Georgia coach Kirby Smart explained why there were several reasons for him to 'experiment' with the Bulldogs' practice schedule this fall.
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Vote it off topic, understandable, since it is. But I saw yesterday where Vandy named their starting QB..and his last name isn't Curtis. He is QB2 at Vandy like he may have been in Athens also. Adds more mystery as to why he chose Vandy. Clark Lea said Curtis would start the 1st game to gain experience, but will not be QB1 just yet.
How good (or great) will Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs be in 2026? In my latest Junkyard Blawg, I take a look at team strengths as well as areas where the Dawgs need to improve and offer some thoughts on how they will fare this season. Click below to check it out.
https://billkingjunkyardblawg.wordpress.com/2026/08/29/how-good-or-great-will-the-dawgs-be-in-2026/
Gotta respect that Kirby is open to tweaking his practice schedule.
The bottom line is most of our injuries occur during practices - not on game day. That means something needs to change whether it be guys taking more time off between practices or being better prepared during practice.
I say this again as not a knock on Kirby but simply that the season has gotten progressively longer, our bench is not as deep and talented as it was the last time we won a Natty, and the fact that the last 2 post-seasons have been hampered if not stopped by key injuries as much as anything else….Cignetti is as good of a HC as anyone in the game. He has proven with each and every team he has coached that he knows how to take a lousy or mediocre football team and turn them into a competitive force to be reckoned with. His practices focus on fundamentals more than anything, are less intense and hard than what we have at UGA, and he gives more time off to his players than many other teams do. His career results speak for themselves. Kirby's results have somewhat stalled or plateaued over the last 3 seasons. Let's just admit it. How can we get past the plateau and further in the playoffs during a potentially much longer season?
As Kirby even said, let's practice smarter, not necessarily harder.
at Lane Kiffen’s preseason presser:
Kiffen stands at podium: microphone centered with a Powerade bottle to the right of the microphone and a Hawaiian Tropic spray tanning oil bottle to the left. A young Journalist who hates to get off topic ask is your tan real. Kiffen slaps the podium with both hands and picks up the tanning oil spray can and bounces it off the journalist’s head. You could hear a pin dropped, In this case, the tinging of an empty spray tanning oil bottle. Kiffen says, “how the hell do you think I could perform sweaty Pilates in white yoga pants with a fake tan. I would be leaking oil in front of all those eligible coeds. Come prepared to the next meeting or just don’t come.”
OK Montana I mean zero sarcasm or disrespect at all. Just being honest. I’d never heard of Coach Cignetti until he became IN’ HC. Maybe I was just living under a rock. He’s won a Ntl. Title for them and for them that’s great. But for me he’s gonna have to win another this year or next year before he’s considered Great in my book.
It sounds like he’s been a HC at other schools ? If that’s the case then he has some what of an edge over Kirby as UGA is KS first HC gig. Winning B2B Nattys IS Great !! And we’re only four years removed starting This year from the last one. Not decades.
Since those 2 it’s not like UGA has dried up and died on the vine. 11-2 in the SEC and the SEC crown is pretty darn good !! And who’d we lose to ? Another SEC team. Yes I know the previous year we lost to ND. But Gunner was more green than the Irish coming into that game !!
I don’t have anything against Cignetti on a personal basis. I’m just saying I believe KS has done a Phenomenal job of leading our Dawgs. And that KS is I believe Far from fading into obscurity. Our Dawgs will be a force in CFB this year and has every bit as much potential to win the Natty as any other team.
If your high on Cignetti that’s OK. And I don’t mean to be a kill joy for you. But the Kirby way has worked pretty well at UGA. NO team is gonna dominate every year. And probably not even every other year.
Cignetti is a good example. If he doesn’t win the Natty this year But comes back and wins it next year, really even the year after that he’d be more than entitled to CFB wide respect. As he’d have won Two in a relatively short period of time. I don’t think that a patena tarnish has set in on Kirby’s Two as Yet. If they were honest ask Allot of SEC fans would they swap Recent records with UGA ?
Just to show how national media loves to snub Kirby and our Dawgs. Cignetti got the AP Coach Of The Year for Both 2024 & 2025. Yet he only won One national title in those two years. Kirby on the other hand won Ntl. Titles for both 2021 and 2022 but did Not receive the AP Coach Of The Year for Either of those years ! Though he Did receive the SEC Coach Of The Year for both those years.
I made the mistake of watching ESPN this morning and the snub was in full force. I’m sure hoping our Dawgs under Kirby’s leadership will be heart breakers for allot of schools And media !! And I sure hope that much snubbed Gunner Stockton will do the same.
I like that KS is willing to experiment some. Dawgs have won the SEC in 2024 & 2025. No they haven’t fared well in the last two playoffs. But I believe in my heart that KS and our Dawgs are FAR from rolling over and dying. There Are questions and concerns. But I see much more good going on than I do bad. Go Dawgs !! Bring home the hardware !!
