Kirby Smart on what he sees as the ‘biggest decision’ in college football

Smart pointed to the tampering that takes place — schools and agents trying to entice players to change schools — as a primary reason why the portal window should be in January.

“You think tampering is a problem? Put that portal in April and see what teams do in January, February and March,” he said. “Just think about it now, because we’re getting ready to make a big decision, and a lot of people believe, ‘Well, the kids won’t be able to leave if we put it in April, they’ll have to stay the next semester.’

“Oh no, they’ll be on your campus getting tampered with, collecting 33% of your cap before they leave with it. I’m not for that.”

Smart explained the SEC is leaning toward moving the start of the portal window from December into January for the sake of better organization and more effective roster management, as that’s also the period when players have to declare for the NFL draft.

“(L)et’s sign our high school recruits first,” Smart said. “Then let’s figure out in January where the semester break ends, who’s staying and who’s going.”

The complexity of the portal issue — and the ramifications of the pending decision — explains why Smart was ready to jump at the question when asked about it Tuesday.

“The biggest decision that has to be made in college football right now, by far, is when is the portal window and is there one or two,” he said.

“I think it’s really important in football to have your team (be) your team at whatever date in January, whatever we decide that is, and then you work those guys out. You train those guys, you lift, you prepare, you do meetings and all this preparation, and then that’s your team.”

Smart said not everyone is in agreement with the portal window taking place in January.

“There is an outcry. There are schools, there’s different conferences,” Smart said, “that feel like it should not fall during the playing season.”

Smart, a former Georgia football team captain and academic All-American, said UGA has already dealt with the winter semester portal conflicting with ongoing playoffs.

“(W)e had to deal with (winter portal) multiple times, (and) it’s not fun — it’s not fun,” he acknowledged. “It’s really hard to be playing in a championship setting and having to deal with that.

“But when I brought that up as a complaint or a problem, it was told to me there’s no crying from the yacht. If you’re going to play in these environments, you have to be willing to do that.”

Smart said another complication of the winter portal, as things stand, pertains to the anticipated “salary cap” arrangement expected to come out of the pending House vs. NCAA settlement.

“The cap year runs July 1 to June (30) … ” Smart said. “Well, that’s an accounting method you’ve got to take into account. Some schools are trying to manage that and prepare for that. Why can’t you just change when the cap year is? Because the settlement is going to determine the cap year, and it’s going to be based on all the other sports within our sports programs.”

Smart also said “there’s a large contingency that’s growing now trying to push an April portal, maybe May, that want to practice in June.”

Although it would be ideal if the portal didn’t happen during the postseason, he said, the players prefer it take place in January rather than after the spring semester.

“I’m great with the money (players) make, (and) I’m great with them being able to go on the portal,” Smart said, “And if you ask kids when they would like to be able to go on the portal, they’re going to say in January so they can go get started where? At their new place.”

Smart said it’s his belief the decision on when the portal should take place will be determined by the Settlement Implementation Committee, which was formed by the NCAA and conferences in March to help provide stability and fairness, and ensure implementation and enforcement of the new rules expected to take effect July 1 in the wake of the pending House vs. NCAA settlement.