Say this for Kirby Smart, even when he was a senior in high school he thought a lot like Nick Saban, always looking head.
As the story goes, according to former Georgia All-American offensive lineman Matt Stinchcomb, the two were in Athens for a prospects camp. At the time, Stinchcomb was a junior at Parkview High, while Smart was a senior at Bainbridge.
“My first memory of Kirby is at this camp at Georgia,’’ Stinchcomb said. “We are all standing in line alphabetically, and it goes Smart and then Stinchcomb. I was the pudgy kid at camp and hadn’t spoken to anyone. So we are in line to run (the 40-yard dash) and this kid (Smart) in front of me turns around and tells me to put my foot right here on the starting line. He then used my foot as leverage to get a better start on his 40. He always was industrious.’’
Smart was redshirted his first season, so he and Stinchcomb spent four seasons on the field together. They also both majored in finance, so they spent a lot of time in the same classes.
“The thing a lot of people don’t realize about Kirby is he was a really good football player,’’ Stinchcomb said. “He was an all-conference defensive back and was always around the ball.’’
As a safety, Smart intercepted six passes his junior season in 1997 and collected five more as a senior and was honored with first-team All-SEC recognition. His 13 interceptions at Georgia tie him for fifth all-time for the Bulldogs.
Said Stinchcomb, “In other words, Kirby did more than just line people up.’’
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