Kirby Smart reflects on a strange year for recruiting, touts class of 2021 signees
All but one of head coach Kirby Smart’s 20 committed recruits from the class of 2021 signed with Georgia on Wednesday, the first of college football’s Dec. 16-18 early signing period. In a virtual press conference Wednesday afternoon, Smart discussed managing COVID-19-related recruitment changes, dealing with new roster management challenges and finding a 50-50 split between in-state and out-of-state signees.
A weird year
The recruiting process looked different for most of 2020. COVID-19 forced the NCAA to prohibit in-person recruitment on March 18, and the association most recently extended the dead period through April 15, 2021.
Online communication over the past eight months didn’t change everything, though. Phone and video calls have always been part of the equation, and Smart said he’d seen most if not all of the recruits in-person at past high school competitions or Georgia camps.
The biggest drawback, Smart said, was not being able to make house calls to meet players’ families or host them for home games in Sanford Stadium.
“There’s not as much attachment,” Smart said. “In four years, two years, one year — are we going to be dealing with more transfer because there’s not that relationship?”
Smart managed to put together a top-tier recruiting class despite the pandemic, but another 2020 change still clouds his 2021 roster outlook. The NCAA granted all fall sports athletes an extra year of eligibility on Aug. 21, which means every Georgia senior, including fifth-years, has the option to return next season.
Although returning seniors won’t add to Georgia’s 85-scholarship limit for the 2021-2022 season, that provision won’t go into effect until fall 2021, according to the NCAA’s Aug. 21 decision.
In the meantime, Smart said he expects up to 16 class of 2021 recruits to enroll at Georgia come January. To take advantage of spring practices, those early enrollees will need scholarships currently held by upperclassmen.
Smart said he’ll have a clearer picture of his team and its scholarship situation by mid-January, when juniors looking to the 2021 NFL Draft and seniors who may return have likely made their decisions.
“It’s definitely taxing in terms of numbers in and numbers out,’’ Smart said. “So it’s very different for us. But with 16, it makes it even more trying.”
‘Get the groceries’
Aside from allocating scholarships, pending upperclassmen decisions make it hard to get the full picture of Georgia’s roster needs next fall. Smart and his staff have until national signing day on Feb. 3 to fill any roster gaps that might open between now and then.
“We get the groceries before we know what we need,” Smart said.
Georgia signed nine offensive and 10 defensive recruits Wednesday. Smart was especially pleased about his four incoming offensive linemen. Three rank among Smart’s top eight signees, including his five-star crown jewel Amarius Mims. A 6-foot-7 powerhouse, Mims is the highest-rated player in Smart’s class and the No. 1 recruit from Georgia, according to the 247Sports Composite list.
Despite acquiring some top talent at the position, Smart named only one of the O-line quartet by name Wednesday. He said three-star Jared Wilson out of Clemmons, North Carolina, was an early recruiting target for Georgia and touted both the 6-foot-4 guard’s physique and his work ethic.
“I say it every year: (For) offensive linemen, it’s re
ally hard to come in and play,” Smart said. “I’m really excited about this group. They’re athletic, they’ve got great size (and) they’re really bright kids.”
Beyond the O-line, Georgia
added two receivers, three cornerbacks, four linebackers and three defensive linemen along with a handful of others. But the signee who’s perhaps generated the most buzz from Georgia faithful is
five-star quarterback Brock Vandagriff.