Georgia embracing high expectations in second year under Kirby Smart
HOOVER, Ala. — By the time SEC Media Days closes on Thursday afternoon, it’s likely Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs will be the favorite in the SEC East.
Now in his second season with his alma mater, Smart is embracing the expectations that accompany a program like Georgia.
“I think understanding expectations is a powerful synergy that exists between a player and a coach,” Smart said. “There's no question in my mind the area is significantly heightened after you have been through a season together. The expectations are conveyed and understood much easier after season one.”
Those expectations in Athens led to Mark Richt’s firing after 15 seasons. Despite finishing with a 145-51 record, Richt didn’t win an SEC championship in his final 10 seasons with the Bulldogs. Georgia became a program notorious for failing to live up to its preseason hype.
An SEC title wasn’t expected in Smart’s first season, but the amount of talent returning this season will have fans wanting better results than the Bulldogs’ 8-5 mark last season. Starting quarterback Jacob Eason and star running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel are back, along with several other starters on both sides of the ball.
Chubb and Michel have combined for 5,835 yards and 45 touchdowns during their careers. The decision for both of them come back had Smart in “total elation.”
“I think Nick was the first guy to inform me, and I think maybe his decision weighed a little bit on the other guys that were deciding,” Smart said. “I think he made it okay to do. He showed the confidence, not only in our coaching staff, in our total program, that he knows he's going to have an opportunity to get better and grow.”
Many of the questions directed at Michel and Chubb on Tuesday centered on splitting carries. Both running backs are among the best in the conference, but neither of them will be the feature back in Athens. That doesn’t bother Michel.
“My mindset is not being a feature guy at this point,” Michel said. “Our mindset is trying to win football games. We want to compete at the highest level. We want to get to the championship games. We want to go to Atlanta. By not wanting to be the feature guy, that could possibly get us there.”
Those two backs should help take the pressure off Eason. Eason was a five-star quarterback in high school. In his freshman season, Eason threw for 16 touchdowns and threw eight interceptions. His career path is similar to former Georgia quarterback Matthew Stafford, who was another five-star recruit forced into action as a freshman. Stafford made a big leap his second season on campus, throwing 13 more touchdowns and three less interceptions from his freshman season. Smart hopes for similar progress from Eason.
“I'm really excited about Jacob Eason's growth, to watch him over the spring, the confidence he played in the system with, his ability to throw the ball and understand where pressure's coming from,” Smart said. “He's grown tremendously. I think Coach (John) Chaney has done a great job with him in this offseason making him realize his weaknesses and continue to work on those.”
With a potential potent offense and 10 starters back on defense, Georgia could be ready to live up to its preseason hype.
“It's important that you understand as the head coach of the University of Georgia, I'm proud to be there, but we embrace those (expectations) as the coaching staff, we embrace those as our players, when you come to the University of Georgia, the expectation is to win championships,” Smart said. “That's what we expect to do at the University of Georgia, and that's the standard we'll be held to.”
