As college football continues to evolve through NIL, the transfer portal, and constant changes to the sport’s structure, Kirby Smart believes the formula for winning remains remarkably simple.
Speaking Monday at SEC Media Days, Georgia’s head coach acknowledged the conversations surrounding the changing landscape but said they don't consume his program.
“Everywhere I go, TV, media, everybody wants to talk about the landscape of college football,” Smart said via the SEC Network. “It's sad that what’s forgotten is what wins games.”
Instead, Smart said Georgia continues to center everything around physical football, player development and consistency.
“What we focus on at Georgia is what wins football games,” he said. “That’s my passion and energy. We love to grind it out, play physical football, be explosive on offense, be explosive on defense by how you create turnovers and create sacks.”
While topics such as conference expansion, NIL legislation, and the transfer portal dominate offseason headlines, Smart said those issues don't change his day-to-day priorities.
“What I am worried about is what kind of product we put on the field in terms of physicality, toughness and how we practice,” he said. “Those are non-negotiables for me.”
If there was one player Smart repeatedly highlighted, it was quarterback Gunner Stockton. Returning to SEC Media Days for a second time, Stockton has become one of the leaders of Georgia's locker room, even if he isn't the loudest voice.
“He embodies what leadership is, and he doesn't do it through his mouth,” Smart said before sharing a story from Georgia’s leadership retreat in North Carolina earlier this offseason to illustrate Stockton’s mentality.
During a whitewater rafting trip, guides explained the front seat of the raft carried the greatest risk because it was the first position to hit the rapids. Without hesitation, Stockton volunteered.
“He chose to jump into that seat,” Smart said. “I think that says a lot about who he is. He leads from the front; he takes hits; he embodies everything our program is about in toughness and culture.”
Smart also said Georgia’s staff constantly studies successful teams across sports, and this offseason one championship team stood out. He said the Bulldogs looked closely at the 2025 NBA champion Oklahoma City Thunder and how the team operated collectively.
“We study successful programs all the time,” Smart said. “If you’re not studying how other people are doing it and you’re just fixated on your own team, I think you’re missing out.”
The biggest lesson wasn’t in Xs and Os, he added.
“It's very unique what the Thunder was doing when they won the championship, leading in so many categories, but most importantly selflessness,” Smart said. “That's what we try to emulate.”
Georgia has often been labeled a defense-first program, but Smart pushed back on the idea that the Bulldogs are an outlier in today’s offensive- minded game. He pointed to Georgia's offensive production over the past several seasons while emphasizing championship football still requires being able to run the ball when everyone in the stadium knows it’s coming.
“We believe you have to run the ball in the fourth quarter,” Smart said. “There were probably four games last year that if we didn’t run the ball when they knew we were going to run the ball because of clock management, you lose games.”
Smart added that Georgia has consistently ranked among the nation's leaders in explosive plays over the past five years.
“Our identity is going to be physical,” he said. “You can be physical in the pass game. You can be physical on the perimeter.”
While Georgia has added talent through the transfer portal, Smart credited his roster and staff continuity as one of the biggest reasons for the program’s sustained success. He noted several assistants have remained with him for nearly a decade, despite having opportunities elsewhere.
“We’ve been blessed to retain our staff and stay intact almost completely for three or four years now,” Smart said. “I think that matters.”
The same applies to the roster. Although Georgia landed impact transfers, including what Smart described as his two most explosive offensive players last season, he said the Bulldogs still believe high school recruiting provides the foundation.
“We still believe in the high school philosophy,” he said. “The state of Georgia is by far the greatest producer of NFL talent, in my opinion.”
Georgia enters the 2026 season after winning another SEC championship but falling short in the College Football Playoff. Smart said he doesn't spend much time worrying about outside narratives suggesting the Bulldogs have slipped. Instead, he evaluates each season the same way.
“I don’t get hung up a lot on just the finish,” Smart said. “I like to look back and say, ‘What did we do well? What did we do poorly? And how do we improve on it?’” For Smart, that mindset remains, regardless of how much college football around him has changed.
“The landscape piece, that’s kind of over here on the side,” he said. “If you get really lost and caught up in the landscape, you’re not worried about what matters. And we’re going to worry about what matters first in our place.”