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Obviously, SEC media days are a different animal than the past.
Well before the advent of the interwebs, this time of year, was for the most part the first inkling of what fan bases would hear from respective head coaches about the upcoming season.
And while social media leaking the smallest detail from any coaching appearance anywhere does take the surprise factor from media day, this week in July does serve as the last gasp of the offseason before preseason camp gets rolling.
Kirby Smart took his turn in the SEC’s mediapalooza on Tuesday.
A few takeaways....
Count Kirby Smart as among those trusting Jake Fromm getting near a boat in the offseason. The benefit of a coach from Smart’s age bracket being at the helm of the program is that he is not too far removed from being a player - he probably recalls some of the off the field fun that he and his teammates had. And his comments Tuesday were also a recruiting pitch - football is a serious business in Athens, but it there is still a desire for players to be who they are on a certain level.
Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?!
A reporter just asked Kirby about his deep QB room of Eason, Fromm and Fields. I guess the newspaper didn't land on his doorstep on a certain day earlier this year.
— Jason Butt (@JasonHButt) July 17, 2018
Yep, nobody in the program has forgotten how it was successful last year. Remember how the SEC East title hardly resonated last year when Georgia clinched? There’s no self-patting on the back of last year and being happy and content with a year ago. As expected, the mindset of being used to being uncomfortable and never content is a key piece of the fabric in the Georgia program.
Moving ahead
You ever notice that Alabama fans don’t reference the Kick Six? The reason - other than the result of it, is that since that time, the Crimson Tide has challenged for an won multiple titles and Auburn not gotten back to that point since then.
The same line of thinking is holding in Athens. Georgia may have gotten to the big stage, but there is a determination to not let just getting their define things at UGA, where everyone in the program now knows what it takes to be in position to win a championship.
The end of last year’s title game, which, let’s be honest, Georgia was lucky to be in position to even win in OT (thank you, Hot Rod), will define the Bulldogs until they win a title.
Georgia knows that it has a hungry group, but also that letting the past have residence in its head will do absolutely no good.
Or as Kirby Smart said, “we don’t allow it to haunt us.”
Go Dawgs!