Georgia coach Kirby Smart is now racking up recruiting classes like his mentor, Nick Saban. Is Smart about to catch up to him?
Eli Lederman covers college football and recruiting for ESPN.com. He joined ESPN in 2024 after covering the University of Oklahoma for Sellout Crowd and the Tulsa World.under Nick Saban helps immensely," Smart said."A lot of people have said, 'Why not take a small school head job?' I honestly feel like my growth was better by being in a large program and being around Coach Saban.
"I think made me who I am today because the demand for excellence is met by none other than ," Smart said this summer at SEC media days."So, that standard he set for me, day in day out -- he met himself." During contact periods, Saban spent hours on the phone convincing recruits on the program he was constructing at Alabama. On the road, he wooed families and recruits with his mix of an old-school philosophy and a forward-thinking vision. On campus visits, Saban was meticulous on every detail in the team facility. Even after six national titles, Saban remained just as relentless on the trail.
Altogether, Smart's first nine years recruiting to Georgia have been nearly identical to Saban's start at Alabama. In some spots, the protege has been even better. "A successful signing day is defined four years from now -- I look backwards on that," he said after signing the nation's No. 2 class in the 2023 cycle."I leave it to to rate them because I can't compare somebody else's to ours because I don't really look at somebody else's."
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