Nolan Smith is a talented edge rusher out of Georgia and has a chance to be a first-round pick in the 2023 NFL Draft.

He stuck with the Bulldogs for his whole college career, even when he wasn’t getting much playing time early on.

On Wednesday at the NFL Combine in Indianapolis, Smith said he feels like sticking with a team through adversity is a good life lesson (via AL.com):

“Kids need to hear this: stick it out,” he said. “Just because things get tough, don’t run away from things. Like, in life, when things get tough, you gonna quit on your wife? You gonna quit on your kids? You gonna transfer on your wife and kids when things get tough? What if you’re married to your wife for 10 years and she get cancer, you just gonna get up and leave?

“That’s how I feel about it, man. You can be a man of character, no matter what you do. That’s how my mom raised me.”

However, when it comes to Trezmen Marshall, a Georgia linebacker who transferred to Alabama this offseason, Smith struck a different tone:

“I know certain times, guys have been in the program for a long time,” Smith said of Marshall. “He’s been in there for four years. He got his degree. He only has one more year. I feel like he did it the right way.”

Marshall had 19 tackles (4.5 for a loss) and 1 sack in 2022. We’ll see if he can increase those numbers in Tuscaloosa in 2023.