Kirby Smart shuts down concerns about Georgia program culture

During the football season, Georgia reached the top of the mountain, not losing a single game and achieving their second straight national championship. But during the offseason, adverse off-the-field situations tied to the Bulldogs have dominated the headlines. Head coach Kirby Smart was recently asked if he feels like he has exercised proper control and oversight for the program. 

“Absolutely, we’ve got complete control of our program and our kids in our program,” Smart said. “Do kids make mistakes? Yes. Young student-athletes make mistakes, they do.”

A few weeks after their national championship win, starting quarterback Stetson Bennett was arrested for public intoxication in Dallas, Texas where he was training for the NFL Combine. Then the day of the combine, an arrest warrant was issued to Bulldogs’ star defensive lineman Jalen Carter by the Athens Police Department for reckless driving and racing charges that are tied to the fatal crash in January that killed his former Bulldogs teammate Devin Willock and recruiting staff Chandler LeCroy.

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The events of the offseason have cast a dark cloud over the Bulldogs’ program, but Smart is still confident in the culture he has built in Athens.

“It happens all across the country, it happens here. There’s no lack of control for our program, I think our kids across the board will tell you that we have an incredible culture here, we have a connective tissue that brings out team together,” Smart said.

Carter became the ninth Georgia player in the last 14 months to be arrested including Kenny McIntosh, Nolan Smith, and Javon Bullard all facing legal trouble involving reckless driving, speeding, and a DUI for Bullard.

“Our guys do make mistakes, that’s historically probably gonna happen when you’re 18 to 22 year olds, our job as coaches is to prevent that from happening,” Smart explained. “And that starts with me and you do it by educating your players and how you discipline your players and we’ll continue to do that at a high standard.”

No one is questioning that young people make mistakes, but the Bulldogs have made some considerable ones off of the field under Smart’s leadership. It has not impacted their success on the field yet, but hopefully, Smart and his players can get the help they need and stay out of trouble moving forward as they work towards a three-peat this offseason.