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Georgia Football Podcast: Anonymous SEC coaches question whether UGA is still âeliteâ
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Georgia Football Podcast: Anonymous SEC coaches question whether UGA is still âeliteâ
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Opinions of anonymous coaches mean nothing to me. Wonder how many of these coaches have won a SEC championship? Or even led a team to the SEC title game for that matter? A game that was won last year by UGA, but is no longer considered an elite team, according to these nameless coaches..
I have a sick feeling about the 2026 season. These "anonymous coaches" could well be right. We will see. Either way, 2026 will be a seminal year, either good or bad…. It is questionable if Smart's business plan still works in a completely different environment of transfer portals and NIL. His assistant coaches today do not measure up to those Smart assembled when he was hired. Money talks today. UGA makes gobs of it from football. Are they willing to pay for continued success? Both Miami and Indiana were money teams last year. So was Ole Miss and Ohio State. UGA must pay to play at the elite level. Are they too stingy? Are they cutting off their nose to spite their face? When you see a target choose TX, TAMU, or Miami, you can rest assured it was because UGA was not willing to pay the market price…
we aren’t going anywhere good as long as Mike Price is still the coach!
I didn't listen to BA's podcast. So I don't know what was said. But what you say is true. Except for 1 thing.
The '26 season. This is UGA's best team since the championships. The D is stacked with HS 5*'s waiting to break out. The O is the question mark. Talented WR/TE's (3 5*'s and multiple 4* players) waiting to break out and a solid RB room. Talented and deep O line under new (much needed) leadership. And an experienced QB. No excuse for UGA O to not be powerful and scoring enough.
I don't see '26 as a big question. I do see '26 as a 1 year window of opportunity. After this season the changes in the recruiting philosophy (primarily failing to pay elite freshman - as you say) has seen the recruiting pipeline dry up for elite 5* players. MOST of the players UGA is recruiting are down the list as prospects. They fall into more of a developmental prospect category. The rest of the team recruiting seems to be following the recruiting we have seen from UGA for the QB position. Settling for game managers.
CKS does not want to pay freshmen. And he doesn't want to pay players out of the TP to come in over players that are already on the team working and proving their worth. All that makes UGA a youth team every year that is seeing a decline in prospects attracted into the program.
BUT this year we get 1 more year of the old UGA formula. A D full of 5*'s and an O capable of explosives while playing bully ball. UGA's '26 ceiling will depend on how many big plays the QB can make and how far the QB can carry the team.
'27? We will see A LOT of defensive talent head out the door after the '26 season. The talent coming into the program does not equal the talent leaving the program after this season. '27 will be the 1st season in a while where anonymous coaches can rightfully question the level of elite-ness of the UGA football team.