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Kirby Smart has won two national championships at Georgia and many believe he has the nation’s top team going into this season. His team has to play SEC games at Alabama, Texas, Ole Miss and Kentucky but Smart said at SEC Media Days that his players “accept and embrace that challenge” ahead.
“As coaches we want to play the best. People forget that when you’ve spent time in the NFL, every week was like that. So when Texas and Oklahoma came into the conference, every schedule was going to get harder,” Smart said.
The Georgia coach has also learned to embrace the NIL challenge and how it impacts recruiting.
“I think it’s a mistake to assume that all players lead with that (NIL money), or that’s the primary objective. I think that would be an insult to high school football players and really an insult to all people being recruited,” Smart said.
“I don’t get to the finish line of official visits where that’s the primary objective. If it is, we’re probably not getting to that point. We’re probably not going to be in the conversation.”
Smart didn’t deny that NIL dollars impact recruiting decisions and understands why.
“I’m happy that these kids get an opportunity to improve their situation or make money and give back to their families or in some cases their communities,” Smart said. “So that doesn’t bother me at all. I have no problem navigating that.
“I’ve gotten less attached and said, ‘You know what? If it’s better for that young man because of a financial difference between us and another school, I respect that decision and opinion they have to make.’
“I have to worry about the players we do get, okay? I worry about the ones that we do sign, that they’re the right kind of kids and they’re coming for the right reason. That includes money; but it’s not just money.”
