Tag: Kirby Smart

Georgia coach Kirby Smart celebrates with his dad Sonny Smart after a NCAA college football game between Tennessee and Georgia in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022. Georgia won 27-13. Syndication Online Athens

Father of Georgia coach Kirby Smart dies after Sugar Bowl fall

Posted on | by Field Level Media

Sonny Smart, the father of Georgia coach Kirby Smart, died early Saturday morning due to complications from hip surgery necessitated after the 76-year-old fell in New Orleans before Thursday’s Sugar Bowl, the university announced.

“Sonny fell while walking during the day on New Year’s Eve in New Orleans and fractured his hip,” the statement said. “He was hospitalized and underwent hip surgery; unfortunately, complications arose. He fought valiantly but was unable to overcome his injuries.”

Sonny Smart was a longtime high school coach in Alabama and Georgia, including coaching football at Holtville High School in Alabama while also leading the baseball team to the state title in 1982.

The University of Georgia said the elder Smart passed away surrounded by his wife, Sharon, and their three children, Karl, Kirby and Kendall.

Kirby Smart was able to visit his father in the hospital several times before and after Georgia’s 23-10 loss in the Sugar Bowl, which was postponed from Wednesday to Thursday following a terrorist attack on Bourbon Street early New Year’s Day that killed 14 people and injured dozens more.

The Smart family thanked the Ochsner Medical Center staff in New Orleans in the school’s statement.

“Additionally, they ask for your continued prayers for those affected by the tragic events that occurred in the early hours of New Year’s Day,” the statement said. “The Smart family treasures everyone’s thoughts and prayers and now prays for God’s comfort, strength, and guidance.”

Sonny Smart played college football at Samford University in Birmingham, Ala. He coached while Kirby played safety at Bainbridge High in Georgia and also coached at Rabun County High in north Georgia.

“He’s taught me so much just about the way you handle things, the right way, the wrong way,” Kirby Smart said of his father in January 2023, per ESPN. “Control the controllables. The moment’s never too big if you’re prepared. And I always watched the way he prepared our teams and our staff in high school.

“He was a very wise man, a man of few words. I tried to follow his mantra as a coach. I’ve certainly evolved from going to coach for other people, but a lot of my core beliefs came from the way he ran our programs in high school.”

–Field Level Media

Nov 16, 2024; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart on the sideline against the Tennessee Volunteers in the second quarter at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images

Georgia makes statement, wonders aloud what CFP committee is looking for

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A statement win and then an open question defined Saturday for No. 12 Georgia.

The Bulldogs put together what head coach Kirby Smart considered the most complete team effort of the season with a 31-17 win over No. 7 Tennessee, then pointed their curiosity to the big picture question left for the College Football Playoff committee to answer on Tuesday.

“I don’t know what they’re looking for. I really don’t,” Smart said of the selection committee. “I wish they could really define the criteria. I wish they could do the eyeball test where they come down here and look at the people we’re playing against and look at them. You can’t see that stuff on TV, and so I don’t know what they look for. But that’s for somebody else to decide. I’m worried about our team.”

Smart held Tennessee under 20 points and kept the Vols off the scoreboard in the second half to put themselves in position to rejoin the projected 12-team playoff bracket when the third iteration of the CFP rankings launch on Tuesday. At No. 12 entering the game, Georgia would have slotted behind Boise State by virtue of the Broncos being a conference champion.

Georgia was No. 3 before a loss to Ole Miss, and committee chair Warde Manuel explained inconsistent offensive play was part of the reason the Bulldogs were dropped nine spots.

“It was a week ago, for a couple of hours, that we were dead and gone. People had written us off,” Smart said in praising his “resilient” team Saturday night.

Smart needed only a few deep breaths postgame before he challenged the committee to put their feet on the ground in the gameday environment SEC teams endure, such as Ole Miss or Sanford Stadium, the Bulldogs’ homefield where Georgia now has 29 wins in a row.

