Kirby Smart ‘certainly earned that right’ to return as coach at UGA

SEPT. 3, 2016 • VS NORTH CAROLINA • W/L 33-24

Kirby Smart’s moves to beat North Carolina for first career win months in the making

BY FLETCHER PAGE • ATHENS BANNER-HERALD • PUBLISHED SEPT. 4, 2016

ATLANTA — Stay hyped, Bulldog fans – there’s always next year.

That should no longer be a derogatory statement among the fan base.

There will be more big games. And more crucial touchdowns and defensive stands. Georgia’s best with Kirby Smart in charge is yet to come and still very much in the making.

Instead of constantly fretting over not losing, as in previous seasons, Bulldogs everywhere should be eager and hungry to go get wins.

“Change is a process, and we’re trying to change the culture and the demeanor,” Smart said after Georgia’s 33-24 win over North Carolina in the Georgia Dome on Saturday.

It would have been easy to get negative in the third quarter. North Carolina scored on the kickoff to open the second half, then scored easily on the next drive.

Big game. Big hype. Big deficit. Seen it before. Know how that ends. Yeah, it would have been easy to feel that way.

“There was a lot of doubters out there when that ball got kicked off and ran back, a lot of here we go’s, but not one kid on that sideline doubted it,” Smart said.

Smart and his staff had the guts to let Jacob Eason rip. That paid off when the freshman quarterback connected with Isaiah McKenzie for 51 yards in the fourth quarter to set up the go-ahead score.

Eason finished 8 of 12 with 131 yards and a touchdown.

Smart and his staff did their homework on running back Brian Herrien and trusted that he would do his. His grades kept other programs away in February. But Kirby held a spot and Herrien made the A’s to get in late. He scored a 19-yard touchdown on his first career carry in the first half.

“Tears almost came to my eyes when he had that touchdown run,” Smart said.

Smart persisted in his pursuit of Maurice Smith into August, the defensive back transfer from Alabama that Nick Saban initially would not let come to Georgia.

The drama was worth it. Smith broke up two passes that could have been Carolina scores and had five tackles.

Every angle, it appears, has been meticulously pursued or covered. Kirby is going for the win.

Nick Chubb had 222 yards in his return, but even a player as special as

OPPOSITE: Georgia coach Kirby Smart wears The Old Leather Helmet after defeating North Carolina 33-24 during the Georgia – North Carolina game at the Georgia Dome, Sept. 3, 2016. JOHN ROARK / ATHENS BANNER-HERALD

Chubb isn’t enough. Georgia has always had phenomenal top-end talent. What it has lacked is Smart’s attention to detail. His work ethic to create a smaller margin for error.

It’s not perfect and there will surely be setbacks, but Smart is building that with his moves.

So when the Georgia Dome went silent in the third quarter, when the Dogs were down by 10, there was nothing to worry about.

The moves to correct the problems and win the game had already been made.

“You prevent that every day in practice … and you’re demanding excellence,” Smart said. “I’ve really been hard on these guys. That’s not going to change. Sometimes they wonder why, they wonder if I’m crazy. That’s why. If I can make it hard on them in practice, they really respond better. I’m really proud of the way they responded.”

LEFT: Coach Smart speaks with Georgia free safety Quincy Mauger (20) during the second half of the Georgia – North Carolina game on Sept. 3, 2016.

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OPPOSITE: Coach Smart leads the football players run out of the tunnel at the Georgia – North Carolina Chik-fil-A Peach Bowl.

JOHN ROARK / ATHENS BANNER-HERALD

ABOVE LEFT: Georgia tailback Nick Chubb (27) runs onto the field with the team.

JOHN ROARK / ATHENS BANNER-HERALD