University of Georgia Athletics
Smart Talks Alabama, SEC Championship
December 01, 2025 | Football
ATHENS – Head coach Kirby Smart met with the media Monday. They offered the following comments.
Head Coach Kirby Smart
Opening Statement
"I guess most of you guys were on the conference last night, so there's not a lot to say that hadn't been said. SEC Championship game, awesome opportunity for our guys. I told them last night, 'you earned the opportunity to play in this game. This was not given, this was earned. This was not picked by a committee, it was on the field.' Two teams that already played once. Both played really daunting SEC schedules and get a chance to battle it out, see who the SEC champion is, which a lot at stake and always is. Playing a really good football team. Coach [Kalen] DeBoer's done a great job with them. They're playing at a high level. When you look at both sides of the ball, they complement each other. Playing really well offensively and defensively. I think that's important to being successful in our conference. They've got a good group of players and their staff's done a great job to put them in this position. This will be our guys opportunity to go out and play in a place that we've played a lot of games in. I'm excited for the opportunity. It's always a great atmosphere and crowd. The viewership, the people that watch it across the country is always really high, so I'm excited for our guys."
On Alabama's offense changing since the first meeting…
"I got to watch the games in between our game and theirs. I don't think you change a whole lot during the year. You play to the skill set of your playmakers. They've got playmakers. They play to the skill set of those guys. QB Ty [Simpson's] still playing really well. He's extremely athletic. He can extend plays. He knows where to go with the ball. He knows defenses. He's played a lot of football. He's played with a lot of confidence. I don't think there's a lot of change. They're really good at what they do and they do a great job with shift, motion, keeping you off balance with tempo, vertical plays, horizontal plays, they do a great job."
On if the offense has met his expectations…
"I'm very pleased with what our offense has done this year. I'm very pleased with the total package of how they've utilized the skill set and the strengths of the team. Considering two to three freshman linemen have been in there a lot, I've been really pleased with that group. The ability and the commitment to the run complements what Gunner [Stockton] does well. I'm pleased with where those guys have been."
On the defensive line's experience…
"I would say it's more the experience has been bigger for young linebackers, outside linebackers, and secondary maybe the defensive line. Outside of 'EG' [Earnest Greene, III], a lot of those guys have played football. EG is a guy that's gotten better with time and gotten more comfortable, but a lot of those guys were experienced coming into the year. I don't think any of our early struggles were a testament to anything about the defensive line. It was just more a matter of growth and getting more experience and executing at a higher level at all positions."
On Glenn Schumann…
"Honestly, he's grown over the course of his career, he's grown over the course of ten years being here. Specifically, this year, I don't think he's had to grow. I think he's had to do a great job of deciding what this group does best and trying to utilize and improve the skill sets. We don't have a dynamic, clear-cut, dominant rusher. We've had some of those in the past with Jalen [Carter] and Mykel [Williams], both coming out early and 'Ty' [Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins] those guys not being there, it was a little bit of an adjustment to get the younger players groomed faster. I can't say that Schumann's had to grow. He's had to utilize what we have."
On the process of determining skill sets…
"I don't know if there's a lot of changes to make, guys. I think you all are making a big deal about something. We're improving. We played better, but some of the offenses we've played have been really explosive. Ole Miss is a really explosive offense. Tennessee is a high-octane offense, and they get a lot of snaps. They go with tempo, they score points and Alabama's done that. Some of it's how you play, some of it's who you play and some of it's how you change and adapt. I think we're always trying to change and adapt."
On National Signing Day being the same week as the SEC Championship…
"Change to when? When's a good time to have it? Last week? The next week? They made the decision a long time ago to move this in front of your roster changes and additions to your own team, so that you would have one thing squared away. You have to remember, as little as two to three years ago, we had a portal going on and signing day going on. I was in the decision-making process when it came to signing the week of the SEC Championship. I didn't like it then, I don't like it now, but I don't have a better answer. There's a calendar timeline, there's an academic calendar to universities and also high school kids. There's not an opportune time to have it. You do what's best for the most and not necessarily the least, the teams that are playing. It makes for some tough challenges this week for sure, but people understand that. They respect teams that are still playing."
