Georgia football would not be back-to-back national champions without head coach Kirby Smart. Smart has taken the Georgia program from good to elite. He is hungry for another national title in 2023.
Patrick Conn of College Sports Wire details why Georgia’s Kirby Smart is one of the 12 most important names that will impact the College Football Playoffs.
Kirby Smart finally got over the hump in 2021 when he won the national championship against his former mentor Nick Saban. Last season, it was impressive as the Bulldogs ran through the schedule en route to a perfect 15-0 record and a dominant performance in the national championship game.
With the amount of talent that left over the past two seasons, it will be up to Smart to put his guys in a position to succeed. Given his track record, Smart gets the benefit of the doubt for what he has built since his arrival in Athens.
Georgia has a stacked roster with tons of players on the 2023 preseason All-SEC team. Georgia is the preseason No. 1 entering the 2023 college football season.
The Dawgs would not be back-to-back national champions without Kirby Smart’s clutch timeout in the College Football Playoff against Ohio State. Smart called timeout right before the Buckeyes ran a fake punt that would have easily converted for a first down.
Smart and the Georgia coaching staff made just enough right decisions to slip by Ohio State en route to dominating TCU in the national championship. Kirby Smart and the Georgia staff do a great job of maximizing their roster.
Smart and Georgia are replacing Todd Monken this season. The Bulldogs will lean on new offensive coordinator Mike Bobo to run the offense. Smart will still play a critical role in ensuring Georgia’s offensive coordinator transition is smooth.
Kirby Smart on his timeout call for Ohio State's fake punt: pic.twitter.com/fsli8omPdP
— College GameDay (@CollegeGameDay) January 2, 2023