Kirby Smart knows what it takes to win SEC and national titles having worked with Nick Saban at Alabama for eight seasons. However, he's not sure his kids at Georgia fully understand what it takes to win titles. While calling in as a guest on the latest ESPN Championship Drive Podcast, he expressed those concerns:
"I don't think our players realize how hard they have to work to be great," Smart said on the May 18 podcast. "I think pushing them to do that and pushing them harder and making them realize they can do more is a big part of our job as coaches. They've got to understand they can work harder than they're currently working and they can take more reps and they can do the reps the right way at a high rate.
"Obviously, we've got to improve the overall talent level and depth, but more important than that, it's going to be whether or not these guys push through the ceiling and go through what they think they can and take the roof off it and go work a little bit harder. We start up June 1 with our entire team. It's important to have good summer workouts and meet the demands of the program."
Smart didn't quite make it clear if that assessment is based on UGA's recent history of heading into the season with a lot of hype and falling short or from what he's seen from his players in his short time on campus. Either way, he has the talent to win some big games this season, but it will be about getting his team in the right mind set.
RELATED: Georgia sets spring game attendance record
The fans are ready as they filled up the stadium for the spring game and set an attendance record with 93,000 people to watch a football game that doesn't even count for anything.
[h/t Saturday Down South]
