Brad Maffett (Athens Symphony’s Associate Conductor) contacted me expressing interest in performing the work. The more we corresponded, the more excited I became about the Athens Symphony premiering this work, especially given the ensemble’s commitment to family-friendly programming and its focus on a relationship with the Athens community. “   The Symphony will host Rehmann at the December 7 concert with a red-carpet welcome planned for 7:30 p.m.    A Christmas Tradition   A longstanding tradition, the Athens Symphony’s annual Christmas Concerts bring Athenians and Northeast Georgia residents together to celebrate with classic Christmas favorites, a sing-along, and even a visit from Santa.    “The Athens Symphony Christmas Concerts are known for being premier events of the holiday season in our community, bringing people from all walks of life together to celebrate the season,” said Symphony Executive Director Dr Richard Hudson. “It’s a privilege that the Symphony is able to continue its mission of providing free concerts that are open to everyone, knowing that the power of music is a unifying force.”   Complimentary tickets will be available at The Classic Center Box Office beginning Nov. 25 and are required for entry into the concerts, which will be held Saturday, December 7 at 8:00 p.m. and Sunday, December 8 at 3:00 p.m.

Oconee County says the new traffic signal at the three-way intersection of Mars Hill, Virgil Langford, and Rocky Branch roads will become operational next week. Crews have been working for the past several weeks to reconfigure the busy intersection off Highway 316.  The Georgia DOT is partnering with Georgia State University to conduct a survey, looking to find out what drivers think about new express lanes on I-85.  MARTA might see rate hikes next year: that word comes from the CEO of the transit system in Atlanta, who tells a state legislative panel that fare revenue is below the 35 percent threshold required to put towards operating expenses. The last time the authority raised the price was in 2011, when the fare for a one-way ticket increased by 50 cents. Any rate hike would take effect next summer. 

ATLANTA LSU was elevated to No. 1 in the College Football Playoffs on the heels of it 37-10 win over Georgia in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday. The Tigers will face Big 12 Champion Oklahoma back at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on Dec. 28 n the Peach Bowl, while No. 2 Ohio State will play No. 3 Clemson in the other CFP semifinal at the Fiesta Bowl in Glendale, Ariz. The Bulldogs are expected to be slotted in the Sugar Bowl and play Baylor at approximately 8:45 p.m. on Jan. 1 in New Orleans. The Bears (11-2) lost to Oklahoma on Saturday in the Big 12 Championship Game, 30-23 in overtime The New Year's Six Bowls will be officially set when the remainder of the CFP Rankings are released at approximately 3 p.m. on Sunday. The Sugar Bowl is contracted to match the highest ranked teams from the SEC and the Big 12 that aren't in the College Football Playoff field. It would be Georgia's second straight appearance in the Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs lost to Texas, 28-21, last year. The post LSU gets No. 1 College Football Playoff seed, Georgia awaits likely Sugar Bowl bid appeared first on DawgNation.

Even a healthy Georgia team performing optimally probably would have lost Saturday's SEC Championship Game. Let's face it, the Joe Burrow-led LSU team they faced was just that much better than them. But, alas, poor play and too many missed opportunities by a banged-up Dawgs team let what could have been an honorable loss turn into an embarrassing blowout. Between a half-dozen dropped passes (starting with the very first play of the game), quarterback Jake Fromm missing wide-open receivers, a negligible running game, and a previously superb defense getting shown up by a single-game Heisman Trophy highlights reel from Burrow, Georgia basically didn't stand a chance against the Bayou Bengals. Still, if a couple of dropped touchdown passes and two missed field goals had been made by Georgia, it might have been a much closer game. (Even that's not definite, because LSU coach Ed Orgeron pretty much called off the Tigers in the fourth quarter, preferring to eat up clock with running plays rather than allow Burrow to pad the Tigers' 27-point lead.) The passing game again was lacking for the Dawgs, a situation exacerbated by the two leading receivers being unavailable in the first half ( Lawrence Cager to injury, and George Pickens to suspension) and the next best two wideouts ( Dominick Blaylock and Kearis Jackson) going down during the game with injuries. (At times during the game, Georgia's sideline looked like a hospital ward as players were taken off the field.) What was left in Georgia's receiving corps frankly wasn't very good. Also, as had been the case all season long, because the opponent didn't have to worry much about Georgia's air attack, they were able to load up the box against the Dawgs' running game, which was itself a shadow of its former self, as an obviously not-100-percent D'Andre Swift got only 2 carries in the game. ( Brian Herrien led Georgia runners with 24 yards on 8 carries as the Dawgs amassed only 61 yards net rushing for the game, a season low.) Unlike some earlier games this season, head coach Kirby Smart's devotion to the outmoded pro-set offensive philosophy which has become the chief complaint among fans and sports columnists wasn't really the problem against LSU. As Smart noted after the game, the Dawgs 'didn't come out with a mentality of running the ball down your throat today.' No, Georgia came out throwing. They just didn't do a very good job of it. Part of that was due to several dropped passes that should have been caught, including the first throw on the first play of the game to Tyler Simmons. However, another big part of Georgia's offensive futility was the previously reliable Fromm underthrowing or overthrowing wide-open receivers in his fifth straight sub-par performance. What's been wrong with Fromm? Why has a QB