DALLAS — The University of Georgia football team was once again in attendance for SEC Media Days, this year hosted in downtown Dallas, from July 15-18. Head coach Kirby Smart was joined by star quarterback Carson Beck, First Team All-American Malaki Starks and former First Team Freshman All-American Mykel Williams. The Bulldogs headlined day two of the event that featured Tennessee, Missouri and the newly-added Oklahoma Sooners.
Before Smart took the stage, SEC Coordinator of Football Officials John McDaid kicked day two of the event off. McDaid highlighted 2024 rule changes for the college football season including replay changes, new helmet technology for smoother coach-player communication and incorporating a “two-minute timeout” per each half of the game.
“The big one that everyone’s talking about is the introduction of two new technologies to the sideline that are both seen in the National Football League,” McDaid said. “Only one player at a time on either side of the ball can have the speaker, and a player that has a speaker in the helmets is denoted by a unique green sticker that's on the back of their helmets.”
After McDaid’s brief introduction, Smart and the Bulldogs finally took center stage. Before delving into the football side of things, Smart took time to thank his family for their commitment to him and the University of Georgia. The back-to-back national championship winning coach then spoke on the level-headedness and leadership qualities of the three Bulldogs in attendance with him and their “reflectiveness of the locker room as a whole.”
“The first game [Starks] was ever in, I guess Oregon, he started and he has started ever since,” Smart said about Malaki Starks. “He’s a quiet, humble leader. He's a very Christian young man and he represents our university the right way.”
Smart then took time to honor Alabama’s legendary former head coach Nick Saban. He showed appreciation to Saban for his guidance and assistance throughout his career while also jokingly thanking him for finally having the time to text him back.
“What he’s meant to me as a mentor, as a friend and a competitor, it drives you to get better,” Smart said regarding Saban. “There was never a day in the 11 years I worked for him that we didn't share a room in some sort, and I think it made me who I am today, because the demand for excellence is met by none other than him.”
From there, Smart turned to the media for a Q&A session that highlighted the ever-changing landscape that is college football. He discussed the new playoff format, athlete development, schedule implications and more.
“I think when you step into the shoes of a Georgia football player, you accept that the challenge is gonna be there,” Smart said about the difficult away schedule the team has during the 2024-25 season. “I mean we kind of embrace that, and we love it.”
Smart then touched on some coaching changes that the football team is currently undergoing - including the transition of Will Muschamp to an “off-field analyst role” and the hiring of Travaris Robinson to replace him.
“The way he carries himself, the way he presents himself,” Smart said regarding the hiring of Robinson. “The fact he worked for coach Muschamp, they have a great relationship because he [Muschamp] vouched for him and talked about the great job he did and he’s brought tremendous energy into our secondary, which is a young secondary, and he got the valuable time over with coach Saban and Alabama which is invaluable in terms of knowing how our program operates.”
Smart then answered questions about the attrition of players and how, as a coach, that would be handled with the potential to play 16 or 17 games with a new playoff format.
“I think the way we go about practicing is critical, I believe in having a tough physical camp,” Smart said. “It may not matter about those [playoff] games if you're not physical enough to the line of scrimmage and you're not tough enough that you don't demand excellence.”
To conclude the Q&A session, Smart discussed how games against Alabama will look a little different this year with the hiring of former Washington head coach Kalen DaBoer and retirement of Saban.
“I mean, you're talking about two teams that have been at the forefront of college football and it's probably going to be that way for a long time,” Smart said. “They’re both great universities and both committed to excellence.”
Smart concluded by thanking SEC Commissioner Greg Sankey before players were allowed to speak to the press.
“It's not the years, it's the mileage. It's been a great nine-year run for us at Georgia,” Smart said.