Kirby Smart explains what goes into developing a championship culture

The Georgia Bulldogs are now entering the summer offseason program in preparation for their upcoming title defense. The Bulldogs were able to capture the College Football Playoff national championship last season thanks in part to the culture implemented by head coach Kirby Smart. And during a recent interview, Smart explained his keys to building a winning culture.

“Well, I think that’s probably measured more in how well you recruit, what the talent level the players you have is, but that culture is not easily achieved,” said Smart. “It’s something we’ve worked on really continuously; we’re intentional about what we work on. We have a lot of exercises to help the older players, to help the younger players to get by in. I think your players deciding to stay when they have an opportunity to come out, like Jordan Davis and Devonte Wyatt, could have easily left last year and probably been second or third-round picks. They both end up staying; they both end up going in the first round. That really helps the culture because more guys want to do that. But we wouldn’t have a great culture here if we didn’t have a great staff. We’ve got a tremendous staff here that works tirelessly to make sure the culture’s right.”

The Bulldogs had the best defense in college football last season, and that showed when five defensive players from the team were selected in the first round of the 2022 NFL Draft. That set a new draft record, and truly illustrated just how talented the unit was last season. Not to mention, it displayed further the point of how impressive Georgia culture was. This year the Bulldogs will get a chance to have a repeat performance of 2021. And if Smart and his team have done their work right this off-season, it could end in another championship ceremony.

Terrence Edwards predicts next breakout star for Georgia offense

Terrence Edwards knows what it takes to succeed as a receiver at Georgia. Edwards is the school’s all-time leading receiver after totaling 3,093 yards and 30 touchdowns from 1999-2002.

So when he offers his opinion on a Bulldogs wideout, it only makes sense to listen. Last year Edwards predicted a breakout season for freshman Adonai Mitchell, who went on to finish with 426 yards receiving and four touchdowns. This year, he has tabbed another freshman to watch in four-star recruit Dillon Bell.

“I predicted that @MoCityMitch would be a star last season and he did,” Edwards tweeted. “Well, Kirby has found another one in @dillonbell6_. He’s built like a RB (6’1 214) with natural hands. I can’t wait to see how B Mac develops this kid.”

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Bell ranks as the No. 69 receiver and No. 420 overall player in the 2022 class according to On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average. He was a quarterback, running back and wide receiver both his junior and senior year of high school as the team tried to get the ball in the hands of their best athlete as much as possible. This past season, Bell helped to lead the Kinkaid School in Houston to a state championship.