After quarterbacking Spartanburg High School to a 4-A state championship in 1991—the same season he was named South Carolina’s “Player of the Year”—Brian Smith spurned his native state and elected to become a Georgia Bulldog. A starter as early as a freshman in high school, who began receiving recruiting letters that year, Smith arrived in Athens where, after redshirting and playing behind Eric Zeier and Mike Bobo, he had to continue to wait his turn playing under center—something he was totally fine with and understood.
While at Georgia, Smith was perhaps known more so than anything else as a four-year backup signal-caller from 1993 through 1996 who, as a Biology major, was an excellent student and, more so, a young man of great faith. Still, when he got the call—Georgia’s “next man up” at quarterback—he delivered as the Bulldogs won all four games in which he started (1995 vs. Clemson, Vanderbilt, and Kentucky, and 1996 vs. Auburn).
We recently caught up with Smith, or Dr. Brian Smith, residing in Winston-Salem, North Carolina:
UGASports: Being from Spartanburg, we’re guessing you grew up rooting for Clemson or South Carolina?
Smith: As a kid growing up in South Carolina, I went to Clemson and University of South Carolina games with friends. But because of its great tradition of quarterbacks beginning in the 1980s, like Vinny Testaverde, I was a big fan of the University of Miami (Fla.). The Hurricanes were so fun to watch. They’d put on a show with the smoke machine (player entrance), and they passed the ball a lot. I wound up going to a quarterback camp at Miami. I also rooted for the University of Virginia under head coach George Welsh. My dad had attended Virginia, as did a brother of mine who is 10 years older. I had pretty good grades in high school so, if I hadn’t been a football player—just a student—I very well might have attended Virginia. But, it turns out, I had to consider playing football, as well, when deciding what school I would attend.
UGASports: Speaking of considering playing college football, what was the recruiting experience like for you?
Smith: Nothing like what goes on today. Now, it seems like a kid will commit, and that’s essentially when the recruiting starts. When I played, wherever a prospect committed, that’s where he went. No one had a press conference, where they chose which school by selecting from hats, and all. We [at Spartanburg High in 1991] probably had three or four guys sign Division I scholarships, including the No. 1 prospect in the nation (running back Stephen Davis, who went to Auburn), and where we all committed—that was it—that’s where we went. And, after that, there was no more recruiting: no phone calls from coaches at other schools, no one tried to “flip” you. It was a completely different culture than it is now.
UGASports: Besides Georgia, what other schools did you consider, and why did you ultimately decide to become a Bulldog?
Smith: I looked at a lot of schools, including some from the Ivy League. But my five official visits were to Georgia, Auburn, Mississippi, West Virginia, and TCU. As far as Georgia goes, it was close to home, I felt comfortable there, and I really liked Coach Goff (Ray Goff, UGA’s head coach, 1989-1995). David Weeks (an offensive lineman a year older than Smith) was my host on my trip to Georgia, and I really liked him. He wound up being a close teammate of mine for four years—a real super guy. My in-home visit from Georgia was with [assistant coach] Steve Greer, who was very personable, and I really liked him, as well. With Georgia, I felt a sense of a family-like culture. Plus, I wasn’t what you call a dual-threat quarterback, so Coach McDuffie’s (then-offensive coordinator Wayne McDuffie) drop-back offense was a good fit for me. Simply, choosing Georgia just felt right—and it was definitely the right decision.
UGASports: When deciding on Georgia, did you consider that an all-world quarterback, Eric Zeier, had just signed the year before—and there was a good chance you’d be a reserve for at least a couple of seasons?
Smith: Honestly, I didn’t think of it that way. It was more like, hey, I’ll just go play and see what happens. I’ll get to work, work hard, try to do the right things, and everything should work out. And, along the way, maybe, I’ll get a chance to play. Eric, and Preston Jones and Brian Moore—two fifth-year senior quarterbacks when I arrived as a true freshman—were all super to me.
UGASports: After two mediocre seasons in 1993 and 1994 (11-10-1 combined record), the ’95 team was supposed to show “significant improvement,” according to then-athletic director Vince Dooley, or Coach Goff would be fired. But, Georgia suffered that year some real misfortune, correct? (In 1995, UGA had started three different quarterbacks by game six, six different scatbacks by game eight, and four different running backs/fullbacks by game seven.)
