When your minor leagues have minor leagues

Kirby has a coaching clinic scheduled for month’s end for high school coaches around the state.  He’s got some big names — Bill Belichick (New England), Sean McVay (Los Angeles Rams) and Dan Quinn (Atlanta) — who have agreed to speak and he’s quite proud of what he’s put together.

But that’s not the most interesting part of what he had to say about it.  This is:

“…I’m trying to give back to them because they are our feeder program. The state of Georgia has the best high school coaches in the country because our state education system is such that they get great benefits, they get great pay. So if they’re developing tough, hard-nosed, disciplined football players, guess who I get to inherit. It’s somewhat of a minor league for us so I believe that should give back to them.”  [Emphasis added.]

I give him credit for being brutally honest there.  I also give him credit for doing all he can to make sure the guys responsible for the feeding are made to feel motivated to send their kids Smart’s way.  He’s got a huge advantage over out-of-state competitors and every little thing that helps him keep the state fenced when it comes to élite talent is worth pursuing.  (Not to mention you realize what a disadvantage Georgia Tech is at resource-wise, even before you get to Johnson’s personal charms on the recruiting trail.)

Still, I can’t deny that I detect a whiff of sausage there.  Ah, well, you do what you gotta do, I suppose.

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