‘Kirby Smart deserves more attention’ at SEC Media Days

TAMPA — The 2026 SEC Football Media Days kicked off on Monday at the Tampa Marriott, storylines aplenty.

“I think the three top questions here are about the SEC versus the Big Ten, Lane Kiffin taking over at LSU and then whether the SEC can get back on top of college football,” SEC Network host Paul Finebaum told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

“But I’m actually most intrigued about Kirby Smart and Georgia football from a national standpoint, because we’re hearing so little about them.”

It’s a fair point when one considers the two-time defending SEC champion Bulldogs haven’t won a College Football Playoff Game since winning the CFP title following the 2022 season.

Gunner Stockton, Georgia’s gritty home-state quarterback finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy balloting last season, but with five of UGA’s six top receivers from a season ago having moved on, there are questions about Stockton replicating his numbers and developing into a NFL draft prospect.

“I just did an ESPN interview, and the questions were about Arch Manning and Kiffin,” Finebaum said. “I mean, Alabama doesn’t even get mentioned anymore, but Kirby Smart deserves more attention than he’s getting,”

So it would seem, but back-to-back losses in the CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinal have tarnished Georgia’s back-to-back SEC championships.

“Georgia is still in the top tier, but it looks like from the early read that Texas is going to be picked first to win the league,” Finebaum said. “The most important thing for Kirby Smart is changing January. All the SEC titles in the world aren’t changing the public opinion of him.

“It’s can he win another national championship and get back to the national championship game.”