Kirby Smart is ‘putting the pieces together’ for his 10th Georgia team

ATHENS — Kirby Smart entered his 10th preseason camp as Georgia’s head coach in character, which is to say without much reflection or self-adulation.

Such things don’t win games, and in Smart’s intense, narrow world of leading the football program, that’s what most every decision he makes is based on.

Does it help Georgia win a championship? If not, Smart moves on quickly, especially now with so many new faces, names and challenges brought about by transfer portal movement and NIL dealings.

“You get what you demand,” Smart said at the opening preseason camp news conference at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall on Thursday. “… Every minute we have by NCAA allowance, we use, and we have done more to this point with kids than we’ve ever done before.”

Smart’s football success is unparalleled by any active coach by most every measure.

Indeed, the 49-year-old Smart is the only current SEC head coach who has won an SEC championship, and he is one of only three active head coaches with a national championship. Smart and Clemson coach Dabo Swinney have won two national titles each, while Ohio State coach Ryan Day is coming off his first CFP championship with the Buckeyes last season.

Smart’s success is even more impressive when one considers it has come in an era of increased parity.

Among Smart’s notable achievements:

• Georgia is the only program to win back-to-back championships (2021-22) in the College Football Playoff era (2014-present).

• The Bulldogs are the only SEC program with a run of three consecutive undefeated regular seasons (2021-23) since the league moved to an eight-game schedule in 1992.

• Georgia’s current SEC-record 31-game home win streak is the longest in the nation and includes 11 wins over Associated Press Poll Top 25-ranked teams.

The only game that matters to Smart is the next one, though. Georgia has not started preparation for its season-opening contest against Marshall (3:30 p.m., Aug. 30), much less the titanic showdown expected when Alabama plays at Sanford Stadium for the first time in some 10 years on Sept. 27.

“Right now, you’re not trying to beat an opponent, you’re trying to better yourself, and the only way you can do that is really focus on the process of what’s next,” Smart said. “Camp is meant to be a grind, physical toughness, focused stamina. ...

“We want to develop this mental and physical toughness that carries us through the season.”

Smart revealed Thursday that the changes Georgia made to its offseason conditioning approach have produced positive results.

“We had some outstanding testing numbers that I’m really excited about for our guys,” Smart said. “We did our traditional combine (drills), and then we also did a lot more nonimpact cardio. We’re trying to get guys in shape without putting the mileage on some of their feet.”

Smart said motivation has not been an issue, and junior inside linebacker Raylen Wilson shared how the head coach ensures it stays that way each day.

“I feel like he keeps the fire in practice,” Wilson said at the Thursday news conference. “You know he’s going to bring it every day, so you better come with some fire.”

Wilson’s reference was to Smart’s trademark use of a live microphone during practices. Smart encourages and calls out players by name daily, prowling the field in drill sergeant fashion.

It’s what Georgia recruits sign up for, as former UGA three-time All-American and current NFL star tight end Brock Bowers explained during a recent “Bussin’ With The Boys” podcast.

“Kirby Smart does a good job of weeding through people,” Bowers said of Smart’s well-documented success in recruiting and player development, “and knowing who’s really all about it and who’s committed.”

Smart’s leadership role and the respect he receives from coaching peers are understandable, ESPN senior writer Chris Low explained.

“Kirby Smart recruits and develops players as efficiently as any coach I’ve ever covered, and that includes his old boss, Nick Saban,” said Low, who has covered SEC programs for more than 30 years.

“As much as anything, his ability to coach his players incredibly hard while still being able to relate to them in the ever-changing world of college football is what sets him apart.”

Smart’s buzz phrases — “You’re elite, or you’re not,” and, more recently, “Fire, Passion and Energy” — might sound cliché to UGA fans.

But it’s what recruits sign up for, and Smart believes such motivational messaging does not get old.

“I don’t think you need to worry about your message staying fresh when you have the turnover you have,” said Smart, who estimates that 54% of his roster consists of players in their first or second year in the program.

The challenge, and part of what Smart said recharges him each fall, is discovering how and where to apply himself with each team.

“It’s putting the pieces together; the puzzle of this team is different than the puzzle of last year, and it’s being able to decipher the difference in the teams,” Smart said.

“What does this team need from me, and what does this staff need from me? Where can I be at my best for our team?”

Georgia enters the 2025 season as the defending SEC champion. And yet, with UGA more than two years removed from its most recent national championship, the hunger burns in Smart to put his program back atop college football.

There are plenty of questions that will need to be answered with 13 players off last year’s team selected in the 2025 NFL draft and two-year starting quarterback Carson Beck transferred to Miami.

But Smart likes the pieces he has to work with, and more than anything, he appreciates the energy his players are bringing.

“We’re probably the healthiest we’ve been starting into camp in terms of looking at the last five years,” Smart said.

“We are young ... but we are hungry. We’ve got a team that’s fun to coach, (and) when we go out to practice each day, they’ve been enthusiastic.”

It’s a strong start.