who's shown in the past that he can make pin-point throws been so off-target the latter half of this season? Maybe it's poor coaching (with several former players noting his shaky fundamentals of late). Or, perhaps it's a lack of confidence in his receiving corps, depleted after last season and hurt by injuries this year. Smart seemed to opt for putting the onus on the lack of talent at receiver, and personally took the blame, saying, 'The first two years, Jake's numbers were better, so the indicator of that was four wide receivers were on our sideline that were drafted that are playing in the NFL. And the loss of those wideouts, the vertical threat, has probably hurt our team. That's my responsibility, right, to replace them. That's my responsibility to replace them in recruiting, and we probably haven't done a good enough job of that.' For the day, Fromm completed just 20 of 42 passes for 225 yards, one TD and 2 interceptions, as Georgia had 286 yards of total offense, while Burrow made 28 of 38 passes for 349 yards, 4 TDs and no picks. Georgia converted just 3 of its 13 third-down plays while the Tigers made 9 of 16. If you want a silver lining, Georgia converted all three of its fourth-down tries to set an SEC Championship Game record. On the other side of the ball, coming into the game Georgia rankedsecond nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 10.4 points per game, and second nationally in rushing defense (71 yards per game). The thought was that the Dawgs' D would be the best yet faced by a Tigers team that came in ranked second nationally in scoring offense (48.7 points per game).And, sure enough, Georgia did hold LSU to just 17 points in the first half, and, for much of the game, the Tigers' running attack mainly consisted of QB runs by Burrow. But, the one knock on the Georgia defense as they approached the LSU game was that they really had only faced two decent quarterbacks this season, feasting mostly on backups and inexperienced starters. They had not come up against anything like Burrow, who more than lived up to his hype. The third-quarter play where the Tigers QB twice escaped the arms of Georgia's Travon Walker, scrambled until he could find an open receiver, and connected on a 71-yard pass, was the quintessential 'Heisman moment.' As Smart put it after the game, 'You learn in coaching that good players make big-time plays, and that was an incredible play by Joe Burrow.' But Georgia's attempt to mix up its defensive schemes backfired on a number of early plays in the game when the Dawgs, trying to replicate what Auburn did against LSU, rushed only three and put seven men into coverage. However, that ended up allowing Burrow to wait patiently in the pocket to find an open receiver one time for an amazing 8.7 seconds! And, at times, the Tigers' up-tempo attack caught a confused Georgia defense trying in vain to substitute personnel. The Dawgs occasionally did stymie the Tigers' offense, but weren't able to capitalize. Following LSU's first of three 3-and-outs for the day, Georgia couldn't get any momentum, as Fromm was sacked and injured on a safety blitz. When Fromm, ankle heavily taped, returned to the game on Georgia's next series, it looked like he was about to work his old 2-minute-drill magic, only to have LSU's Derek Stingley Jr. grab the first of his two interceptions on the day both cases where Fromm locked in on a receiver who was closely covered by Stingley. There followed, however, the defensive high point of the day for the Dawgs, as they forced three straight Burrow incompletions deep in Georgia territory, and the Tigers missed 48-yard line field goal, keeping the score a respectable 17-3 at halftime. The Georgia defense continued to play stout early in the second half, as LSU opened with a 16-play, 77-yard drive that took nearly 7 minutes off the clock, but resulted only in a field goal. Then came a Georgia drive in which Fromm converted on fourth down with a pass to the previously suspended Pickens (who returned in the second half to have a team-best 4 catches for 54 yards and one TD). It all went for naught, however, after Matt Landers (one of Georgia's most inconsistent receivers) dropped a pass in the end zone and Rodrigo Blankenship missed a field goal attempt, his second errant try of the night. (Blankenship also had a kickoff go out of bounds. As former mentor Kevin Butler said later, 'Rod didn't have a good game.') There immediately followed Burrow's 71-yard masterpiece, which set up an LSU score to put the Tigers up by 27-3. And, then, on Georgia's first play of its next series, Stingley got his second pick of a poor Fromm pass, and, shortly, the Bengals were up 34-3 and the game was, for all intents and purposes, over, with many Georgia fans (who had made up about 70 percent of the crowd) leaving Atlanta's Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Georgia added a late touchdown in the fourth quarter, LSU tacked on another field goal, and that was it for the scoring. So, yes, it was a disappointing night for Bulldogs players and fans. Like I said earlier, LSU obviously was the more talented team, and Georgia would have been hard-pressed to beat the Tigers even if the Dawgs had been healthy and playing at a peak level of performance. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case. A year ago, the late loss to Alabama in the SEC title game left Bulldog Nation angry and frustrated over a game that Georgia should have won. This year, the feeling seems more akin to sad resignation amid the realization that the Dawgs haven't yet become the elite program they aspire to be. Let me hear from you! Well leave the discussion of what changes, if any, Georgia needs to make in order to compete at an elite level until next week, when I'll dip into the Junkyard Mail. So, please share your views on the Dawgs getting blown out in the SEC Championship game, Smart's 'offensive philosophy,' and the 2019 season in general by emailing me at junkyardblawg@gmail.com . The post LSU is the better team, but Dawgs' poor play turned SEC title game into a rout appeared first on DawgNation.

