COLUMBIA, MO. • As he watched the Georgia Bulldogs practice last week in Athens, Ga., SEC Network analyst Matt Stinchcomb couldn’t believe his eyes.
During an 11-on-11 drill, first-team offense versus first-team defense, there was his former teammate, Kirby Smart, straddling the line of scrimmage to spot the ball between plays. Smart, the Georgia head coach, doubled as ball boy.
“You watch him on the sidelines, you watch him at practice,” Stinchcomb said, “you’d be hard pressed to find a head coach that’s more engaged in more elements of a game and game prep than Kirby is.