$130 Million Kirby Smart’s Overtime Pays Off as Georgia Bulldogs’ Dead Defense Springs to Life With Freakish Recruitment

Kirby Smart knows how to be in the limelight! The Georgia Bulldogs are now going through a rough patch with players being cuffed. And here, the Georgia head coach lands his biggest weapon to bolster the defense. Last season, it hit rock bottom, and now Smart has brought it to life—all thanks to his A+ talent-snatching scheme. Already, there have been big shots like Elijah Griffin and Justus Terry. And here he lands another freakish prospect, defensive tackle Jayden Jamal Hanne. With this, will Georgia Bulldogs give a tough time to Kalen DeBoer’s Alabama Crimson Tide in the recruiting race using his $130 million extension? 

Last season, Smart struggled with the defensive line and failed to live up to the standard. But things are a bit different now. The Georgia Bulldogs HC has opted for overtime. However, it did not come free. The new contract will cover a two-year extension amounting to $130 million. Hence, Smart has to live up to the expectations. And the first thing he targeted was bolstering the D-Line. As discussed in the Glory UGA- Georgia Bulldogs Football, the podcast host highlighted how Smart aced two big moves, “To land both Elijah Griffin and Justus Terry who, by the way, are the number one and number two defensive tackles in the entire country.”

But wait! Here is something grander that the Georgia roster proudly boasts about, “JJ Hanne who I believe is not just one of the most intriguing defensive line prospects in this 2025 class I think he’s one of the most intriguing prospects overall in this 2025 recruiting class.” But what makes the defensive lineman so intriguing? Hanne brings with him an array of talent. Standing at 6’5, 280 pounds, he is a 3-star DL out of California. But what makes him stand out of the crowd? As the host highlighted, “His unique background, he is a kid who’s not an American. He is a German young man who did not grow up playing football.” In this way, Smart has an edge over Alabama in the recruitment race. 

Smart’s comprehensive roster revamp

Even a few days back, Alabama Crimson Tide’s new HC Kalen DeBoer was referred to as the recruitment guru. Now it seems that time has arrived to swap the title with Smart. Besides, Elijah Griffin, Justus Terry, and J.J. Hanne, the Georgia HC has come up with a blueprint to climb to the No.1 spot from No.4 and replace the Crimson Tide. Georgia has stockpiled talent year after year and has emerged as a top 3-4 producer of NFL talent over the last two decades. 

This year too, Smart has laid his focus on the best of the best freshmen. To top the list is Nate Frazier. The perfect package of power and speed is one of the top running backs in the country. Then comes the 5-foot-11 all-purpose back, RB Trevor Etinne, around whom the Georgia HC pins his hope to boost the backfield. 

Another big name is that of Daniel Calhoun, the offensive tackle also known as the beast. This being said Smart is going full throttle to turbocharge the Georgia player’s roster overall- catering to offense and defense. Time to wait and watch whether he overtakes DeBoer in the long haul.