Kirby Smart is headed back to SEC media days, and by now the routine is about as familiar as it gets.
This week in Tampa, Florida, will mark Smart’s 10th appearance at the event as Georgia’s head coach, more than any active SEC coach has logged. He’ll field the usual slate of questions about his three players, the bigger-picture issues around college football and, yes, the coach group chat that has become part of the annual theater. Even Gunner Stockton is making his second trip to media days, which says plenty about how established Georgia already feels in this setting.
That familiarity is exactly why the Bulldogs may not own the spotlight this week. Georgia is the defending conference champion, but the SEC’s attention is drifting toward the newer, louder storylines.
Texas brings Arch Manning back to the stage, and the Longhorns arrive with plenty to talk about after being picked by the media to win the conference last year before missing the College Football Playoff entirely. They also enter with a new defensive coordinator in Will Muschamp, who spent 2024 as a Georgia analyst after previously serving as co-defensive coordinator.
Texas has also gone heavy in the transfer portal this offseason, all in on the coming year. The Longhorns speak on Thursday, which should make the final day of media days one of the busiest.
Thursday also belongs to Lane Kiffin, who will represent LSU after previously appearing at the event for Ole Miss and Tennessee. LSU’s roster has been reshaped through recruiting and the transfer portal, but the bigger jolt around Kiffin comes from the messy split with his former school, Ole Miss. That background should make for some pointed questions when he steps to the podium.
The league’s coaching carousel is on full display, too. Five new head coaches will make their SEC media days debuts: Kentucky’s Will Stein on Monday, Auburn’s Alex Golesh on Tuesday, Florida’s Jon Sumrall and Ole Miss’s Pete Golding on Wednesday, and Arkansas’s Ryan Silverfield on Thursday.
For Smart, though, this week is less about drama and more about Georgia doing what Georgia always does: showing up, answering the questions, and moving on. Unlike SEC spring meetings, he shouldn’t be buried under speculation about the future of the sport. For the first time since spring practice ended in April, the focus is expected to stay mostly on his team and the season ahead.
There will still be a few roster matters to sort through. Smart will have to address some injury questions, including the latest involving running back transfer Dante Dowdell. The fact that Smart brought center Drew Bobo suggests the senior is still working back from a foot injury.
There have also been a few personnel and number changes around the program. Longtime recruiting staffer David Cooper is no longer with Georgia.
Incoming freshman Justice Fitzpatrick will wear No. 6, and guard Dontrell Glover has switched from No. 63 last season to No. 58.
Stockton’s presence also adds another layer to the week. Despite finishing seventh in Heisman Trophy voting, he does not appear likely to finish atop the Preseason All-SEC ballots. That battle looks more likely to come down to Manning and Ole Miss quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, who closed last season so strongly that he ended Georgia’s year with a masterful performance in the College Football Playoff.
That loss, along with Georgia’s other immediate exits in its last two College Football Playoff appearances, will linger over the Bulldogs in Tampa. It’s part of the reason the conversation around Smart’s team feels quieter than the one around some of its SEC peers.
Georgia has become the league’s most reliable program, reaching the SEC championship game in eight of the previous nine seasons. That kind of consistency can flatten the buzz a little. Everyone knows the Bulldogs will be there when the season gets serious.
So while other programs may command more attention this week, Smart will probably do what he usually does: keep the message simple, toss out a fresh catch phrase, and stay locked on the season ahead.
In Other News...
Oklahoma's Coach Just Said What Georgia Fans Already Believe
Brent Venables did not exactly hide his respect for Georgia when asked about the Bulldogs, and the Oklahoma coachs praise fit the broader reality around Kirby Smarts program. Georgia has become the standard others measure themselves against, especially at home, where the Bulldogs have turned Sanford Stadium into one of the sports toughest stops and made consistency look routine.
The timing only adds more intrigue, because Georgia and Oklahoma are set to meet again in week four of the upcoming season after having played just once before. Their only previous matchup came in the 2018 Rose Bowl, a game Georgia won, and now the Sooners will get another crack at a program Venables clearly views as the benchmark. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smarts Son Is Suddenly Becoming A Real Recruiting Battle
Recruiting has already found its way to Kirby Smarts family tree, and it is happening earlier than anyone might have expected. Andrew Smart, still just a high school freshman prospect, is beginning to draw scholarship attention, with Georgia Tech among the schools that have already stepped into the picture. For Georgia fans, the storyline is obvious: when the coachs son starts getting real looks, every offer carries a little extra weight.
Syracuse coach Fran Brown, who previously worked with Kirby Smart, has also made clear he likes what he sees and intends to get involved. Browns interest adds another layer to a situation that is already unusually personal, because any future offer would come with a conversation that goes beyond standard recruiting. The bigger question now is how Andrew will navigate all of it as the list grows, especially with the family connection to Georgia looming over every step. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Can Only Watch As Damon Wilson Becomes What It Still Needs
Damon Wilsons path since leaving Athens has only made the old what-if feel sharper for Georgia. After transferring to Missouri and then moving on to Miami, the former Bulldogs edge rusher has kept climbing, and his preseason All-ACC First Team nod is a reminder of the kind of pass-rush talent Georgia has spent the past couple of seasons trying to replace.
For Georgia, the frustration is not just about losing a player who could help on the edge, but watching him become exactly the sort of disruptive defender the Bulldogs still need. Wilsons legal fight with the program over an NIL buyout remains unresolved, adding another layer to a separation that already carried plenty of sting for a defense that has had to keep adjusting without him. [Read more 🡒]