So it goes without saying that our receiving corps has not been exceptional this year. If there will be one truly defining aspect of Georgia Football in 2024, it’s been the case of the stone hands and the case of the missed tackles.
The missed tackles part is team-wide, and there’s not one guy I can say that hasn’t had a case this season. The drops, well, it depends on the game, but Lovett and Smith both have had issues at times. While the drops have made their way across the receiving room, Arian Smith seems to be the target of much of Dawgnation’s vitriol, which peaked on Friday night as Arian had some drops, one of which would’ve ended the game.
This unleashed the ugly side of fandom. The image below shows a stacking of posts when you search “Arian Smith” on X, and you kind of get the picture of the duality of support he’s received throughout his career. Some posts celebrate his triumphs, but much of this year has focused on his shortcomings. One post Friday night encouraged Arian to unalive himself. Not in a round about way, either, just blatantly saying it.
Prior to the season, Smith had been pretty limited in his touches in his career. In his previous four seasons, Arian had 20 receptions for 539 yards. Contrast that to 2024, where Arian is second in receptions only to Lovett, with 42 catches and 709 yards receiving. With 1248 career receiving yards, Arian is roughly 100 yards away from eclipsing George Pickens in all-time receiving yards at UGA. Lovett is not far behind. Smith is currently wedged between Sean Bailey and Randy McMichael on the all-time stat sheet, and can make the top 20 by season/playoffs end.
One of the things that stands out to me from above is that Arian played in a lot of games his sophomore and junior year, but didn’t see the ball very much. From one part need and another part departing talent, Arian’s work increased this year. While we can remember some drops like those against Tech, Tennessee, and Alabama, I can likewise think of more than a few plays where Arian was key to sparking a drive or maintaining it. Florida and Texas come to mind, both of which were games where Beck wasn’t playing well at all. The reverse run against Tech is something that people may have quickly forgotten about because of the drop, but it was Smith who aided in sparking the comeback. Don’t forget, either, that Smith knocked a Tech defender out on the play, as well.
But to be in a program for five years, to have made some memorable catches in big games as he did with limited action, Arian is still here. Some others are not. Meeks went and had a season at Syracuse. Two others have missed the field because of off-the-field issues. One got into a reckless driving issue in the off-season. Arian has not.
If anything, Arian has proven to be a die-hard, through-and-through ‘Dawg. He put in the work, runs and tackles bigger than himself, and does it without any appreciation from the fanbase who focuses on the shortcomings more than the successes. I won’t say there’s been an abundance of one versus the other, but consider some stats, instead:
While I thought that number would be higher, it’s not. It’s possibly because we’re viewing “always” when it’s really “seldom” but we are myopic in this generalization because the drops have come on some potential big plays. What’s being missed here is that he’s caught a great number of balls, made some big plays, and has continued selflessly each and every game, as he’s done in his five years as a member of the Georgia Bulldogs football team.
I’m a bit of a homer here…I did say at the start of the season that I hoped to see Christen Miller and Arian Smith have breakout seasons. To a statistical point, Arian has. He’s more than doubled his total career receptions and positioned himself to be on the history books of Georgia football for years to come. And before we wrap judgment on Smith, or any other receiver who has suffered from drops this year, remember this:
I have many fond memories of both the Edwards’ at Georgia. I also remember the drop in 2002 against the Handbags, as well. But that’s not how I remember Terrence Edwards, at all.
I’m not asking anyone to forget the drops. Remember them as you will. I will remember last Friday’s game for a host of other reasons, mainly that we won and Tech lost. How we did it is of little consequence, it can’t be changed but the good guys came out on top.
Just like they did against Ohio State in 2022. We remember that, as well as Arian’s touchdown. I’ll remember Arian’s crucial 3rd down catch against Texas that occurred right before the razzle-dazzle play to Delp that lead to a long scoring drive. There are others, but they are a wash in a series of wins or losses, and thank God we’ve been blessed enough that most of those memories have been on the happy side for us.