Dominick Blaylock has played the last football game of his freshman season at Georgia. DawgNation has been told that by sources close to that situation. That was to be expected after seeing the way Georgia's third-leading receiver left the field on Saturday night in a cart against LSU. Blaylock has a full ACL tear. He is expected to have a full recovery after falling to the turf after catching a third-and-9 pass from Jake Fromm against LSU on Saturday. He finished his freshman year with 18 catches for 310 yards and five touchdowns. He led all Georgia receivers with at least three catches by averaging 17.2 yards per reception. The expectation with this injury is that he will be fully recovered by the time fall camp rolls round in July of 2020. The post Georgia WR Dominick Blaylock won't be back during his freshman season appeared first on DawgNation.

ATLANTA The numbers wouldn't reflect it, but LSU quarterback Joe Burrow was caught off guard by the Georgia defense in the SEC Championship Game on Saturday night. Burrow, who likely clinched the Heisman Trophy with a commanding performance in the Tigers' 37-10 win over the Bulldogs at Mercedes-Benz Stadium, talked about key adjustments. 'They came out on defense with kind of what Auburn played against us a little bit, and we didn't expect that against Georgia at all,' Burrow said. 'We kind of had to feel our way out a little bit.' Burrow was 28-of-38 passing for 349 yards and 4 touchdowns against a Bulldogs' defense that led the SEC in total defense, scoring defense, rushing defense and pass efficiency defense. Georgia coach Kirby Smart utilized a defensive look that sometimes featured talented freshman safeties Tyrique Stevenson and Lewis Cine walked up into rover spots, replacing outside linebackers. Auburn also went with a 3-1-7 alignment in its 23-20 loss to LSU this season. The extra defensive backs were added to counter LSU's ability to spread the field, the objective to neutralize the Tigers' speed at receiver. The Bulldogs were close to getting a stop on LSU's opening drive, but on third-and-10 at the Georgia 47, Burrow found Terrace Marshall for a 24-yard gain. Burrow was sacked twice, but on several other occasions he scrambled and bought time, improvising when plays broke down. Burrow rushed for 41 yards on nine carries, and LSU was 9 of 16 on third down conversions. 'They did a great job of disguising their blitzes,' Burrow said. 'They had a new package for us the week that I didn't see on film. That's why I was having to make those scrambles.' Burrow's 'Heisman moment' came in the third quarter when LSU took over at its own 20 following a Georgia missed field goal. Burrow dodged UGA freshman defensive lineman Travon Walker, and then seemingly hemmed in by Jordan Davis and Walker, avoided Walker again and rolled right, firing a pass 45 yards downfield to Justin Jefferson. Jefferson ran another 26 yards for a 71-yard gain. I'm so ready for Joe Burrow in the NFL (via @FOXSports) pic.twitter.com/ETeenKzzvl NFL Update (@MySportsUpdate) December 8, 2019 Georgia did force the LSU offense into three, three-and-out series matching Auburn. Put into full context, the Bayou Bengals went three-and-out just 17 times in 12 regular season games. Smart, who said at the beginning of the week this Tigers team represented the greatest challenge of his coaching career, explained how the Bulldogs worked to find an answer for Burrow. 'We had a three man, four man, a five man and a six man rush, and we try to change things up,' Smart said. 'We did a lot of studies going into the game of ways to get incompletions because you're basically fighting for incompletions on them. 'We got pressure, we didn't finish. When we had three man rush, a lot of times he was able to hold the ball, but we had a lot of guys covering, and you're fighting.' Georgia senior safety J.R. Reed boiled it down to the key to the most basic element of LSU's offensive success: Joe Burrow's talent. 'He's a great athlete, man,' Reed said. 'We had a lot of plays out there we were supposed to make, and he'd just squeeze out of it. He did a good job. 'We had a lot of guys on him, and he broke like three or four tackles. He extends a lot of plays.' Tigers coach Ed Orgeron warned anyone who would listen that LSU was going to be able to handle anything Georgia threw at the Tigers. ' I am confident in our football team, they're very confident in their abilities, very confident in their abilities to adjust during the game,' Orgeron said in the days leading up to the game. 'I think we have an excellent coaching staff that people can throw whatever they want after us. 