Kirby Smart shrugged off his recent two-week quarantine as not being that big of a deal.

Under an edict last month by the University System of Georgia, all school employees, students, and staff returning from trips taken out of the country would be subject to a mandatory two-week quarantine to prevent against the spread of COVID-19.

Although Smart never showed symptoms following a trip to Costa Rica, he had to quarantine himself.

“We had multiple players, we had multiple coaches and other people that had the same thing. But once I got back, basically the whole country was on quarantine,” Smart said. “There was nowhere you could go; there was nothing you could do. We shut down our offices, so there was nothing much more you could do.”

Smart said he tried to make the best of his time. He admits it wasn’t easy.

“I went and spent time with family, exercised outside, and tried to be as active as I could in recruiting, just finding out what's going on with other people, and things like that. But it wasn't like I was locked in a room or anything,” he said. “I don't like sitting at home at all, but certainly that's what we're all having to do. That's the toughest adjustment for people that want to go out and do things, is what can I still do and social distance.”

Although the Bulldogs were never able to put on the pads for spring, Smart did acknowledge a number of players were opening eyes during the team’s winter program.

“I thought that George [Pickens] was competing really hard and doing good things in the workouts. He likes the competitive side of those things. Clay Webb was a guy who was really competing hard, did some good things,” Smart said. “James Cook, I mean, we had competitions daily to see who was going to win individual battles, and James probably had the largest winning percentage—he and Zamir [White] really challenging each other and competing really hard, and those guys continue to grow.”

They weren’t the only ones.

Smart also had positive words for senior left guard Jordan Shaffer, who missed most of last year with a neck injury, but is back.

“Not that he was an outstanding performer, but considering he wasn't able to do anything for six to eight weeks, now he's coming back out there competing and pushing through adversity,” Smart said. “I was really proud of the way he worked and tried to lead. There are a lot of guys who did some good things, and I was excited about the off-season we were able to have.”

Life as we know it on college campuses obviously hasn’t been the only thing affected by COVID-19. It’s put NFL teams on lockdown as well.

For players who did not get to attend the NFL Combine, they also lost out on a Pro Day and will not be able to workout for teams prior to the upcoming NFL Draft.

Although Bulldogs like Tae Crowder, Tyler Clark, Michael Barnett, Tyler Simmons and Eli Wolf weren’t done any favors, Smart believes each will still get their chance to ultimately realize their professional dream.

“I know these pro teams do the greatest studies you've ever seen to get information, so they're not going to leave a stone unturned. It's not like the Minnesota Vikings are not going to look into a guy who wasn't at the combine, just because he wasn't at the combine,” Smart said. “They're not just going to say we're just going to go with combine guys this year. They're not going to do that.”

Smart said he’s fielded calls from teams almost daily.

“I've had at least five NFL head coaches reach out. I get a text almost every day about our kids and communicate about them. They're having to go back to non-traditional forms of communication for them to get accurate information, because they're used to coming to your building, getting it in your building, getting it through a pro day,” Smart said. “We think they're really good football players. I worry for them for their sake, that they never get that (Pro Day)—you feel good when you go out there and you go perform. Whether you perform good or bad, you feel good that you got your opportunity."

Nevertheless, Smart sees no reason why all the players mentioned above won’t have a chance to make an NFL roster.

In fact, he believes most of them will.

“Oh, I have no question that we'll probably have three to four guys that will be either late draft picks or free agents and make a team. You see it every year,” Smart said. “(Jonathan) Ledbetter pulled it off last year, and every year there's been somebody that makes a team, and the NFL recognizes that. One of those guys is going to do that. I don't know which one, but one of those guys or a couple of those guys may pull it off.”

Count Smart among the thousands thrilled to see Todd Gurley back in the state as a member of the Atlanta Falcons.

“Yeah, I think it's awesome to have him back. No. 1, he's a great player, but he's also a great ambassador for our program,” Smart said. “I can't tell you how many times he's been at large events, whether it was the ESPYs or wherever, and he represents Georgia so well, has done so much for our program. The brand he has is just incredible. So many kids in recruiting associate us with Todd—not even just running backs, but every position. He's like a premiere player, and I know Dan (Falcons coach Dan Quinn) is super excited to have him on the team.”

Smart’s only personal story in regard to Gurley, however, is a bit different. Smart was the defensive coordinator at Alabama when Gurley rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns against his Crimson Tide defense in the 2012 SEC Championship.

Although Alabama won 32-28 en route to winning the national championship, Smart said Gurley definitely left an impression.

“He was ferocious. He ran over one of our linebackers down at the goal line and about knocked him out when I was coaching at Alabama. Just a tremendous player,” Smart said. “I prayed every time they didn't give the ball to him, because I thought we were blessed every touch he didn't get in that game.”