We can cuss about the drops and hiccups in our living rooms, the stands, at tailgates, or in our forums. But when we go public with threats and wishes to do harm, it’s not just the guys we currently care about who are playing their asses off for the G, but the other potential athletes who see it having a doubt if they want to come play for the University of Georgia. It’s not a good look, and not one we hope to project in a league where we are surrounded by plenty of assholes who take the cake on that behavior, anyway.
And it’s especially toxic to direct it personally to the guy who has busted his tail in one of the premier college football programs in the country for five years of his life, through thick and through thin. He’s survived Bloody Tuesdays, public criticism, and yet will be playing in his fourth SEC Championship Game on Saturday.
By the way, Arian’s never dropped a pass in the Benz in five appearances there in his career.
I’ve got my fingers crossed that streak continues, and that Arian has the game and post-season that I’ve been rooting for all season long.
So, to Arian Smith, with all due respect…keep chopping wood.
Go ‘Dawgs.
Who needs eliminating are the non-fans who leave early to beat traffic because things don’t look good, the boo birds, the bandwagoneers and the ones who talk shit about players and coaches the moment things aren’t going the way they’d prefer. And btw, being whiny and knowing everything better than the coaches isn’t some badge of honor which exalts your fandom by demonstrating your acceptance of only greatness for your team. Not at all. It makes you a repulsive and repugnant annoyance and thats before we get to completely fos.
Change teams or go watch fucking pro ‘rasslin and leave the rest of us the fuck alone ffs.
The singular job of fans is to give support to the players and coaches at all times. The players and coaches don’t owe fans results. A real fan knows that he is not entitled to a damn thing.
I wish there was a validation and elimination program for this shit. If I could have celebrated in Indy and LA with only the fans who suffered the homecoming loss to Vandy in 1994 until the bitter end I’d have been just a tad happier. Knowing that among the folks there wearing red and black were the types described above shades the whole experience.
“Ride or die” and if you can’t do that, then give up your fucking seat to someone who will.
“These nabobs. I hate them. I do hate them.”
With all due respect, Derek, this isn’t the same game as it was five or ten years ago. I ride or die for Georgia, but free agency has changed the idea of loyalty to players. This isn’t the special olympics where you cheer the guy dragging his dick in the dirt. They are getting paid to play the game, and professionals get criticized all the time. It comes with the territory.
Amen. If they don’t like it they can work somewhere else for a lot less.
Criticism is one thing, telling them to go unalive themselves is totally over the line. Would these people tell their family members to do the same if they made a mistake, wait don’t answer that because some of those miserable F’s would.
I agree. No one should wish harm on someone else. That goes beyond criticism to psychosis. Wishing someone would catch a ball and being openly disappointed when they don’t is not in the same stratosphere as wishing injury or death on someone. One comes with the territory of big time football. The other is evil, and shouldn’t be tolerated.
Derek there was a time I would have agreed 100% with every word there. cpadawg makes some very good points. While I’ll always ride or die for Georgia. I do now understand increased expectations with players making big money.
My wife no longer asks how much did we spend because she doesn’t want to know. It’s a totally new deal for fans and players wallets. They are pro players with options twice a year to just leave. Even NFL players aren’t free agents twice per year. I love hearing Georgia players tell each other DYJ do your job.
Fans are by definition not the most reasonable people. Publicly attacking players is wrong, stupid and self defeating for fans. Every team has idiot fans. The more you win the bigger the bandwagon and Georgia is no exception. I hate it wish they would all STFU but now I do grudgingly understand the venting for those invested enough to buy tickets and travel. Acting a fool on the internet seems to attract and encourage more morons annually to join in the race to the bottom. It’s not getting better anytime soon. I just avoid toxicity whenever possible.
Lots of things are unavoidable. Doesn’t mean I have to enjoy them all.
Dan Jackson isn’t even on scholly and do you know Arian’s salary? I don’t. Find out. Publish them all and make it clear to us who is worthy of booing and maybe we can have number signs we can hold up when the need arises.
But, why the fuck should you show up and boo the Falcons (or whatever your pro team is)? What’s the point? How much do they get paid to where it makes sense for you to boo your own team? To what end? What is being accomplished?
Is salary connected to jumping on a bandwagon? If the Falcons win two super bowls in a row is it cool to suddenly buy a bunch of gear and be total dick when they lose to the Panthers because they get paid?
