Georgia linebacker Roquan Smith declares for 2018 NFL Draft
By Brad Weiss
One of the best linebackers in college football has decided to head to the next level, as Roquan Smith declared for the 2018 NFL Draft on Monday.
After leading his Georgia Bulldogs to the 2018 College Football Playoff National Championship Game, star linebacker Roquan Smith has decided to enter the 2018 NFL Draft. Smith, who was named the Most Valuable Player of the SEC Championship Game, is a game-changing linebacker, who should hear his name called early in the first round this April. The junior racked up over 130 tackles during his final season with the Bulldogs, helping lead one of the better defenses in college football.
Smith played his high school football inside the state of Georgia, as he starred for Macon County High School. Originally, Smith was supposed to go to UCLA to play football, but instead decided to stay home and attend Georgia. The Bulldogs program took off during his three seasons with the team, as he teamed with his defensive-minded head coach, Kirby Smart, to become one of the better teams in a very deep SEC.
The 20-year old played sparingly as a true freshman back in 2015, appearing in 12 games for the Bulldogs. He really began to make a name for himself as a sophomore, when he nearly racked up 100 tackles in Smart’s first season as the head coach. In 2017, he exploded with a career-year, as he not only was the MVP of the SEC title game, but was named the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year, and became the first Georgia player to win the Butkus Award, which is given to the best linebacker in college football.
Smith is an incredible linebacker talent, who can play from sideline to sideline. He also has an incredible nose for the ball, and is one of those defensive players who always seems to be in the right position to make a big play. The junior is also an emotional leader for the Bulldogs, and is one who really took over the locker room in his three seasons in Georgia.
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The linebacker position is a necessity for plenty of teams in the 2018 NFL Draft, and he could find himself being selected in the top-10 if the draft order plays out right. Teams like the Miami Dolphins, Oakland Raiders, and Indianapolis Colts all need help at linebacker, and they all pick within the first 11 slots this April. Smith is going to be a big-time player at the next level, and after a huge 2017 campaign, declaring for the NFL Draft is the right thing to do for him at this point.