In a way, Arian Smith embodies Georgia's 2024 offense.

Things haven't been perfect for Smith or the Bulldogs all season. There have been high points but also some lows - inconsistent performances for the offense as a whole and drops for Smith.

But through it all, Smith has remained positive as he maintains his role as a big-play weapon for the Bulldogs.

"He's a really resilient person in general," offensive lineman Tate Ratledge said. "He's been through his ups and downs his whole career here. Just to see how a play might not go his way and then three plays later he's making a huge play. His mood never changes on the sideline. He's always in a good mood."

For his part, Smith said he always takes accountability and doesn't make excuses when he drops a pass. He instead tries to focus on how he responds to the adversity.

"As long as I keep a clear head throughout the game and be ready when the ball comes to me next go around. That's really all that matters," Smith said. "I'll probably say the injuries, of course, to set back and it's really how you respond to those as well and come out stronger. Don't let them make who you are in the moment. It's how you recover for them and make sure you come back healthy and just as strong. Just like I've never lost my steps or lost speed or anything like that."

Smith's resilience goes beyond just dealing with drops.

The Florida native has battled injuries throughout his career at Georgia. He played in eight games over his first two years in Athens and missed four games in 2022.

But Smith has remained healthy over the past two seasons. He has made huge plays at critical times, most memorably a long touchdown catch in the fourth quarter of the Peach Bowl against Ohio State in 2022.

In that same building a few weeks ago, Smith made another critical play. He recovered a Nate Frazier fumble inside the 10 to preserve a drive that ended up with a field goal, helping Georgia beat Texas in overtime for the SEC championship.

"Something told me to just run, it's just habit, just muscle memory," Smith said. "I just ran up after him and tried to push him in the end zone and make sure the ball didn't come out. And I'll be danged the ball came out, and I jumped on it, and yeah. My team was like, good job, good job, that's a great play, that saved the game. And like I said, resiliency, I could have been messed up throughout the game when I had those drives and been down on myself and not been in my space. It's going to happen, you just got to be prepared when it does."

For Bobo, that play illustrates why Smith embodies this year's Bulldogs. Although there were opportunities for him to give up, sticking with it ultimately led to a good result.

Georgia hopes for more good fortune as it prepares to face Notre Dame in the Sugar Bowl. Bobo knows that Smith will continue to play a major role in the offense as the Bulldogs chase another title.

"Everything he does is full speed, and there's a reason he gets thrown a lot of balls," Bobo said. "He's open. He's the fastest guy on the field, and when he gets on the field people know he's on the field. I know we want to catch every one of them, but sometimes when you put that pressure on the defense that here's No. 11 in the game and you're throwing that ball deep, it has an impact on them whether you're catching it or not."