You’ve probably already read a lot about the football prowess of freshman linebacker Nakobe Dean, whom Kirby Smart admitted made quite the impression during spring practice as an early enrollee.

A tackling machine during his prep days at Horn Lake (Miss.) High, Dean earned the distinction of being the nation’s top-ranked inside linebacker according to Rivals, and at the end of G-Day, left Smart confident he'll make a big impact for Georgia this fall.

To say Dean was probably one's of the Bulldogs' biggest additions to the Class of 2019 would probably qualify as an understatement.

However, with Dean, it’s not just what he was able to do on the field that convinced Georgia coaches to recruit him to Athens.

It’s what they learned about Dean off it that made the decision a slam dunk.

“Anytime that you're recruiting a guy you always go beyond football, beyond turning on the film and saying, ‘Can this guy play for us?’” defensive coordinator Dan Lanning said. “We do character evaluations. We're going to get into the school and see what the janitor’s going to say about him, see what the secretary says about him. When you go to Horn Lake, Mississippi, there's not a person that's going to say a bad thing about Nakobe Dean. Obviously, he's over a 4.0 student. We knew he was a good student; we knew he was a high-character guy before he ever got here, and I think that's just carried over to this time of year.”

Considering Dean is one of a handful of engineering majors on the Bulldog football team is a great indication of just how serious he takes his academics.

That’s an area Lanning joked he’s not quite able to comprehend.

“It's hard for me to talk about the rigors because I was a P. E. major. It was a little bit different. But Nakobe, he's an engineering student. So is Nolan Smith as well as a few other guys on our team , and he takes his academics extremely seriously,” Lanning said. “I think the very first week he was here, his academic advisor the next day said, ‘I was getting an email from Nakobe after midnight, asking about where's this assignment at.’ He takes pride in it.”

On the field, Dean continues to turn heads.

Although Monty Rice and Tae Crowder continue to rep as the top two options at inside linebacker, Dean won’t be on the sideline for long.

“Nakobe’s a beast, but you’ve also got Rian (Davis) and Trezman (Marshall) who are coming on, even though they had some injuries coming out of high school,” Rice said. “We’ve got a lot of different dudes at different positions who can help this team out.”

Don’t let his stature (6-foot, 220 pounds) fool you.

Dean may not be the most physically intimidating linebacker you’ll find in the SEC, but when it comes to making an impact, the true freshman appears as ready as any in the league to do just that.

"He's been a great fit," Smart said. "I've never had a kid come in and just naturally understand football as well as he has. He's probably not as fast as most people think, but he's that much more instinctive. He makes a lot of plays."

Defensive end David Marshall has been duly impressed.

When asked about his new teammate back in the spring, Marshall compared him to a former Bulldog great.

“He another Roquan,” Marshall said. “He’s got speed, he’s fast. He’s smart. He already knows more plays than most of the other freshmen.”

Considering what he learned about Dean during his recruitment, Lanning is not surprised.

It’s also the reason Dean’s future, both on the field and off, is shining brightly as he approaches his freshman campaign.

“When you come here, you have to perform not only on the field, but in the classroom, and that’s what we ask our guys to do. I don't want you to be No. 1 just on the field; you’ve got to be number one in the classroom, too, and he’s of those guys that does that,” Lanning said.