College Football will never be the same. Although the authorities and viewers have been equally hyped for the playoff format to be implemented this season, the college football landscape will never be the same after the playoffs change from qualifying 4 teams to 12 teams. Not only will it have an impact on the way things progress on the gridiron, but it will also affect every bit of college football, starting from the basic recruitment process.

Georgia, the team who is expected to be a top seed this season, is one who is getting the nerves ahead of the transition. Head Coach Kirby Smart, during his interview with 560 WQAM, iterated how he and his team are moving forward with their recruitment to embrace the change in CFB.

“You got to think differently. You got to build your team to be the best team, one of the best 12 teams, at the end of the season and it used to be almost impossible to say, ‘Okay we got to be in the top four’. Well now we got to be in the top 12 at the end of the season and we need to be hot. We need to pick the right players to advance and grow,” Kirby Smart said laying his strategy of making it to the playoff straight.

ESPN ranked Georgia Bulldogs as their top-most team out of the 25 teams with an X factor to make it to the playoffs this season. The top reason why ESPN predicted the Bulldogs to ace this season was Transfer TE Benjamin Yurosek. Their QB Carson Beck, who is also a top-rated QB in the 2024 season, loves throwing to tight ends. An addition like four-star Yurosek would be a boon for the Bulldogs this season. Precisely why Smart continues to feel driven for his head coaching duties at Georgia.

Kirby Smart gets candid about his driving force at Georgia.

The time does fly. Kirby Smart is looking down the barrel of his 9th season as Georgia’s head coach this season. Yet, barely anything has changed for him, especially the passion he feels holding the head coaching reins of his alma mater. If it was not clear from all the efforts he was putting in to make Georgia the top seed all these years, he made it clear one more time during his SEC Media Day interviews.

“Dealing with all the things you deal with now — the portal, NIL, and all the things you don’t enjoy as a coach. My passion and energy for my players — being around these guys yesterday, being on the field with these guys, this team — every minute you get with them is that much more valuable. That’s what I enjoy. I love that,” Smart iterated, expressing his genuine love of his team and his job.

This was indeed the same drive that led Georgia to the SEC Championship in 2023, one that they lost to their old-time rivals Alabama. Now, will it lead them to the National Championship this season, especially since the playoff pressure has just increased a few notches? Only time will tell.