Smith: The injuries that ’95 team suffered were unreal. We had a really good football team that year, but first Robert (scatback Robert Edwards) got hurt. Also, quarterbacks Mike [Bobo] and Hines [Ward] would get hurt too. You know, the coaching staff we had that season was unreal. One of the neatest people I ever played for was (then-quarterbacks coach) Greg Davis (UNC, Texas, and Iowa offensive coordinator since). He’s a special man and role model. I learned a lot of football from him. I loved Coach McDuffie. He was a tough son-of-a-gun, but great. The late Darryl Drake (then-UGA receivers coach) was awesome. Other assistants on that team included Mac McWhorter, Joe Kines, Frank Orgel, and David Kelly—all great coaches.
UGASports: In 1995, after Bobo got hurt during game four, and the team is 2-2, Ward started against Alabama and Georgia was shutout, 31-0. So, you were given the starting nod for game six as an underdog at Clemson. What was all that like?
Smith: For Alabama, we had planned to be run-oriented with Hines at quarterback, but we were just out of synch, and never could get in a rhythm. For film study on Sunday, the quarterbacks had to run for any turnover we committed, and Hines and I had to do a lot of running after Alabama. (Of Georgia’s six turnovers vs. the Crimson Tide, five were committed by Ward (3) and Smith (2)). For the Clemson game, the coaches were just like, “Brian, you’re starting.” Things were a little different because I had been named the starter, but it kind of was business as usual—a next-man-up mentality. I hadn’t played in a lot of games but I was a fourth-year junior, so I had been around the block. I had taken meaningful snaps in practices and scrimmages, watched a lot of film, and thought I was ready to play.
UGASports: What was it like to return to your native state to make your first collegiate start, whereby you completed 13 of 22 passes for 156 yards, no interceptions and a critical touchdown pass to Juan Daniels in a 19-17 upset win at Clemson?
Smith: As I have gotten older, it’s something where I can look back and say, hey, I won my first start in my home state. But back then, it was more of, Clemson has a good football team, this is my chance to play, and I need to execute. I didn’t look at it as going back home, but it was kind of cool because the entire coaching staff of my high school was there, along with my parents, and my brothers. Also, Clemson allowed its fans to come on the field after games—I think it still does—and I got to see a lot of people I normally wouldn’t have otherwise. There were guys on the other team I had played with in the Shrine Bowl (high school all-star game), high school teammates of mine, and guys I knew from Athletes in Action (a group intersecting athletics and Christianity). Still, that game was more so a tribute to coaches Goff, McDuffie, and Davis because we were prepared. I was the next man up at quarterback, and it was my time to take some meaningful snaps in a game. Something I’ll never forget was when I was getting dressed afterward, somebody came and got me and said Coach Dooley wanted to see me. So, I was taken to the team bus and was congratulated by Coach Dooley. I got to sit with him for about five-to-10 minutes just talking about the game. Since that was my first start, that meant a lot to me.
UGASports: What was the transition like to go from Coach Goff to Coach Donnan in 1996?
Smith: Suddenly, the scheme was different, and I never had been through an offensive scheme change. Also, you’re still dealing with 18 and 19-year-old kids, so there were some guys who were stunned and hurt that Coach Goff was gone, but understood that changes were made. I tell ya’, Coach Donnan was good to me. In his first year, I still had shoulder pain during the spring. Here, I was an injured, fifth-year senior who had graduated. A new regime had come in, Mike [Bobo] was healthy, they had signed highly-recruited quarterback Mike Usry, plus, Earl [Chambers] and Jon [England] were young and [at quarterback]. Maybe in today’s world, it would be suggested, since I had already graduated, for me to go ahead and go to medical school. But, Coach Donnan didn’t do that. He gave me a chance. He could have turned me out to pasture, but I was given and really appreciated one more year of college athletics—one more year in the Georgia football program.
