Kirby Smart isn’t looking at NFL rosters to get Georgia more help

ATHENS — Kirby Smart and Lane Kiffin are as close as any two head coaches in the league.

But it’s clear the two have differing views when it comes to bringing NFL players back into college football.

Kiffin spoke on Monday about bringing back NFL players back to college, as LSU is poised to add former Cleveland Brown Dae’Quan Wright to its roster on Tuesday once he clears waivers. Wright played for Kiffin at Ole Miss last season, as did defensive tackle Zxavian Harris.

As for Smart, he made it clear Georgia isn’t looking to the leauge for additional help.

“The opportunities presented to the guys on our team is important to me. They’ve earned those opportunities through an offseason, through a summer program, through a really tough fall camp. You have to decide, each and every person, if that’s valuable enough to warrant replacing your players that have worked with your team with others that might be better,” Smart said. “So our job is to upgrade and try to get better as much as we can and win games. So some people feel like that gives them an opportunity to be better and doesn’t change their culture and more power to them.”

It was previously reported that Georgia was bringing back wide receiver Cole Speer, but he never signed with an NFL team.

Smart also didn’t confirm that Speer was rejoining the team, as the Georgia coach was waiting for clearance from the NCAA. Smart did indicate the Bulldogs were speaking to multiple players about possibly returning.

Former Georgia defensive back JaCorey Thomas does plan to sue the NCAA to gain a temporary restraining order that would give him a fifth season of eligibility for the upcoming season. However, Thomas also plans to enter the transfer portal, indicating he’ll likely be playing elsewhere.

Smart remarked how much college football has changed in the nearly 30 years he’s been involved in the sport. He recalled when an LSU player took one snap in an SEC championship game in the early 2000s and it burned an entire year of eligibility.

In recent years the eligibility rule has changed. Before moving toward a five-for-five model, players could play up to four regular season games before redshirting. Now the redshirt has been taken out of the sport entirely.

“All those rules came about because they were needed, because rosters were dwindling, people were transferring, people were not playing in bowl games,” Smart said. “So they made them exempt and they changed them. But it affected different people each time they changed those rules.

Smart did share that he is a fan of the current setup, even if it has introduced more chaos into the sport.

“This is a better rule, five for five, this is a better rule,” Smart said. “So you can play as much or as little and you get five years. So it’s affecting different people in different ways.”

The SEC did release a statement on Monday night regarding the issue.

“College athletes, not former professional athletes, have been at the heart of the Southeastern Conference. Individuals who choose to leave college athletics, sign professional playing contracts, and compete professionally should not then be permitted to return to college competition,” the statement said.

“Allowing that to occur will blur the line between college and professional sports, create significant competitive equity concerns, and reduce opportunities for high school and current college athletes.”

On Tuesday morning, Yahoo’s Ross Dellenger reported that the league’s presidents are expected to advise SEC athletic directors against accepting pro players. Whether SEC commissioner Greg Sankey follows through on potential penalties remains to be seen.

ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that the Big Ten is set to have a vote on a rule on Tuesday that would prevent players from returning to a Big Ten school after having played in the NFL.