On championship experience helping in preparation…
"It doesn't change game to game. The championship game is no different than the game that gets you to the championship game, right? We've been playing championship games every week, in my opinion. What wins football games doesn't change. Good players win football games. Not turning the ball over wins football games. Being explosive wins football games and that will not change in this game. The turnover margin of the last game was a factor. Explosive plays of the last game were a factor. They'll be factors in this one, they'll be factors in the next one after this one. That doesn't change, if anything, the experience you learn from playing in this is more about time management with signing day going on. Practice management with the load your players have this extra week in the season. That's what we try to lean on from an experience standpoint."
On the identity of running the ball changing…
"I wouldn't say the identity has changed for us of needing to be able to run the ball to be successful. That can't change, not for us. The things that are important to our identity – the physical toughness required, the discipline, all the things that we require to be successful – have not changed week-to-week, or since the beginning of the season. We might do better out of one week or the other, but they don't change."
On staying consistent in the SEC among coaching changes…
"I have a great program, great administration, great supporting cast here, and it's allowed us to be successful. I talk about it all the time. If you have good players, you coach them the right way, coach them hard. You can be successful and we've been successful. It's hard to sustain anything and stay consistent, especially in this league where it's really competitive. I don't think a lot about the tenured or the person that's been there the longest. I got a lot of respect for Mark, and he's a good friend."
On maintaining consistency in the program…
"Things like Jonas Jennings, being part of our staff since I've been here. Scott Sinclair, Glenn Schumann, Tray Scott, they're pillars in this building. They believe in the core values of the head coach. They help push those. I think reinventing yourself as much as you can every year and trying to be a good teacher creates consistency. I think the player buy-in and the players we select to be part of our program, that's the only way you're going to be consistent is not be afraid to make tough decisions, and we've talked about qualities of great leaders require you to make tough decisions."
On OL Drew Bobo's impact…
"He's very knowledgeable of the game. He grew up around it, in it. He understands football, he knows leverages, he knows a lot about what's going on. He and his dad have a great relationship that allows him to know a lot of things and make a lot of checks, and put us in right situations a lot of times. He's certainly a really good football player."
On the importance of gap time in a rematch…
"No, unless you're just beat up and got a lot of players missing, which they're pretty beat up, we're pretty beat up. The gauntlet of the stretch that they played and we've played has impacted both of our seasons. I think we both had people coming in or coming out of lineups the last time we played. Now you look at the long spell between games, seven, six, seven, eight games, whatever it is. Both teams are coming out of and coming into injuries. In terms of the X's and O's and the schemes, in terms of the gap, I don't think so. You evolve as a team, you have trends, but good teams do what they do. They're not going to be a lot of change and both these teams are good teams."
On OLB Gabe Harris Jr. and Quintavius Johnson…
"Confidence and repetition. I think they both are very knowledgeable, a little more experienced, a lot of practice reps between [the Alabama game] and [the SEC Championship] and quite a bit of game reps between this one and that one. Gabe [Harris] is a little older. [Quintavius Johnson], he's still kind of coming into his own. He was young then and he's grown up a lot. He's had to grow up because he got forced into playing time at an early age last year and even this year, and he's accepted that role and he's improved."
On Lane Kiffin leaving for LSU and the influx of new SEC coaches…
"I think most of these guys are descendants or they come from a tree of coaching and there'll be similarities. We have tape of every team we play, we have tape of every team that those guys coached. There'll be some carry over in terms of the new coaches, but it's a long way away before we start worrying about that. I don't envy the position [Lane Kiffin] was in. I think it's a really hard position to be in and to navigate. I think Coach Saban addressed it best. We're in a time frame where [Athletic Directors] are in– people are making decisions in a timeline that's not congruent with the season and the playoffs. It makes for really difficult decisions."
On Dr. Drew Brannon's work with the program…
"He's helped every Alabama game since 2020. He does a great job."
On QB Gunner Stockton's improvement during the season…
"He's had to make [decisions.] You get more comfortable doing things the more you've done it. It's called experience, and he's gained that. He's forced into every play. 'Do I do this, this or this?' There's very few plays that are just as simple as you do this. I think that gives you options. It makes you write more. And I think everybody in the country is really doing it– is putting a lot on the quarterback. He's done a great job in terms of making the right decision with two, three options, and that puts you in advantage. It also puts stress on that position, and they've got to be able to handle it and make good decisions."