UGASports: Your last year, Georgia, and especially Bobo, got off to a rough start—a 3-5 record through eight games before facing Auburn on the Plains. And when Bulldog fans recall the ’96 Auburn game, they think of the 56-49 four-overtime win, starring Robert Edwards and Mike Bobo. But, you actually started the game because Bobo had struggled, and played nearly the entire first half.
Smith: Yeah, they scored on the opening possession but, when we got the ball, we scored on a touchdown run by Patrick Pass. And, I played okay (Smith completed 5-of-6 passes in the game) but, the next thing you know, Auburn was up 21-7 and Coach Donnan came up to me and said, “We’re putting Mike in,” which was absolutely fine. That stuff (Smith getting relieved) didn’t matter. I wanted to win. And, under Coach Donnan, the backup quarterback did all the offensive signaling. So, when Mike went in, I thought, great. I put on the headsets, got involved in the game and thought, this is awesome. I remember it like it was yesterday. Four overtimes!
UGASports: Is there anything you remember about your Senior Day—a 19-10 win over Georgia Tech in the season finale of 1996?
Smith: Well, for one, Mike [Bobo] was one of the captains, and he asked me to go in his spot. I’ll never forget that. Of course, my parents were there, they call my name and I get to run out, they give you a ball… But, besides Mike letting me go in his place as a captain, the other thing I remember the most is the enthusiastic reception I got from the crowd. You know, I’m not in the record books—I’m not Mike [Bobo], Eric [Zeier], or Aaron Murray, and I only played some. Still, I don’t think I would have received the warm reception I got if I had never played.
UGASports: Actually, you may not be in Georgia’s “official” record books, but we want to “throw” something at you… Since the beginning of the drop-back quarterback era at UGA, which began in the mid-1940s, to the present, there have been roughly 60 different Bulldog quarterbacks to start at least one game, and you with a record of 4-0, are the lone starter—the only one—with a perfect starting record. There hasn’t even been a quarterback to be perfect at 1-0.
Smith: Well, cool. I had no idea. Sure, I would have loved to have been a Heisman-winning quarterback, but that wasn’t in the cards for me. But I played major college football, and contributed, and had a great time—great time, great memories—and then it was time to do something else.
UGASports: You certainly did something else by becoming a doctor. Describe the route you took and the type of medicine you practice.
Smith: After I graduated from UGA, I got into my home state medical school—the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston—and I started there in 1997 and graduated in 2001. I did an internal medicine residency at Vanderbilt, and then got chosen to do a chief residency year, which was a lot of fun. I then decided to specifically get into gastroenterology. I did a three-year fellowship, finishing in 2008. Then, I took a job in 2008 in Winston-Salem with GAP—the Gastroenterology Associates of the Piedmont—and have been there ever since. I’m one of 16 doctors at GAP, and going into my 13th year.
UGASports: What about your family?
Smith: Oh, I could spend an hour talking about my family. I’ve been married for 21 years to my wife Audrey, who I met through Athletes in Action in January of 1995. She was a student athletic trainer at the University of Tennessee. We wound up dating long-distance while in college. We have four children – Hannah (17), Sarah (15), Jacob (13), and Caleb (10). We’re busy, but it’s fun.
UGASports: Like their dad, do you see any of them eventually playing for the Bulldogs?
Smith: Hannah signed with the Equestrian Team and will start school in August as a student-athlete at the University of Georgia. Sarah would like to join the dance team at UGA. She is a phenomenal student and would do well there. She is a rising junior at Reagan High School (Pfafftown, N.C.), so she has a little time to decide. Jacob wants to play baseball at UGA. Let Coach Stricklin know he’s going to have a middle infielder with a 90-plus mph fastball coming to Athens soon! Caleb is my hockey player, so he may be destined for colder climates for college.
UGASports: Do you currently have any kind of association with the UGA football program?
Smith: I actually went to the most home games last year since I was a player. With my oldest coming there next year and my other kids getting more interested in the University, we saw a lot of games. The atmosphere at the Notre Dame game was incredible. I am going to start getting more involved with some Letterman’s Club activities and will certainly be in town there more. I really am proud of my alma mater and especially proud of what President Morehead has done with our University and what Greg McGarity has done with the athletic program. And, I’m probably going to be the biggest UGA equestrian fan among my fellow football lettermen!!
