Georgia coach Kirby Smart pushes back on transfer portal hype, stresses practice over publicity

Kirby Smart knows what it takes to triumph successful the modern assemblage shot landscape.

Smart, similar each different assemblage shot coach, indispensable equilibrium winning games portion navigating the challenges created by the transportation portal. Despite those demands, the erstwhile Nick Saban adjunct has led Georgia to 4 Southeastern Conference titles and 2 College Football Playoff nationalist championships.

This week, Smart shared his distaste for the societal media buzz and wide attraction routinely placed connected a fixed player’s transportation decision.

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Georgia Bulldogs caput manager Kirby Smart during the archetypal fractional against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish astatine Caesars Superdome successful New Orleans Jan. 2, 2025.  (Stephen Lew/Imagn Images)

Instead of placing attraction connected a transportation announcement, Smart urged athletes to absorption connected development.

"Everybody's announcing what they're doing," Smart said Monday. "'I'm announcing that I'm going successful the portal. I'm announcing that I'm re-signing.' How astir you denote that you're getting amended and you're going to signifier and, like, really bash what the 20 and 30 years of assemblage shot players did earlier you, which was signifier successful December erstwhile they're connected bully teams and get better?"

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Smart and Georgia are spending the week preparing for a quarterfinal matchup with Ole Miss. The Rebels soundly defeated Tulane successful the archetypal circular to clinch a spot successful the Sugar Bowl against Georgia connected New Year’s Day.

However, preparing for a vessel crippled oregon playoff matchup does not springiness coaches oregon teams a interruption from the ongoing contention to clasp players.

Georgia caput manager Kirby Smart reacts connected the sideline during the 2nd fractional against Tennessee Nov. 16, 2024, successful Athens, Ga. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

"I mean, we're focused connected this team," Smart said. "I deliberation it would beryllium remiss to accidental that we're focused connected roster management. We're not focused connected it."

This isn’t the archetypal clip Smart has spoken retired astir what helium views arsenic the portal’s shortcomings. He antecedently described it arsenic the sport’s astir pressing contented successful request of correction. In September, the NCAA announced it would trim the 2 portal windows to a azygous 15-day span opening Jan. 2.

Georgia Bulldogs caput manager Kirby Smart connected the sideline against the Tennessee Volunteers successful the archetypal 4th astatine Sanford Stadium successful Athens, Ga., Nov. 16, 2024. (Brett Davis/Imagn Images)

After the Bulldogs defeated the Texas Longhorns successful November, Smart spoke astir however process and physicality are pillars of the programme he’s helped physique during his decade-long tenure astatine Georgia. He added, however, that not each subordinate successful today’s transportation portal and name, representation and likeness (NIL) epoch is simply a acceptable for his program.

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"You person to enlistee carnal players, and they person to bargain into that process," Smart said. "I don't cognize that — a batch of these kids nowadays, they privation a check. They don't privation physicality. When you person the cheque and nary physicality, you extremity up with nothing. So, you're not conscionable getting checks astatine our place. We're hitting people."

Georgia and Ole Miss footwear disconnected successful the Sugar Bowl from the Caesars Superdome successful New Orleans Jan. 1, 2026, astatine 8 p.m. ET.

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