Nolan Smith got emotional over the death of his former teammate Devin Willock while speaking at the NFL scouting combine in 2023. Willock, who played football for the University of Georgia, was killed in a car accident months before the combine. The former college football star was ejected from the vehicle after not wearing a seatbelt. According to the police report obtained by the New York Post, the crash occurred close to UGA’s campus after the vehicle was speeding in Athens around three in the morning. The car struck a Georgia Power pole before colliding with another pole and hitting a tree. Willock, who died on the scene, was in the vehicle alongside three others, including former UGA football player Warren McClendon. The offensive lineman was wearing a seatbelt and sustained minor injuries after the crash.
Smith spoke out about the crash for the first time during the NFL event, as per News 4 Jax. “I’m sorry to his mama. No one should live like that, no one should deserve to die like that,” he said, adding: “I said it earlier, Devin, I love you baby, (No.) 77, you’re living forever. ‘Do it for Dev,’ that’s what I tell them boys at Georgia. ‘You lost a brother, do it for Dev.'”
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The Philadelphia Eagles player went on to admit: “Most people think it’s just a game, those are my brothers I go out there with…It’s more than a game. Most people think it’s just a game. Especially at Georgia, man, that connection piece is real.”
