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

Kirby Smart knows what it takes to win in the modern college football landscape.

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 social media buzz and general attention typically given to a given player’s transfer decision.

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Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart during the first half against the Notre Dame Fighting Irish at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on January 2, 2025. (Stephen Lew/Imagn Images)

Instead of drawing attention to a transfer announcement, Smart urged athletes to focus on development.

“Everybody announces what they’re doing,” Smart said Monday. “‘I announce that I am entering the portal. I announce that I am re-signing.’ What if you announced that you’re getting better and you’re going to practice and, like, do what college football players did for 20 or 30 years before you, which is practice in December when they’re on good teams and getting better? »

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Smart and Georgia spend the week preparing for a quarterfinal matchup against Ole Miss. The Rebels beat Tulane in the first round to clinch a spot in the Sugar Bowl against Georgia on New Year’s Day.

However, preparing for a bowl game or playoff game 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 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 remiss to say we’re focused on roster management. We’re not focused on that.”

This is not the first time Smart has spoken out about what he sees as the portal’s shortcomings. He previously described it as the sport’s most pressing problem in need of correction. In September, the NCAA announced it would reduce both portal windows to a single 15-day period starting January 2.

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

After the Bulldogs beat the Texas Longhorns in November, Smart talked about how process and physicality are pillars of the program he helped build during his decade-long tenure at Georgia. He added, however, that not every player in the current transfer portal and name, image and likeness (NIL) era is a good fit for his program.

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“You have to recruit physical players, and they have to buy into that process,” Smart said. “I don’t know, a lot of these kids these days want a check. They don’t want the physical. When you have the check and no physical, you end up with nothing. So you don’t just get checks from us. We hit people.”

Georgia and Ole Miss will kick off in the Sugar Bowl at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans on January 1, 2026, at 8 p.m. ET.

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