Kirby Smart Says Hosting Recruits at Georgia-Florida Game, A "Moot Point"
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When the news came out this past Wednesday that both the University of Georgia and Florida would be able to "host" recruits at the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party," it seemed like a victory lap.
Ever since taking the head coaching job at the University of Georgia, Kirby Smart has been consistent in his fight to see the annual rivalry game moved to a home-and-home format. But why would Smart want to break the tradition of the city of Jacksonville, Florida, host the game? Recruiting. As Smart iterated at SEC Media Day, the neutrality of the Georgia-Florida game is a disadvantage, not to just Georgia, but to Florida as well on the recruiting trail.
"When Auburn plays Alabama, guess where the recruits are. They're at Auburn. When LSU and Alabama play, guess where the biggest recruits want to go. It's an opportunity for us to bring these kids who fly in from all over the country. What game do they want to see? They'd like to see Georgia play Florida, but they can't do that."
- Kirby Smart
Following Georgia's first scrimmage of fall camp, their first time tackling live in a scrimmage setting since G-Day, Smart spoke about the recent news regarding the Bulldogs' biggest regular season rivalry game.
Smart said that both programs have always "been able to [host recruits at the game.]" Smart added
"For the first time, we are able to allot tickets, which we do on every neutral site game. We do it with Clemson. We do it with Oregon. We do it all the time. Per NCAA rules we are not allowed to see them or talk to them. We can’t do anything with them, so it’s really a moot point. They get to go, but what good does that do in terms of recruiting that you don’t get to spend time with them and host them? It doesn’t change the official visit they are on.”
Smart's issue is an obvious one. Every other year, Auburn gets to host some of the nation's elite prospects on official visits in late November because the Iron Bowl is the biggest spectacle going that week. Georgia has to essentially take an entire week off recruiting for one and sacrifice what would be their best home game environment every other year.
Take a look at the home schedule this season, it sure could use the Gators coming to town.
- Samford 9/10
- Kent State 9/24
- Auburn 10/8
- Vanderbilt 10/15
- Tennessee 11/5
- Georgia Tech 11/26
Based on preseason polling, Tennessee will be the only ranked opponent on Georgia's home schedule this season.
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