INDIANAPOLIS – The question posed to former Georgia wide receiver Arian Smith was an obvious one to ask.
Does Smith think he can set an NFL Combine record with the fastest time in the 40-yard dash? Xavier Worthy set the standard – which stands at 4.21 – last year.
“I feel like it's hard to set goals here. But I don't want to say something and y'all expect that and I don't go out there and have anyone say I’m not reaching my expectations,” Smith said. “But I definitely set my goal pretty high for the 40 and everything I do here, so I'm excited to compete tomorrow and looking forward to that.”
Nevertheless, Smith welcomes the expectations.
“I feel like I slept well last night. But, I mean, pressure, you know, it brings out the best of you, so … I welcome pressure,” he said. “I'm not here to duck pressure in any way. I'm here to compete at the highest level and show that I compete at the highest level. I'm excited to run for sure.”
Though he did not come out and say it, don’t rule out Smith setting a new mark.
When asked if 10.18 was his fastest time in the 100 meters, the Florida native shot back.
“No, no, that’s not my personal best,” he said. “It’s 10.05, but 10.10 is my legal time in college, my fastest time.”
However, being the fastest wide receiver in Indianapolis is not Smith’s only goal. It may be the last on his list.
“My number one goal is, you know, show what I've been doing, show that I can catch the ball, show my character and just show these teams that I'm good enough to be on their team,” Smith said. “I'm competing. You know, competing against myself. If you do that and don’t worry about anything else, take care of yourself. I'm not always a speed guy, that I'm a guy that can play wide receiver. I can slow down. I can speed up and I can catch the ball.”
Smith’s ball security will certainly be examined closely by the 32 organizations in attendance.
At Georgia, the biggest gripe fans would have with Smith was his penchant for dropping passes. It’s a subject that Smtih has not been shy to confront.
“I'm a fast guy, so I'm always worried about trying to run fast with the ball. So, if I fumble in practice, (Kirby Smart) is going to make me pay, whether it's me running the gasser, whether it's me doing up-downs at the practice. Ask anybody who plays on offense, if you're carrying the ball, ball security is at a premium,” Smith said. “I've been through a lot of ups and downs at Georgia, and I've learned a lot, whether it's good or whether it's bad. So, when people ask me what the strength of my game is, I’d probably say my mental toughness. I'm a very tough guy when it comes to being mentally tough, whether it's me having a bad play or having a good play. I'm able to handle it.”
He's now anxious to show NFL teams he is ready for the next step.
When asked how he’s a different receiver than he was a season ago, Smith was quick with a response.
“I'd probably say being able to sustain. Over the past years I've been there, from my freshman to my junior year, I wasn't able to sustain. I had a lot of injuries,” Smith said. “But as I got healthy, I feel like I’ve been able to sustain and play more snaps. Where I got healthy, and then one just came back right behind. So, I feel like I'm able to sustain and play more snaps. I feel like I'm more developed as a receiver, not just a one-play guy, going deep. I feel like I can play all positions, whether it's a slot, whether it's outside. I can go block DBs if I have to. I can block linebackers. I can block safeties. I feel like I can do a lot of things on the field.”
