WATCH: Kirby Smart Talks 2020 Georgia Recruiting Class
Kirby Smart addressed the media yesterday during the final National Signing Day period for the 2020 recruiting class. A class that for the most part was already wrapped up heading into the final day.
However, as John Garcia Jr. told us on SEC Nightly last night, yesterday was about maintaining those committed, and adding a few ancillary pieces as well.
Smart spoke gave his thoughts about yet another top-ranked recruiting class at Georgia, his third such accomplishment in as many years, and he alluded to the fact that yesterday was just about finishing, majority of the groundwork had already been laid.
"I’ll open with the excitement around this signing class, which started probably well before this day last year. I don’t think a lot of people really understand what goes into a signing class, because most of these kids that signed — two or three years ago was the first time we met them, and it is a long, tough process. It’s a great day for these guys. Kind of anti-climactic with the early signing period. I like to think the early signing period is 70-80 percent what you sign, and this late signing period is more of an adjustment to what maybe you lost or early outs or where you think you have holes. So, we feel like we have been able to fill a lot of those holes."
Smart wasted no time thanking the school as a whole from administration and faculty all the way down to the fans of the Georgia Bulldogs, accrediting the atmosphere surrounding the program for the reasoning behind landing top recruits.
"I also want to take this time to thank everyone in our organization — I am talking about administration, I am talking about fans — that helped bring this signing class. The Notre Dame atmosphere was one of the keys to this signing class. The academic people at the University of Georgia who sacrificed their Saturdays and their Sundays and their countless hours. I don’t think people really understand that recruiting never sleeps. Everybody is fired up today and they are thinking that you can relax. 2021 — We have already had two or three junior days. We have already had a prospect to come in. We are doing phone calls with these kids. It has already begun, but this group really goes back to sacrifices that everybody made to give their time. It really takes a team effort when you have kids coming from Texas and California and all over the country. People have to sacrifice their time to give you an opportunity to sign players like this."
Whether or not Georgia was going to take a second running back in this class is something that was a rather heavy talking point leading up the culmination of this recruiting cylce. And it's something that Smart made sure to address yesterday as well:
"Getting a second back in this class was key for us. We are excited about this young man. We have known about him for a long time. He has come up through a lot of camps. He plays in what is probably one of the toughest divisions and regions in our state and he has played at a high level. You talk about the people he has had to play against — he has been a really good player. Talking about Daijun Edwards and then obviously Kendall (Milton) joined us mid-year has been a good addition, too. So, I am really excited about this class from an academic character standpoint, which to me matters as much as anything. But this class will be judged based on how they finish, not where they rank right now, which is not any concern of ours. With that, I will open it up for questions."
A lot has also been said about Georgia's continued success in the recruiting rankings. Obviously you're not going to occupy an annual top spot in the recruiting services rankings and not be asked about it.
"Do I think this has something to do with it? Absolutely, it has something to do with it. What that ranking is? Or when that happens? Or how it plays about? I don’t think that necessarily correlates. I think that you having a complete staff, keeping your staff together and also being able to do it year after year is a level of consistency and a level of support that you are getting internally to make sure that we can do the things we can do. It’s hard to go out and recruit at a high level year in and year out because so many people recruit against you based on who you signed. You better have good product to sell which academically we do. Really, there's not going to be a separation between one through 10 in these recruiting rankings that really matters. What matters when they leave is, number one, how many of them are present? How many have graduated? How many lives did you change? They're not going to be judged just on wins and losses."
It's something Smart has harped on a lot, as most coaches do, what kind of impact are you having on those around you? How many lives did you change? With all of the noise surrounding his successes, it's clear to see that Smart still has a clear and identified set of moral codes and aspirations.
The full presser is available at the top of the article. It's rather lengthy.
SEC Nightly is available Monday - Friday nights starting at 9 PM.
