With just under four minutes remaining in the first half of Saturday’s Auburn game, starting free safety Richard LeCounte, a preseason All-American who had intercepted two passes in the season opener, was lost for the remainder of the contest. Several plays in, he was called for a controversial targeting penalty. Enter third-year reserve Christopher Smith who, as part of a deep and talented secondary, averaged fewer than six defensive snaps per game just a year ago.

For Kirby Smart, it wasn’t surprising that the inexperienced Smith filled in admirably for perhaps the most valuable defender on arguably the best defense in the nation. The Georgia head coach recognized that in a moment of dire need, his backup free safety was likely more ready to play than ever.

“[Smith] actually got a lot more reps last week [in practice] because Richard [LeCounte] was banged up. Chris was more prepared to play than probably he ever has been,” Smart said about Smith getting more reps in practice last week because of a minor injury to LeCounte. “It was pretty unique that [Smith] got to go in after getting all of those reps—and that he got to go in and play there in the late first half, second half.”

Despite playing sparingly in just five games as a true freshman in 2018—followed by a sophomore campaign when his season-high in defensive snaps was just 22 against Murray State—Smith indicated he was not distracted in the least when he had to replace LeCounte on Saturday night. In fact, he prides himself on not getting flustered. And while Smith admits replacing LeCounte was an “okay, here we go” type of moment, according to him, he was “well prepared for the moment.”

“Throughout the week, Coach Smart had been telling me I had good practices, and he felt like I was ready to play,” Smart said. “There was a lot of communication going on from the coaches to the players. So it made things very easy for me."

Things haven’t always come easy on the field for the 5-foot-11, 180-pound junior. A Rivals250 cornerback out of Atlanta’s Hapeville Charter in 2018, Smith was moved to safety soon after his arrival to Georgia. The transition in switching positions was a challenge to the newcomer.

"When I came here, I was at cornerback and Coach [Glenn] Schumann felt I was smart enough and versatile enough to play safety. At first, it was a hard transition,” said Smith, who added that former teammates J.R. Reed and Tyrique McGhee tremendously helped ease his transition from cornerback. “It took three or four months for me to adjust to the position, but after that, it was smooth sailing."

Well prepared despite limited playing time, Smith’s “smooth sailing” continued to the Auburn game. Against the Tigers, he saw 42 defensive snaps, tallied three tackles, and had two quarterback hurries, or the same number totaled by the entire Bulldog secondary.

For Georgia’s third game of the season this Saturday against Tennessee, expect Smith to reassume a reserve role as LeCounte returns to the field. Regardless, when his number is called, rest assured Smith will be confident, prepared, and ready to carry the load, so to speak—as is evidently the case for his fellow members of the secondary, as well.

“We've got a lot of playmakers at every [secondary] position, going two-, three- deep,” Smith said. “So, it’s not really hard for us to have to plug in and play guys who can still carry the load for the team.”