SEC Media Days | Relationships over Transactions
- Joseph Sisson
- Aug 2
- 4 min read
Updated: Aug 14
For the University of Georgia, success is no longer a destination — it’s an expectation.
As head coach Kirby Smart took the podium at SEC Media Days on Tuesday morning,
there was no question that his message carried the weight of legacy. But this year, legacy
isn’t what he’s chasing. It's continuity, culture, and control in an era defined by chaos.
"This is my 10th season at Georgia,” Smart said, “and our team is going to be made up of
54 percent first- and second-year players.” It was both a nod to the reality of roster
turnover and a signal of opportunity. The transfer portal is open. NIL is no longer
theoretical. And yet, in Smart’s words, Georgia remains committed to “relationships over
transactions.”
That ethos is increasingly rare in college football’s new marketplace. Smart wasn’t shy
about the balancing act: recruit elite talent, pay it fairly, and still demand accountability in
a sport now shaped by individual branding and six-figure payouts. “People don’t want to
confront and demand anymore for fear of losing a player,” Smart said. “I’d rather go get
the right player who buys into being coached.”
It was a statement no one could ignore, just like the one-liner he delivered in response to
the week’s most unserious rumor — that Nick Saban, now 73, might return to coaching.
“I almost laughed,” Smart said with a grin. “Somebody needed something interesting to
talk about yesterday, so they chose Coach Saban. But make no mistake about it — the
boss at home is going to make that call for him, not him.”
The Quiet Rise of Gunner Stockton
At Smart’s side sat quarterback Gunner Stockton, linebacker CJ Allen, and cornerback
Daylen Everette — three players reflective of Georgia’s future, not just its present. But it
was Stockton, the redshirt junior from Rabun County, who drew the most attention.
Stockton’s path to the starting job has been anything but instant. In the era of transfers
and instant gratification, he stayed. He waited. He prepared like the job was his when it
wasn’t. And when Carson Beck went down in the SEC Championship last December,
Stockton led a 75-yard touchdown drive on his first series — and helped Georgia top
Texas in overtime.
“He didn’t go in during a normal environment,” Smart said. “He played in one of the
biggest games of the year. And he was ready.”
Still, Smart hasn’t officially named Stockton the starter. Sophomore Ryan Puglisi
continues to push. But the coach made it clear that Stockton’s leadership — not just his
tape — earned him a place in Atlanta.
“He leads from the front,” Smart said. “He’s a winner.”
New Faces, Old Standards
Georgia’s 2025 campaign is defined not by how much the Bulldogs return, but how well
they replace what’s lost. The 2024 roster was among the most experienced Smart had
coached. This one? Not even close. Gone are the veterans who held together both lines of
scrimmage. In their place are talented, untested names, brought up on Georgia’s culture
of competition.
“We’ve had practices that were spirited,” Smart said. “We talked all spring about fire,
passion, and energy. That’s what separates teams now. Complacency versus energy.”
CJ Allen is the living embodiment of that principle. The linebacker from Barnesville, Ga.,
has become a fixture in the program’s training room, arriving before sunrise to rehab and
prepare. “There wasn’t a morning we showed up that CJ wasn’t already there,” Smart
said.
Daylen Everette, a steadying presence in an otherwise green secondary, returns for his
senior year as a two-year starter. His role? Confidence and consistency — qualities that
will be essential as Georgia hosts both Alabama and Texas in Athens this fall.
“It’s what college football is about,” Smart said of the Alabama matchup. “Georgia and
Alabama in Athens — I wish it could happen more often.”
The Bigger Picture
Beneath Smart’s football-centric focus lies a deep reverence for what college athletics
once were — and what they still could be. He told the story of Kaila Jackson, a national
champion sprinter from Detroit now interning in Georgia’s sports information office. He
praised longtime trainer Ron Courson. He spoke candidly about his late father, Sonny
Smart, and the influence of Mark Richt, who taught him that family moments should
outweigh wins.
“No football game, win or loss, will ever measure the time I get to spend with my kids,”
Smart said.
But don’t mistake reflection for complacency. Georgia isn’t looking back. Smart doesn’t
have time to. Not when he’s trying to prepare half a roster of first- and second-year
players to navigate the most brutal conference in college football.
“We’re not where we need to be,” he said. “But if we find the guys who love it — who
show fire, passion and energy — we’ll be where we want to go.”
The Bulldogs will kick off their season on August 30th at 3:30 p.m. in Athens, Ga., when
they host the Marshall Thundering Herd at Sanford Stadium.
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