Kirby Smart nsd – Syndication Server

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart talks increase in out-of-state recruits

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart discusses the increase in out-of-state recruits committing to UGA.

One of the biggest perks of being the head coach at Georgia is that even if you don’t leave your own state you can still finish with one of the nation’s top recruiting class.

If Georgia only signed the top players in the Peach State, it would still result in a damn good class signing class.

However, Kirby Smart knows that’s not realistic, so he reeled in 25 players from nine different states and together they formed the nation’s No. 1 overall ranked recruiting class.

Georgia’s often had success recruiting from other states, most notably South Florida. Then there’s the superstar running backs to come from North Carolina. Or the big arm of Jacob Eason from Washington. If Kirby Smart sees talent, he will go to any corner of the map to bring it to Athens.

This year’s class broken down by state:

Georgia: 8

Florida: 5

Texas: 3

Louisiana: 3

California: 2

Nevada: 1

Arizona: 1

Washington D.C.: 1

New Jersey: 1

On the topic of out-of-state kids, Smart said:

“Number one, we had more interest from out-of-state kids. We had some national interest from players that came to camp and really performed well that in the past, we might have lost out on.

We might have been second or third on a national kid that was a really good player. Say a Darnell (Washington), say a Kendall (Milton), say a Kelee (Ringo). But we won a lot of those. The other part is we lost some great battles that were really, really good players. So, I think the two of those merged to make that unique position where we would’ve taken the in-state guy or the out-of-state guy. It just so happens we took the out-of-state guy. But we’re excited for those players. There are a lot of good out-of-state players that play here at the University of Georgia. There’s no limitation to your borders. But we respect and understand how good our state is.”

Kirby Smart on what Todd Monken brings to Georgia’s offense, recruiting

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart discusses what new UGA OC Todd Monken bring to the Bulldogs offense and to recruiting.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart went to the professional ranks to find his next offensive coordinator.

After allowing longtime assistant James Coley a year to run Georgia’s offense, it was evident that Smart had made the wrong decision and took little time to make a change.

Smart demoted Coley and brought in Todd Monken to call the plays for Georgia’s offense.

Monken came to Georgia after serving as offensive coordinator for the Cleveland Browns. Monken is well-known for his successful air attack offenses that he’s orchestrated over the years.

By the time Monken stepped foot in Athens, Georgia, most of the heavy lifting had already been done as far as recruiting goes.

But for a new face to step into the picture that late in the recruiting process can be a scary sight for young prospects and their parents.

However, Monken and Smart handled the situation smoothly, not allowing Coley’s departure to have a negative impact on recruiting.

In fact, Monken helped Georgia to land the nation’s No. 1 overall recruiting class for 2020.

“We’re excited about what Todd brings to us. As far as the recruiting process, he got involved in most of these late,” Smart said. “Most of the work hadKirby Smart on what Todd Monken brings to Georgia’s offense, recruiting been done on a lot of these guys. If you think about it, I think all of our wideouts signed early, so that was not a major factor in this recruiting class.”

Smart also commented on his previous relationship with Monken, however, pointed out that he would prefer to talk about the new signees.

“We really want this to be about our signing class, but Coach Monken and I crossed paths at LSU. He came in with Les Miles’ staff, and I was there for a month, or three or four weeks, before I came here. So, we were briefly on the same staff. We’ve crossed paths through our time at speaking engagements, recruiting on the road, the Southern Miss job, lot of interactions in different ways.”

When asked about what we should expect from Georgia’s new-look offense in 2020, Smart sounds just excited to figure out as we do. But right now, he would not give us much information regarding that.

“I don’t know the answer to that. The roles on our staff still aren’t complete with an assistant coach spot open. I think that will play out as we go along. Certainly, I’m excited. I know the kids are excited for an opportunity and looking to see where that goes. I can’t honestly say right now. I think everybody wants to hear some grand speech opening this up and doing that. What you need is to be productive offensively, score points, and do explosive plays, which we talk about consistently.”

Georgia football coach Kirby Smart discusses importance of ‘character’ in recruiting

Georgia football HC Kirby Smart talks about a player’s character.

Georgia landed the nation’s No. 1 ranked recruiting class for the 2020 cycle, making that the second time in three years that Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs have done so.

For Kirby, the talent level of a player he is recruiting is obviously a big deal, but to him nothing is as important as getting a player of high character.

Kirby spoke about that in detail during his signing day press conference.

“It should never be the only thing, but it’s definitely the most important thing,” Smart said, referring to a player’s character.

“The older I get, the wiser I get, and the more you realize that chasing guys that don’t believe in the same principles and values of your university and of your program, they’re just not worth it. There’s too much time spent on guys that if you’re having to chase them around, it’s just not worth it. Take the guys that want to be there and go play with guys that want to be there. Number one, you’ll enjoy your job day-to-day. Your staff will enjoy it more, as will the other players. It’s very important for us.”

You don’t have to be a football coach for that advice to impact your life.

Well said, Kirby.