Kirby Smart reflects on emotions of Devin Willock car crash after national championship

Nobody or nothing could’ve prepared Georgia head coach Kirby Smart for the phone call that woke him in the early hours of Jan. 15, 2023. Hours after the Bulldogs had celebrated a second-straight national championship, a player and recruiting staffer — Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy — died in a car crash as a result from street racing.

The crash, which also involved first round draft pick Jalen Carter and brought into clearer focus off-the-field issues in the Georgia football program involving dangerous driving, and the immediate fallout were moments that Smart will never forget. From getting the call to hours at the emergency room, Smart recalled how it almost felt unreal.

“And I think to that moment of loss and getting that phone call at 2, 3 in the morning just how tragic an accident it was. And you almost can’t believe it’s real. And then the next moment you’re in the emergency room and you’re in there with seven, eight of your players as the word spreads and everybody’s just so sad,” Smart said on the ESPN “College GameDay” podcast.

It was a moment that Smart knew could come as a head coach, he said, reflecting on his time at Alabama when offensive lineman Aaron Douglass died of a drug overdose in 2011.

With the number of people in his charge, Smart dreaded the possibility of getting the call he did early on the morning on Jan. 15.

“I always tell the story about a young man at Alabama that’s the only player I’ve been a part of that we lost, tragically, to a drug overdose over spring break,” Smart said. “We always try to tell the story to say ‘Just be careful when you’re not with us.'”

Even still, nothing could’ve steeled Smart for that phone call and all that came after it.

“Hardest moments I’ve ever been through as a coach,” Smart said. “You just dread ever getting a call like that.”

Smart and Georgia plan to continue honoring Willock

Just over seven months later, the program is still attempting to honor both Willock and LeCroy. Smart says he still talks to the players “a lot” about the former Georgia player. He called the process of finding a new way to remember Willock is “ongoing” as the 2023 season begins.

“I think that’s something we talk to the players about a lot,” Smart said. “We’ve got a leadership group that has a lot to do with that and imports knowledge to us. We talked about that during the spring game and got an opportunity during the spring game. Started on the first play, things like that.

“That’s something that’s ongoing and something we talk to those guys about.”