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Kirby Smart is a strong motivator, wishes he didn't have to be

On3 imageby:Jake Rowe•03/28/25•

JakeMRowe

Kirby Smart (1)
(Tony Walsh / UGA Sports Communications)

ATHENS, Ga. — Kirby Smart‘s pre-game, post-game, and halftime speeches are well documented. Upon hearing them, many Georgia fans will tell you that they’re ready to run through a brick wall for the 10th-year head coach.

Those speeches aren’t going away anytime soon. They’ve been part of the game for a long time. But as good as Smart can be at motivating his players and getting them to empty the tank, he’d rather not have to do it at all. If he had his way, all of the fire and passion necessary would come from within each player.

“Somebody said to me the other day, ‘Are you a good motivator? Can you motivate players?’ And I’m like, well, I’d rather get the ones that I don’t have to motivate because they’re self-motivated,” Smart said on Tuesday. “That’s the greatest kind of player to coach.”

No two players are the same and none are finished products at ages 18 to 23 years old. The term “motivator” will always be in a head coach’s job description for those reasons and beyond. But Smart is speaking to a larger point.

He told reporters earlier this week that the one core DNA trait missing from his team of late is the fire, passion, and relentlessness it takes to be dominant. Smart wants competition to matter to each and every one of his Georgia football players. He wants it to mean something, a lot, to them.

That’s why the Bulldogs have added a wrinkle this spring. Smart is reaching out to players after each practice to get their opinion on who is giving the most effort. He’s highlighting that effort in the film room for all to see. In his mind, it’s a reward for straining and going that extra mile.

That’s his way of doing what he can to develop competitive drive and passion for the game. Still, at the end of the day, the Georgia head coach knows that bringing in guys who already have that fire is a big part of the battle.

“I mean, I don’t know that there’s a remedy for getting the middle or bottom of the roster to work like the top,” he said. “I don’t know that we’ll ever achieve that. I mean, the goal is to improve the roster and get them to move towards that. But some people, they’re just not driven like others, right? I mean, our job is to find the right ones.”

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