Kirby Smart reflects on special moment with son after Tennessee win, importance of family

In the excitement following last Saturday’s thrilling 44-41 overtime victory over then-No. 15 Tennessee in Knoxville, Georgia coach Kirby Smart shared a special moment with his eldest son, Weston, a 17-year-old high school senior. It’s something the 10th-year Bulldogs head coach has made a point to do every chance he gets this season.

After losing his late father, Sonny, in January following complications from an emergency hip surgery, Smart has a renewed appreciation for celebrating life’s little wins — on and off the field — with his family, including wife Mary Beth, Weston, 17-year-old daughter Julia and his youngest son, 13-year-old Andrew.

“I think you certainly look to embrace (those moments with family) and enjoy them as much as possible. I got to see my oldest son, Weston, who’s a senior, and enjoy it with him and my wife, which is really important and good because he’s getting ready to go off to college,” Smart said of the postgame moment Wednesday during the SEC’s weekly coaches teleconference. “And Andrew’s only 13, so he’s still in middle school, … but he gets to enjoy the sideline piece and being around the players. So, you’ve got to soak it up, because there’s no reason to do it if you don’t enjoy moments like that. For all the hours and all the hard work you put in, that time you get to enjoy with your family is very few and far between.”

Saturday’s overtime win in Knoxville was the ninth-straight for Georgia in its rivalry series with Tennessee, tying for the longest win streak by one side in the series with the Vols, which won nine in a row between 1989-1999. The Bulldogs (3-0, 1-0 SEC) have dominated the series of late, including winning five straight inside Neyland Stadium, with the prior four coming by an average margin of victory of 30.5 points.

Kirby Smart on what he learned about Georgia players vs. Tennessee: ‘They grew up’

The Georgia Bulldogs came into the 2025 season as a young team looking to prove itself. Through two weeks, the Bulldogs played well, particularly on defense. Then, they had to roll into Neyland Stadium to play No. 15 Tennessee. That’s where Kirby Smart saw his team grow up.

Tennessee punched Georgia in the mouth in the first quarter, quickly putting up 21 points. That forced the Bulldogs to make some quick adjustments and, as Smart explained to the media following the game, he’s proud of how his team adjusted.

“Yeah, they grew up,” Smart said postgame Saturday. “I mean, the defense for two weeks has heard about how good they are. They got punched in the face. I did think we played the run well early, and then we started having to make some adjustments to sacrifice some on the run to protect some guys.”

After Tennessee put up 21 points in the first quarter, Georgia blanked the Volunteers in the second quarter. The second half would end up being a back-and-forth affair from there. In the end, the Volunteers scored 41 points but Georgia won. There’s plenty to work on, but those are things that Smart sees as correctable.

— On3’s Dan Morrison contributed to this report.