Head Coach Kirby Smart
Opening Statement
"I guess most of you guys were on the conference last night, so there's not a lot to say that hadn't been said. SEC Championship game, awesome opportunity for our guys. I told them last night, 'you earned the opportunity to play in this game. This was not given, this was earned. This was not picked by a committee, it was on the field.' Two teams that already played once. Both played really daunting SEC schedules and get a chance to battle it out, see who the SEC champion is, which a lot at stake and always is. Playing a really good football team. Coach [Kalen] DeBoer's done a great job with them. They're playing at a high level. When you look at both sides of the ball, they complement each other. Playing really well offensively and defensively. I think that's important to being successful in our conference. They've got a good group of players and their staff's done a great job to put them in this position. This will be our guys opportunity to go out and play in a place that we've played a lot of games in. I'm excited for the opportunity. It's always a great atmosphere and crowd. The viewership, the people that watch it across the country is always really high, so I'm excited for our guys."
On Alabama's offense changing since the first meeting…
"I got to watch the games in between our game and theirs. I don't think you change a whole lot during the year. You play to the skill set of your playmakers. They've got playmakers. They play to the skill set of those guys. QB Ty [Simpson's] still playing really well. He's extremely athletic. He can extend plays. He knows where to go with the ball. He knows defenses. He's played a lot of football. He's played with a lot of confidence. I don't think there's a lot of change. They're really good at what they do and they do a great job with shift, motion, keeping you off balance with tempo, vertical plays, horizontal plays, they do a great job."
On if the offense has met his expectations…
"I'm very pleased with what our offense has done this year. I'm very pleased with the total package of how they've utilized the skill set and the strengths of the team. Considering two to three freshman linemen have been in there a lot, I've been really pleased with that group. The ability and the commitment to the run complements what Gunner [Stockton] does well. I'm pleased with where those guys have been."
On the defensive line's experience…
"I would say it's more the experience has been bigger for young linebackers, outside linebackers, and secondary maybe the defensive line. Outside of 'EG' [Earnest Greene, III], a lot of those guys have played football. EG is a guy that's gotten better with time and gotten more comfortable, but a lot of those guys were experienced coming into the year. I don't think any of our early struggles were a testament to anything about the defensive line. It was just more a matter of growth and getting more experience and executing at a higher level at all positions."
On Glenn Schumann…
"Honestly, he's grown over the course of his career, he's grown over the course of ten years being here. Specifically, this year, I don't think he's had to grow. I think he's had to do a great job of deciding what this group does best and trying to utilize and improve the skill sets. We don't have a dynamic, clear-cut, dominant rusher. We've had some of those in the past with Jalen [Carter] and Mykel [Williams], both coming out early and 'Ty' [Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins] those guys not being there, it was a little bit of an adjustment to get the younger players groomed faster. I can't say that Schumann's had to grow. He's had to utilize what we have."
On the process of determining skill sets…
"I don't know if there's a lot of changes to make, guys. I think you all are making a big deal about something. We're improving. We played better, but some of the offenses we've played have been really explosive. Ole Miss is a really explosive offense. Tennessee is a high-octane offense, and they get a lot of snaps. They go with tempo, they score points and Alabama's done that. Some of it's how you play, some of it's who you play and some of it's how you change and adapt. I think we're always trying to change and adapt."
On National Signing Day being the same week as the SEC Championship…
"Change to when? When's a good time to have it? Last week? The next week? They made the decision a long time ago to move this in front of your roster changes and additions to your own team, so that you would have one thing squared away. You have to remember, as little as two to three years ago, we had a portal going on and signing day going on. I was in the decision-making process when it came to signing the week of the SEC Championship. I didn't like it then, I don't like it now, but I don't have a better answer. There's a calendar timeline, there's an academic calendar to universities and also high school kids. There's not an opportune time to have it. You do what's best for the most and not necessarily the least, the teams that are playing. It makes for some tough challenges this week for sure, but people understand that. They respect teams that are still playing."
