What’s that saying? You never get a second chance to make a first impression?

Outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss has only been at UGA for a few weeks, but he has already made quite the impression on the Bulldogs coaching staff – so much so that Kirby Smart singled him out for some praise this week on signing day.

Chambliss is a 4-star signee from Carrollton, Ga., who enrolled early at UGA last month. Even though he had a lofty ranking, Chambliss might not be as well known as the team’s other signees because his recruiting process was short and sweet, and without a lot of drama.

“You know, Chaz committed early,” Smart told Rival.com’s Mike Farrell. “He has been a wonderful addition. He’s here, working out now. He’s such a hard worker. Anytime you build guys into your program … these hard-working, high-character guys … they improve your overall team.”

Smart’s comments came after he was asked about his trio of 2021 signees at outside linebacker. The headliner is Xavian Sorey, a 5-star from Bradenton, Fla.

“Xavian is a guy we were able to get late that we always targeted. I was fortunate enough a long time ago, pre-COVID, to go to his basketball game. I was impressed with his athleticism and his size. Then he went down to IMG, and he got to grow into their system. So we’re excited what he can do.

“We think he can play inside or outside. Nowadays, that’s so important, the versatility to be able to rush on the edge because of so much passing, but also have the instinct go inside and stack, and key, and diagnose these plays that people are running. So he does those things.”

Rounding out the trio of signees is yet another 5-star, Smael Mondon of Dallas, Ga.

“Smael is … who we think is a really good athlete. Nowadays, when you’ve got to go play James Cook and Alvin Kamara out in space, you better have linebackers that are really good athletes and can run. (Mondon) can do those things.”

On a side note, that was a nice compliment for UGA running back James Cook, for his coach to mention him in the same sentence as Kamara, the NFL superstar.