Kirby Smart Explains How Much Roster Depth Has Changed in College Football

Kirby Smart explains how much roster roster depth has changed in college football.

Jan 1, 2026; New Orleans, LA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart walks on the field prior to the 2026 Sugar Bowl and quarterfinal game of the College Football Playoff prior to the game against the Mississippi Rebels at Caesars Superdome. Mandatory Credit: Amber Searls-Imagn Images | Amber Searls-Imagn Images

Kirby Smart explains how much roster roster depth has changed in college football.

With how much college football has changed over the years, it has changed the construction of rosters. With the transfer portal and tha ability for athletes to be paid, the dispertion of talent has only increased. It also means there is less quality depth on rosters.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart joined The Next Round to discuss this topic, and he went on to say that the difference between rosters in the 2010s comapred to now is a night and day difference.

Kirby Smart Explains How Much Roster Depth Has Changed

Jan 29, 2026; Mobile, AL, USA; Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart visits the field during American Senior Bowl practice at Hancock Whitney Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images | Vasha Hunt-Imagn Images

"I tell people all of the time, our early Alabama teams, our best Alabama teams, I'm gonna go 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 would beat the dog out all of these teams right now," said Smart. "Because they could practice different and they were deeper. The game has not changed that much from 2012 to 2025. but the roster has and those teams would Clubber Lang somebody. They would just physically beat you."

"Our best Alabama teams - I'm gonna go 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015 - would beat the DOG out of all these teams right now." - Kirby Smart on how different roster depth is now vs. a few years ago pic.twitter.com/2pRUYk7NoG

— The Next Round (@NextRoundLive) April 30, 2026

Coach Smart has first hand experience in this. In 2021, the Bulldogs won a national title and went on to have 15 players selected in the draft that year with five first round picks. That roster as a whole had 45 players selected in the draft. That's likely something that won't be replicated in today's world of college football.

Smart went on to apply this to his current roster, and said he is having to play kids that likely would have never played in his early years at Georgia.

"I look at our team right now and I'm like, oh man, oh god, we don't have the depth we've had, we're not as good as we were," Smart said. "And then we go out there and we win the SEC. It's just relative. I'm not saying it's going down, because there is an Indiana, there's a Michigan. But relative it's going down. Like there is not as much talent acquisition, not as much talent on a team to just be able to develop and grow. You're playing younger players. I've got kids that would have never played at Georgia when I got there or at Alabama when I was there that are having to play."

Rosters certainly change on a year to year basis more than they ever have in college football, and as Coach Smart points out, it has forced coaches to have a different perspective on what their rosters are supposed to look like.