Kirby Smart Talks About Georgia Recruiting Class, Flipping KJ Bolden
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00:00 [inaudible]
00:24 Thanks, certainly excited today as I am every day.
00:28 I think you could hit repeat on every time we've had this signing day press conference
00:32 because we get our new kids coming in.
00:36 And I'm really excited about this class.
00:38 Obviously it started long before this time last year.
00:43 We're really confident in our evaluations.
00:46 We do a thorough job.
00:48 I think somebody told me on here, I was looking at this before I came out here,
00:51 I think 24 of maybe 28 or 29 guys worked out on our campus with our coaches.
00:57 25 of 28 guys were multi-sport athletes, 13 different states,
01:04 number one player in maybe four or five different states.
01:08 But more important than all that is the kind of kids they are.
01:11 I'm excited to get them to come in and work.
01:13 We've got, I really don't know, eight or nine guys here working with us that are competing
01:19 and hopefully more to come midyear.
01:22 I think it's somewhere like 23 guys coming midyear, which seems to be the trend
01:26 in all of college football, which is important because you cannot develop players
01:32 if you don't have them here.
01:34 You can't practice to develop the other players if you don't have enough depth here.
01:40 So we have really gone with the model of going through the high school ranks,
01:45 developing players.
01:47 The way it's looking right now is somewhere around 40%, maybe 50%,
01:53 maybe even 60% of our roster next year will be in the first two years of the program.
01:57 And that's -- you've got to have spring practice, you've got to have development to do that.
02:02 But a lot of credit goes to our staff.
02:06 Our coaches have done a tremendous job in what is an extremely difficult time.
02:12 But most of our class was done.
02:14 I think this might have been the earliest class we've ever had, the numbers committed,
02:17 and really proud of them.
02:19 And I look forward to kind of indoctrinating these guys into our culture
02:23 and getting them better.
02:25 So I guess that's it.
02:27 We'll open it up for questions.
02:30 Yeah, Coach, you mentioned that evaluation process,
02:32 particularly with the quarterback position.
02:34 What are some of the physical and intangible traits you guys are looking for?
02:37 And where does Ryan Pugliese stand on all those?
02:40 Yeah, the physical traits are size, speed, intelligence for the intangible traits,
02:45 character, what the kid's makeup is, you know, the velocity with which he throws the ball.
02:50 We've had guys that can throw it hard and guys that can't throw it hard.
02:55 They've had different levels of success.
02:57 The common denominator for us has been intelligence, ability to create and extend plays.
03:04 So we look at all those things.
03:06 And he came down here, Ryan came down here, I mean, I bet five or six times,
03:10 and he checked the box every time for the right kind of kid, the right kind of competitor.
03:16 He's embraced the part about learning.
03:19 I think he sees himself as a guy that needs to come in and develop under a system.
03:24 And he's seen Carson's success, so I think he understands that.
03:28 And he wants to grow and get better.
03:30 So quarterback is the leader of the team and leader of your class,
03:36 and he's a really intelligent, fun kid to be around.
03:40 He's been out here at practices competing.
03:42 He's got a really live arm.
03:44 Another one of these baseball guys that can catch it and get it out really fast,
03:47 which I think is important in today's day and age.
03:53 Would you say Carson's decision to come back for another year
03:57 had an effect on the number of quarterbacks you ended up signing today?
04:01 And do you anticipate signing any more through the next period?
04:06 I don't think Carson's decision had any impact on our quarterback recruiting situation.
04:11 I think a lot of independent variables there.
04:13 We felt pretty good that Carson was coming back the entire time.
04:19 He's communicated with us.
04:20 He did his research and certainly had options,
04:24 but he communicated that he wanted to grow and continue to get better,
04:29 and so he made that choice.
04:31 What was the second part of that, Chip?
04:33 It was whether you would still need to sign another quarterback
04:37 coming out in the next period.
04:38 Yeah, that's something we have to think long and hard about.
04:41 Our hard number is four.
04:42 We want to be at four, and we're not at four.
04:44 So, again, we'll look at our options and see what we can do there.
04:50 We would like to be at four, though.
04:52 That's our goal.
04:55 Coach, you mentioned the various states that you had the number one player in.
04:59 Was that by design that you wanted to go out of state or expand the reach,
05:03 or is that just how it shook out this year?
05:06 No, you go where you go.
05:08 I mean, you go find the players.
05:09 A lot of times it's their interest level and us.
05:11 We don't target states and say we've got to get one from this state or that state.
