Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart still thinks highly of his mentor, Nick Saban, but appears laser-focused for this week.
Smart, a Georgia alum, famously coordinated under Saban for the Tide before leaving for the Bulldogs job. Since then, Kirby and the Georgia program have dominated college football. They won two National Championships in consecutive years (2021 and 2022) and are out for their third in four years this season.
So far, they’ve met the moment. The Bulldogs, though, will play the mighty Crimson Tide this Saturday night in Tuscaloosa. It will be different, though, because Saban won’t be on the sidelines. Instead, it’s Kalen DeBoer, who’s had little issue adjusting to the rigors at Alabama. Smart acknowledged the differences, though, on Monday and had a telling message for his former mentor, Saban.
Smart told reporters on the lack of Saban this weekend, “I don’t expect it to be strange. That’s just the normal course progression. I think it’s strange going back there sometimes, because I lived there. We lived there for nine years and had such great experiences there,” adding how strange it was during the COVID years.
Smart and the Bulldogs play DeBoer and the Crimson Tide on ABC at 7:30 p.m. Eastern this weekend. It’s sure to be a treat between two Top 5 teams.