“They’re not in that environment,” Smart said. “They’re not at Ole Miss in that environment, playing against that defense, which is top five in the country with one of the best pass rushers in the country, and they’re fired up. They got a two-score lead, and they’re coming every play. They don’t know. They don’t understand that.”

–Field Level Media

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart and Georgia running back Trevor Etienne (1) leave the field after winning a NCAA college football game against Auburn in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 5, 2024. Georgia won 31-13.

Kirby Smart stands by insistence that Georgia fans ‘disappointed’ him

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Georgia coach Kirby Smart did not back down from his postgame comments Saturday that Bulldogs fans left him “disappointed,” but he attempted to move past the moment and accused the media of creating an “us against them” conflict.

One week after losing a 41-34 instant classic at Alabama, the Bulldogs returned home to throttle Auburn 31-13 Saturday. Speaking to the Georgia radio network’s sideline reporter after the game, Smart said the crowd atmosphere in Athens needed to have a bigger impact on the game.

“To be honest, I’m probably disappointed in our fans for the first time,” Smart said then. “I thought there was a lack of really affecting the game crowd-noise wise, passion and energy.”

The game at Sanford Stadium was a sellout of 93,033 fans, according to Georgia, but Smart did not feel the fans were loud enough and some were seen leaving the game early.

Smart was asked about his remarks multiple times in Monday’s press conference with No. 5 Georgia preparing to host Mississippi State next.

“I think I said what I said and stand on what I said and feel that it could have been better,” Smart said, “but my job is to coach the football team and I’m going to do the best I can in my power. …

“We’ve had coaches tell us that come here and play that it was the best environment they played in the entire year. But I didn’t think that was Saturday, and I don’t think I’m the only one that feels that way.”

Smart insisted that he simply wants the crowd to make it hard on opponents to play at Georgia, where the Bulldogs have a winning streak of 27 games — the longest active streak in FBS. He said he didn’t know that that’s how the stadium felt for the Auburn game.

Georgia won consecutive national championships in the 2021 and 2022 seasons, but with fans disappointed in the showing against Alabama, Smart was asked if his team had to give fans more to cheer about.

“It’s like you’re wanting to make this us against them,” Smart said. “That’s not really what this is about. We’re a team. We’re a unit and I think it’s OK to say how you feel and try to pull the family together and pull in the right direction, and you guys want to make it about, ‘Kirby said this.’ We’re a team. Let’s do this together. Let’s help each other, not make it about, ‘He said,’ and, ‘They said.’ I’m not into that.

“When I got hired here, it was all about pulling in the same direction, creating an atmosphere that’s hard to play in. You know, you win these games at home, and maybe you take it for granted if you win so many games at home. But I know this: It’s hard.”

–Field Level Media

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart talks with Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) during a football game between Tennessee and Georgia at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, Tenn., on Saturday, Nov. 18, 2023.

Georgia anticipates ‘great matchup’ with Clemson

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Georgia coach Kirby Smart studied the history of the Clemson program and last season’s game film to prepare for the 2024 Kickoff Classic in Atlanta on Saturday.

“It boils down to who blocks the best, tackles the best, avoids catastrophic mistakes,” Smart said.

Once an annual rivalry, Georgia and Clemson last met in 2021. Each program anticipates competing at the highest level in their conference and beyond, which makes the marquee opener even more important for the Bulldogs.

“Should be an awesome environment,” Smart said. “It’s going to be awesome.”

Smart said part of the challenge in the opening game is not knowing exactly what’s coming from the opponent, although he’s not entirely certain where the Bulldogs stand at certain positions, either.

“Any time you go into a season and wonder, ‘What do you have?’ Well, you don’t really know what you have,” Smart said. “At Georgia, we don’t like to say, ‘Let’s start all over.’ There’s these guys in our program … a lot of guys that have had lots of reps that will be ready for the game Saturday.”

