Kirby Smart has dumped the gaiters.
Not the Florida Gators, mind you. They’re still on the schedule. But the “gaiters,” as in the popular neckwear that can be pulled up over the nose and mouth to be used as a mask to fight against the effects of the coronavirus.
Gaiters are utilized by the Bulldogs and most college football players because they can be worn around the neck and easily pulled up over the nose and mouth when the players are on the sidelines. Likewise, it was Smart’s masking method of choice throughout preseason practices and into the Georgia’s first game against Arkansas.
Trouble was, Smart didn’t mask up enough in the opener. After the Bulldogs’ season-opening win over the Razorbacks on Sept. 26, Smart was reprimanded by SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey for not keeping his nose and mouth covered when he talked to players on the sideline and yelled instructions onto the field. Coaches are supposed to stay masked throughout the game.
Accordingly, Smart switched to a conventional mask against Auburn on Saturday and things went much better.
“Absolutely,” Smart said this week. “I’ve been talked to by the commissioner and several others. This has helped me tremendously (holding up his mask). This is one that stays with me the whole time. I just have to figure out a way to get it tighter and more comfortable on there.”
Alas, Smart remained imperfect, occasionally pulling the mask down to be better heard while making a point to an individual on the sideline and often letting the mask slip below his nose while it stayed over his mouth.
But like the team he coaches, Smart is trying to improve each week.
“The biggest thing is when you’re in the middle of coaching and talking to somebody, you have to get comfortable being able to leave it up and leave it on,” said Smart, who like the players is tested at least twice a week for COVID-19. “That’s probably the toughest thing.”
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