Senior Deandre Baker has obviously carved himself out a nice career at Georgia, earning All-SEC status and preseason All-American honors heading into the 2018 campaign.

Not bad for a former three-star.

However, like many players, Baker proved rather quickly that stars, or lack thereof, can sometimes be deceiving. Even head coach Kirby Smart admitted the Miami native turned out better than what he originally thought.

“He's a kid who has developed and gotten better. When we got here we thought he was a good player. There were some guys that were in front of him,” Smart said. “I was telling him the other day—I remember it like it was yesterday—he had a good training camp that first yea. He really was competing for the starting job with (Juwan) Briscoe and some other guys. They were neck-and-neck. We went with the other guy, and then what happened, happened in the Ole Miss game. Ever since then, he's gotten better and kept competing, and he kind of proved us wrong.

“He should've been out there the whole time.”

Smart admits it’s been a lesson learned in regard to Baker, whose 55-yard interception return against South Carolina got the Bulldogs off to a fast start en route to Saturday’s 41-17 win.

“We evaluated him at Alabama and thought he was a really good player. We didn't pursue him as hard as we did some other guys,” Smart said. “We were probably wrong on that. He had track speed, a 400-meter guy who could fly. So, usually when you're looking at corner, you look at size and speed. He checked off both boxes there.”

Smart was asked a question many have wondered about the Bulldogs’ third-year head coach.

What drives him so hard to be a success?

“I think it’s just wanting to be the best. For me it’s always been about being the best, and I’m all in at whatever I do, whether it’s golf, checkers, or football,” Smart said. “I just think it’s important that if you spend the time that I spend away from my family, my kids, not being around them—and I know our coaching staff is the same way—you want to give all you’ve got. I want these players to see day in and day out that if they really try hard and really demand a lot of themselves, they can be successful in life.”

That’s why Smart says its important for he and his coaches to set the right example.

“I don’t know that some of them realize the hard work they actually do. What they do while they’re players at Georgia is much harder than what they’ll do in the real world,” Smart said. “When they’ve got to get up, got to class all day, go to workouts, go to football, and then they get a 9-5 job, they’ll think that’s little bit easier. But I want them to say this coaching staff set an example of giving them everything they had every day. That’s what is important to me.”

Smart said he couldn’t have been happier to see good friend and former Georgia teammate Mike Bobo celebrate Colorado State’s big win over Arkansas last week in Fort Collins.

“I texted him. I told him, you better never count a Bobo out. I’ve been in many battles with him—against him and with him,” Smart said. “Lifelong friends. Grew up right down the road from each other. To see what he’s endured, and his family’s endured, it’s been amazing.”

Bobo recently returned to the field after being hospitalized for nearly a week with what was described as peripheral neuropathy.

He was able to return for the opener against Hawaii. He was on the field for his team’s 34-27 victory over the Razorbacks, a game that saw CSU rebound from an 18-point deficit.

“To go through two losses like he had, and then to come back and beat an SEC opponent to win it—at some point in the game, they were 99 percent likely to lose, from ESPN stats, and he comes back and wins,” Smart said. “Then, to see him with his Dad afterward, and get to see him hug his son, that’s really what it’s all about. Don’t ever count him out, I can promise you that. He’s a great football coach and a really good person.”