05:15 I love getting kids from the state of Georgia.
05:17 If I could sign every kid from the state of Georgia, I would love to do that.
05:21 I mean, that would be great.
05:22 It's not realistic.
05:23 I mean, it's just not.
05:25 Some years our state provides us speed, athleticism.
05:28 Some years it supplies us size.
05:31 And some years it doesn't have a good -- I don't know what the right word is.
05:35 It doesn't have maybe a sample size of that position.
05:39 So you've got to go search outside that.
05:41 And we usually know that long before now.
05:43 So for the 25 class, we can tell you the strengths of the state.
05:46 Just like these guys I call GMs all the time.
05:48 They're like, hey, this is a great linebacker class,
05:51 but it's not a great corner class in the draft.
05:54 And same thing for us in our state.
05:56 So we know what we've got to go out and look for outside that.
06:00 And, you know, we don't look at where you're from.
06:04 We look at who you are, how you compete, how do you behave when you're here,
06:09 what do people say about you, what your makeup is.
06:11 And I could really care less whether they're number one in their state
06:14 or number two in their state.
06:15 I care a whole lot more about how they behave when they get here
06:20 than do they buy into our culture.
06:22 Because I don't think their rankings matter.
06:23 I really don't think they matter.
06:30 Yeah, what are you getting in the wide receivers you've brought in?
06:33 Nitro Tugwell, Sokoly White, and if you can talk about them, London Humphreys.
06:36 I'm 100% sure if you can, yeah.
06:38 Yeah, I think I'm excited about all those guys.
06:41 Certainly, you know, you build your wide-out room through high school.
06:45 We feel like we should build every room through our high school.
06:47 But over the last, I guess, two to three years, we've gone into the portal
06:52 and been able to get some experienced wide-outs.
06:56 I think that's critical.
06:57 I do think you can play early in college football at wide-out.
07:00 I think people have proven that.
07:01 George proved it.
07:02 AD proved it.
07:04 Jermaine proved it.
07:05 They all proved it.
07:06 You can go out and play as a freshman.
07:08 But it's nice to get some SEC experience in the two guys we got last year.
07:12 So, we need more depth at receiver.
07:16 It's a position that we're thin at,
07:19 and that we've got to have enough people to surround Carson with
07:23 to create weapons.
07:26 Kirby, was there anything -- I guess surprise is probably the wrong word,
07:29 but you talked about how you've been communicating with guys about their plans,
07:32 who was going in the portal, who wasn't.
07:34 Was most all of that settled, or is it fair to say that all that's settled right
07:37 now in terms of no one who's going to be on your roster and who may be leaving?
07:42 I don't know that I can say it's settled.
07:44 I mean, you don't know that.
07:45 Like, I certainly don't know when guys make decisions they make them.
07:49 I mean, the window is what the window is.
07:51 So, those guys have those opportunities.
07:53 I think for us, we had conversations long before the SEC championship.
07:59 We meet before the season.
08:01 We meet during the season.
08:02 We meet during the bye week.
08:03 And then we meet again after the SEC championship.
08:06 So, probably about 95, 90% of those guys, that conversation had already happened.
08:12 I think everybody in the country will tell you, you have surprises,
08:15 and you guys can probably figure out who those are.
08:17 And, you know, they make decisions that they think fits what they need.
08:22 And I respect that.
08:23 That's the rules we have, and that's what we abide by.
08:26 So, I mean, I feel good about the group we have,
08:29 and I'm really worried about the guys that are here and not the ones that aren't.
08:34 Yeah, Kirby, one of the things that jumps out is just the size
08:37 of the offensive line class you all are bringing.
08:39 What stands out most to you about those six guys
08:42 and what they can bring to Athens,
08:43 and maybe the importance of getting them enrolling early on campus?
08:46 Yeah, Collier, Madalena is going to need a raise
08:48 because she's in charge of our nutrition.
08:52 And she's got her work cut out for her based on some of these weights
08:56 that are probably not even accurate, to be honest.
08:59 I mean, let's call it what it is.
09:01 Some of these guys are too heavy, and they'll be the first to say it.
09:04 They think heavy is good.
09:05 But how many 350-plus offensive linemen have started at Georgia
09:10 that you all know of?
09:12 I can't think of one.
09:14 I can't think of one guy that's been 350-plus.
09:16 I can't think of a guy that's been 345-plus.
09:19 So, whatever they are, they're going to have to reel it in to be successful.
09:23 So, everybody can print all the big as better they want,
09:26 but if they don't lose weight, they won't play.
