Kirby Smart Says Georgia Football Has an 'Old School' Approach to Recruiting

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart says the Bulldogs still use an 'old school' approach to recruiting.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart looks toward the field during the Sugar Bowl and College Football Playoff quarterfinals at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La., on Thursday, Jan. 1, 2026. | Ayrton Breckenridge/Clarion Ledger / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart says the Bulldogs still use an 'old school' approach to recruiting.

One of the first things people learned about Kirby Smart as the head coach at the University of Georgia was his ability to recruit. The Bulldogs have consistently landed top five recutiting classes under Coach Smart, and it has led to a lot of success.

However, recruiting has changed quite a bit over the last five or six years. Now that athletes can be compensated for their play, recruiting battles for players sometimes turn into bidding wars. Who can offer the biggest purse while also offering the best path to success.

Georgia has remained very competitive on the trail. In fact, the Bulldogs put more effort into recruitng high school players than some programs with the transfer portal being a major player in roster aquisition strategies now.

Coach Smart recently sat down with Glory Glory's Bryce Koon recently, and he discussed Georgia's strategy when it comes to eveluating prospects. Smart even went on to note that the Bulldogs are still a little old school in their tactics.

Kirby Smart Discusses Georgia's Approach on the Recruiting Trail

Apr 18, 2026; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart shown on the field during the Georgia Spring football game at Sanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-Imagn Images | Dale Zanine-Imagn Images

How does Georgia attack recruiting in the new era?

Kirby Smart previews an important recruiting and evaluation period, while closing the book on spring ball and the NFL Draft

FULL: https://t.co/AFvIkz6ISP pic.twitter.com/OMu98nEzNt

— GloryGlory (@GloryGloryGA) April 29, 2026

"There's not better indicator of good football players than practicing football," Smart said. "So we try to put a lot of value on the evaluation that occurs on the field and less on what a site or a person writing rankings puts on them. So we trust our evaluation and we cross each other. So we get to watch tape, video things, we are still old school, boots on the ground, what information can we find out about a kid and does that kid fit our culture? We are just trying to find 24 to 25 guys that fit our culture."

While Georgia's tactics might differ from some other college football programs, it hasn't led to much of a drop off in their recruiting success. The Bulldogs finished with a top five class in 2026 and are tracking well for the 2027 class as well.

They may not be dominating the trail like they used to several years ago, but parity across the sport has become a huge talking point as of late. Good players are being spread across different schools at a much greater scale, but that hasn't stopped Coach Smart and his staff from landing some of the best prospects the nation has to offer every single cycle.