SAN ANTONIO, Tex. — Nolan Smith is seen by his fellow members of the 2019 recruiting class as a great many things.

Leader. Spokesman. Court jester. Hype man. Sparkplug. Megaphone. Social media chair.

RELATED: It was only fitting that Nolan Smith was the first 2019 recruit officially announced by UGA

He’s out in Texas this week for the 2019 All-American Bowl. Smith, like Fields a year ago, is rated by at least one national recruiting service as the nation’s top overall prospect for his class.

The 5-star OLB showed it might be right to add another term to that string of descriptors: Sincere.

When asked about the pending Fields transfer today, the 5-star OLB prospect delivered a response that was steeped in maturity and optimism for whatever lies ahead for the talented prospect from Kennesaw.

“I’m a Justin Fields fan,” Smith said. “I root for all the Georgia boys. So no matter what I want Justin to do the best. So if he is going to Ohio State, I want him to take the Ohio State starting job and I want him to do extravagant things and be amazing. Like I know he can.”

With his next thought, Smith made a comparison to another great QB from the state of Georgia.

“Just like Deshaun Watson and when Deshaun Watson went to Clemson,” Smith said. “He’s from Georgia. He’s 45 minutes technically away from Athens. Things didn’t work out but he still won a national championship. So I just root for anyone from the state of Georgia.”

Smith told DawgNation a year ago that Fields choosing UGA helped to solidify his pledge to the program. He had always wanted to play with a dual-threat QB like Fields. 

“He’s a great guy and a great quarterback,” Smith said. “He was my friend. I went to the Opening my junior year and it was just really fun. There are a lot of things we did together and we had fun and we talked about it. You just have to make the best decision here for you and your family here at this time.”

“So I’m not mad at him at all. I don’t fault him for anything.”

If DawgNation is running a little short on silver linings today, it should be noted that Smith will be in Athens next week. The nation’s top prospect for this cycle (per the 247Sports composite ratings) plans to be in his first class on Tuesday.

Check out the DawgNation All-American coverage this week

It is a busy time for the recruiting beat here at DawgNation. We’ve got coverage in the can from Orlando and are in San Antonio as this blog posts.

Here is what is on the site so far from the 2019 Under Armour All-America week and the 2019 All-American Bowl events in San Antonio.