09:29 And that's the key is, are they wired the correct way
09:34 to lose the weight?
09:36 I was just talking to a couple guys out there at practice
09:38 that Ernest Green came in here at 355,
09:41 and Ernest Green was at 320 by the first snap of spring ball.
09:45 So, he was committed to a process, and these guys will have to be too.
09:53 Kirby, what's the short version of everything that you all and your staff did
09:57 with KJ Bolden from when he committed until today?
10:02 I mean, we did what we do on every kid.
10:04 I mean, we recruited them.
10:07 I mean, I met KJ Bolden and his mom his ninth grade year in the indoor
10:11 and sat and talked to him for 45 minutes
10:15 and just had a great appreciation for her and him.
10:18 He was a young kid then, and he actually had worked out at our campus a lot out,
10:22 and we knew that he was a really talented young man.
10:25 From that point on, I mean, I bet he's been on this campus 20 or 30 times
10:29 between coming over here for different events and seven-on-sevens,
10:33 but there was no different recruitment for KJ.
10:37 It was just consistent and a mutual respect probably is the right word.
10:42 You know, I reached out to him when he committed elsewhere
10:45 and just told him I had a lot of respect for him
10:47 and we weren't going to stop recruiting him
10:49 and we thought this was the best place for him.
10:51 And I've always learned, Andrew Thomas' parents taught me,
10:55 that consistency is the key, and we were very consistent every time he was here.
11:01 And you know what? It worked out.
11:03 It doesn't always work out, but it worked out in this case,
11:06 and we're not going to change our method if we go about things.
11:11 Coach, you know, obviously looking at this secondary group, you mentioned KJ Bolden,
11:15 you know, a couple of the other guys.
11:17 You know, a lot of those guys played offense and defense.
11:19 You know, how important is that to that position group in particular?
11:23 So just what are your overall thoughts of this group overall?
11:27 The secondary group?
11:28 Yeah, secondary group.
11:29 It's fast.
11:30 I mean, they'd go out and run a four-by-one team and probably win a national event
11:33 because they can fly.
11:34 They all got good speed.
11:35 DeMello's a track guy, can run.
11:37 Andre Evans can run.
11:39 Ellis can run.
11:40 And KJ runs track and can run.
11:41 They're all four, got great speed.
11:43 They all four have really good length.
11:45 I think the wingspan on Ellis and those guys is extremely long.
11:51 They're all tremendous character kids.
11:53 I mean, like they're fun to be around.
11:55 DeMello is a fun guy to be around.
11:58 Those other guys are fun guys to be around.
12:00 And, you know, they'll have growth to do.
12:02 They'll have to grow up.
12:03 But we're in need of that position.
12:04 We're under our -- what I call our quota.
12:07 We're under our quota there.
12:08 And they're going to get thrust into some opportunities to get to go out there
12:11 and play and compete.
12:13 But they all have toughness.
12:14 They all have speed.
12:16 You know, I saw KJ play one night and he had a defensive touchdown,
12:21 a kickoff return touchdown, a running touchdown,
12:24 and a receiving touchdown.
12:26 And I don't know that I've ever, you know,
12:28 witnessed that and seen something like that in person because he's a dynamic
12:32 player.
12:35 You mentioned a few surprises in the transfer,
12:37 the number of players that -- some of the players that transferred.
12:40 Is there any concern when a large number like that?
12:42 Is that just the nature of where we're at in college football now?
12:45 Or do you worry about the message it sends of, you know,
12:48 a lot of guys petted out this year?
12:51 No, I mean, you can't -- you don't control that.
12:54 You don't control that.
12:55 What you do control is who you bring in here.
12:57 You don't control what goes out.
12:59 So, our messaging has been all along, let's get the right guys in here
13:02 and this group we just signed.
13:04 You know, I'm a lot more worried about the retention.
13:07 And when I look at last year's class, I think it's two or three out of last
13:12 year's class, that would be more concerning for me than -- you know,
13:16 the portal is a good thing.
13:17 Let's don't make it a negative.
13:19 If you've been in a program for three years and you're not playing and you
13:24 don't feel like you're going to play or you don't feel like you're being
13:26 developed and it doesn't look right, you might need to look somewhere else.
13:31 And that's an okay thing.
13:33 Okay?
13:34 It's when you're first year and you're doing that, it becomes a little bit,
13:38 you know, more alarming.
13:40 Why did you go there in the first place?
13:42 You never really gave it a chance to grow.
