Kirby Smart Discusses Georgia Football

Day 3 of the SEC Media Days continued Wednesday with four more programs taking to the podium to talk about the upcoming football season. Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart was joined by Stetson Bennett, Nolan Smith and Sedrick Van Pran to discuss the Bulldogs’ offseason and their plans moving forward.

Building on Last Year

Coming off of a National Championship, Georgia has a lot of pressure heading into the 2022 season. However, Smart does not see any change in the way that they will prepare.

“Well you don’t change,” he said. “You don’t change who you are. You don’t change how you go about things…You’re looking for a better way to do things.”

Smart also does not feel that complacency will be an issue for the Bulldogs.

“That does not concern me in the least,” he said. “Because to be complacent, you have to have done something and achieve something. The men on this team, for this season, have not done that.”

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Despite the loss of big talent, Smart is more confident than ever in quarterback Stetson Bennett, who will once again lead the Georgia offense.

Still, there is a slight concern for the lack of experience that the Bulldogs possess.

“Complacency is not the concern. Experience is the concern.”

Georgia lost a record 15 players to the NFL draft, so they will be forced to move players into new roles, especially on the defensive side of the ball. The Bulldogs’ defense will have to replace five first-round draft picks, including the first overall pick Travon Walker.

Name, Image and Likeness

When asked about the current state of NIL and how it has impacted college football, one of Smart’s only negative opinions was focused on the sustainability of the current trajectory of NIL.

“I don’t think what’s going on in college football right now at some places is sustainable,” Smart said.

While he is unsure how college football can fix that aspect, he did emphasize the importance of teams and coaches honoring the commitments they make. He then proceeded to praise NIL and the positive impacts that it has had for the Georgia football program. Smart specifically mentioned walk-on Dan Jackson’s NIL opportunities and the benefits that have arose for the Georgia native who is trying to support his father who is on dialysis.

He also added that using NIL as “inducement” to win over recruits is where NIL can become dangerous to the game. Nonetheless, Georgia, along with many other SEC programs, has found a lot of success with NIL.

“But NIL has been good to Georgia and it’s been good to our players and it’ll continue to be.”

Georgia will open their season against Oregon in September.