Although you’ll still find some who grumble about Georgia’s 2024 football campaign, Kirby Smart has very few complaints.

Speaking Tuesday on 680 The Fan, Smart said you had told him his team would win the SEC in the first year of having a new 16-team league, he would have taken it in a heartbeat.

“I would call it success because if you had told me going into the year the schedule, brutal schedule, hardest schedule that I've ever been a part of in my 20 years of coaching, that we're going to win the opening SEC championship of 16 teams. Oh, by the way, it's Texas and Oklahoma coming in,” Smart said. “I would have said that's a really good year. I think we've built a standard around here of expectation that it goes further, longer, and you compete for national championships. I mean, it's hard to say that it wasn't more successful than the previous year, but I don't measure success in wins and losses.

"I don't measure it in how we finish. I measure it in what we get out of each team, and I was very pleased with the coaching staff and what we got out of last year's team.”

Georgia fans can see what Smart has to work with this fall when the Bulldogs hold their annual G-Day game. Kickoff at Sanford Stadium is set for 1 p.m.

“We're pretty healthy. We've got a couple of kids that are out,” Smart said. “But we've got the numbers we need to divide into two teams. It'll be at 1 o'clock, and the format will be very similar to what we've done in the past. We're going to play a game and let guys go compete.”

As in past G-Days, Saturday’s event will be a controlled scrimmage, designed to allow every player on the team to show what he can do.

But what if the Bulldogs could go a different route?

Recently, Colorado coach Deion Sanders broached the idea of possibly having a spring game against another opponent.

Would Smart ever consider doing the same?

“Well, I haven't had enough foresight to really think about the problems. I think for every action, there's an equal and opposite reaction. I love the idea. I love the idea in theory,” Smart said. “For the guy in Josh Brooks' seat, they're trying to find every way to pump channels of money to get money to the other sports. They're going to struggle with the amount of money going to the revenue athletes. I think a spring game would maybe open the door to funding, help fund, keep the athletic department alive.”

Smart said he’d also be up for having mixed scrimmages, similar to those in the NFL.

“I would prefer to go a day, a couple scrimmages like they do in the NFL, and say, we're going to have this, this, this, and then in the last day, we're going to go play. But there's some cost inherent in that, and I think people don't realize that,” Smart said. “One thing that I think we all thought about quickly is this idea of, but would you have fights, and then coaches are going to get pissed, and then the day gets blown to shreds. I think it's a trust, because in high school, you can do this. Two high school coaches know each other. They used to work together. They explain to their players, hey, here's the parameters. We're going to go against somebody else that is better than going against ourselves. But if it gets out of hand or gets rough, we're going to shut it down. We're going to kick you out.”

Smart said such events would be closed to media and fans.

“It’s like a practice. You don't need media there. You don't need people watching,” Smart said. “If you're going to do a game ... it's not going to be a problem. It's the practices that you get the shoving and pushing and the antics.”

Smart also expressed his concern with the media and fans who speculate about mid-year players and other newcomers before they’ve had a chance to prove themselves in games.

“What's more wild to me is how the media, no offense, speculates that that's all they want to know about. Georgia fans are like, “Ohh, how's that midyear? Man, I heard that recruit's really good.’ I'm like, well, he's actually behind the guys that are in front of him,” Smart said. “So, he's not like better than them, but you're not asking about them because they're not new. It just goes to show you that the world wants the backup quarterback. The world wants the second string. They want to know who that other guy is because there's a mystery behind it. That’s what happens with the freshmen. They get put in social media lights that they're just going to be saviors. It's that way on the portals. Because we get somebody on the portal, it's like, ‘Oh, gosh, this guy's going to be the savior. He's going to be the best player ever.’”

Smart mentioned freshman defensive lineman Elijah Griffin by name.

Griffin has reportedly been standing out for the Bulldogs during spring practice. However, Smart said the Savannah native has plenty of work yet to do.

“I mean, there's speculation in the, ‘Oh, well, this guy's going to be the greatest thing ever.’ I mean, like Elijah Griffin, he's a great player. He's a good player,” Smart said. “But everybody’s like, ‘Oh, God, he's the next Jalen Carter. And I'm like, God, Jalen Carter was one of one. He was probably the greatest defensive tackle athlete. He could go out and play tight end. He could dunk. He could play point guard. He's an athlete. Like, that's different than most kids. And Elijah's going to be a good player, so I don't want to take that for granted.”