@navydawg...I am certainly not dissing Kirby and what he has accomplished. I'm simply trying to say that I respect what Cignetti has done in his coaching career and his approach to practices. There's more than one way to go through practices, but our constant battle year-after-year with injuries is frustrating. I am just glad to see Kirby adjusting his approach, if only a little. No pain, no gain has been proven to be an overused and wrong approach to most anything. Bodies need recovery time, because if they don't get it then it actually makes you more susceptible to injuries.
I respect and admire both coaches and what they have done. But what Cignetti pullrd off last season was incredible and ground-breaking. He thrashed the top teams in the country by the time the playoffs were over. Sure, he had a more experienced roster than some teams, but the guys he brought with him came from a former FCS school, James Madison. Think about that for a minute. It just shows you how coaching can make such a difference.
Curtis won't be the starter for Vandy until AFTER the UGA game. Vandy not going to risk the franchise throwing him out there against an especially salty D with a chip. Was probably a condition by his mommy to getting his commitment.
As for the changes in UGA's practice schedule here is the translation. CKS is dialing it down and trying a different approach. Yes CKS is adapting to the change in the SEC schedule and the number of practice injuries routinely incurred by UGA at practice.
@navydawg It is better for the young men playing football at UGA to fly under the radar and be "snubbed" of affluent praise by the media's talking heads. These guys are confident enough. They don't need any more rat poison. They need to talk (and answer) with their pads.
@UGADad20 I don’t disagree with your take on that. Your right it Is better to be flying under the radar. But what I was saying is it’s typical of much of the main stream sports media. Just think KS Dawgs won B2B Nattys but KS didn’t get AP Coach Of The Year for Either !! Where as Cignetti won only One Natty so far and He got the award for 2024 & 2025 !!
And I know you’re not very keen on GS but the Dawgs did go 11-2 and the SEC Crown with him under center. Yet the same media folks don’t have him even sniffing the Heisman !! Thus my comments that I Hope ( also Believe) that our Dawgs ( and Gunner) are gonna break some rivals hearts !! Sure hope so.
And for me in spite of Yes questions and concerns that Are legitimate, I see the positive side much more clearly. Like you and All Dawgs fans I hope ( and Believe) the Dawgs will do their talking on the field. I’m just a fan so I can bellyache ! 😀
I don’t disagree with anything you said here. I agree. All I was trying to say is Kirby’s way has worked pretty well in the SEC. Look at his record. But like you I’m very good with him experimenting with How they practice. There Have been bad preseason injuries. But his philosophy has been practice harder than the Real games. So that when you play those real games they are less intimidating.
Lastly this is not directed At you or anyone in particular. It’s just a broad statement. I don’t see UGA spiraling into a deep abyss of no return. THIS year not yet played makes only 4 years removed from the last Ntl. Title. Dawgs won the SEC 2024 & 2025. Went 11-2 last year. Should we be satisfied with that ? NO !!!! But for anyone to realistically label an 11-2 season And the SEC Crown as a fail is beyond me !! And Gunner was a first year starter.
Dawgs beat Ole Miss the first encounter. Then Yes they edged the Dawgs by 5 points. It’s not like the Rebs just devastated the Dawgs !! GS was greener than the Irish when the Dawgs played them. They had a great defense. Even that game could’ve been much worse.
There ARE for sure questions & concerns at UGA. But I think the Dawgs are FAR from being a broken team rapidly fading into obscurity. And I Believe that to much dismay from their rivals their gonna Show that This year. It Is good that KS is experimenting. Like he says “If it’s good and working Make It Better”. Media won’t Give our Dawgs respect so they’ll just have to Take it !! Go Dawgs !!
I agree, that would be the smart thing to do with Curtis i believe, don't start him until he is ready. Situation at Vandy reminds me of the Manning situation at Texas. Sarkisian threw him to wolves early, with no college experience, it was based off his HS stats, being a 5* and the Manning last name. It can go either way when you do that to a young player. It can either boost their confidence even higher, or shatter their confidence from playing below par due to lack of experience. After watching Manning, I'd say it hurt his confidence more than it helped. People talk about the "deer in the headlights" look, and I've seen that look in Mannings eyes on more than 1 occasion.
Manning is in his 3rd year with Texas, so a definite improvement should be forthcoming this season for him. To me, if he doesnt show improvement this year, it tells me that he was highly overrated with a 5* attached to his name.
The depth is still real at UGA. Kirby said that whichever young players developed to his liking through the spring and fall camps would play meaningful minutes. Not just true freshmen but second year players that have improved as well. The receivers are new, as is the schedule. There five SEC teams on the schedule that the Dawgs have not played in a few years, along with playing UF in Atlanta with a new coach that is surely better than their last. A lot of mystery for 2026.
The fact that KS is adjusting the practice schedule to meet the demands of the team’s schedule is just another example of why he’s such a good coach. It would be easy for him to say “ I’ve won two national championships and I’ll keep doing what worked for those”. KS is constantly looking for ways to adapt to the changing environment of college football and make his team better. There are a lot of coaches that can’t or won’t adapt and most haven’t been as successful as KS.
