Stetson Bennett won Georgia's starting quarterback job last season and led the Bulldogs to the national title. (Photo by Vicky Graff)
National champion Georgia had its spring game Saturday and coach Kirby Smart had a lot to say after the game. Here’s a few things the coach shared I thought you might find interesting.
Q. What did you make of the play of returning starting quarterback Stetson Bennett and the quarterbacks overall?
KIRBY SMART: I thought those guys did a good job. When you put them in a situation where it’s pass-happy type environment, it changes the D-line’s demeanor, so there’s no real run game to slow guys down and everybody is pinning their ears back. You have two two-minute situations which are actually three-minute, but it was a three-minute two-minute and then another three-minute two-minute, and you’re up tempo going, that makes sometimes for tougher passing situations.
But I really thought those guys made some plays. Standing back there with them, they stood in the pocket, made good decisions with the ball, made some vertical plays down the field, and our style is, hey, we’re going to make shots. It really wasn’t a shot-type day because it wasn’t a play action type day, it was a drop-back pass type day.
Those guys executed well and made some plays. They really all three got so much better during the spring. Just the growth within the offense, you see so much promise in each one of them.
Q. Last spring you named Jake Edey the starter at quarterback. Is it fair to say with all of Stetson’s experience and the MVP performances that he’s going to be the starter next season?
KIRBY SMART: You said it, so there you go. You just quoted. You said it. I don’t have to say that. Our team knows Stetson is our quarterback; know what I mean? Stetson has done a tremendous job. Stetson has been an incredible leader, done what we’ve asked, and you know what, the other two guys have gotten a whole lot better, and I think if you asked them, they’re really comfortable back there in the pulpit throwing the ball. I saw it today with both of them. They both have really good arm talent and done a great job. Stetson knows where he stands on our team.
Q. Last year during SEC Media Day you cited Henry David Thoreau and said that success comes to those who are too busy to be looking for it. Coming off of a National Championship run, what’s the first thing listed on a schedule of a coach who’s too busy to be looking for success?
KIRBY SMART: First thing on the schedule after this? I’ve got to go meet with some recruits. Then I’ve got to go out to eat with some recruits and then I’ve got to go call some recruits and then I’ve got to grade the film. There’s a long list of things — I’ve got to do the duty that lies nearest, and that’s always going to be the case in this profession, what is the duty that lies nearest.
Q. Have you gotten your ring yet, and what did you think seeing that group of seniors getting theirs?
KIRBY SMART: It was really cool. I have not gotten my ring yet, but I was really proud of those guys. Getting to see them there today and the ovation they got means so much. Those guys have given so much to this program, and there’s a lot of guys, there’s five-year, six-year, three-year guys. It’s a random group when it comes to the number of years served here. It’s not like they’re all one class. They all came in across really three years, and they’ve changed the culture, the work ethic, and there’s a lot of guys before them that didn’t get a ring that were out there today, too, that they were part of that same success. Some of that ring is theirs, and I think the guys that got the rings will be the first to admit that.
Q. You said the honeymoon is over on the SEC Network the other day, but how much does the National Championship give you momentum and help you in this day and age where recruiting looks like it’s a little different with the NIL landscape? Has it been a big boost?
KIRBY SMART: I don’t know how you measure that. I really don’t. It’s hard to measure what is the amount of boost it gives you. I don’t know. I think it puts you in conversation with a lot of kids, but you can only efficiently recruit so many kids. If it puts you in it with more, you’d better pick the right ones to be in it with and you’d better hone in on who you want because otherwise you’re just like shooting a big spread shotgun out there just seeing what comes back to you.
You’ve got to narrow your focus, you’ve got to know what you want to go after, the right kind of kids, and I think that’s — win or lose the National Championship game, that doesn’t change. What we have to do in recruiting is what we have to do in recruiting. I’m certainly glad that we won it. I’m glad we won it for our fans, but I’m focused on forward. I’m looking like in there, not in the rear-view mirror. I’m looking out the windshield straight ahead.
Q. You said spring is about building identity for the team. Do you feel like you have an idea of what this team’s identity might be at this point?
KIRBY SMART: We’re creeping on it. There was some really good accountability in terms of holding each other accountable this spring that I was shocked by, that I was like, man, there’s going to be a void in leadership, how can we create leadership opportunities, and from the day one they were pushing each other, they were cheering each other on the sideline. I’m like, man, it’s almost like they wanted to emulate those other guys. I’m talking about from a leadership standpoint now. They can’t emulate what some of those guys do on the field. They can emulate the standard, though, and I thought they really did that for 14 of the 15 practices. Man, I was like, dude, they had a great attitude, they worked really hard today and we made it tough, and they did it. We’re going to have to have a little different personality. We’re going to have some grit, some toughness because it won’t just be talent. We were really talented last year, and not that we’re not talented now, but we’re going to have to win in different ways.
