Quick Chat: Nolan Smith
January 05, 2022 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
Nolan Smith isn't shy about his skills in the kitchen. The 6-foot-3 and 225-pound Georgia linebacker isn't just making grilled cheese sandwiches or scrambled eggs at home. No, he'll make risotto, steak, or just about anything that comes to mind.
A junior from Savannah, Ga., Smith is a civil engineering major and he wants to own an engineering firm once his playing days are behind him. Until then, Smith is hitting the books and hitting opposing ball-carriers. Heading into Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Smith is fifth on Georgia's top-rated defense with 49 tackles, and his 7.0 tackles for loss are tied for third on the team.
During a Quick Chat on Wednesday, Smith talked about what it's like preparing for Monday's game, his skills in the kitchen, how he relaxes away from football, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: How does it feel knowing you're one of only two teams still playing, one of two teams with a chance at a national championship?
Smith: I don't really think about it in those terms. Just because you could be one of two, you could be one or two. This is the big dance and I'm happy that we're in it, and I trust me and my brothers that we'll go and finish the job.
Frierson: Do allow yourself to think about what that might feel like? Or is it dangerous to allow yourself to daydream about that?
Smith: I think it's dangerous, I think it's like jinxing yourself. [Knocks on the desk next to him] I'm knocking on wood now. You don't usually think about the reward after, you think about the process and enjoy the process. That's what I've gotten from being here at Georgia.
You're thinking of the game and I'm thinking, this is my last Tuesday practice and how can I make it my best Tuesday ever.
Frierson: Being a very smart guy and a very good student as well, do you approach academics the same way?
Smith: Yeah, 100%. One thing I learned in academics is when the first class starts, you grind during hard hours, and then when add/drop comes and people start dropping (the class), you realize the class gets easier. But then toward finals, that's the next time you've got to make that step and grind even harder.
Frierson: What is the best play of your athletic career? Is there one that immediately comes to mind?
Smith: I'd say the best play, well, it's got to do with broken bones. I crackbacked somebody and broke both of their clavicles. I thought that was one of the plays — I was in eighth grade. At that point, I realized that I wanted to play defense.
Frierson: Do you feel guilty when something like that happens? You were just doing your job but still, that had to hurt.
Smith: Yeah, I feel kind of guilty. Two weeks later I see the guy at the fair and he has a full harness on. I just was like, man, it's all in the game, and he was like, it's OK, man, can you sign my cast. It was pretty cool, but I didn't mean to do all of that.
Frierson: Did you at least buy him some cotton candy or something?
Smith: [Laughs] Yeah, I bought him some popcorn and stuff.
Frierson: Who is the funniest guy on the team?
Smith: Oh, man, we've got a lot of characters. I'd have to say (freshman defensive lineman) Marlin Dean. There are a lot of the freshmen that are hilarious — I think our whole freshman class is pretty funny.
Frierson: What was your favorite toy when you were a kid?
Smith: I would say my GameCube. They don't make games like that anymore. I didn't have to buy a new system every week. The system didn't cost $500 and the games were like $10-20, and now they're like $75-80. The GameCube was amazing, and it was basically indestructible. Now, if you drop one of those games, it shatters into pieces.
Frierson: How have you filled your time away from football over the last month or so since school's been out?
Smith: I've mostly been hanging out with my girlfriend (Aubrey). I met my girlfriend my freshman year and she's been my friend, and then we pursued a relationship during COVID. We live right by each other, and having someone to lean on and get your mind away, I talk to her about everything: football, school. She's just someone that I go to.
Frierson: What part of college are you so much better at now than you were when you first got here? Is there one area that the difference is night and day?
Smith: If people sit here and answer that question and talk about football, they're lying. I'm 100% better at getting around campus. I'm not 10 minutes, 15 minutes late to class. My freshman year, it was hard, and you're nervous about being late to class.
I'm one of those people, I don't like being late to anything, so I'm frustrated that I'm late, and on top of that I'm frustrated that the bus didn't take the route it was supposed to or I didn't get on the right bus and now I think I'm right in front of the building where I have class and I'm really three miles away and I've got to walk now because all of the buses are gone.
I 100% move around campus better. I know where everything is and I think that just makes it easier. My freshman year, I was just reading (the names of) halls, like Park Hall, Vandiver Hall — I was like, I don't even know where any of these places are. I don't care if you map them out and show them, it's still hard to find them.