Smart confirmed running back Roderick Robinson had toe surgery. There is no timeframe for his return.

“It’s still an issue for him,” Smart said.

One running back option Smart didn’t call out in his Monday press conference is Florida transfer Trevor Etienne, who could face discipline for a spring DUI arrest. Etienne, a junior, was named to the preseason All-SEC first team along with quarterback Carson Beck, senior offensive lineman Tate Ratledge, senior defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse and junior safety Malaki Starks.

–Field Level Media

Georgia coach Kirby Smart yells during spring practice in Athens, Ga., on Thursday, March 14, 2024.

Georgia makes Kirby Smart highest-paid football coach at public school

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Georgia is making Kirby Smart the highest-paid college football coach at a public school under a new contract announced Thursday.

Smart, who led the Bulldogs to national championships in 2021 and 2022, agreed to a two-year contract extension through 2033 that will pay him a yearly salary of $13 million — a $1.75 million annual raise — and bonuses up to $1.55 million.

Clemson coach Dabo Swinney is due to make $11.5 million in 2024, according to reports.

Smart, 48, is 94-16 in eight seasons at his alma mater, including 13-1 last season when a loss to Alabama for the Southeastern Conference championship kept the defending champion Bulldogs out of the College Football Playoff. Instead, Georgia played in the Orange Bowl, defeating Florida State to raise its mark to 9-2 in bowl games under Smart.

He signed a 10-year contract in 2021 that totaled $112.5 million — at the time the most lucrative deal. However, Swinney and Alabama’s Nick Saban — who retired after last season — inked new contracts that surpassed the annual figure.

Smart’s new compensation was approved Thursday afternoon by an executive committee of the Georgia Athletic Association’s board of directors.

Athletic director Josh Brooks also received a pay increase to $1.275 million annually with a contract extension to 2030. Hired in January 2021, Brooks was making $1.025 million annually with yearly increases of $100,000.

–Field Level Media

A memorial at the crash site were UGA football player Devin Willock and UGA staffer Chandler LeCroy died in a car crash on Barnett Shoals Road in Athens.

Lawsuit: Georgia staff knew of drinking at events, impermissible cash payments

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An amended court filing in the case of a former Georgia football recruiting analyst seriously injured in a crash a year ago contends staff members frequently drove vehicles rented by the school’s athletic association after drinking.

Additionally, attorneys representing the woman said coaches spent money on recruits during unofficial visits, against NCAA rules.

The bombshell accusations were part of a report Thursday from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, which reviewed court papers filed in the case of Victoria “Tory” Bowles, the survivor of an accident that killed a fellow member of the recruiting staff and a Bulldogs football player.

She is suing the Georgia Athletics Association, as well as the estate of Chandler LeCroy, who was killed in the Jan. 15, 2023 crash, and Philadelphia Eagles rookie Jalen Carter. Carter pleaded no contest to racing and reckless driving in March after being linked to the accident. He was sentenced to probation and community service.

LeCroy was driving a rented SUV when the vehicle veered off the road and hit two power poles and several trees.

LeCroy was killed, as was Devin Willock, a Georgia offensive lineman. Toxicology reports showed LeCroy had a blood alcohol concentration of 0.197 percent — nearly 2 1/2 times the Georgia limit — when the SUV she was driving was traveling 104 mph.

“My client’s iPhone survived the crash fully intact and contains thousands of pages of recruiting texts describing the inner workings of UGA’s recruiting activities,” Bowles’ attorney Rob Buck said in a statement to the newspaper. “The new texts included in the Amended Complaint establish that the Association was fully aware recruiting staffers were regularly allowed to drive recruits and their families around Athens after drinking alcohol at Association sponsored events.”

A university official said the school is prepared to fight the allegations.

“We are reviewing the amended complaint, but we dispute its claims and will vigorously defend the Athletic Association’s interests in court,” said Steven Drummond, a Georgia executive associate athletic director, per the newspaper.