On championship experience helping in preparation…
"It doesn't change game to game. The championship game is no different than the game that gets you to the championship game, right? We've been playing championship games every week, in my opinion. What wins football games doesn't change. Good players win football games. Not turning the ball over wins football games. Being explosive wins football games and that will not change in this game. The turnover margin of the last game was a factor. Explosive plays of the last game were a factor. They'll be factors in this one, they'll be factors in the next one after this one. That doesn't change, if anything, the experience you learn from playing in this is more about time management with signing day going on. Practice management with the load your players have this extra week in the season. That's what we try to lean on from an experience standpoint."
On the identity of running the ball changing…
"I wouldn't say the identity has changed for us of needing to be able to run the ball to be successful. That can't change, not for us. The things that are important to our identity – the physical toughness required, the discipline, all the things that we require to be successful – have not changed week-to-week, or since the beginning of the season. We might do better out of one week or the other, but they don't change."
On staying consistent in the SEC among coaching changes…
"I have a great program, great administration, great supporting cast here, and it's allowed us to be successful. I talk about it all the time. If you have good players, you coach them the right way, coach them hard. You can be successful and we've been successful. It's hard to sustain anything and stay consistent, especially in this league where it's really competitive. I don't think a lot about the tenured or the person that's been there the longest. I got a lot of respect for Mark, and he's a good friend."
On maintaining consistency in the program…
"Things like Jonas Jennings, being part of our staff since I've been here. Scott Sinclair, Glenn Schumann, Tray Scott, they're pillars in this building. They believe in the core values of the head coach. They help push those. I think reinventing yourself as much as you can every year and trying to be a good teacher creates consistency. I think the player buy-in and the players we select to be part of our program, that's the only way you're going to be consistent is not be afraid to make tough decisions, and we've talked about qualities of great leaders require you to make tough decisions."
On OL Drew Bobo's impact…
"He's very knowledgeable of the game. He grew up around it, in it. He understands football, he knows leverages, he knows a lot about what's going on. He and his dad have a great relationship that allows him to know a lot of things and make a lot of checks, and put us in right situations a lot of times. He's certainly a really good football player."
On the importance of gap time in a rematch…
"No, unless you're just beat up and got a lot of players missing, which they're pretty beat up, we're pretty beat up. The gauntlet of the stretch that they played and we've played has impacted both of our seasons. I think we both had people coming in or coming out of lineups the last time we played. Now you look at the long spell between games, seven, six, seven, eight games, whatever it is. Both teams are coming out of and coming into injuries. In terms of the X's and O's and the schemes, in terms of the gap, I don't think so. You evolve as a team, you have trends, but good teams do what they do. They're not going to be a lot of change and both these teams are good teams."
On OLB Gabe Harris Jr. and Quintavius Johnson…
"Confidence and repetition. I think they both are very knowledgeable, a little more experienced, a lot of practice reps between [the Alabama game] and [the SEC Championship] and quite a bit of game reps between this one and that one. Gabe [Harris] is a little older. [Quintavius Johnson], he's still kind of coming into his own. He was young then and he's grown up a lot. He's had to grow up because he got forced into playing time at an early age last year and even this year, and he's accepted that role and he's improved."
On Lane Kiffin leaving for LSU and the influx of new SEC coaches…
"I think most of these guys are descendants or they come from a tree of coaching and there'll be similarities. We have tape of every team we play, we have tape of every team that those guys coached. There'll be some carry over in terms of the new coaches, but it's a long way away before we start worrying about that. I don't envy the position [Lane Kiffin] was in. I think it's a really hard position to be in and to navigate. I think Coach Saban addressed it best. We're in a time frame where [Athletic Directors] are in– people are making decisions in a timeline that's not congruent with the season and the playoffs. It makes for really difficult decisions."
On Dr. Drew Brannon's work with the program…
"He's helped every Alabama game since 2020. He does a great job."
On QB Gunner Stockton's improvement during the season…
"He's had to make [decisions.] You get more comfortable doing things the more you've done it. It's called experience, and he's gained that. He's forced into every play. 'Do I do this, this or this?' There's very few plays that are just as simple as you do this. I think that gives you options. It makes you write more. And I think everybody in the country is really doing it– is putting a lot on the quarterback. He's done a great job in terms of making the right decision with two, three options, and that puts you in advantage. It also puts stress on that position, and they've got to be able to handle it and make good decisions."
Players Mentioned
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