Cornerback signee Chris Smith explains why he wishes he had enrolled early at Georgia

Nine recruits in Georgia's class of 2018 are already on campus, participating in winter workouts to prepare them for spring practice.

In hindsight, Hapeville Charter cornerback Chris Smith wishes that he'd have made it 10.

Smith said it was a mistake not to enroll early. His reason for holding off was to spend more time with his family and friends before going off to college. Then the fall semester ended.

And all Smith wants to do is be with his soon-to-be teammates at Georgia.

"It's kind of sick for me right now," Smith said. "I wish I would have made the right decision and go ahead and early enroll. I'm just going to take it in stride and enjoy this last bit of time I've got with my family.

"I've been working real hard. I haven't stopped working since the season. ... I feel it was a mistake made on my part. But I'm just going to take it as a lesson and do what I do."

Smith, a four-star recruit according to the 247Sports.com composite rankings, has been following a workout program given to him by strength and conditioning coordinator Scott Sinclair. He has also spent some time "here and there" working on defensive back fundamentals.

Smith has the extra time to use on football because his classwork is all but finished. That's another reason why he wishes he had gotten a head start on college. There isn't much of an academic responsibility remaining as his time in high school dwindles to its final days.

"I feel a little bit complacent being in high school," Smith said. "I really thought about it, and really thought about getting into the program with the rest of the guys. I feel there's nothing left for me in high school. I wanted to go ahead and get in college."

As it is, Smith won't enroll at Georgia until the middle of the summer when remaining freshmen report. Eager and full of confidence, Smith is hoping to make the most of his opportunity early on as a true freshman.

Smith is aware there is an opening at cornerback with Malkom Parrish exhausting his eligibility. Entering his first season with the program, Smith said he's looking forward to the competition ahead.

"I feel I'm a little bit on the level on everyone's that there," Smith said. "Nobody's too much better than me. I'm not too much worse than any of those guys. I'm going to come in and compete, make sure I hit those weights, make sure I hit that playbook, make sure I'm watching film. I'll do whatever it takes for me to touch that field."

Smith said he weighs 170 pounds and hopes to be up to the 180-185 range by the time he enrolls.

Given the way Georgia's season went, finishing 13-2 and in the College Football Playoff National Championship, Smith is looking forward to joining the Bulldogs for practice in a few months.

"I definitely want to get in there and get going," he said. "Back when I committed in May, I foreshadowed this for Georgia. I was telling everyone we were going to go to the championship. Of course I said we were going to win, but we lost to a great team. I'm definitely ready to get in the door and work with those guys."

This story was originally published February 1, 2018 at 5:54 PM with the headline "Cornerback signee Chris Smith explains why he wishes he had enrolled early at Georgia."