Kirby Smart says it’s time to ‘test toughness’ as Georgia opens fall camp

ATHENS — Kirby Smart opened Georgia football fall camp Wednesday with a lot of tough talk.

“We have to test toughness, and a word we talk a lot about around here is grit,” Smart said shortly before putting the Bulldogs through their first team workout amid an on-field heat index approaching 100 degrees.

“We have to find out what kind of grit we’ve got in this camp, so when we get in these fourth-quarter battles we can win them.”

Georgia ended last season with a loss in one such game, falling 39-34 to Ole Miss in the CFP Sugar Bowl quarterfinals after leading 21-12 at halftime and 24-19 at the end of the third quarter.

Of course, there were plenty of fourth-quarter heroics last season, too.

Georgia came from behind to win in six of its seven SEC regular-season games and turned in a dominant 28-7 SEC title game victory against Alabama to earn Bulldogs their second straight league championship.

Senior tight end Lawson Luckie, who has bulked up to 245 pounds, said past accomplishments don’t carry weight in the locker room.

“2026 Georgia Bulldogs have done nothing yet,” Luckie said. “We’ve won the last two SEC championships, (but) this team has won nothing.

“You start from scratch every year.”

Smart said this team will continue to prioritize the same things as those before them, which is running the ball effectively and stopping the run.

“You can’t get away from that point of emphasis — that’s not going to ever change in our program,” Smart said. “We have to be able to run the football. Show me a good team that wins championships that can’t run the football.”

Georgia ranked fourth in the SEC in rushing in 2025 with 182.1 yards per game and was second in the SEC and fourth in the nation in allowing 81.5 yards rushing per outing.

Still, Smart said, “I would say we are coming off a year that we were subpar at that, when we really tried to drive that home.”

There’s more to work on, of course, with Smart wanting his team to “generate more turnovers, more (defensive) havoc, and be more explosive on offense. It’s not one thing.”

It will take several Georgia players coming into their own for the team to accomplish its goals.

Smart prioritized retention over transfer acquisition in the offseason. With two portal additions sidelined indefinitely after being brought in to contribute immediately — defensive end Amaris Williams (ACL) and tailback Dante Dowdell (ATV accident) — the margin for error has thinned.

To that end, Smart is stressing focus for his players during the fall camp sessions leading up to the season opener against FCS-level Tennessee State on Sept. 5.

“I’m asking each player to have some addition by subtraction — what are you going to do for the next 12 to 14 days that you’re technically in camp?” Smart said of the team staying at the Georgia Center.

“Our history of camp here, and how you can improve your team by gaining depth on your roster, is what we’re going to do.”

Georgia figures to open with a preseason AP Top 5 ranking for what would be a ninth straight year (UGA is No. 3 in the preseason Coaches Poll) on the heels of nine straight finishes among the top 7 of the AP’s final poll.

For some perspective on the elevated stature Smart has established, legendary UGA coach Vince Dooley didn’t begin any of his 25 seasons with a preseason rank in the Top 5.

AP Top 25 preseason ranks

(Under Kirby Smart)

2016: No. 18

2017: No. 15

2018: No. 3

2019: No. 3

2020: No. 4

2021: No. 5

2022: No. 3

2023: No. 1

2024: No. 1

2025: No. 5

2026: Aug. 17 release

AP Top 25 final rankings

(Under Kirby Smart)

2016: 8-5, unranked

2017: 13-2, No. 2

2018: 11-3, No. 7

2019: 12-2, No. 4

2020: 8-2, No. 7

2021: 14-1, No. 1

2022: 15-0, No. 1

2023: 13-1, No. 4