'We're going to have answers and players that can do it.' LSU, the highest scoring offense in SEC history, with the league's newly crowned all-time leading passer, certainly had all the answers on Saturday night. DawgNation Georgia football D'Andre Swift discusses limits and pain in SEC Championship Jake Fromm makes no excuses after defeat in SEC Championship Game What's next for Georgia football: Bowl bid, players leaving, staff changes WATCH: Kirby Smart sheds light on LSU, Jake Fromm passing issues 3 takeaways on Georgia football loss to LSU in SEC title game Bulldogs stock report, LSU crashes Mercedes-Benz Stadium How LSU beat Georgia in SEC title game, scoring, injuries The post LSU quarterback Joe Burrow: Georgia defense had surprises, forced scrambles appeared first on DawgNation.

Nolan Smith finally got the chance to share his freshman story with the media on Saturday night. That was made possible because of the SEC's open locker room policy for both teams after the championship game. It was the same ol' Nolan from the recruiting trail. That big smile. The same confidence and strength and glee that rests over every answer. 'I just think that you don't play the game for yourself,' he said. 'You play the game for the 10 other people that are out there with you. At the end of the day if you play for everybody's goals then your individual goals will be set for the moment.' 'So you shouldn't play for yourself. I even tell my little brother that and he plays baseball. That's supposed to be the most individual sport ever. I say you don't ever want to play for yourself. You don't want to be that selfish person that is like don't ever ask him to do something' because that carries over in life. My roommates call me and say they got a flat tire they know that I am going to come right away just because of the way that I carry myself and the things that I do.' Some of the things he said will sound the same as the information coming from the mouth of any highly-touted freshman. Smith's way of presenting it just makes it seem like there's a heaping of barbecue sauce drizzled over a second plate at the big family cookout. That's the same player who was rated on the 247Sports Composite as the nation's No. 1 overall prospect coming out of IMG Academy in 2019. It was a night DawgNation will likely want to file away for a long winter's nap. Yet Smith's tone served as a reminder that a potential Chase Young talent will be in Athens for at least two more seasons. How does he assess his first year? Smith kept using the word 'learning' over and over. 'I've just got a lot of improvement to do,' he said.'I think I could have had a better year. 'I've got things to improve on.' Smith now has 16 tackles through his first 13 games as a Bulldog. That stat line will include 2.5 sacks and 2.5 tackles for losses. He's 10th on the team in tackles for losses. The naturally gifted pass rusher is also in a five-way tie for second place on the team with his 2.5 sacks. While the Bulldogs did fall by 27 points to LSU, Smith was able to place things in the proper light for a student-athlete who wants to excel in the classroom every bit as much as he does sacking Heisman Trophy contenders like LSU's Joe Burrow. 'I took a lot of rigorous courses and everything like that,' he said. 'I still have a final to take when I get back home. My final Tuesday is at seven o'clock.' It was a different conversation than from when Justin Fields met the media for the first time after the loss to Alabama in the championship game a year ago. This former 5-star flocks to his teammates to spread his energy and support at all times. Whether he is on the field or amid pre-game drills. If he was putting on a face about how much he loves being a Bulldog, then he has a bright future in the acting arena, too. 'I told my little brother if you just want to be a normal student, man Georgia is the place to be,' he said. 'I love it to death.' Nolan Smith: Breaking down his first year as a Bulldog Smith touched on a lot of topics during his first year after enrolling last January in Athens, including: His relationship with roommates Trezmen Marshall and Travon Walker His studies as a civil engineer in the classroom at UGA How he wants to open up his own engineering firm after his football playing days are over His academic rivalry with fellow former 5-star Nakobe Dean as engineering students in Athens How he felt he was being developed his first year at UGA with Dan Laning The post WATCH: Former No. 1 overall prospect Nolan Smith reviews his first year at UGA appeared first on DawgNation.