Kirby Smart describes his approach to coaching quarterbacks

Heading into his 10th season at the helm at Georgia, Kirby Smart has seen a handful of extremely talented quarterbacks come and go through his program. Since 2017, the Bulldogs have had two of their five starting quarterbacks selected in the NFL Draft (Jake Fromm and Stetson Bennett IV) with the other three starters (Jacob Eason, JT Daniels and Carson Beck) boasting a combined 12,323 passing yards, 91 touchdowns and 33 interceptions.

Smart discussed his approach to coaching quarterbacks at this year’s SEC Media Days event in Atlanta. It starts very simply for Smart.

“Well, the first thing is to get to know the person and the kid,” Smart said. “What you said is true. Every quarterback that we’ve had has had a different personality. Every player I’ve had has had a different personality. You can take that to offensive tackle or defensive tackle, or corner. But quarterbacks, I think they’re a little different. They’re inside their own head more often. Their mistakes are expounded and their success is sometimes the same way. It’s either hero or villain so many times.”

“So, I think in my ten years at Georgia and being around so many good coaches in my career, the handling of a quarterback is critical to their confidence and success. I’ve learned from a lot of good quarterback coaches and I’ve seen a lot of good quarterbacks come and go from our program. Biggest thing is everyone’s not the same. Get to know them. Let them talk first and listen. When you listen to players, they tell you what you need.”

Kirby Smart praised Gunner Stockton at SEC Media Days

The two-time National Championship-winning head coach will support the sixth starting quarterback during his tenure, Gunner Stockton, this season. Stockton took over as the Bulldogs’ starter in last season’s College Football Playoff game following a season-ending injury to Beck in the SEC Championship game. The Tiger, GA native, boasts 588 passing yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions in nine career games.

“You just don’t ever know when your number is going to be called,” Smart said about Stockton being thrust into the starting job. “The one thing that I really appreciate about Gunner, and most quarterbacks, is he prepared every game as if he was the starter. And people can say that and say this, coach speak, but he actually did it. He went in, watched extra tape, and he knew that, at any point in time, he could be called on that to go in the game and play.”

“And, he didn’t go in a normal environment — you know, we got a big lead, maybe you’re beating an opponent — he went in against a top defense in the country, in one of the biggest games of the season, and performed well for a guy that had not gotten a lot of reps as the one. So I thought he handled that moment well, and he told a lot of our young players that you got to be prepared and ready.”

Georgia opens the Gunner Stockton era this season on Aug. 30 against Marshall. Kick-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. on ESPN.