13:44 So, I evaluate the portal based on that, not the total number.
13:49 I mean, the total number to me is just not relevant because the day and age
13:53 we're in, you know, kids feel like the grass is greener.
13:56 And sometimes it is and sometimes it's not.
13:59 We don't control those decisions.
14:02 Kirby, what are your early impressions of these December enrollees and just
14:06 what you've gotten to see since they got on campus?
14:08 They're lost.
14:09 They're overwhelmed.
14:10 They're high character.
14:12 They're very intelligent.
14:13 They're hardworking.
14:15 They're out of shape.
14:16 They're winded.
14:18 They're enamored.
14:21 But they won't be in the spring.
14:23 So, I can't wait to coach them.
14:28 You guys signed Justin Williams and Joseph "Jono" Johnye from the same high
14:31 school.
14:32 How big of an impact can that have to be comfortable with somebody like that
14:35 that's in your class?
14:36 And what stands out to you about those two defensive players?
14:40 Size, speed, length.
14:42 They both have tremendous length and extremely high character.
14:46 I mean, Justin -- I've not been around many kids in a meeting like Justin
14:51 Williams.
14:52 This kid had everybody in the country recruiting him, throwing things at him,
14:54 and doing all kinds of stuff.
14:55 And he never blinked.
14:57 He was like, "I'm coming to Georgia.
14:59 I want to be a linebacker at Georgia.
15:00 This is my plan."
15:02 Very intentional about everything.
15:05 And his GPA is above a 4.0.
15:07 I mean, just incredible.
15:09 And Joseph is his teammate who has an incredible story and has -- is really
15:16 filling a need.
15:17 You know, we've gone two years without signing a solid, like, D.N.
15:21 You know, he and Justin Green are two solid, what we call N's, big N's.
15:26 So, Mike Hill and Ty's position.
15:28 And we need some help there.
15:29 So, both those two guys are going to help us fill a role.
15:35 Coach, a non-signing day question.
15:37 Is it just -- obviously this is a little different this year than the last two
15:39 years.
15:40 Is it strange to be preparing for a game that's not a playoff game?
15:44 And is that just -- what's that experience been like after what y'all did the
15:48 last two years?
15:49 Yeah, I wouldn't say it's strange to us because we're in the same routine.
15:51 You know, you could say it might not have the same -- we've tried to make it
15:58 the same sense of urgency.
15:59 But there's times that you have to step back and look and take a deep breath
16:03 and say, "We're getting these guys better.
16:05 We're working really hard.
16:07 We're buying in."
16:08 The leadership on this team has been absolutely incredible.
16:12 Because what I hear from other coaches about these type games, it's been a
16:16 nightmare for them.
16:17 It has not been a nightmare for us.
16:19 We've got dudes out there practicing, that this is their last go-around.
16:22 And I've told them the next time that about 15 or 20 of you guys are
16:25 practicing, you're going to be trying to make a roster.
16:28 And you only have about 10 to 15 practices to make a roster spot in the NFL.
16:32 So, use these practices to help you make a roster and get better.
16:36 Because the guy you're competing against, he might not be getting to practice
16:39 for a ball game.
16:41 And they want to finish on top.
16:43 There's a lot of them that want to walk off that field for the last time on the
16:47 winning side.
16:48 And there's a lot of competitive character.
16:50 So, it is different, but it's not for, like, the coaching staff.
16:54 We're going to go up there and meet and do the same thing we were doing if
16:56 we were playing in the playoffs.
16:57 It's not -- it's a routine for us.
17:01 Kirby, three running back class.
17:04 Dell talked earlier in the year that part of that was getting to scholarship
17:08 quotas, I guess you would call it.
17:10 What were you trying to accomplish with this running back class, and what have
17:14 you seen from the three guys that you brought in?
17:16 Yeah, they complement each other.
17:18 You know, they're very different.
17:21 You know, you've got the James Cook, Zemir White, the Sony Nick
17:26 complementary package there.
17:28 And Dwight's completely different altogether.
17:30 I mean, he is a very unique skill set, very elite skill set.
17:36 But how we use him will be very important because he's not, you know,
17:39 just a normal back.
17:40 He can do a lot of things.
17:41 He can create a lot of match-up nightmares.
17:43 And we don't think he's even seen his full potential.
17:46 And the other two kids complement each other really well and give us big
17:50 backs.
17:51 You know, all three of those guys run sub-11 hundred meters,
17:54 which sub-11 is rolling.
17:56 And they're big.
17:57 And so, we feel really good about those guys.
