HOOVER, Ala. – Head coach Kirby Smart seemed to take a more ambivalent tone when asked if he was definitely for moving the Georgia-Florida game out of Jacksonville.

Back in May at the SEC Spring Meetings, Smart sounded like a coach anxious to move the game from Jacksonville when the current contract expires with the city after 2021.

That wasn’t necessarily the case this time around.

"I'm for what's best for the University of Georgia and as a group and as a staff and as an administration, and we'll look at that internally and make the decisions based on what is best for our student-athletes and what is best for the university,” Smart said Tuesday at SEC Media Days. “I don't get caught up in the emotion of this decision or that decision. I look at it from a perspective of 10,000 feet where I say: What's best for our program? And it's that simple. We'll make that decision as a group and go with it.”

Speaking of Florida, Smart was also asked to comment on the summer-long Twitter obsession by Gator fans and the Bulldogs, despite the fact Georgia has won the last two meetings between the two schools.

“We really don't get caught up in that. We're really focused on us,” Smart said. “We got enough in-house things that we have to manage that I'm not caught up in the affair with social media and trolling.”

Is Jake Fromm NFL caliber?

Is Jake Fromm an NFL quarterback?

One reporter asked Smart if he thought that was the case.

“First of all, I'm extremely excited he's our quarterback. He is the leader of our program, the face of our organization, a guy who has given so much to Georgia, and whom Georgia means so much to,” Smart said. “As far as where he stacks up in the NFL, I don't think that's for me to determine. I think Jake's got tremendous ability. He's a leader. That's the first quality you look for.”

That being said, Smart said Fromm would seem to fit the bill. “We had a guy come speak the other day to our team, talking about characteristics that scouts look for,” Smart said. “He checks every single box on that list. He's won a lot of football games. He's thrown touchdowns and hasn't thrown interceptions. All of those qualities he has are going to give him a chance of success whenever he chooses to go to the NFL.”

Smart says to focus on the players, not the coaches

Another popular Media Days question was how much Smart felt new offensive coordinator James Coley and defensive coordinator Dan Lanning will bring to the field.

Not as much as you might think.

“I think any time you build the infrastructure in a program, when people leave, as long as you're not changing that infrastructure, it doesn't create a lot of doubt or anxiety in the players,” Smart said. “And certainly from my perspective, I'm very comfortable after being in our system for three years, that we've got really good coordinators. James, our offensive coordinator, has been with us a long time. I've known James from graduate assistant days back at LSU. I have tremendous respect for him. I know the offenses he's worked with in the past. And he's also been a part of ours. He has been a very integral part of that offense. “So there won't be a lot of change. It will be more about what our players can do than what our coaches do.”

The same apparently holds true for the defense, despite Smart’s call for more havoc-creating plays.

“From a defensive standpoint, Dan Lanning and Glenn Schumann are very bright. Mel was a really good teacher to them. Mel helped them tremendously grow,” Smart said. “He gave them opportunities to grow, to get in front of the defense so we can see them interact. I'm still going to be involved defensively, but it makes me feel comfortable with Dan and Glenn and Charlton Warren and Tray Scott to do a tremendous job there.”

Smart pleased with Pickens’ work ethic

Smart said freshman wide receiver George Pickens is working extremely hard in his effort to make an early impact at wide receiver.

“We're excited to have George. He's come in this summer and worked tremendously hard. He's been there from day one, grinding with our guys. He's a kid we recruited throughout the entire process,” Smart said. “He came over to our place for several football games. He knew what he wanted. He knew what style offense he wanted to play in.”

It was also about having an opportunity.

“He saw an opportunity when he saw two guys declare early for the draft in Mecole and Riley, and Terry Godwin leaving, and then Isaac Nauta. There were a lot of touches there available, and I know he wanted to have an opportunity to play with a quarterback like Jake Fromm,” Smart said. “We're excited to have him. We're looking forward to seeing him work and earn his opportunities.”

Quotables:

“Yeah. I certainly think so. I think any time you take over a program that's one of the top five jobs in college football, they're going to answer the bell for your needs and the things you need, to be able to compete at the highest level. And when you're in the SEC, you better be able to compete at the highest level. That's across the line of scrimmage. That's in the administration buildings. That's in what you can do for student-athletes. And we've been able to do that since my arrival, and it's been a tremendous relationship between the athletic director and the president both.” – Smart when asked how Georgia has stepped up financially.

“This is a kid that's a very good leader on our program. He works day in and day out, really does a good job in the classroom. He was banged up last year. He's one of our faster linebackers, as we're trying to increase some speed at that position. He's been very productive. When you look at what Monty has done in games, his ability to make tackles and close on people, we've been really excited about what he does. I think defensively, it would be coach-speak if I sat here and said we don't want to be more aggressive. We always want to be more aggressive. But you want to do it with what you have behind it in mind.” – Smart on linebacker Monty Rice.

“I don't think you ever take any opponent for granted, regardless of whether it's conference or not. That's our focus. We work on ourselves in camp, but there comes a point when you got to turn your attention to the opponent. We go on the road to Nashville to play a very well-coached Derrick Mason football team. I have tremendous respect for those guys and the job they do, and our guys will be focused on that game.” – Smart on opening with Vanderbilt.

This and that

. . . Left tackle Andrew Thomas said freshman Nolan Smith, redshirt freshman Azeez Ojulari, and junior college transfer Jermaine Johnson were the players who gave him the most trouble as pass rushers.