Kirby Smart fires back at Steve Smith’s criticism of Georgia: ‘Do your homework’

ATHENS — Former NFL All-Pro wide receiver Steve Smith Sr. had some strong criticism for the Georgia offense when discussing former Bulldogs wide receiver Zachariah Branch.

Kirby Smart’s response proved to be even stronger.

In an interview with 680 The Fan, Smart was asked about Smith’s recent comments, specifically with regard to how Georgia prepares its receivers for the next level. Smith’s sharpest comments were aimed at Gunner Stockton, who is set to return as Georgia’s quarterback.

“I don’t know the young man’s name and I don’t want to,” Smith said of Stockton. “Awful. Dog doo-doo.”

Smart had a pretty strong rebuke for the former Carolina Panthers player and current NFL Network analyst.

“Do your homework. You know, like, do a little more homework,” Smart said. “I think if you look at small sections of it, there’s things he can do better. You look at the total body of work he has, it’s been really good and I think it’s only gonna get better with experience.

“You know, I don’t really know Steve Smith personally. I’ve got nothing to respond to him. I don’t really worry about what he says. I worry about, do we win football games and do we produce?”

Smith’s comments included that Georgia’s offense limits it wide receivers.

“You’re talking banana in the tailpipe, setting a guy up to fail or not giving him enough opportunities to be drafted is what the Georgia offense did to these wide receivers,” Smith said.

Smart countered with Georgia’s track record, noting that the school was second among SEC teams in wide receivers chosen over the last seven NFL drafts. Ladd McConkey, George Pickens and Mecole Hardman were all second-round draft picks during that time frame.

Branch, Dillon Bell, Colbie Young and Noah Thomas could all be selected in this month’s NFL draft.

“That’s a pretty good stat. When you throw in tight end as pass-catchers, we’re first over seven years, you know what I mean? Like, that’s not a bad thing,” Smart said. “When you look at passing in the SEC over five years — and I think you can only look across your conference — we’re top-two passing over five years in our conference. I mean, there’s multiple quarterbacks in that. That’s a Stetson (Bennett), Carson (Beck), Gunner era, but when you’re top-two in something in the SEC, that’s pretty good.

“People look past a lot of things, and they’re gonna judge Gunner based on a throw or a play. Judge him based on his toughness, his intangibles, the throws he does make.”

Stockton has always been a bit of a lightning rod in terms of criticism, and Smart has always been strong in support of his players.

In Stockton’s first season as a starting quarterback, the Bulldogs were 12-2 and won the SEC. Stockton had 24 passing touchdowns, a team-best 10 rushing touchdowns and just five interceptions. He finished seventh in the Heisman Trophy voting and guided the Bulldogs to a spot in the College Football Playoff.

Yet people like Smith continue to go after Stockton. To this point, Smart does his best not to let it bother him.

“That’s just his job, right? He needs clickbait, he needs links, he needs likes, he needs all those things," Smart said of Smith. “So how do you get it? You make comments like that about players and guys in the draft. That’s his job.