UGA Football: Frierson Chats With Christopher Smith

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Christopher Smith forever earned a place in Georgia football lore in the Bulldogs’ season-opening win over Clemson. His 74-yard interception return for a touchdown in Georgia’s 10-3 victory was the defensive duel’s only TD. It was also the senior from Atlanta’s first career interception.

Smith broke into the starting lineup midway through the 2020 season and has been making big plays ever since. As the top-ranked Bulldogs, who have already clinched the SEC East title and a spot in the SEC Championship Game, prepare to take on Missouri on Saturday, Smith talked about the interception, how the team is staying focused, his favorite Halloween candy, and much more.

Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: Do people still come up to you and want to about the interception and touchdown against Clemson?

Smith: It’s died down a little bit since it first happened, when that was all I was hearing about. People still come up to me and talk about it, and I’m always happy to have a conversation about anything like that. It was a great play and it definitely helped propel our season, so it was great to be able to be a part of that.

Frierson: Is that pretty much a perfect play for a defensive back?

Smith: Yes, sir, that’s pretty much a perfect play., being able to jump the route and take it 75 yards. The only way to make it better would be to take it 100 yards or 101 or something like that. Yeah, it was pretty much a perfect play, or as perfect as it can get.

Frierson: We had Halloween Sunday night. Did you do anything for it or have you left those dressing-up days behind you?

Smith: I didn’t dress up this time. I had a costume last year, I think I was Superman or something like that, but this year I didn’t get a costume or anything like that. I just had a little mask, like a ghoul or zombie monster. All the guys get together and we have a great gathering for Halloween. It’s one of my favorite times of the year, for sure.

Frierson: What was your favorite costume when you were a kid?

Smith: I wanted to be “The Incredibles” and particularly the character Dash. That was pretty much my favorite costume when I was a kid. “The Incredibles” is one of the greatest animated movies of all time and I love cartoons and stuff like that.

Frierson: What is your favorite Halloween candy?

Smith: Ooh, this is a tough one. I’m going to say Skittles, and then on the chocolate side, I’m going to go with a Big Three for me: Reese’s, Kit-Kat and Hershey. That’s my top three chocolates. And on the candy side, it’s Starburst and Skittles.

Frierson: Is one of the things that really changes when you get to college the awareness of what you need to eat to be successful?

Smith: That definitely wasn’t happening in high school. In high school, I was eating hot chips and honey buns before I stepped out on the field for practice. When you get to college, you’ve got to change all of the ways you eat. It’s a different step when you get to college and it’s not as easy as it was in high school.

I definitely watch my eating habits and Mrs. Collier (Madaleno), our nutritionist, does a great job of making sure we have the proper meals to be able to go out there and perform to the best of our ability. You definitely watch what you eat, and as soon as I got to college I stopped drinking soda completely. Now it’s just Powerade and water.

Frierson: How long did it take you to notice a difference once you changed your diet and quit the sodas?

Smith: It took me probably about a month or two. When I first got here, you’re still having those old high school habits and things like that, but once you switch from those habits and get the change, it takes a minute.

It definitely has helped me out. When I first got here, after practice I would be dead tired. I’d be just exhausted and I’d wonder why. It’s because I was eating all kinds of crazy stuff before I’d pop out on the field. It was definitely a great change for me.

Frierson: Who is the funniest guy on the team?

Smith: I would say the funniest guy on the team is Jordan Davis.

Frierson: That’s the answer that pops up over and over again.

Smith: He’s like a big teddy bear off the field. He’s so loving and caring, he cares about everybody on this team, and he always puts a smile on guys’ faces. Even when they’re not feeling so well, J.D. can put a smile on their face in a second. It’s effortless.

It’s definitely J.D., and I’m the runner-up.

Frierson: That was going to be my next question. If J.D. is No. 1, who is No. 2?

Smith: I’m going to go with myself. I feel like I’m pretty funny. There may be someone out there funnier than me but I’m going to go with myself.

Frierson: Are you trying to be funny or is it just you naturally make other guys laugh?

Smith: It’s just the natural goofiness. We’ve got so many great personalities on this team, a lot of these guys aren’t even trying to be funny, they just do funny stuff and make guys laugh. We always like to joke around. When you build this kind of connection that we have as a team, that we’ve built over the years knowing each other so long, a lot of things are funny.

Frierson: Georgia has played eight games so far this season, and the defense has given up five touchdowns. That’s kind of crazy, right?

Smith: Yeah, that’s definitely crazy. I’ve never seen anything like that before — and we’re trying to keep it going. Nothing ends here. Eight games, you don’t play eight games in a season. We’re trying to make it to 12, 15, 16, however many there are. That’s what we want to get to.

Frierson: What has been the key to not letting any of that get in your head?

Smith: The mentality and the characteristics that we have built over this offseason leading up to this, it’s really what has helped us. We don’t have any egos, we don’t have any attitudes or anything like that. Nobody is thinking they’re better than the next guy.

We don’t even think that we’re better than the next team. We treat every opponent the same way, and that’s the key to being able to go out there and execute day in and day out. We’re treating every opponent like it’s our last game and like it’s the clinching game for the SEC East, like it’s the SEC Championship. That’s how we keep going.

(This Q&A was lightly edited for length and clarity.)

Assistant Sports Communications Director John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men’s Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He’s also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.