ATHENS, Georgia -- Late in the day on Dec. 20, after his program had signed the No. 1 recruiting class in the inaugural early signing period, an SEC head coach walked the halls of his team's facility and warned his staff against complacency. There was no time to celebrate, he preached to anyone who would listen, not with a College Football Playoff semifinal game to play in only 12 days.
And, no, it wasn't Alabama's Nick Saban, who once complained about how winning a national championship took time away from his team's recruiting efforts.
"I kept telling everybody, 'Hey, guys, everybody is congratulating us about this recruiting class and telling us how great we are, but we're practicing for Oklahoma,'" Georgia coach Kirby Smart said.