Kirby Smart credits Clark Lea, says Vanderbilt is a much improved team

Not every coach walks into as good a position as Kirby Smart did when he took the Georgia job. It’s a program with excellent facilities, investment, and had a talented team in place when he got there. Other coaches, like Clark Lea, don’t enter a job with that many advantages.

Kirby Smart knows that Clark Lea has done a lot at Vanderbilt to improve that team, even if he still has a long way to go.

“Vanderbilt–a lot of respect for Clark,” Kirby Smart said. “You know, he’s an alumnus of the school, similar to me.”

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“I’ve always respected the work and job he did. He did a tremendous job when he was at Wake [Forest], and we copied a lot of those things he did defensively there and then competed against him as the defensive coordinator at Notre Dame as well. So, through the SEC head coaches meetings, gotten to know him better, and got a lot of respect for the way he carries himself and the way he leads his program.”

Later in his press conference, Kirby Smart was asked how different he thought Vanderbilt looked in year two of Clark Lea’s tenure.

“A lot,” Kirby Smart replied. “You start with the first game of the year. You know, they go out to Hawaii and play in a tough environment, tough time change, very mature to handle that and play well. They played well last week when you watched the Ole Miss tape. They came out and attacked and played well. I mean, well coached.”

“So, the expectation is that you’re going to grow and get better, and everybody measures that in different amounts. I’m sure Clark has his way of measuring it, just like we have our way of trying to measure improvement. Probably, to me, one of the most improved teams in our league in terms of the way they’re playing right now.”