LOS ANGELES - No one will say for sure where the card came from.
When Nolan Smith procured a white card with the word "composure" and a Georgia power G emblazoned on it, it caught most of the Bulldogs by surprise. It's a move no one expected, just like the infamous "draw four" in the card game Uno. Even Smith wouldn't say where the card came from.
The physical manifestation is something new. But the idea of a "composure card" is something that has propelled Georgia to a shot at a second straight national championship.
The roots of the cards were planted years ago. Composure is one of Georgia's four "DNA traits" on which the program is built , along with resiliency, toughness, and connection.
This year, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart decided to change the terminology a bit.
At first, Smart referred to the traits as muscles the team had to flex. That thought process then evolved.
"I think that started us more thinking about my kids and Chick-fil-A and the way you take your chicken sandwich card and you get a chicken sandwich," Smart said. "I want to physically remove the card and use it when I need it. And we had several kids do that within the game, it just shows you that what you're saying is having effect. I guess nothing more than that. It's not a real card. It's an intangible thing."
The cards mostly stayed in the Bulldogs' back pockets in 2021. Outside of a tight season-opening win against Clemson, senior outside linebacker Nolan Smith said they didn't have to remind themselves to stay composed too often.
That has changed this year.
"I feel like we’ve been battle tested more on this team," Smith said. "Last year, we were battle tested a lot, SEC Championship. But I feel like these guys have been battle tested so much that we don’t even blink when we’re down."
The way it works is this. When things aren't going well or the Bulldogs are trailing, a player goes to a coach and hands in their card. Often, a player will walk up and down the bench repeating "composure card." That helps everyone know that things are going to be all right despite the situation at hand.
"Whenever that moment does come, I do feel like everybody kind of locks eyes with each other," receiver Marcus Rosemu-Jacksaint said. "We understand that this is the moment. We’ve been doing all this work for each other this whole year, so we’ve got to play for each other right now. This is a have-to moment."
Smith said it helps emphasize other DNA traits as well. It helps drive home the connection aspect, that "one plus one is three, so I need you and me and our connection to help us out of here."
The cards have been broken out throughout the season.
Multiple players referenced the Missouri game where Georgia rallied to win in the fourth quarter. Freshman safety Malaki Starks had to use his when he misjudged a deep ball and allowed a touchdown against LSU in the SEC Championship Game. Jalen Carter needed it when things weren't going his way in the College Football Playoff semifinal against Ohio State.
To hear the Bulldogs tell it, the cards are one of the big reasons they are playing for a title in the first place.
"That was probably the biggest moment this season that we needed to pull our composure card out because we’re down 14 points, I think, with like three minutes left in the third quarter," Rosemy-Jacksaint said of the Ohio State game. "It was crunch time. We had to get back in the game. That was probably the most crucial moment in this season that we had to use the composure card."
On the sidelines during that game, Smith procured the real composure card out of his pocket. Seeing it took the Bulldogs by surprise.
But the message is something that has gotten them to where they are.
"That’s just something that we made. We know it’s real, he just had a visual," Rosemy-Jacksaint said.
