Local

Smart meets the media in Hoover

SEC Media Days continue in Hoover Alabama: Tuesday was Georgia Bulldog coach Kirby Smart's day at the podium. He was joined by Bulldog players Jake Fromm, JR Reid, and Andrew Thomas. The Dogs are 45 days away from their August 31 season opener, a Southeastern Conference contest in Nashville vs the Vanderbilt Commodores. 

From Jeff Sentell, AJC DawgNation…

Kirby Smart said a great many many many things on Tuesday at SEC Media Days.

He also used a Jacksonville reporter’s question and that media platform to clearly state his case regarding recruiting, the Georgia-Florida game and whether or not it needs to be in Jacksonville.

“Getting opportunities to put your best foot forward [and] to have people into your home so you build a $63 million dollar facility at your home location and you want to develop relationships with kids,” Smart said. “Every opportunity you miss to have a kid at your home is an opportunity to get better.”

When asked directly about his thoughts on the future site selection in Jacksonville, he offered his full view on that matter.

“I’m for what’s best for the University of Georgia and as a group and as a staff and as administration, and we’ll look at that internally and make the decisions based on what is best for our student-athletes and what is best for the university,” Smart said in the main media room at SEC Media Days on Tuesday.

“I don’t get caught up in the emotion of this decision or that decision. I look at it from a perspective of 10,000 feet where I say: What is best for our program? And it’s that simple. And we’ll make that decision as I group and go with it.”

Yet when it comes down to recruiting, it can be argued the Bulldogs can’t do much better in recruiting over the last three cycles as they have with Smart.

Georgia has averaged the nation’s No. 2 recruiting class since Smart’s first full year in 2017. That’s the best mark in the nation in that span. It includes the nation’s Nos. 1 and No. 2 classes in 2018 and 2019.

Smart said the staff doesn’t see things in that light. Those rankings are immaterial to the progress of his football team.

“We don’t look at things from the scope of we had the No.3 or No. 2 or No. 6 or No. 10 recruiting class,” Smart said. “That doesn’t matter. We’re trying to figure out how to get better. We’re trying to figure out how to get better. The best way to get better is to have opportunities to present in front of those kids.”

Listen

news

amazon alexa

Enable our Skill today to listen live at home on your Alexa Devices!