Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart is very familiar with the Alabama Crimson Tide football program. Smart served as an assistant coach at Alabama from 2007-2015 (including being the defensive coordinator starting in 2008) under legendary Crimson Tide coach Nick Saban.
Smart took the Georgia head coach role in 2016 and almost immediately found elite success with the Bulldogs. Through nine-plus seasons at Georgia, Smart has won 85% of his games including a pair of national championships and a trio of SEC championships.
Smart’s biggest obstacle has been his former team. He’s just 1-6 against Alabama including 1-1 in national championship games and 0-4 in SEC championships. Interestingly, he’s never had a home game against the Crimson Tide. That will change Saturday night when Georgia, who has a 33-game home winning streak hosts, Alabama at 7:30 p.m. ET (televised on ABC).
Despite Alabama’s success against Smart, things haven’t been all sunshine and roses during the Kalen DeBoer era. DeBoer is 1-4 in his last five road games and did not lead Alabama to the College Football Playoff last season.
What Kirby Smart said about Kalen DeBoer
“Coach DeBoer’s done a great job, to me, trying to fill somebody’s big shoes, and he is doing a great job in his own right, in the way he approaches things,” Smart said to the media on Monday.
Smart knows Alabama fans have expectations that are off the charts. The Crimson Tide are used to winning national championships and don’t appear to be on a championship course again after losing the season opener 31-17 at Florida State. Alabama can right the ship with a road win over Georgia in what could be a turning point for the DeBoer era.
“I think he’s still doing that (implementing his identity in the Alabama program),” Smart said. “I think it’s a process. It doesn’t happen overnight. To take that situation and go into it, takes someone very confident in themselves.
“I think he’s proven that he’s won everywhere he’s been. He’s been very successful everywhere he’s been. He’s not afraid to do it his way and be good at it. I’m sure he’s absorbed some things that he wanted to keep the same. But at the end of the day, it’s buy-in, it’s players, it’s the coaching staff, it’s everybody involved. It’s a lot to be measured against, obviously. But he knew that before he took it (the job).”
DeBoer and Alabama are 2-1 entering the Georgia game. The Crimson Tide are almost in a must-win situation at Georgia. Alabama has five remaining games (Vanderbilt, at Missouri, Tennessee, LSU and Oklahoma) against ranked opposition and can’t afford to have a 2-2 start.
On Alabama defensive tackle Tim Keenan
Alabama defensive tackle Tim Keenan, an All-SEC pick, is expected to return for the Georgia game. Keenan has been out with an injury.
“He’s a tremendous player,” Smart said. “He’s explosive. He’s quick, twitchy, disruptive, hard to move. They move him around. He plays in different fronts, odd and four down. I’ve known him for a long time. He’s a good football player.”
On Alabama RB Jam Miller
“He’s extremely physical, but they’ve kind of done it by committee,” Smart said about Jam Miller, who is another All-SEC Alabama player that is expected to return from injury against Georgia.
“Jam has more experience and he’s really physical, hard to tackle, point of attack, can get after it, and a really good pass protector,” Smart continued. “I mean, he’s just a veteran.”
On Alabama’s defense
“They do multiple things,” Smart said. “They’ve got a lot of moving parts, a lot to prepare for. They move their backers around, they have different looks they give you.
“They disguise in the secondary, they move players around, they have different coverages, they mix man and zone well, but their physicality is the biggest thing. At the point of attack, they’re really physical and they play really hard. I think they have a really good defense and they’re well coached.”
On Alabama WR Ryan Williams
Alabama receiver Ryan Williams torched Georgia a season ago. He had a rough season opener against Florida State this year, but got back on track two weeks ago against Wisconsin with a strong performance.
“He’s a dynamic receiver,” Smart said. “When you’ve got a guy that’s a 100-meter champ and explosive and has (his) ball skills, I mean, he possesses all the traits of elite wideouts. He’ll make you miss, vertical threat, quickness, toughness, I mean, he’s an all-around great player and he’s proven to be an explosive play waiting to happen.”
Smart praises Alabama QB Ty Simpson
“I would say he’s probably the hottest quarterback right now in all of college football,” Smart said. “His two last outings, I don’t know that I’ve seen an incompletion. Like, the ball does not hit the ground.
“He’s been accurate, he’s been quick with the ball. They’re really hard to defend because of their skill. They’ve got tremendously skilled receivers, backs, tight ends, but you’ve got to have a trigger guy that can get those guys the ball, and they do. And he’s seen the field.”
This article originally appeared on UGA Wire: What Kirby Smart said about Alabama football