And if you’re worried about the traffic, sit your ass on the couch.
Finally, the fact that your qb is getting paid doesn’t give a fan any greater insight into why that last play didn’t work well. I think that covers it all:
Booing is dumb. Don’t jump on a bandwagon and be a dick. Don’t buy a ticket if your priority is beating traffic. Finally, a fans constant sighing and whining about plays don’t go well is very likely ill informed.
I don’t care how many likes this gets, its a shitty take.
F that at the pro level. I’m booing Jerry Jones, Dak and McCarthy every chance I get to voice my displeasure with the terrible results while still charging premium ticket prices. Never at the kids at the college level, but unfortunately the gap is narrowing. And I’m booing refs, fake injuries and some boneheaded HC decisions. This is entertainment so entertain me. If you do it poorly when you can do better or break the rules in spirit if not in fact then you’ll hear about it.
That nice guy up there in the Brock Bowers jersey is our answer to that Tennessee character from last year. We got ’em too. Whatcha gonna do?
Very good read, JP…I agree with every word.
Thank you for this post. As frustrating as this year’s team leading the nation in drops, it’s nice to see all the numbers. Fired up to see our guys paint a masterpiece Saturday Afternoon!
#GoDawgs
#HornsDown
I’ve been critical of Arian for several years now, but this year his drops have seemed to stand out more because it could be argued that he’s our WR #1. That being said, your article really puts everything in perspective and I will offer him a sincere apology. I think it’s safe to say that while his drops have been frustrating, we can’t point to a single one that has cost us a game while we can definitely point to several that have either won us games or helped significantly.
My only other comment is I hope you didn’t jinx him with that comment about MBS.
Did anyone else pucker when the announcer casually observed that we hadn’t yet missed an XP kick after the last TD vs. Tech?
Every… single… time…
Lol. Hey, it was the guy on X, I just put it in here as a notice. Hopefully I didn’t jinx the guy but just offered some perspective…I saw some of these stats rolling out through the week in defense of him and it gave me some pause.
Nobody should wish Arian harm.
That being said, there is more glaze in here than Krispy Kreme. These aren’t amateurs anymore. They are getting paid six figures in NIL money to play the game, and they can declare for free agency literally at any point in the season. Are they really above criticism?
Arian’s job is to catch the ball. He does it 84% of the time. That number is too low, and I think it is being generous. He’s dropping 1 out of 7 catchable balls thrown his way. (I wonder what the drop rate is beyond 10 yards from the line of scrimmage.) If you throw a 50-50 ball to Arian, it’s really a 42-58 ball. If you have fourth down, game on the line, one play to win or lose… are you throwing it to Arian? When he drops it, are you going to say, “Well that one Tech player concussed himself trying to target Arian, and he is hell on wheels on the end around, so Arian is practically Emeka Egbuka.”?
If he hadn’t dropped those passes, he would have been a 1,000-yard receiver. Imagine how different we would view him and his career… but he didn’t make those catches. That’s kind of the rub. It’s not just one in a big game like Edwards against Florida. It’s again and again when UGA is fighting for its life. The team leads the nation in dropped passes, and he is the chief offender. He probably gets more criticism because of the epidemic of drops, but whether that is fair or not doesn’t change the reality.
Arian ran the wrong route against Texas and the play ended in a pick. Doesn’t count as a drop, but it was a massive mistake. It got Texas back in the game. He didn’t get the audible in the Alabama game, the throw was a pick six. Huge moment in that game. Not a drop, but a mistake. When you make mistakes in big games and in big moments, they tend to stand out, and people remember them. When you make mistakes and also drop a lot of passes, you run out of goodwill from the fan base.
Brock Bowers had drops. You know why he didn’t get hell for it? They were few and far between, and the rest of the time he was putting the team on his back. Ryan Williams for Alabama has drops. Why doesn’t he get hell for it? Because the rest of the time, he is running circles around defensive backs. Mistakes happen, but people are willing to overlook them if they feel the good outweighs the bad. If he wants to make people forget, go make a play. Catch one of those deep shots that are contested balls to start the game. Catch a pass and breakaway for a TD. Do something memorable. Be a game changer.
