Exclusive; Kirby Smart: ‘I want more than relevance, I want dominance’ for Georgia football
ATHENS — Even as the transfer portal and expanded playoffs change the face of college football, Kirby Smart’s goal remains the same.
“We’ve been involved every year except for the first year,” Smart said in an exclusive private interview with ESPN. “But I want more than relevance. I want dominance. And over the past three years, we’ve become more dominant.”
In fact, Georgia hasn’t lost a regular season game in the past three seasons, and she’s won two national championships during that time.
The 2021 Bulldogs will be remembered as one of the most dominant teams in college football history, especially during the first half of this season before their starting quarterback was sidelined with an injury and a suspension derailed a first-round linebacker’s NFL career. It will be. Looking back at one of Smart’s most notable postgame performances is a reminder of the evolution of Georgia football.
After the loss at South Carolina, Smart told his team, “We’re not training to win against anybody. We’re training to win against everyone.”
That’s still true, but expanding his CFP from four teams to 12 teams in 2024 gives Smart more margin for error than four of his last seven teams had. “I consider the first year to be a failure rather than the norm, but then every year after that we did great,” said Smart, whose first UGA team went 8-5.
“There’s no one out there that can say they’ve finished in the top seven or bottom seven years in a row during that span. You won’t even find that in Alabama,” Smart said of the 2017 campaign. “We missed the playoffs three times by finishing fifth or sixth, so those are mistakes that could have been made in the 12-team playoffs,” he said.
“We have been relevant every year except this first year. But I want more than relevance. I want control… ”
If there is a 12-team playoff field in 2018 or 2023, will another Georgia national championship banner be hung?
Smart admitted to ESPN that he considered the Bulldogs to be a four-team CFP team last season. Asked if he knew the Bulldogs were going to stay after losing to Alabama in the SEC title game, Smart said, “We knew we had to do something because we were a top-four team. I was hoping there was a way.” . bystander.
“I think deep down I knew that probably wasn’t the case because things were set up that way. We had an opportunity to take it out of the hands of the committee, but we didn’t do it. »
In fact, the Bulldogs suffered more from his transfer portal than they benefited. He lost key receiver Adonai Mitchell to Texas and the Crimson Tide, which had two key players who started their careers in Athens and went on to attend school in Tuscaloosa. .
Smart said it was a “hard pill to swallow” for all of Georgia, extending his winning streak to 29 and the active home winning streak to 25. “But once I swallowed it, I kept going and the team moved forward,” Smart said. “That’s how we’ve always operated here. Focus on what’s in front of you and get better at it.
“We’re not sitting around lamenting what could have been or what should have been.”
The Bulldogs are currently nearing the end of spring practice, having completed half of their 15 sanctioned practices, including an open scrimmage on April 13th. Smart recognized the team’s hard work and progress, with the offensive line being the most vocal among the position groups.
Asked what he noticed during the first half of the team’s spring practices, Smart told ESPN: “Either the defensive line is a little weak or the offensive line is really good.” “What impressed me the most in practice was that the offensive line did a really good job.”
This is good news for Georgia quarterback Carson Beck and defensive backs Trevor Etienne and Roderick Robinson, as Beck still has summer left to work more with the Bulldogs’ revamped receiving corps.
In fact, Smart said of this Georgia team, “I think we have a chance to do well offensively.”
This may be exactly what Smart’s program needs to maintain the level of success it demands. “What I don’t want is the rise and fall and the miracles that you see,” Smart said. “I don’t want any player to leave Georgia without winning a championship.”
