Ten years of Kirby Smart at Georgia

ATHENS, Ga. -- During a fundraising lawsuit this summer, a alien approached Georgia shot manager Kirby Smart to stock a communicative astir her daughter, who had precocious graduated from the university.

While the woman's girl was a student, she lived adjacent the Bulldogs' shot facility. Whenever the pressures of assemblage stacked up -- an important test, a agelong time of classes and studying -- she recovered alleviation successful an improbable place: stepping extracurricular to perceive Smart screaming astatine his players done a bullhorn during practice.

"It made her consciousness truthful overmuch amended that she wasn't successful shot practice," the pistillate said.

For the past decade, students jogging down Lumpkin Street oregon filling up their vehicles astatine a adjacent state presumption person heard the acquainted shouts of Smart calling retired a subordinate who made a mistake oregon was loafing successful practice.

With the No. 5 Bulldogs preparing to big No. 17 Alabama successful different SEC heavyweight bout astatine Sanford Stadium connected Saturday (7:30 p.m ET, ABC), Smart figures to beryllium louder than ever this week.

It's the lone measurement Smart has known during his 10-year tenure arsenic his alma mater's coach, successful which helium has guided the Bulldogs to back-to-back nationalist championships (2021-22), 3 SEC titles and 4 College Football Playoff appearances.

"In 1 sense, it's similar it has flown by," said Smart, who played antiaircraft backmost astatine Georgia from 1995 to '98. "But successful different sense, it feels similar an eternity. With everything that has transpired the past fewer years, conscionable successful presumption of the sport, transportation portal, NIL, everything, it astir seems longer. It seems similar the past 3 oregon 4 years person been an eternity due to the fact that of the changes."

Only Kentucky's Mark Stoops, successful his 13th play with the Wildcats, has a longer tenure successful the SEC. And with erstwhile Alabama manager Nick Saban retiring earlier the 2024 season, nary different SEC manager has been arsenic palmy arsenic Smart, who has a 108-19 grounds since taking implicit successful 2016.

Remarkably, the Bulldogs person had much NFL first-round draught picks (20) than losses nether Smart.

"I don't similar looking backmost due to the fact that I similar looking astatine it as, 'What tin we inactive do?'" Smart said. "If you told maine that was what the 10 years would entail, I astir apt would person said, 'Well, could we person done more?' There volition beryllium clip to bespeak connected this. It's not now."

SMART, 49, SEEMS arsenic determined arsenic ever to support the Bulldogs successful the hunt for different CFP nationalist championship, adjacent arsenic the sport's rapidly changing scenery has made it much hard for programs to stockpile talent, make young players and physique rosters similar the ones that helped him extremity Georgia's 41-year drought successful 2021.

The programme that couldn't triumph the large 1 for decades yet got implicit the hump -- and past nemesis Alabama -- with a 33-18 triumph against the Crimson Tide successful the CFP National Championship crippled aft the 2021 season. Georgia went 15-0 and blasted TCU 65-7 to triumph a 2nd consecutive CFP rubric successful 2022.

"Those should beryllium the expectations astatine Georgia due to the fact that the talent, [recruiting base], the support, each the worldly you request is here," Smart said. "All you've got to bash is instrumentality it and constituent it successful the close absorption and beryllium truly demanding and clasp radical accountable and past you request a small luck."​​

The results talk for themselves: Since 2016, the lone FBS programme that has been ranked No. 1 successful the AP canvass much than Georgia (39 weeks) is Alabama (67). Between December 2021 and December 2023, the Bulldogs won 29 games successful a row, the longest streak successful SEC history. They'll transportation a 33-game location winning streak into Sanford Stadium connected Saturday; that's the second-longest specified streak successful league past (Alabama won 57 consecutive astatine Bryant-Denny Stadium from 1963-82).

Just arsenic impressive, Smart's teams are 32-5 against longtime rivals Auburn (9-1), Florida (7-2), Georgia Tech (7-1) and Tennessee (9-1).

"I don't deliberation you could person written it for him, a amended communicative for him to travel backmost to his alma mater and person a accidental to triumph nationalist championships, plural," said Smart's wife, Mary Beth, a erstwhile hoops subordinate astatine Georgia. "College shot successful 10 years has changed dramatically, and helium inactive loves it, inactive has that competiti...