After junior safety Christopher Smith made his first career start in Georgia’s loss to Florida, he wanted to talk to Richard LeCounte. LeCounte’s injuries in a motorcycle accident after the Kentucky game the previous Saturday kept him out against the Gators, and Smith had been pressed into duty to replace him.
It wasn’t exactly the kind of first start Smith wanted. Florida quarterback Kyle Trask racked up 474 passing yards and four touchdowns in the 44-28 win Saturday in Jacksonville, and the Bulldogs' banged-up secondary struggled throughout the game.
“I talked to him a little bit after the game and told him I just had to step up a little bit more,” Smith said Tuesday. “I had a couple mistakes here and there, and I was playing pretty much assignment football. I want to go out there and play way better for the team next game.”
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said after the game that not having LeCounte wasn’t why the defense underperformed, but Smith wanted to make sure LeCounte knew that he wasn’t going to let it happen again.
“I thought Chris handled communication very well. He’s very bright, communicates in a lot of ways just as good as Richard,” Smart said Saturday. “Our breakdowns had a lot more to do between linebackers and coverage, communication of the free safety and the corners in the boundary, and some really bad eye control.”
Smith’s high school coach, Winston Gordon, also describes Smith as bright. It’s the first description that came to mind when he spoke with the AJC on Tuesday afternoon.
“Chris Smith was a bright kid,” Gordon said. “... He always had the heart of a lion and would do anything to get out there on the football field and play. He was such a bright kid, and it was reflective in him leading the team and being a captain his senior year.”
Across Smith’s four years playing for Gordon at Hapeville Charter, the Hornets went from 5-6 in Smith’s freshman year to 14-1 and the Class 2A state title in his senior year in 2017. Their lone loss was to Thompson (Ala.) High School, where Taulia Tagovailoa was playing at the time. Hapeville lost by one point.
In the state championship game that season, Smith’s pick-six on the first series of the game set the tone for what ended up a 35-23 win over Rabun County.
Gordon uses the word cornerstone to describe what Smith means to Hapeville’s football program. Even now, when Gordon takes his current team to visit his former players at their various colleges, Smith is one of the first players they go to see.
“We’ll take them to see the other players so it inspires them,” Gordon said. “Chris Smith is definitely an inspiration to these kids and this community. He’s just a great person. I love the person before I even love the football player.”
CBS Sports reported Saturday that LeCounte would be out 4-6 weeks, which would be for the rest of the season. Smart was more optimistic Tuesday but didn’t provide a specific timeline on when LeCounte would be able to return. Until and unless LeCounte gets healthy, Smith will continue to start in his place.
Gordon has the utmost confidence in his former player’s ability to step up and perform well, and so do Smith’s teammates.
“Chris is very vocal (and) physical, and that’s something you want as a safety who is right next to you,” defensive back Mark Webb said last week. “He does his job very well and is ready for the opportunity that’s in front of him.”
“He’s a dog. Always practices hard, always running through the line, always pushes himself,” defensive back Tyson Campbell added. “He’s a very hard worker. Very talented and I’m confident in what he can do for us. I’m not worried.”
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