Coming off their second College Football National Championship victory in a row, you would think the Georgia Bulldog’s offseason would give the team the chance to sit back and stay out of the public eye. After all they had spent the entire last year cementing themselves as the kings of college football. But as Coach Kirby Smart says, “Expectation does equal reality,” and that was precisely the case this go ’round.
In his Spring Practice opening presser, Coach Smart had a lot to address. To no one’s surprise there was a good bit of talking with matters involving situations off the field. About two thirds of his entire statement dealt with off-field concerns to be specific. This past offseason wound up with multiple players getting trouble with the law because of racing/speeding incidents, with one incident resulting in the death of Georgia staffer Chandler LeCroy and Georgia offensive lineman Devin Willock.
Such tragedy has thrown a lot of attention Coach Smart’s way and has some questioning his and his program’s credibility. It left many are wondering how Smart and the university deal with their student-athletes, to which Smart said, “We try to do all we can to help our student athletes in a positive way.” He said it’s not about how you discipline the players; it’s about changing their behavior for the better.
Smart explained that all he wants to do is help these young men succeed and graduate and that the end of the day that’s who he’s dealing with: young men. He said they’re bound to make mistakes, but those are the experiences you learn from.
Smart shared anecdotes of conversations with former players like Jonathan Ledbetter and Malik Herring and how they had reached out to him telling him about all the growth they’ve gone through since coming to and leaving from Georgia. To him that’s what it’s all about.
“That’s what we want to do. We want to help these young men become better people,” said Kirby Smart
It’s a hard job being a football coach. It’s an even harder job being the head football coach of the University of Georgia. But there’s a reason it’s Kirby Smart walking those halls and making those calls. He’s different. He stands out amongst the masses, and so does this football team. The only thing perfect about this team was their record last year. The Dawgs are trying their best, and under Smart’s leadership they’ll continue to grow and impress us all along the way.