Ultimately, though, this is on Kirby. The WR room is a mess. The transfers have been underwhelming, nobody can catch, and there is not one receiving threat that teams have to think twice about. Anything that works is because of scheme and the QB. That is the biggest area of weakness on the team, and I hope Kirby can get that figured out.
I agree with most of this. AS is a DGD but fans can criticize obvious mistakes when, for most of us, it’s with a mutual desire for the kids to play to their full potential. Arian is WR#1 and EARNED it. He could be legendary and with the upcoming games, who knows? Still a great chance to go down as one of our greatest…we all want that for him. But he has more than 8 drops if you count those busted assignments. He might have less when you look at each one to determine if it was Beck throwing behind or a defender getting him off stride. As WR#1 he’s also the poster child for all the team drops…where we lead the NCAA! Comes with the job. The drops have arguably cost Carson some $$$$ in the draft. There’s a real problem and for everyone to be frustrated is normal. I’m sure the players are far more than even the fans.
Yelling at any of them to catch the fucking ball in the moment is fair. Wishing them harm from your keyboard is criminal stupidity.
Great perspective and post, JP. Thanks for that. Arian gets too much shit for his drops and has become the poster child for all the drops by the receivers.
Arian is the best gunner in college football…
Hands down the best! You keep helping the special teams and we can live with a drop or two or eight.
It is sad to see how uncivilized society has become and the fan who wanted Arian to harm himself is representative of that. I remember when we had people TP Aaron’s house because he was not perfect enough. If watching college football drives you those extremes step away. It is a game and we are fans. People who support our team not tear them down.
Good write-up! Criticism of players who don’t live up to our expectations/hope is just human nature. The insanity of wishing for harm for anyone over a sporting event is despicable & sadly, very common in our society. One of the by products of a free society is the freedom to show everyone what an asshole you are. There are many waiting for their turn to do just that.
I love Arian, and I’m really grateful for the winning moments he’s provided to bulldog nation. But let’s not downplay how bad of an issue his drops have been this season. I think that tweet above ironically provided damning evidence against Arian.
He’s dropped 8 out of 66 passes this year. That’s a 12% drop rate, which is atrocious. For reference, the average drop rate in the NFL is less than 4%. The Green Bay Packers have the worst drop rate in the league this year at ~7.5%. So he’s 3x worse than the NFL average and 1.5x worse than the worst NFL wr group.
The issue is also magnified by the fact that a lot of his drops have come on critical plays that were schemed for big moments in the game. Like the opening drive deep shot against UT or the game winning score against GT.
He needs to be better, plain and simple. I believe he can, and will.
As mad as I get during the drops I remind myself he’s a Dawg and that’s more than ok with me. Dawgs are family (assuming you get along with your family).
Mr. JPM,
What a great article. I hope every Dawg fan reads and understand what you had to say.
Let’s celebrate the good plays and hurt just as much as Arian does when something goes wrong. When it is all over Arian will be remembered as a Damn Good Dawg. He could have transferred and helped any other team, but he stuck with his teammates, and you don’t see that often in today’s sports.
Arian, we are all pulling for you and the Dawgs. GO DAWGS.
I have opined at times that Arian would struggle catching an STD in a Tijuana brothel. I have also suggested that a football throwing machine would likely cause serious injury to the boy but It’s not anything I’ve never said about any number of Dawg receivers down through the years. It doesn’t mean I don’t want the best for them or that I’m not a true fan or wish anything ill on them at all. It’s something anyone whose played at any level learns very early: If your QB hits you in the hands and you drop it? You’re gonna catch some shit. Football is not a nice sport. Coaches are not nice people, especially if you fuck up. I’ll defend my comments with that.
If I can only be excited when good stuff happens I’m going to get banned. But I’m with several of you: Wishing harm crosses the line but that’s rife nowadays since any dipshit can voice any thought at any time with little repercussion.
Lighten up … the guy was obviously kidding. He was repeating what Kirby said after a recent game “that the whole team needs to be eliminated.” Was he not kidding too?.
Are you sure you’re not thinking of John McKay?