Like it is

Smart looks part after Alabama grooming

Georgia coach Kirby Smart speaks to the media at the Southeastern Conference NCAA college football media days, Tuesday, July 12, 2016, in Hoover, Ala. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

HOOVER, Ala. -- No one knew what to expect when Georgia's new head football Coach Kirby Smart took the podium for his first appearance at SEC football media days.

Smart, the highly successful defensive coordinator at Alabama, has been available to the media about as often as Vanderbilt plays for the SEC championship. Nick Saban doesn't allow his assistants to be interviewed unless it is mandated at a bowl game.

Or at the national championship, which Smart helped the Crimson Tide win four times. Those championships built his legend and pay raises, which allowed him to turn down numerous head coaching jobs before getting the call from his alma mater.

His life mirrors his career. He was born in Alabama but raised in Georgia.

Looking more like a fraternity boy than a defensive savant, Kirby handled his 30 minutes in the main room with ease and confidence. The former Broyles Award winner, which is given to the top assistant coach in the country, seemed like a veteran.

In the past five years, Smart's name has come up almost every time there was a head coach opening, but he could afford to be patient.

Even when rumors started to fly in November when it seemed apparent Georgia was going to fire Mark Richt, who won an average of 9.6 games per year during his 15 years in Athens, Smart refused to engage in that game until the opening was official.

When Smart did accept the job, he immediately said he would not leave Saban and the Tide high and dry. He remained with the team through the playoffs, and he won his fourth national championship ring in January.

His wife -- Mary Beth Lycett, a former Georgia basketball player -- found a furnished condo for them and their three children, which allowed for a seamless move and Smart the time to catch up as the Bulldogs head coach.

Smart met Lycett when he was about to become the running backs coach for a year at Georgia. She was working at the school and made the travel arrangements for him to interview with Richt. A year later, they were married. A year after that, they had twins.

Smart burned the candle at both ends during his first month at Georgia, putting together a staff that included former Arkansas offensive coordinator Jim Chaney and Hogs offensive line coach Sam Pittman, who Saban tried to hire at least once.

Chaney and Pittman are best friends, and Smart smiled when he said they are "definitely a combo who are funny and witty."

Mostly, he started laying the foundation in the most important part of being a successful head coach -- recruiting.

With the popular Richt on his way out, Smart's first recruiting class could have been shaky. Instead, he added nine blue chippers, including two five-star recruits, and Georgia finished with the 11th best class in America.

He even persuaded a couple of guys who were headed to Alabama that Georgia was a better fit for them. His first recruiting class included 14 homegrown players, and nine were four stars or better.

That doesn't mean the Bulldogs are in the express lane to the SEC Championship Game. Smart's first team has 63 players who are sophomores or younger.

Plus, Tennessee appears to be the team to beat in the SEC East.

Smart won't face Saban this year, but Georgia does host Alabama's arch rival Auburn. If Tuesday was any indication, that will be just another SEC Saturday for Kirby.

"I'm my own man," he said.

The first impression is he learned a lot from Saban, but Kirby Smart is still the son of a high school football coach in Georgia.

Sports on 07/13/2016