“Just call me Kirby.”
That’s what Georgia’s new head football coach Kirby Smart has been telling coaches and prospects to call him out on the recruiting trail these last couple of weeks. It’s not as though his predecessor, Mark Richt, prohibited people from calling him anything other than “Coach Richt” – more than a few coaches just called him Mark — but it’s one of the subtle differences folks point out about Smart as they have been interacting during these frenetic times.
“It’s interesting. I heard somebody the other day, on the radio or something, criticizing Isaac for calling him Kirby,” said Jay Nauta, father of tight end Isaac Nauta, an early enrollee for the Bulldogs. “Well, that’s something he’s just always wanted us to do. He always says, ‘no, just call me Kirby.’ He even does that to me. He’s that way to other people, too. It might not stay that way now that he has so many people reporting to him. But he’s always wanted me to call him Kirby.’”
We placed a few calls around the country this week to talk to individuals who have interacted with Smart in the seven weeks he has been Georgia’s head football coach to try to get an idea about his personality and recruiting style.
That style is not without some splash.
This week Smart looked like a rock star by landing in a helicopter at Lanier High School in Gwinnett County as he arrived to court Derrick Brown, the state of Georgia's No. 1 prospect. Smart was accompanied by UGA defensive coordinator Mel Tucker.
» Find more on what recruits had to say about Smart on DawgNation
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