Chip Towers has a point to make in this piece:
What led to our recent discussion about the O-line was this question: “What would you say is the biggest difference in Georgia now than when Kirby Smart first showed up.”
And that absolutely is the biggest difference, in my opinion.
I mean, this is not a revelation or something. To his credit, it was a stated goal of Smart’s not long after he arrived at UGA. Upon examining his team up close in the first couple of spring practices in 2016, Smart flat out called it. He said the Bulldogs have to get bigger on the lines of scrimmage, the offensive line in particular.
Smart basically issued an all-points bulletin that day, saying he was looking for guys 6-foot-5 and taller and that shorter linemen need not apply.
The transformation has been incredible to behold. It’s not just that the Bulldogs went out and did what Smart wanted on the recruiting front. It’s that everybody else in the SEC and the whole of FBS wants those big, tall linemen. Yet Georgia continues to win them over and sign them.
It’s not an unreasonable argument to make, not at all.
But it’s probably not the one I’d make.
For me, the biggest change is simple. Somehow, Kirby has managed to get all the oars in the boat we know as the Georgia football program rowing in the same direction. Considering this is where they were less than four years ago, that is nothing short of miraculous in my humble opinion. Does Kirby deserve all the credit for that? Considering he’s the only new variable in the equation, what do you think?