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Kirby Smart explains formula for how Georgia gets elite individual players to buy into team first
By Kevin Duffey
Published:
Kirby Smart could teach a masterclass on how to build an elite program or organization.
Since coming over from Alabama, Smart has instilled Nick Saban’s “process” on his UGA program, but he’s also obviously added his own personal touches. Every year — and more than anytime before — coaches at big-time programs have to figure out how to get talented former high school players to buy into a team-first mentality.
Aside from Saban, nobody has done it better in recent history than Smart. The Georgia head coach was asked by Kirk Herbstreit on College GameDay how he makes it happen each and every year.
“A lot of time in the offseason,” Smart told Herbstreit. “You know, we do a lot of structuring — make guys talk, make guys understand what the guys before them sacrificed, make it about the team. That’s what elite teams do. They worry about the next game, not the last game. They worry about the team, not the individual, and we sell that really hard in the offseason. I don’t know that it’s a perfect remedy; we have our issues, too, but our kids have been resilient.”
Georgia signs a top 5 recruiting class annually, and Smart being able to make elite players, who are obviously interested in individual accolades and future NFL careers, buy into the team-first mentality is impressive.
Georgia and LSU play for the SEC Championship Saturday at 4 p.m. ET on CBS Sports.
A graduate of the University of Florida and founder of Saturday Down South, Kevin is a college football enthusiast.
