A Seth Emerson reminder ($$) that Kirby is always on the recruiting mother:
The narrative on Cameron Nizialek is he just picked Georgia on his own, showed up in Athens two years ago, and the eventual SEC and Rose Bowl champions had their starting punter drop into their lap. But that’s actually not true. And it offers some lessons on why Kirby Smart’s program operates the way it does.
The real backstory: Nizialek was graduate transferring from Columbia, an FCS school, after the 2016 season. And as obscure as he might have seemed, he was already on Georgia’s radar. James Vollono, then a special teams analyst, had known Nizialek through the kicking community and reached out to him. Nizialek also was talking to Clemson, which had invited him to attend the South Carolina game two days after Thanksgiving. That was a night game. Georgia played at noon just over an hour’s drive south. Why don’t you stop by here first, Vollono asked Nizialek, who agreed.
“And I actually talked to Kirby for like 20 minutes before the Georgia Tech game that year,” Nizialek recalled last week. “So, yeah, I think Kirby downplays his role in me coming there a little bit. But they definitely wanted me to come. Now, obviously, I wasn’t on scholarship, so it just kind of looked like I showed up. But they were definitely interested and wanted me to come from the beginning.”
That level of attention for an Ivy League punter… can you imagine what Smart puts into pursuing a five-star in-state stud?
Get The Picture 
Now if only he will put that into coaching key second halves of championship games.
LikeLike
You should write him a letter and tell him to not intentionally screw up.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think Kirby identified a need and set out to fill it. Remember at the same time Kirby brought in David Marvin from Wofford to kick so special teams were definitely on his mind.
Where we got lucky is that we had somebody on staff that knew Nizialek and got him interested. That right there justifies support staff, in case there was any doubt. Then how lucky was it that Nizialek was willing to pay his own way.
But yeah I’m sensing nothing accidental happens with this staff (which is awesome).
LikeLike
Ivy League or not, Nizialek was a damn good punter and Kirby (through staff) knew it and went after him, signing him up. Damn good move. And yes, Kirby is on the mother, as usual, when it comes to recruiting.
LikeLike
Yea, when he first got started i was just happy that we’d move towards 85 schollies of Georgia worthy players. But then after he does all that he goes and beats the bushes as aggressively as a Group of 5 coach for any needed additions.
LikeLike
I am grateful Kirby saw the need for a coach for the special teams and didn’t leave them out of the recruiting mix. They sure have improved over CMR days. Thanks, Kirbs!
LikeLike
2 biggest CMR shortcomings: No true ST coach and not using all available scholarships. Tough to beat Bama in 2012 SECCG when they have a full complement of players and we only had 65. No wonder the DL got worn out in the second half. Not enough depth.
LikeLike