With the NCAA transfer portal set to open Monday, head coach Kirby Smart was asked what positions on his team he's looking to bolster.

“Yeah, all of them. It's not a position that we don't have enough depth. I mean, like I repeatedly say, we have less depth than we've ever had before,” Smart said. “So, we evaluate the transfer portal on who fits our culture more than we do who fits our talent level. There are tons of talented guys out there. We just want to find people who want to fit our culture and really our work ethic because it's not a place to go to if you're just looking for sheer numbers. I mean, you've got to want to win, and you've got to want to make sacrifices for the team here.”

The December portal window opens on Monday and closes on Dec. 28, four days before the Bulldogs play the winner of Notre Dame and Indiana in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoffs.

A second transfer window opens for 10 days starting on April 16.

Georgia already has had two players – cornerback Julian Humphreys and wide receiver Michael Jackson III - who have announced they are entering the portal.

"We're always talking and dealing with our players, which will be time that will move to the forefront like right now in terms of what we do,” Smart said. “But then we'll start back practice, and we'll continue to get better with the guys that want to be here. And there's not going to be a team in the country that doesn't have somebody leave, probably somebody they don't expect. But I almost feel like that's become the norm, and it is what it is. We're going to coach the ones that want to be here.”

Smart is certainly no stranger to playing in the Sugar Bowl.

Since he’s been the coach of the Bulldogs, Smart has played in two Sugar Bowls, most recently in 2019 against Baylor.

“I know as an early child, it's one of the first games that I remember actually seeing and watching back in the early 80s as a 5-, 6-year-old kid,” said Smart, whose Bulldogs will play the winner of Notre Dame-Indiana. “As you know, Herschel Walker and the moments that happened in the Sugar Bowl. Through a lot of games I've been a part of, whether it was Florida State, Georgia, when I was a GA at Florida State, a lot of years at Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. I think my kids think their second home is the Sugar Bowl because they spend a lot of time there.

“They're very spoiled when it comes to playing in an electric atmosphere, big matchups, big games. The SEC has been paired with the Sugar Bowl for a long time, and it's got a longstanding history, and Georgia does too.”

With final exams this week, Georgia will give its players some rest and an opportunity to focus on their studies.

But once they return, the Bulldogs will have their full focus on their Sugar Bowl date with the winner of the first-round game between Indiana and Notre Dame.

With no school in session, Smart will have leeway to prepare how he sees fit. When school is in session, the NCAA only allows teams 20 hours per week.

But with no school, there’s no limit.

“It's up to the coach. I mean, we have parameters that we use. I've got a model that I've used for years in terms of the number of practices you want to get before you break for Christmas, number of practices you want to get afterward,” Smart said. "But there's no school right now, so we're not in a 20-hour week. We have flexibility there. They have to get a day off each week, which most coaches in their right mind give them more than one day off a week.”

With so many players recovering from injuries, the time off will do the Bulldogs well.

If Georgia does wind up facing Indiana, he’ll have a familiarity with Hoosiers head coach Curt Cignetti.

Smart and Cignetti were actually co-workers for four years at Alabama (2007-2010), while the latter served as the recruiting coordinator and wide receivers coach for the Crimson Tide.

“I know Coach Cignetti, you know, my years at Alabama. I was a really young coach and enjoyed being around him,” Smart said. “His personality is different, but I really like Coach Cignetti. I followed him wherever he's gone, and he's done really well.”

Cignetti’s Hoosiers finished 11-1 in 2024 with their only loss to Ohio State.

“Yeah, it's been really neat, really cool. I thought it was awesome to see some of their games on the national stage this year,” Smart said. “Their team transformed really the whole campus and energy around their program. Curt’s brought a lot of notoriety to Indiana. I've enjoyed watching it.”

With Carson Beck’s status potentially leaving Gunner Stockton as Georgia’s starting quarterback, Smart was asked about the status of backups Ryan Puglisi and Jaden Rashada.

“They're both getting better, man. They've grown a lot since the start of the year to now,” Smart said. “Think about all the reps they've taken. They've taken a lot of reps. And they get better and better and better.”

Rashada arrived at Georgia on April 25 after transferring from Arizona State, while Puglisi is an early enrollee and has been with the program since December.

Neither saw any action for the Bulldogs this year.

“You know, I wish there were more game opportunities for them. But there just haven't been a lot of game opportunities. So, when they don't get those game opportunities, we come in on Monday and we go scrimmage,” Smart said. “We call it an opportunity period. And we let Jaden, Ryan, Colter (Ginn), all those guys get reps. They go out and throw and compete and do third downs and do move the field and get reps against the defense. That’s their growth because we're not getting it in quality game time.”

Defensive analyst Will Muschamp was back on the sidelines for the SEC Championship.

So, what kind of impact did he have?

“Yeah, he did a great job for us. He was on the headphones,” Smart said. “I think he felt like he needed to because he had not been in a lot of games, you know, so he stayed kind of apart from things. But he still helps get information and helps us out during the game in terms of adjustments and things like that.”

Muschamp stepped back from his full-time coaching duties to spend more time with his family.