Kirby Smart prioritizes development over portal noise ahead of Georgia’s CFP run

Kirby Smart knows what it takes to win in today’s college football environment.

Smart, like every other college football coach, must balance winning games while navigating the challenges created by the transfer portal. Despite those demands, the former Nick Saban assistant led Georgia to four Southeastern Conference titles and two College Football Playoff national championships.

This week, Smart shared his distaste for the noise on social media and all the attention placed on the decision to transfer a certain player.

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Instead of paying attention to the exchange announcement, Smart urged the athletes to focus on development.

“Everybody’s announcing what they’re doing,” Smart said Monday. “‘I declare that I will enter the portal. I declare that I will re-sign.’ How about you announce that you’re getting better and you’re going to practice and, like, actually do what college football players did 20 and 30 years before you, which was practice in December when they’re on a good team, and get better?”

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Smart and Georgia spent the week preparing for the quarterfinal game against Ole Miss. The Rebels soundly defeated Tulane in the first round to earn a spot in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia on New Year’s Day.

However, preparing for a bowl game or playoff matchup does not give coaches or teams a break from the ongoing competition to retain players.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart reacts on the sideline during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Tennessee on Nov. 16, 2024, in Athens, Georgia. (AP Photo/John Bazemore)

“I mean we’re focused on this team,” Smart said. “I think it would be wrong to say that we are focused on word management. We are not focused on it.”

This is not the first time that Smart has spoken about what he considers to be the site’s shortcomings. He previously described it as the most pressing issue in sports that needs to be addressed. In September, the NCAA announced it would reduce the two portal windows to a single 15-day period beginning Jan. 2.

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart on the sidelines against the Tennessee Volunteers in the first quarter at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Georgia on Nov. 16, 2024. (Brett Davis/Images)

After the Bulldogs beat the Texas Longhorns in November, Smart talked about technique and physicality as pillars of the program he helped build during his decade at Georgia. He added, however, that not all players in today’s NIL category are suitable for his scheme.

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“You have to recruit physical players, and they have to fit into that system,” Smart said. “I don’t know that – most of these kids these days, they want a check. They don’t want a physical. If you have a check and you don’t have a physical, you end up with nothing. So you just don’t get checks in our area. We beat people.”

Georgia and Ole Miss begin play in the Sugar Bowl from the Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on Jan. 1, 2026, at 8 pm ET.

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