Georgia's Nolan Smith posted some eye-popping combine stats

If NFL scouts didn’t know about Georgia Bulldogs outside linebacker Nolan Smith, they certainly do now.

The two-time CFP national champion made a serious statement at the NFL scouting combine on Thursday – with both his skillset and his personality.

Georgia lost its star defensive player for the season in November when he suffered a tear in his pectoral muscle.

His draft stock took a hit due to the injury, partly because he wasn’t able to showcase his elite talent the rest of the season.

It didn’t seem to stop him from an electric combine performance, however.

At 6-foot-2 1/4 and 238 pounds, Smith clocked a mind-boggling 4.39-second 40-yard dash time, faster than some of the top wide receivers and running backs in the NFL — DeAndre Hopkins, Stefon Diggs, Christian McCaffrey and Saquon Barkley all had slower sprints than the defensive prospect.

The 40-yard dash wasn’t the only exercise in which Smith put up eye-popping numbers.

He posted a 41.5-inch vertical and 10-foot, 8-inch broad jump while measuring with 32 5/8″ arm length and 9-inch hands.

Smith further impressed with an outstanding media session on Thursday.

Smith got choked up and gave a heartfelt speech in remembrance of his Georgia teammate, Devin Willock, who died in a car crash following the Bulldogs’ championship parade on Jan. 15.

“No one should deserve to die like that, he never did anything wrong. Three years in a row that man showed up and worked day in and day out,” Smith said, tearing up. “Devin, I love you baby, 7-7 you living forever. Do it for Dev, that’s what I tell them boys at Georgia.

“You lost a brother, do it for Dev. I’m sorry to get emotional, I’m the juice guy man.”

“At Cincinnati they brought it up, and I got emotional too just because I care,” he continued. “Most people think it’s just a game man … It’s more than a game, especially at Georgia, that connection piece real.

“When you sit in a skull session with somebody and learn their life story, you’ll give him an extra inch, you’ll come pick him him up doing workout, and that’s what we do at Georgia.

“Any kid that goes there, they call me and ask me for anything, they know ‘4’ always gonna be there, that’s what I tell them. ‘Come lean on 4.'”

Smith also spoke glowingly of the lessons he learned in Athens, Ga.

“Hard work works,” he told reporters. “I like to get after it, I play like my head on fire.”

“Most people be like ‘you’re not strong’. After workouts in south Georgia, I used to go move hay bales.”

As the former No. 1-overall recruit in the class of 2019 according to 247 Sports, Smith’s dominance isn’t much of a surprise.

In his tenure at Georgia, he recorded 113 tackles and 11.5 sacks on the stacked Bulldogs defense.

Smith is one of several standout Georgia players headed for the draft this year — Jalen Carter and Broderick Jones could go in the top-15.

Smith’s performance at the combine could see his stock rise alongside theirs.