Kirby Smart Takes Podium for SEC Media Days: Notebook

ATLANTA – Day 2 of SEC Media Days in Atlanta kicked off Tuesday with Georgia head coach Kirby Smart being the first coach to take the podium.

From his golf game, to Nick Saban, to upcoming opponents, and much more, Smart touched on it all in his 28 minutes facing questions from the press.

UGASports empties its notebook from everything Smart said when addressing the media for the first time since the spring.

‘Leading from the Front’

There is a theme among the three players whom Smart brought with him to Atlanta. All three are leaders on a team that is going to be filled with youth. That includes quarterback Gunner Stockton, who, despite looking set to get his first season as the starter, is already taking on a leadership role.

“Gunner is a kid that leads from the front. Gunner is a winner,” Smart said. “He comes from an athletic family background, his dad played at Georgia Southern, and he’s the kind of kid you want at the front of the line, and he leads from the front.”

Lots of Youth

After entering last season with a lot of returning contributors, players with big-game experience, and already garnering NFL Draft hype, this year looks to be quite the opposite. Per ESPN’s Matt Miller, only one player on Georgia’s roster right now projects as a first-round pick, while many of those players who were garnering NFL attention from last year are gone.

Thus, leaving Georgia with a team that is still talented. Yet, very young.

“Our team is going to be comprised of 54 percent first and second-year players,” Smart said. “Very big change for us. I thought last year was probably one of the most veteran teams I’ve been a part of.”

More Youth = More Fire, Passion, and Energy?

Sure, there are plenty of advantages to having a more veteran, senior-heavy team. But what about a young team? The disadvantages are often noted, but the potential advantages aren’t. Smart highlighted a big potential advantage.

“I do sense in our practices, in our workouts, and the things we’ve been able to be a part of in the spring, there is a youthful exuberance,” Smart said. “That can be positive and negative.

“I can sit up here last year and tell you how experienced we were. We had all these guys coming back, and they played a lot of football. But are they motivated, and are they really wanting to be great as opposed to sometimes, when it’s new there’s a lot more excitement.”

Nick Saban Returning to Coaching?

Aren’t rumors the best? As quickly as they can prompt excitement and hype, they can be shot down. Smart did his part in playing down the rumors that his old boss may step away from the ESPN College GameDay desk and instead take back a place on the sidelines.

“No, I heard all the scuttlebutt and everything about it. I almost laughed,” Smart said. “It was like somebody needed something interesting to talk about yesterday, so they chose to go to Coach Saban to do it.”

But he didn’t stop there. Smart added that the hypothetical decision of Saban returning to coaching wouldn’t be his.

“The boss at home is going to make that call for him, not him,” Smart said.

Non-Conference Opponents

It is no secret that over the last few years, Georgia has made it an emphasis to schedule marquee non-conference games. But now, with talk of more College Football Playoff expansion and other changes in college football, the future of those marquee matchups could be in question.

For example, in 2030, Georgia is set to face Clemson, Ohio State, and Georgia Tech as non-conference Power-Four opponents.

“I love big out-of-conference games,” Smart said. “I love opportunities to play teams on a big stage, to open with big games. Everybody talks about it. I think that’s where we’re headed.”