18:02 Kirby, I know you're big on each year to its own,
18:04 but you've got some program streaks here with the six bowl wins
18:08 and the six straight top ten finishes.
18:10 Is there an awareness of the players in terms of maintaining that standard one
18:14 and then two?
18:15 I'd ask you as far as the portal goes.
18:17 You've said before, you know,
18:18 that you'd have to be more aggressive this year maybe than in past years.
18:21 Is it safe to say that there's still work to be done in these last couple
18:25 weeks there in terms of additions?
18:27 Two very different questions.
18:29 Are we bringing up the bowl streak?
18:31 Probably not.
18:33 We have talked about the seniors having an opportunity to be the winningest
18:36 group of seniors ever.
18:38 The way we've calculated the math, and I don't know if it's accurate or not,
18:41 but we're one away from beating last year's group.
18:43 So, it's really critical to me that we do that.
18:46 That's a motivating factor.
18:48 I don't think the streak as much is a factor because sometimes you don't
18:51 control that and they weren't part of some of those games.
18:54 As far as being active in the portal, it's like grocery shopping.
19:00 You can't go get groceries unless you know what you have at home, you know,
19:03 and that's the hardest part of the timing of everything.
19:06 You know, you say, "Well, you know what you've got on your team."
19:08 Well, you don't technically because it's not over.
19:11 So, we have to be careful that we don't get more bottled water than we need.
19:19 We've got to get more bread to match up with our sandwich meat.
19:24 I mean, we can't go about it that way.
19:27 You can't go out there and get all this and then you need this.
19:30 So, that's the hardest part is not knowing.
19:32 And the really hard part is a lot of the kids are -- you're getting pressured in
19:36 the portal to make a decision.
19:38 They're getting pressured into saying, "You've got to take this,
19:41 you've got to take that."
19:42 And the window is just so wide that it's hard to know what you're going to have.
19:48 Let's take two more questions.
19:49 Yeah, KJ Bolton was very complimentary of Fran Brown in terms of him helping him
19:54 come to Georgia and then Fran repaid it to you, complimenting you
19:58 and what kind of impact did he have on this class?
20:01 And then as a follow-up, you guys hired Dante Williams.
20:04 What did you see in him to make you want to bring him into this program?
20:07 Yeah, Fran was unbelievable, first of all.
20:11 He came here with a purpose.
20:12 He told every kid he recruited he wanted to be a head coach.
20:14 He said, "I want to be at Georgia until I'm a head coach,
20:16 and I want to be a head coach.
20:18 And if I get to be a head coach, then I'm leaving Georgia,
20:20 but I'm going to leave Georgia in a better place than I found it."
20:22 And he did everything he said he was going to do, and we did everything we said
20:26 we were going to do in terms of preparing him for that and giving him a pedigree
20:29 of a national championship and a way to run the program.
20:32 So, it was a very smooth transition.
20:35 He communicated very well to the guys he helped recruit,
20:38 but it wasn't like he lied to any of them.
20:40 He told them all.
20:41 Every one of them said, "Yep," and he told us when he got a head job he was going
20:43 to go, and he said that, "You know, you and Coach Muschamp are going to be
20:45 in the secondary with us."
20:46 So then we went out and looked for what we needed, and we really built --
20:50 we said we want somebody that can develop and teach corner play,
20:54 because Coach Muschamp and I work hard with the safeties,
20:56 and we want somebody that can form relationships like Fran.
20:59 And Fran was a very relationship-driven person.
21:02 He spent a lot of time communicating with kids, not just KJ, but a lot of kids,
21:07 and he formed solid relationships,
21:09 and we wanted somebody that could do those same things.
21:12 And Nante has proven he can do that.
21:14 He's a really good football coach.
21:17 On those players that Fran recruited, what stands out to you about the corner,
21:21 specifically Ellis, because I know those two had a long relationship?
21:26 What stands out about Ellis?
21:28 His length, his character, his family, his parents made sacrifices.
21:34 You know, they sent their son to IMG to grow and get better.
21:39 And I don't know if he's the person he is and the player he is if he doesn't go
21:42 down there and go against the best in the country.
21:46 He played with Dalyn, he played with all those kids.
21:48 I mean, he basically has been in college for two to three years.
21:52 And he is a wonderful, wonderful kid who -- he has high expectations,
21:56 and we have high expectations,
21:58 but he's going to work to get better and develop within our program.
22:02 So, we're very excited to have him.
22:04 Thank you.
22:05 Thanks.
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