Kirby Smart knows his voice as the dean of SEC coaches only gets heard if Georgia keeps winning

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) — He's the dean of Southeastern Conference coaches who also has two national titles on his resume, so what Georgia's Kirby Smart says about the state of college football is bound to resonate far outside his own state.

On Tuesday at SEC media days, Smart made clear that to become dean of SEC coaches and win those national titles, he’s had to focus on the little picture more than the big one — because it’s the only thing he truly can control.

“I’ve had questions about expansion, more SEC games, portal, college and federal legislation to navigate the NIL era we’re in. Players leaving, coaches leaving. That’s all people want to talk about,” Smart said. “What we focus on in Georgia is what wins football games, and that’s my passion and energy.”

At stake for the Bulldogs in 2026 is a chance to defend their SEC title — Smart has four in 10 years between the hedges — and to make a run at another natty, where both Georgia and the SEC as a whole have been shut out for the last three seasons.

To reach either goal, the coach will need to find answers for an offensive line that lost two starters to the NFL draft and a receiving corps that got Isiah Canion from the transfer portal (Georgia Tech) but needs more to replenish a position missing four of last year's top five pass catchers.

The constant will be Gunner Stockton, the quarterback who heads into his redshirt senior year as Georgia's highest-profile player.

In a team-building moment bound to take on a life of its own, especially if Georgia plays well this year, Stockton found himself at the front of the raft on a whitewater trip with team leaders earlier this summer.

“They said, ‘OK, who’s going to be in the front of the boat?'” Smart said. “They explained this might be the most risky position. You may fall out. When you go over a rapid, you may be the first to fall into that water. But he chose to jump into that seat.”

Stockton said that, indeed, he got wet that day, but it was a chance worth taking.

Regarding his coach, and the way he deals with name, image and likeness payments, one of the many elements disrupting college sports while also reshuffling pecking orders in locker rooms across the country, the quarterback said Smart keeps it real.

“He basically tells us the truth, which is that once you're out on the field, it doesn't matter how much someone makes, or doesn't make, everyone has to prove themselves,” Stockton said. “Once you're on the football field, nobody really cares how much money you make.”

For the record, Smart has had much to say about all the changes upending his sport. At a memorable appearance less than two months ago at the SEC annual meetings, he sounded off on several topics, including the backroom conversations about the league breaking off from the rest of the NCAA if college sports can't align behind a single set of rules.

“I’ve been a huge advocate that if we can’t find the rules that everybody plays by, then we should play our own. I’m not afraid of that,” he said at that time.

On other topics he discussed at the meetings:

— Smart wonders if the new nine-game league schedule will really produce gains in strength of schedule that the SEC is touting.

— He loves the SEC title game but recognizes it might have to go if the College Football Playoff is expanded beyond 12 teams: "When you take that revenue stream out, can we make it work? Is it sustainable to do without it would be my biggest concern," he said.

— He's not against players getting money, but he recognizes that college sports could be on an unsustainable path if it doesn't find some guardrails: "We're going to lose that if we keep spending because not everybody can spend at the rate that we’re spending.”

Heading into his 11th season with the Bulldogs, Smart has settled into the role as the league's elder statesman once held by his mentor, Nick Saban, who left following the 2023 season after 17 years at Alabama and 22 in the SEC.

The 50-year-old Georgia coach recognizes he is in a changing industry and wants to play a role in shaping it. But at SEC Media Days, with the start of practice looming and the first game (against Tennessee State) only 46 days away, Smart felt his focus should be directed elsewhere.

“I don't mind talking or speaking to it,” he said. “All I'm saying is that at events like this, it eats the air and takes away from what actually wins and loses football games.”

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AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football