Kirby Smart reflects on his team's maturation process

Kirby Smart has made it his refrain since practically the moment the 2021 season ended.

He doesn't view the 2022 version of his Georgia team as defending national champions. This particular group, Smart said, hasn't accomplished anything.

Those accomplishments are now starting to roll in. The Bulldogs are undefeated SEC Champions and are preparing for their second straight appearance in the College Football Playoff. That gave Smart a chance to reflect a bit on his team's journey to this point.

"A lot of guys have stepped up to give us an opportunity to be where we are," Smart said. "A lot of coaches have done a fabulous job. We took on four new coaches, had 13 or whatever it was guys leave in the portal. We’ve had a lot of guys step up."

While several Bulldogs departed via the portal, Georgia didn't take a single transfer. The Bulldogs were one of the only teams in the FBS who didn't do so. Smart noted that wasn't a conscious decision. He and his staff recruited some players from the portal, but they chose to go elsewhere.

Instead, the Bulldogs welcomed a talented group of freshmen who have proven vital this season.

"I think we had the third-most, fourth-most true freshman snaps," Smart said. "We did a good job of onboarding our incoming freshmen to give us depth behind the guys we had on our team. I think that’s a big part of college football right now, how fast you can transition your team each year."

Freshmen such as Malaki Starks, Mykel Williams, and Dillon Bell have played huge roles. Others such as Branson Robinson, Bear Alexander, Jalon Walker, Daylen Everette, and others have seen the field plenty as well.

But it's the returning core of this team that gave Smart hope coming off the national championship.

"I thought in the spring we were going to have a good team," Smart said. "We were a long way defensively from where we needed to be in the spring. But I knew we had a good football team. I knew we had a good football team when the season ended last year, because we had a core of good players."

Players such as Zion Logue, Jamon Dumas-Johnson, Kamari Lassiter, and others had played before. But they hadn't stepped into the significant roles they would be tasked with heading into in 2022.

They have since answered that call. After all the talk about how this group had yet to accomplish anything, these Bulldogs stand poised to write their own legacy with two more victories.