The campus is spread out, but once you get going it gets a whole lot smaller. I remember, every day I used to pass the stadium. It was so surreal, like, wow, I'm really playing football at the University of Georgia. I'm really going to class at 9 o'clock in the morning, I'm really a college kid. You start to settle in and then you're like, I need to start behaving like a college kid.
My girlfriend, she was my best friend at that point and she used to drive me around and point me to my classes. She helped me so much. Those were the little things that I relied on when she was just my friend.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Smith: Seafood, crabs, king crab — man, I could eat king crab every day. You can put it in anything, rice, you can make omelets with it. I'm from Savannah, Ga., so I love seafood.
Frierson: How are you in the kitchen? Can you prepare anything like that?
Smith: I can prepare anything. I can cook deer; I wrap my venison in bacon, I'll wrap my filets in bacon. I've got a cast-iron skillet. One of the things people don't know about me is I'm a great cook. I grew with a single mother, and my mom and grandma doing Thanksgiving, and I used to help make the side dishes and stuff. I can carve a turkey, I can fry a turkey, I can do whatever you need.
Frierson: Say you're inviting your fellow linebackers over for dinner, what are you going to cook in order to show off your skills a little bit?
Smith: I might make a risotto; I love making risotto. I might put a little bit of steak in there since I know I've got some big boys. I'm going to do snap peas — I don't do peas out of a can, I'm going to Fresh Market to get some snap peas. And then I'll probably cook steaks on the cast-iron skillet, then I'll have some lobster that I'll boil, some king crab legs, the big ones with the thorns and just boil those. You've got to cut those open with the scissors.
I'll also make sure it looks very elegant, very nice.
Frierson: Are you watching a lot of cooking shows and videos on YouTube?
Smith: I watch Food Network all the time, and on YouTube I'll watch Gordon Ramsay almost every day. I'll watch him use $1,000 ingredients, truffles and stuff like that. I just think that's cool, how much stuff people can put in food.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Staff Writer
Nolan Smith isn't shy about his skills in the kitchen. The 6-foot-3 and 225-pound Georgia linebacker isn't just making grilled cheese sandwiches or scrambled eggs at home. No, he'll make risotto, steak, or just about anything that comes to mind.
A junior from Savannah, Ga., Smith is a civil engineering major and he wants to own an engineering firm once his playing days are behind him. Until then, Smith is hitting the books and hitting opposing ball-carriers. Heading into Monday's College Football Playoff National Championship Game, Smith is fifth on Georgia's top-rated defense with 49 tackles, and his 7.0 tackles for loss are tied for third on the team.
During a Quick Chat on Wednesday, Smith talked about what it's like preparing for Monday's game, his skills in the kitchen, how he relaxes away from football, and much more. Here's some of what he had to say:
Frierson: How does it feel knowing you're one of only two teams still playing, one of two teams with a chance at a national championship?
Smith: I don't really think about it in those terms. Just because you could be one of two, you could be one or two. This is the big dance and I'm happy that we're in it, and I trust me and my brothers that we'll go and finish the job.
Frierson: Do allow yourself to think about what that might feel like? Or is it dangerous to allow yourself to daydream about that?
Smith: I think it's dangerous, I think it's like jinxing yourself. [Knocks on the desk next to him] I'm knocking on wood now. You don't usually think about the reward after, you think about the process and enjoy the process. That's what I've gotten from being here at Georgia.
You're thinking of the game and I'm thinking, this is my last Tuesday practice and how can I make it my best Tuesday ever.
Frierson: Being a very smart guy and a very good student as well, do you approach academics the same way?
Smith: Yeah, 100%. One thing I learned in academics is when the first class starts, you grind during hard hours, and then when add/drop comes and people start dropping (the class), you realize the class gets easier. But then toward finals, that's the next time you've got to make that step and grind even harder.
Frierson: What is the best play of your athletic career? Is there one that immediately comes to mind?
Smith: I'd say the best play, well, it's got to do with broken bones. I crackbacked somebody and broke both of their clavicles. I thought that was one of the plays — I was in eighth grade. At that point, I realized that I wanted to play defense.
Frierson: Do you feel guilty when something like that happens? You were just doing your job but still, that had to hurt.
Smith: Yeah, I feel kind of guilty. Two weeks later I see the guy at the fair and he has a full harness on. I just was like, man, it's all in the game, and he was like, it's OK, man, can you sign my cast. It was pretty cool, but I didn't mean to do all of that.
