Georgia’s Roquan Smith gearing up for the Rose Bowl
Georgia’s Smith finally playing at Rose Bowl Stadium
Had prized linebacker Roquan Smith signed with UCLA instead of just committing to the Bruins on Feb. 4, 2015, playing at Rose Bowl Stadium would be no big deal.
Smith instead signed with Georgia, which is preparing for its first trip to the Rose Bowl in 75 seasons. The Bulldogs are seeded third in college football’s four-team playoff and will face second-seeded Oklahoma on New Year’s Day in a matchup of 12-1 teams.
UCLA, incidentally, is 18-19 in the three seasons Smith has been in Athens.
“It’s crazy to think about all the ‘what ifs,’” Smith said this week in a news conference. “I can only really envision seeing myself here. I can’t really see myself anywhere else.”
Smith held his signing day announcement in his hometown of Montezuma, Ga., sitting at a table with cards of his finalists: UCLA, Michigan, Georgia and Texas A&M. He committed to the Bruins live on ESPNU but never signed his letter of intent due to the possibility of Bruins defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich leaving to become the linebackers coach for new Atlanta Falcons head coach Dan Quinn.
Ulbrich did make the move to the NFL, so Smith signed a financial-aid agreement with Georgia nine days later and eventually inked his letter of intent with the Bulldogs, thus resulting in the longer gap between playing in Pasadena after taking a recruiting trip there.
“It’s pretty awesome knowing we have the opportunity to actually go out there and play in the Rose Bowl,” Smith said. “It’s a historic field, and it’s where a lot of legends have played.”
Smith could be viewed some day as a Rose Bowl legend, with the 6-foot-1, 225-pounder having earned unanimous All-America honors this season as well as the Butkus Award, which is given annually to the nation’s top linebacker. He has 113 tackles, 17 quarterback hurries, 10.5 tackles for loss, 5.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble on a defense that ranks fourth nationally in yards (270.9) and points (13.2) allowed per game.
In Georgia’s 28-7 win over Auburn earlier this month in the Southeastern Conference championship game, Smith earned MVP honors by racking up 13 tackles, including two for lost yardage, and two fumble recoveries.
Across the line of scrimmage from Smith in Pasadena will be Oklahoma quarterback Baker Mayfield, who ran away with this year’s Heisman Trophy. Mayfield has thrown for 41 touchdowns and suffered just five interceptions for the Big 12 champions, but neither Smith nor Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart is wanting to frame this contest as a showdown of superstars.
“We can’t make this Roquan Smith against Baker Mayfield, because that’s not the case,” Smart said. “He’s not assigned to Baker. He’s assigned to a gap. He’s assigned to a coverage responsibility. He’s assigned to a running back man-to-man. He has all kinds of assignments, and it’s not as simple as Roquan versus Baker Mayfield.
“Roquan has to play within our system, and he may end up in a matchup with him sometimes, but we have other guys we can spy with and other guys who have to rush and contain the quarterback. He’s certainly going to be a key factor in getting our defense lined up correctly, which is the most important thing.”
Smith also isn’t focused on the decision he’ll soon have to make about returning for his senior season or leaving for the NFL. Instead, it’s all about Georgia’s talented defense facing an Oklahoma attack that averages 583.3 yards and 44.9 points per game.
No team in the nation averages more yards per game than the Sooners.
“You’re definitely excited for any new challenge that comes in life,” Smith said. “They have a phenomenal offense, and we’re looking forward to the opportunity to match up with those guys. To be the best, you have to go up against the best, and we’ve got to face the best college football player in America.”
Expected haul
Georgia entered today’s start of the early signing period with the nation’s No. 3 class of commitments, according to 247Sports.com, and with the potential of being No. 1 by tonight.
The Bulldogs already have five top-50 commitments: quarterback Justin Fields (No. 2) of Kennesaw, Ga.; running back Zamir White (No. 6) of Laurinburg, N.C.; outside linebacker Adam Anderson (No. 18) of Rome, Ga.; running back James Cook (No. 31) of Miami and guard Trey Hill (No. 38) of Warner Robins, Ga. Anderson is the only one of those five not expected to sign today.
Georgia also is in the mix for three uncommitted top 25 national prospects expected to announce today: guard Jamaree Salyer (No. 10) of Atlanta, tackle Cade Mays (No. 16) of Knoxville and defensive end Brenton Cox (No. 22) of Stockbridge, Ga. All three visited Athens last weekend.
The Bulldogs could have at least 15 early signees overall.