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Kirby Smart knows what it takes to win in the modern college football landscape.
Smart, like every other college football coach, must balance winning games while navigating the challenges created by the transfer portal. Despite those demands, the former Nick Saban assistant has led Georgia to four Southeastern Conference titles and two College Football Playoff national championships.
This week, Smart shared his distaste for the social media buzz and overall attention that is routinely placed on a given player’s transfer decision.
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Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart looks on against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish during the first half at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana on Jan. 2, 2025. (Stephen Lew/Imagn Images)
Instead of placing attention on a transfer announcement, Smart urged athletes to focus on development.
“Everybody’s announcing what they’re doing,” Smart said Monday. “‘I’m announcing that I’m going in the portal. I’m announcing that I’m re-signing.’ How about you announce that you’re getting better and you’re going to practice and, like, actually do what the 20 and 30 years of college football players did before you, which was practice in December when they’re on good teams, and get better?”
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Smart and Georgia are spending the week preparing for a quarterfinal matchup with Ole Miss. The Rebels soundly defeated Tulane in the first round to clinch a spot in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia on New Year’s Day.
However, preparing for a bowl game or playoff matchup does not give coaches or teams a break from the ongoing competition to retain players.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart reacts on the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee on Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Georgia. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)
“I mean, we’re focused on this team,” Smart said. “I think it would be remiss to say that we’re focused on roster management. We’re not focused on it.”
This isn’t the first time Smart has spoken out about what he views as the portal’s shortcomings. He previously described it as the sport’s most pressing issue in need of correction. In September, the NCAA announced it would reduce the two portal windows to a single 15-day span beginning on Jan. 2.
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart on the sideline against the Tennessee Volunteers in the first quarter at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia on Nov. 16, 2024. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)
After the Bulldogs defeated the Texas Longhorns in November, Smart spoke about how process and physicality are pillars of the program he’s helped build during his decade-long tenure at Georgia. He added, however, that not every player in today’s transfer portal and name, image and likeness (NIL) era is a fit for his program.
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“You have to recruit physical players, and they have to buy into that process,” Smart said. “I don’t know that — a lot of these kids nowadays, they want a check. They don’t want physicality. When you have the check and no physicality, you end up with nothing. So you’re not just getting checks at our place. We’re hitting people.”
Georgia and Ole Miss kick off in the Sugar Bowl from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET.
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