Kirby worries UGA ‘complacency,’ not a three-peat

Alex Scarborough, ESPN Staff WriterJul 18, 2023, 02:09 PM ET

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• Covers the SEC.Joined ESPN
• in 2012.
• Graduate of Auburn University.NASHVILLE, Tenn.– Georgia coach Kirby Smart took center stage at SEC media days on Tuesday and asked the concern that’s been hanging over the Bulldogs’offseason:”How do you top an unbeaten season?””The threat for us,”he said, “is complacency. “Smart’s Bulldogs have won back-to-back national championships and are the wagering favorites to win again, according to Caesars Sportsbook.Minnesota was the last and only college football team to win three titles in a row, from 1934-36.

  However Smart said the focus isn’t on making history. Rather, the focus is,” What are you going to do next?””I do not care about the three-peat, the two-peat or the one-peat, “Smart stated.”I appreciate complacency.”Editor’s Picks 2 Associated That suggests maintaining focus. But that’s been challenging to do throughout what has been a turbulent offseason in Athens.On Jan. 15–

  the night of the

  championship celebration– Georgia offending lineman Devin Willock and employee Chandler LeCroy were eliminated in a vehicle wreck in

  which cops alleged that previous protective lineman Jalen Carter was racing them. LeCroy’s SUV, traveling more than 100 mph, left the road and knocked into power poles and trees.” We enjoy them and we miss them,”Smart said of Willock and LeCroy.”… [That was] among the hardest things I have actually ever been through as a coach was to experience that.

  “Because that night, a minimum of 11 Georgia football players have actually been charged with moving offenses, the most current incident coming this month when freshman outside linebacker Samuel M’Pemba was

  ticketed for driving 88 mph in a 55 mph zone. His speeding citation took place about an hour before receiver Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint appeared in court and pleaded guilty to driving 90 mph in a 45 mph zone.Smart said he was “disappointed “in the variety of traffic tickets. While he stated that the total number of tickets wasn’t more than past years, he acknowledged the seriousness of what he called “super speeders “and told press reporters,” What worries me most is the security of our players.” “I’m not going to eradicate speeding,”Smart later on told ESPN,” but what’s going to take place to my program is each time somebody gets a speeding ticket, it’s going to be the front-page story. If they went and combed every SEC player and investigated ’em for speeding tickets, they ‘d discover a lot more of them.”But when I state we’re under a microscopic lense, it’s an excellent microscope. ‘Cause you understand what it’s making us do? It’s making us attempt to avoid it. We’re doing more to avoid speeding than any person in the nation.”Asked by ESPN whether he was positive that players have actually

  been responsive to his message about the risks of speeding, Smart said,” I’m not confident in that. I’m not. I imply they remain in vehicles that are faster than they have actually been. They go, they get up and go quicker than they ever have

  . I’m confident in the education that we’re doing.” Smart stated they’ve brought in police to speak to the team and they have actually started a system of “checks and balances”for self-reporting speeding tickets. So-called” incredibly speeders”are disciplined, Smart said, by losing achievement-based monetary awards.Defensive back Kamari Lassiter informed ESPN he doesn’t think there is a culture problem on the team but “Our most significant challenge for us this season will be ourselves. “Offending lineman Sedrick Van Pran, a fourth-year junior, told ESPN it’s up to veterans like him to continue pushing Smart’s message to the rest of the locker room”to make certain we’re getting this thing on track.””Due to the fact that the truth of the matter is we’ve made some mistakes and we own those mistakes and it refers accepting that and moving on, “he stated.”I believe that’s truly the most significant thing is simply comprehending that we are not perfect. We’ve made some errors and, to be honest with you, they can’t continue to keep taking place and it’s owning that and comprehending that and then trying to move on.” Pran said there have been moments this offseason where,”It’s like,’Hey guys, this can’t continue to keep taking place at this moment.'” I don’t want to say it’s a slap in the face because that makes it look like it’s more so deliberate and it’s not. It’s more so that we’re simply letting down the university and the people that have come before us, whether that be on the group or just effective people who come through the university. So, it was more so comprehending that you’re representing more than yourself and that it needs to tighten up, it needs to be fixed– like duration. “Smart said this offseason he and his staff studied the New Zealand rugby group the All Blacks for inspiration on how to accomplish continual success. Smart, who said the All Blacks are among the most successful teams in sports history, has actually borrowed among the group’s mantras:”Better never ever rests. “”Our company believe that, “Smart stated.” … Our kids understand it. Our kids have learned it. What drives us for this season is intrinsic motivation. We’re not going to be controlled by

  outside stories and what people say and who’s going to be the quarterback. The intrinsic inspiration comes from within and what we choose to do.” This team, the 2023 team, is still defining itself. We do not know where that goes. That happens throughout the rest of the summertime and fall camp. However I like where it’s at. I love the buy-in. “