In this era of NIL and the transfer portal, Kirby Smart doesn’t disagree with the notion that tampering from other schools exists.

However, with his long-standing mantra of “control what you can control,” this is a subject that appears to fall under that category. So how prevalent is tampering?

“I don't know. I don't have a phone tap on anyone's phone. I don't have a wire. I am not the feds. I don't know,” Smart said. “I can only tell you that when kids come in to see me, they have a plan. They either did some pre-planning or something occurred. It is really almost impossible to navigate, monitor, or police.”

So, because of that, Smart’s just trying to adapt the best he can, and that includes being honest with recruits to tell them exactly what they can expect when they sign up to become a Bulldog.

“We try to do the best job we can with being honest with our kids and sell what our program has done in the past,” Smart said. “I tell the story millions of times that everybody's path is different. When you get on your phone and hit Maps and put an address in, it shows you six different ways to get there. Everybody's path is different. Quay Walker's was very different from Nakobe Dean's. Each one is self. To each his own."

It's just not an area he’s going to be worked up over.

“I will be honest, I don't get lost over it because the kids that stay will be the ones we coach,” Smart said. “The ones that go will have to provide an opportunity for somebody else. That is the way I look at it.”