The filing includes text messages purportedly from Bowles’ phone that discuss school staff members drinking at football-related events, including one at head coach Kirby Smart’s house, warning them not to consume too much alcohol.

“Hey guys… if you are driving you can have fun at Coach Smarts but if you are driving a recruit make sure you don’t get drunk,” read one text message from 2019, reportedly from a staff member. “It will be a bad look if we have people who are supposed to be driving recruits getting lit.”

Bowles’ amended lawsuit also touches upon what she alleges was a practice of coaches and staff paying for a recruit’s expenses during unofficial visits, which is not permitted.

“Ms. Bowles was aware from her own observations and from prior communications from her superiors of UGA football coaches’ use of cash in recruiting activities involving unofficial visits prior to that evening,” the filing reads, per the Journal-Constitution.

Since filing her initial lawsuit last summer, Bowles was fired from her job. In her case, she is seeking nearly $200,000 for medical bills, lost wages and unspecified damages.

–Field Level Media

Georgia quarterback Carson Beck (15) warms up before the start of a NCAA college football game against Kentucky in Athens, Ga., on Saturday, Oct. 7, 2023.

Baseball background helps Georgia QB Carson Beck face pressure

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Georgia football fans have plenty of reason to be happy that a former Florida baseball commit is now running the Bulldogs’ offense.

As No. 1 Georgia begins preparations to visit Vanderbilt on Saturday, coach Kirby Smart pointed to quarterback Carson Beck’s baseball background as a major reason why Beck can handle the pressures of facing a heavy blitz when leading the nation’s top-ranked team.

There’s no blitzing in baseball, of course, but Smart feels there is immense pressure in different ways.

“You know, a baseball background, I’ve learned, gives you the ability to handle pressure, because there’s no greater pressure than you have to throw a strike,” Smart said. “Nobody can help you throw that strike — no coach, no pitching coach. You gotta stand out there and throw a strike. … And (Beck) does well under pressure, and he has 10 good friends that are on the same page with him.”

Beck had a career day Saturday when Georgia crushed then-No. 20 Kentucky 51-13. He set personal highs in completions (28 on 35 attempts), yards (389) and touchdowns (four) — all while Kentucky blitzed him relentlessly. He won SEC Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts.

“First and foremost, the offensive line picking up the blitz helps me. Big time,” Beck said Monday. “Not only that, but the center, Sedrick (Van Pran), and my study of film and seeing what defenses are going to try and do when they do blitz us, making the right ID as far as Mike points and changing protections and all that stuff. Having Sedrick there to help me with that and then also just studying film. Obviously, the execution of it, picking up the blitz, but that’s a huge credit to our offensive line.”

Smart cited not only Beck’s composure, but also his mental processing as keys to beat a blitz.

“You have to process information rapidly, and the more information you can handle, the more flexibility your offense has. And the flexibility of an offense is usually tied to what the quarterback can handle. And our quarterback — not only because he’s smart, because he’s also of age and been in the same system for multiple years — has been able to grow from that.”

Beck, a junior from Jacksonville, Fla., grew up a Gators fan and committed at one point to play baseball for Florida with one of his friends. Before long, football became his best sport, and his best option for college.

“Being a pitcher, playing baseball, you’re the only guy that’s really doing anything when you’re up there pitching,” Beck said. “Baseball’s a little bit more boring of a sport. When you’re sitting there pitching, you’re the guy, all the weight is on you to sit there and execute. Whether you’re throwing 80, 90, 100 pitches a game. I definitely say that can accredit to the way that I handle pressure.”

After joining Georgia, he waited patiently behind Stetson Bennett, the quarterback of Georgia’s back-to-back national title teams.

Smart was never concerned about the Bulldogs’ shift this season from Bennett and offensive coordinator Todd Monken to Beck and new OC Mike Bobo.

