Kirby Smart addresses identity of 2022 Georgia football team

Kirby Smart has done his best to hit reset after Georgia won the national championship, making it clear that the new unit must find an identity to compete again in 2022. Part of the spring practice goals he laid out early this year involved creating a new identity that speaks to the new players and their strengths.

During his spring game press conference following G-Day, Kirby Smart talked about the identity the 2022 Georgia football team is building and how that will be independent from the 2021 team.

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“We’re creeping on it,” said Smart. “There was some really good accountability in terms of holding each other accountable this spring that I was shocked by, that I was like, man, there’s going to be a void in leadership, how can we create leadership opportunities. And from the day one they were pushing each other, they were cheering each other on the sideline.

“I’m like, man, it’s almost like they wanted to emulate those other guys. I’m talking about from a leadership standpoint now. They can’t emulate what some of those guys do on the field. They can emulate the standard, though, and I thought they really did that for 14 of the 15 practices. Man, I was like, dude, they had a great attitude, they worked really hard today and we made it tough, and they did it. We’re going to have to have a little different personality. We’re going to have some grit, some toughness because it won’t just be talent. We were really talented last year, and not that we’re not talented now, but we’re going to have to win in different ways.”

Kirby Smart on replacing talent

Kirby Smart knows he has a lot of work to do with the defensive line. The Bulldogs lost several key members of their front to the NFL Draft this offseason, including Jordan Davis, the 2021 winner of the Chuck Bednarik Award, given annually to college football’s best defensive player.

Georgia must also replace defensive linemen Travon Walker and Devonte Wyatt, who combined for 72 tackles and 8.5 sacks this past season. After hosting the annual spring game Saturday, Smart said he liked what he saw from some of the younger players. He singled out juniors Nazir Stackhouse and Warren Brinson, but said he was more evaluating the spring as a whole than just Saturday’s game.

“I think they’ve had good springs,” Smart said. “I’d rather evaluate the spring than the spring game. It’s hard to judge when you’re out there and it’s happening. We’ll watch the tape. But I think Naz has done a lot to change his body. He’s lost 10 to 15 pounds, he’s changed his body fat percentage. Warren is a quick-twitch guy that can make some plays when he moves inside. He’s gotten tougher. He’s gotten more physical.”