Georgia arrived on the national scene last year, and it isn't going anywhere in 2018
It's Kirby Smart's third season at Georgia, and a national title should be the expectation from here on out
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5 min read
Georgia was one blown coverage, one offsides call on a critical punt or one big play away from the ultimate glory in 2017 under second-year coach Kirby Smart.
They were that close.
With the national title within his grasp -- what would have been the first national title for the program since 1980 slipped out of his his grasp and into those of Alabama wide receiver DeVonta Smith when Smith caught the walk-off, 41-yard touchdown to give Alabama a 26-23 win over the Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff National Championship in January.
Smart and the Bulldogs expect to be back soon, because any hangover associated with the heart-breaking loss to the Crimson Tide stayed in Atlanta and didn't follow the Bulldogs up I-85 back to Athens.
"We've got a LOT of getting better to do," Smart told CBS Sports. "I'm very pleased with the effort and enthusiasm we've had through spring practice."
Wait, hold up. "A lot of getting better to do?" After winning the SEC Championship, outlasting Oklahoma playing Sooner-style football in the Rose Bowl national semifinal and going toe-to-toe with the Bama dynasty on the game's biggest stage?
Yep, that's Smart. That's his process. It's a tried and true method that he learned from Alabama coach Nick Saban himself, when he spent more than a decade with the greatest coach of this generation on multiple staffs at the college and NFL levels.
The biggest issue, at least during spring, isn't replacing the production of stars like former running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel; linebackers Lorenzo Carter, Davin Bellamy; and defensive lineman Trenton Thompson. It's replacing their leadership. The decisions by Chubb, Michel, Carter and Bellamy to return to school after Smart's first season instead of going to the NFL, and the stellar seasons put together by Smith and Thompson, were predicated on their offseason attitude that created a culture that set the tone for the entire season.
"Leadership roles are important, and everybody's different," Smart said. "Some of those guys were vocal leaders, and others were just really hard workers. Some of 'em had just been here a while and played a lot of football. But it's hard to replace all of that. Those guys have been here and created a standard and bar for the younger players, and we're still trying to build and identify leaders. There are guys who are trying, and different guys pop up each day. The role we are in is finding out who the next group who is going to step in there shoes, but they don't have to do it. They don't have to do it exactly like those guys. They have to be themselves. You gotta be you. But whatever you do, you have to effect others."
One player being counted on to step in those shoes is rising sophomore quarterback Jake Fromm. The star signal-caller stepped in for former 5-star gunslinger Jacob Eason in the first quarter of the first game of his true freshman season, made his first career start on the road at Notre Dame, won the SEC East, SEC title, Rose Bowl and nearly the national title. Not bad for a guy who was most likely headed for a redshirt had Eason not been sidelined for a prolonged period of time.
Like he did when he signed Fromm on the heels of Eason, Smart added more weight to his quarterback room in December when he signed 5-star dual-threat Justin Fields. The Kennesaw, Georgia-native hit a bit of a wall in the middle of spring practice -- as you would expect any early enrollee to do. But if he puts on a show-stopping performance in the G-Day game on Saturday, he'll be the talk of the Classic City for the entire summer.
But his impact has already been felt where it matters most -- inside the locker room. The culture of competition has always been present within the Georgia program, including when Michel and Chubb signed with the program in 2014 in the same class and former hot shot recruits Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall did in 2012. But at quarterback, it's different.
"It's very different, because you usually only have one quarterback on the field," Smart said. "Running backs enjoy competition, but they respect that the totality of the contact on their bodies wears them down. At quarterback, it's a unique competition because they know that ultimately there's not two of them on the field unless there's some kind of special situation. Both of them are very confident players who came into very similar situations. I can promise you that Justin has made Jake better, and Jake has made Justin better."
Through three straight stellar recruiting classes, that culture is what Smart tried to instill from the moment that he got the job, and what has taken Georgia to the next level.
"We tried to build our organization on that," Smart said. "Competition is what makes you credible. You only know how good you are when you get pushed. You can't reach your greatest potential without that. We try to create that as a coaching staff. We try to create it through recruiting. We try to create those situations in practice. We try to create it in the offseason program. We try to create it in the classroom."
Alabama pushed Georgia last year. Lesser programs might have been broken by the mighty Crimson Tide.
Not Georgia. Not with Smart at the helm.
D'Andre Swift shined as a freshman behind Chubb and Michel, rushing for 618 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 153 yards and another score. The Bulldogs return a solid core of offensive lineman that shined last year, but does need to replace star tackle Isaiah Wynn. Outside, they return a deep and versatile receiving corps that includes Terry Godwin, Mecole Hardman and Riley Ridley. Deandre Baker and J.R. Reed logged significant snaps in the secondary last year, Natrez Patrick should lead the linebacking corps as long as he stays out of trouble, and Jonathan Ledbetter, Tyler Clark, Julian Rochester and David Marshall are all highly-touted and experienced players.
The thirst for more exists in Athens. Last season provided a taste, and a national title is the only thing that can quench what nearly became a reality.
If Smart has it his way, last season's heart break won't break the Bulldogs. It will only drive them to bigger and better things.
