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Kirby Smart confirms linebacker Roquan Smith will likely miss spring camp
By Will Ogburn
Published:
After DawgPost.com reported that there was a chance linebacker Roquan Smith would miss spring football, head coach Kirby Smart confirmed as much during his introductory spring press conference on Tuesday.
Kirby Smart: Roquan Smith unlikely to play this spring. Riley Ridley to receive "internal discipline" following recent arrest.
— SEC Mike (@MichaelWBratton) March 21, 2017
“Roquan won’t be available most of the spring,” Smart revealed. “We don’t know if we’ll get him back or not, he’ll be out there, obviously, helping us coach when he’s not conditioning. Roquan had a really good year, Roquan is a kid who works as hard as any kid I’ve been around when it comes down to daily practice habits, weight-room habits, he’s a guy that competes his tail off and I think he affects others and I think he’s finding his place right now.”
This absence will be due to injury, not misconduct, as Smith has a torn pectoral muscle that will require surgery. Smith, the Bulldogs’ leading tackler last season with 95, will be entering his third season in Athens. Last year, the linebacker out of Montezuma, GA, Ga., enjoyed a breakout sophomore season where he appeared in all 13 games for the Dawgs.
Smith really came on strong at the end of the season, playing arguably the best football of his career for the Bulldogs during the final two games of the season. The UGA linebacker racked up a whopping 26 tackles against Georgia Tech and TCU – 13 in each game. You could argue that the absence of such an experienced player isn’t likely to cost the Georgia defense this spring, but instead help the team, as now a younger player will likely be given extra reps this spring in place of Smith.
A former resident of both Baton Rouge and the heart of Crimson Tide country, Will Ogburn handles multimedia content and news coverage for Saturday Down South.
