ATHENS, Ga. — Full disclosure: This mailbag was filed and ready to publish first thing on Thursday. And then … ah, well. No need, however, to tear the whole thing up, so we’ll get to questions about whether Brock Bowers returned too quickly, Georgia’s defensive line recruiting, the attrition at defensive back, the lack of havoc and what’s really going on with NIL and the portal.
But first, let’s get to the news of the day (hmm, century) and more on what it may mean for Kirby Smart and company:
Note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for clarity and length.
Is it fair to criticize Smart’s record against Bama? I think the losses in the SEC Championship game this season and 2021 are heavy blemishes. Alabama was far and away an inferior team this season. — Trey D.
With Saban gone, it feels like the pressure on Smart to beat Alabama and put UGA at the top increases now. He’s infamously 1-5 vs Bama and Saban. How much more important will winning in Tuscaloosa be now that Saban is out of the picture? — Paul W.
Pressure? Or relief? It’s funny, in talking to a few people in that building after the news broke, there didn’t seem to be any popping of champagne. The main reaction was surprise and processing the news like the rest of us. The next was naturally to wonder what it means for Georgia, and initially, people seem to be in a wait-and-see mode on who Alabama hires. But some relief also has to be there, because there’s seemingly no way the next coach can be just as good.