“I made a quick decision there because I was really confident, and we had the luxury of having a quarterback coming back that really wasn’t your typical first-time starter,” Smart said. “When you have a guy that’s been in the system as long as he has, I felt comfortable that he knew the system.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 9, 2023; Athens, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart reacts to the game against the Ball State Cardinals during the second half at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Kirby Smart, No. 1 Georgia ‘not panicking’

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No. 1 Georgia pocketed its first conference win of the season without many style points.

Good enough to win, the Bulldogs outlasted a keep-away approach from South Carolina to notch a 24-14 victory and extend its winning streak to 20 games.

But the message from head coach Kirby Smart to players was blunt: good enough to win isn’t good enough.

“I’m not panicking in any sort of way,” Smart said Monday. “South Carolina is a good team. I’m very happy with where we are. You learn more about the truth, too. The truth is this is who we are, a 3-0 team who won three imperfect games. I’m still looking for the perfect one.”

Some September stress was expected for Smart and Georgia transitioning from offensive coordinator Todd Monken to Mike Bobo, and readying Carson Beck — who replaced two-time national champion quarterback Stetson Bennett — for the rigors of the SEC.

“Carson has done a good job. He makes good decisions with the ball,” Smart said, noting he’d like to see Beck step up in the pocket in the face of pressure. “Very pleased with what he’s done. We’ve got to get better results.”

“We challenge him with different things. What I’ve been most proud of is his composure, which I never doubted,” Smart said Monday. “He handles positive and negative almost the same.”

One of the strains for the Bulldogs has been injuries. Remarkably healthy the past two seasons, Smart said the current injury list is longer than it has been in his tenure.

“That becomes a hurdle,” Smart said.

Right tackle Amarius Mims will be sidelined by an ankle injury that requires tightrope surgery, Smart said. He’s expected to return this season.

Freshman running back Roderick Robinson (high ankle sprain) and wide receiver Ladd McConkey (back) are among other injuries of note. McConkey will not play this week, Smart said.

To get right, Georgia has to resolve red-zone woes. The Bulldogs ranked among the best in the country in red zone defense the past two seasons. Collecting yards isn’t the problem, but scoring points has been.

“You have to be able to run the ball in the red area and you have to be able to stop the run. We’ve got to have positive plays both ways,” Smart said.

The Bulldogs are 25th in total offense, averaging 467.7 yards per game.

Georgia has 13 offensive touchdowns, but 37 FBS teams have more. Notre Dame leads the country with 24. Auburn (15), which hosts the Bulldogs in two weeks, and Georgia State each have 15.

Georgia plays a fourth consecutive home game Saturday when UAB visits in the final tuneup before the Bulldogs flip to all SEC programming the rest of the regular season. After the Blazers swing by, Georgia plays three of its next four games on the road.

“I haven’t even thought about Tennessee and Ole Miss, and I haven’t even thought about traveling,” Smart said. “I’m worried about UAB.”

–Field Level Media

Sep 17, 2022; Columbia, South Carolina, USA; South Carolina Gamecocks quarterback Spencer Rattler (7) passes as he is hit by Georgia Bulldogs defensive lineman Mykel Williams (13) in the second quarter at Williams-Brice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeff Blake-USA TODAY Sports

Georgia, Kirby Smart gear up for South Carolina, talented QB

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Nearly one year later, No. 1 Georgia gets another opportunity to shake up Spencer Rattler and South Carolina on Saturday.

Rattler was 13-of-25 passing for 118 yards and two interceptions for South Carolina in a 48-7 loss to the Bulldogs last season. This week he preps for a rematch with the Bulldogs while celebrating his SEC Offensive Player of the Week performance — 25 of 27 with 345 yards, three passing touchdowns, one TD run against Furman.

