Kirby Smart disagrees with "the narrative" surrounding his defensive line

If you’ve watched any of Kirby Smart’s interviews, then you know Georgia’s head coach is not big on "narratives."

Smart says he doesn’t spend an ounce of time worrying about what others might be saying about his football team. His opinions are the only ones that count.

That includes the notion floated by outsiders that this year’s defensive line might be a weakness or that Smart is down on the unit as a whole.

“Yeah, I'm not down. I don't know where this is coming from. Maybe there's a narrative out there that I don't know about. I have no idea what you guys are reading, saying, or seeing,” Smart said. "But I'm not down on our run defense. We are not as good as we were that year, but we're better than we have been a lot of other years.”

Smart’s curiosity is based on the fact this year’s defensive line will be made up primarily of the same players as last year.

Although there’s no dominant figure like Jalen Carter was two years ago, Smart feels the same about the group as he did last season.

“I wouldn't trade our group for any group in the country in terms of defensive line groups and a collective whole. We've got a group that can get the job done,” Smart said. “They're going against one of the best three or four offensive lines they'll go against all season each and every day. Iron sharpens iron, and we're getting better by who we go against.”

Smart’s not interested in making any comparisons, either, although he understands it’s something fans and media often like to do.

“I don't really do the comparison thing. I'm not really going to compare them to Devonte (Wyatt), Jordan (Davis), and Jalen, who were all here at different times,” Smart said. “There were years with those three, and there were years one of those three was here. It has varied every year.”

There will be plenty of familiarity this fall.

With Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson electing to return, Georgia’s defensive interior will feature the same players as last year.

Along with sophomores Jordan Hall, Christen Miller, and Jamal Jarrett and the addition of South Carolina transfer Xzavier McLeod—each well over 300 pounds—the Bulldogs will not be lacking for size.

Smart also mentioned freshmen Nnamdi Ogboko and Jordan Thomas as players who also reach the 300-pound threshold.

“I'm pleased with where we are. We have to get better, and we have players on our defensive line that can get better,” Smart said. “The worst feeling as a coach is when you don't have players that you can get better. There are coaches all across the country right now who don't have one 300-pounder. We have several.

“We just got to continue to get them better and execute at a higher level. It's not about them sometimes, it's about the guy behind them, making sure he sticks his nose in the right place, too.”

So far, Smart likes what he’s seen from the group. Although Saturday’s scrimmage was not quite what he had hoped for, Smart said he’s seen enough from the group this spring to feel confident for the fall.

"I thought they did a really good job of having, like, energy and enthusiasm. We affected the quarterback. We had some disruptive sacks,” Smart said. “We did not probably play the run as well as I'd like to, as high as my expectation is in terms of making goals of 3.3 or less (yards) per carry. We've had much more dominant scrimmages from a defensive line than we had Saturday. We had some guys nicked up and banged up, but I was pleased with the tenacity, and the way both groups of lines of scrimmages approached it."