A leadership role for the Bulldogs isn’t something the team takes lightly. There are 15-20 players who are on a Leadership Panel. The Leadership Panel is in place to help lead the team to make the right decisions.

Sony Michel is one of those players, who has come into his own this season as a leader. However, he is extremely humble about his leadership position and credits the panel more than himself. Michel mentions in the interview below how the panel comes together as a unit to be the leaders of the team. They build each other up and make sure they are there for each other.

He also mentions that they decide how they want this team to be seen. For example, they want this team to play power football. It is something that they work on daily.

The leadership panel consists of both upper and lower classmen. However, Michel points out that the coaching staff always has the last say as to who is on it.

This panel gives guys like Sony Michel the opportunity to become the kind of leader coaches want him to be. It has helped him out of his shell and to be more comfortable speaking to the media. Kirby Smart is pushing his team to become leaders and to be able to handle every situation.

By letting the leadership panel decide on what the team should look like, Smart is allowing them to really find their identity while he is guiding them in the right direction.

Michel also mentions how this team is trying to become a more physical team and that it’s something they work on daily. By pushing themselves, they are becoming more physical and aggressive, something that Smart has sold since the beginning.

Sony also hinted on how the leadership panel is getting the team ready for this upcoming game against South Carolina. The running back said that they are trying to work the weather into their preparation. He mentioned that the game plan doesn’t change, no matter if it’s sunshine or if it is a hurricane.