“He’s got elite arm talent, I can tell you that,” Smart said Monday. “The throws he’s made, touch throws, deep, vertical, back shoulder throws. He had a throw against Clemson on third and 10 that was a rope. So, he’s very illusive, very accurate with the ball, hard to finish on. There’s a lot of people that miss tackles on him when they try to get him down. Tremendous player.”

North Carolina sacked Rattler nine times in the opener, but the Gamecocks allowed only one sack last week in an easy 47-21 win over Furman.

Georgia won’t look too deep into the 2022 film.

South Carolina has a new offense, and playcaller, with Dowell Loggains as coordinator. And Georgia lost several starters to the NFL off of the record-setting national title crew of a year ago.

Smart knows the style of the South Carolina system all too well. Gamecocks head coach Shane Beamer was special teams coach and tight ends coach for Smart at Georgia for two seasons. He’s 0-2 as Gamecocks coach against Smart and the Bulldogs.

Beamer plans to remind his team the difference between being a favorite and not being favored. As 24.5-point favorites in 2019, No. 3 Georgia left South Carolina with its first loss of the season in triple-overtime.

“I mean, they’re going to be hearing all week about ‘Georgia, Georgia, Georgia,’” Beamer said in a radio interview on Monday about players knowing they’re 24-point underdogs this week. “We just need to make sure that from our standpoint, we do what we have to do on our end to allow us to go play our very best on Saturday and that’s what we need to focus on.”

Among the emerging playmakers for the Gamecocks, Xavier Legette caught a TD pass and led the team with 118 yards on six receptions against Furman.

–Field Level Media

Apr 15, 2023; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart on the field during the Georgia Spring Game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Kirby Smart: Bulldogs haven’t cured traffic violations issue

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Georgia football coach Kirby Smart admitted that he has yet to sufficiently address a widespread problem his problem has had with unsafe driving.

Eleven Georgia football players have been cited with some form of moving violation since Jan. 15, the night offensive lineman Devin Willock and recruiting staff member Chandler LeCroy died in a car wreck allegedly caused by street racing.

“I’ll be the first to admit we haven’t solved that issue or problem,” Smart said at a press conference Tuesday. “I don’t honestly know that anybody has, but certainly for us, it’s important to acknowledge it first. We’ve had a lot of intervention in terms of talking and visiting, and discipline measures have been implemented in terms of education. We’ll continue to do that.”

The most recent player cited by police was freshman outside linebacker Samuel M’Pemba, who was caught driving 88 mpg in a 55 mph zone, sheriff’s records showed.

Wide receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint pleaded guilty to driving 90 in a 45 mph zone this spring.

“It’s not necessarily just the volume of the speeding tickets, it’s the speed of the speeding tickets,” Smart said. “And that’s a bigger concern to me — the speed of the speeding tickets. Because high speeds, according to the Georgia State Patrol, which talked to our team, is where you get bigger accidents. That’s the biggest concern we have in regard to that.”

Smart said the staff has handed out internal discipline to players who’ve received speeding tickets, attempted to educate them about safe driving and urged them via text to drive safely over the Fourth of July holiday weekend.

“I wish that we could prevent speeding issues and learn from a horrific and tragic event,” Smart said. “I’m still wrestling with that, and we talk about it as a staff and all the things we can do. We’ve got issues with traffic citations and speeding issues that we have to improve on. We have to get better at those, and I’m constantly looking and searching for that.”

The coach added that some players at the two-time defending national champion program have been able to buy new, faster cars with money earned through NIL deals.

The highest-profile case was the crash that took the lives of Willock and LeCroy and also involved first-round draft pick Jalen Carter. Police have alleged that LeCroy’s SUV was racing Carter’s vehicle and that she was traveling more than 100 mph when it slammed into power poles and trees.

LeCroy had a blood alcohol concentration of .197 percent, police said.

Carter, now with the Philadelphia Eagles, left the NFL scouting combine to turn himself in to police in March and pleaded no contest to misdemeanor charges of reckless driving and racing.

–Field Level Media