Kirby Smart preparing for major challenge against Spencer Rattler, South Carolina offense

The UGA Bulldogs leapfrogged Alabama in the AP Top 25 poll following week 2 and now sit at the top spot at No. 1 in the country. Their first week as the nation’s top team this season will also be their first week against SEC competition, as they take on South Carolina on the road this weekend. Head coach Kirby Smart spoke on some of the Gamecock’s offensive personnel heading into their matchup.

“They’ve got some really big wideouts, some challenging guys to cover, we’ll have to play well,” Smart said. “There’s two, three ways to look at that, you have to affect the quarterback, it’s not just covering people it’s how do you disguise, how do you rush the passer, how do you affect the quarterback, can you negate big plays and run after catch.”

South Carolina is coming off of a competitive 44-30 loss to Arkansas where quarterback Spencer Rattler threw for 376 yards, a touchdown, and an interception. He found one of the challenging guys to cover coach Smart mentioned in wide receiver Antwane Wells many times, as he ended the game with eight receptions for 189 yards, and Rattler’s only touchdown pass of the day.

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“They’ve got some guys that can catch the ball and run with it afterwards, they got some really good skill players. So we’re looking forward to the challenge and they certainly have a tremendous quarterback and a tremendous skillset out there on the perimeter to get the ball to” Smart said.

The South Carolina offense has looked good from time to time this season, but not many units have looked as good as Georgia’s defense, as they’ve allowed just 3 points total through their first two weeks. They definitely have the personnel and the pedigree to slow down the Gamecock’s offensive attack, and it will be interesting to see how this year’s Bulldogs team performs when they get their first taste of SEC competition this weekend.

Kirby Smart on keeping quarterbacks out of the portal: Endgame is the goal

UGA head coach Kirby Smart spoke to the media upon their matchup with Samford. Smart got a question about the difficulty of retaining players on the roster with the nuances of the transfer portal and was asked if it was hard to keep younger players around, especially at the quarterback position.

“I don’t think it’s hard, I mean I think you be very fair and honest, and they have to make decisions based on what’s best for them and what’s best for the program, what’s best for the team. I’m here to protect the University of Georgia, my job’s to develop those young men, that’s what we promised them to do,” Smart said.

Smart has definitely proven he can develop young talent, as he comes off of a National Championship win and having a record 15 players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. Georgia’s defensive pedigree is unquestioned, but Smart spoke on how offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Todd Monken brings value in developing players and prepping them to play at the next level.

“Coach Monken, our staff, there’s not a lot of places you can go that you can play for an offensive coordinator that coached quarterbacks in the NFL, he coached receivers in the NFL, I mean every kid wants to go to the NFL,” Smart added. “I’ve never had a scout come ask me how many plays or how many reps he got as freshman, sophomore, junior year, they want to know what the finished product is.”

It’s clear that Smart is an advocate for keeping his players in house and developing them through the process and culture of UGA. His recipe for success clearly worked last season, and hopefully, he and the program can maintain the culture of development in today’s current college football landscape.

“The end game is the goal and if guys wanna stay and be a part of that, be part of something special, then great,” Smart said.