New Falcons LB coach Jeff Ulbrich (AP file)
Jeff Ulbrich, who was officially hired by the Atlanta Falcons on Monday, told Roquan Smith that he "declined the job offer" from the NFL team on the eve of last week's signing day.
Smith, the 4-star linebacker from Macon County, famously committed to UCLA over UGA in front of ESPN cameras last Wednesday, but held off from signing with the Bruins after reports surfaced later in the day that Ulbrich (then UCLA’s defensive coordinator) had accepted a job with the Falcons.
Smith heard a different story from Ulbrich the night before.
"Coach Ulbricht did say that Coach Dan Quinn (of the Atlanta Falcons) had called him the night before, but he had declined the job offer," Smith told UGASports.com's Jake Reuse on Wednesday.
“I felt like Coach (Jim) Mora should have hit me up and said there’s potential that Coach Ulbrich may be leaving. Then, they tried to get me to go ahead and send the papers in, but I wasn’t doing it. They tried to get me to send them in at 8 in the morning.”
Macon County coach Larry Harold told the AJC on Wednesday night that he expects Smith to pick a school on Friday among his finalists of UCLA, UGA, Texas A&M and Michigan.
Ulbrich was announced as the Falcons’ new linebackers coach on Monday.
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