Frierson: Did you at least buy him some cotton candy or something?
Smith: [Laughs] Yeah, I bought him some popcorn and stuff.
Frierson: Who is the funniest guy on the team?
Smith: Oh, man, we've got a lot of characters. I'd have to say (freshman defensive lineman) Marlin Dean. There are a lot of the freshmen that are hilarious — I think our whole freshman class is pretty funny.
Frierson: What was your favorite toy when you were a kid?
Smith: I would say my GameCube. They don't make games like that anymore. I didn't have to buy a new system every week. The system didn't cost $500 and the games were like $10-20, and now they're like $75-80. The GameCube was amazing, and it was basically indestructible. Now, if you drop one of those games, it shatters into pieces.
Frierson: How have you filled your time away from football over the last month or so since school's been out?
Smith: I've mostly been hanging out with my girlfriend (Aubrey). I met my girlfriend my freshman year and she's been my friend, and then we pursued a relationship during COVID. We live right by each other, and having someone to lean on and get your mind away, I talk to her about everything: football, school. She's just someone that I go to.
Frierson: What part of college are you so much better at now than you were when you first got here? Is there one area that the difference is night and day?
Smith: If people sit here and answer that question and talk about football, they're lying. I'm 100% better at getting around campus. I'm not 10 minutes, 15 minutes late to class. My freshman year, it was hard, and you're nervous about being late to class.
I'm one of those people, I don't like being late to anything, so I'm frustrated that I'm late, and on top of that I'm frustrated that the bus didn't take the route it was supposed to or I didn't get on the right bus and now I think I'm right in front of the building where I have class and I'm really three miles away and I've got to walk now because all of the buses are gone.
I 100% move around campus better. I know where everything is and I think that just makes it easier. My freshman year, I was just reading (the names of) halls, like Park Hall, Vandiver Hall — I was like, I don't even know where any of these places are. I don't care if you map them out and show them, it's still hard to find them.
The campus is spread out, but once you get going it gets a whole lot smaller. I remember, every day I used to pass the stadium. It was so surreal, like, wow, I'm really playing football at the University of Georgia. I'm really going to class at 9 o'clock in the morning, I'm really a college kid. You start to settle in and then you're like, I need to start behaving like a college kid.
My girlfriend, she was my best friend at that point and she used to drive me around and point me to my classes. She helped me so much. Those were the little things that I relied on when she was just my friend.
Frierson: What's something you could eat every day and never get tired of it?
Smith: Seafood, crabs, king crab — man, I could eat king crab every day. You can put it in anything, rice, you can make omelets with it. I'm from Savannah, Ga., so I love seafood.
Frierson: How are you in the kitchen? Can you prepare anything like that?
Smith: I can prepare anything. I can cook deer; I wrap my venison in bacon, I'll wrap my filets in bacon. I've got a cast-iron skillet. One of the things people don't know about me is I'm a great cook. I grew with a single mother, and my mom and grandma doing Thanksgiving, and I used to help make the side dishes and stuff. I can carve a turkey, I can fry a turkey, I can do whatever you need.
Frierson: Say you're inviting your fellow linebackers over for dinner, what are you going to cook in order to show off your skills a little bit?
Smith: I might make a risotto; I love making risotto. I might put a little bit of steak in there since I know I've got some big boys. I'm going to do snap peas — I don't do peas out of a can, I'm going to Fresh Market to get some snap peas. And then I'll probably cook steaks on the cast-iron skillet, then I'll have some lobster that I'll boil, some king crab legs, the big ones with the thorns and just boil those. You've got to cut those open with the scissors.
I'll also make sure it looks very elegant, very nice.
Frierson: Are you watching a lot of cooking shows and videos on YouTube?
Smith: I watch Food Network all the time, and on YouTube I'll watch Gordon Ramsay almost every day. I'll watch him use $1,000 ingredients, truffles and stuff like that. I just think that's cool, how much stuff people can put in food.
(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)
Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
Players Mentioned
DL
/ Football
OLB
/ FootballGeorgia Football Game Trailer vs Alabama - The Epicenter
Friday, September 26
Georgia Football - Quintavius Johnson Pre-Alabama Press Conference
Tuesday, September 23
Georgia Football - Kirby Smart Pre-Alabama Press Conference
Tuesday, September 23
Georgia Football - Oscar Delp Pre-Alabama Press Conference
Tuesday, September 23
