Georgia coach Kirby Smart spent the weekend getting to know a familiar foe with relatively unfamiliar names at the top.
Smart, a former assistant coach at Alabama under Nick Saban, takes Georgia back to Tuscaloosa this week for a big-ticket SEC showdown with the Crimson Tide.
The meeting of teams ranked in the top five takes Smart to the place he called home for nine years. But even in the region where his children were born, there’s less nostalgia and more nose-to-grindstone for the 48-year-old.
No. 2 Georgia is spending extra time preparing after its bye last week to get more familiar with No. 4 Alabama’s new coaching staff and scheme under Kalen DeBoer. DeBoer was hired after a runner-up national title finish at Washington, replacing Smart’s former boss, Nick Saban.
“Last time we went it was 4-5 years from the time we had lived there. It’s so weird when you play there because you’re in and out,” Smart said. “You’re there, then you’re gone. It’s just different. There’s a lot of people that are still there in the organization that I’m close with and have a lot of respect for, but that’s the case for a lot of these places in the SEC.”
With Saban, a seven-time national title winner, moving to an advisory role at Alabama and working with ESPN as a college football analyst, Saturday’s game on a national stage will be played on the newly-minted Nick Saban Field.
Alabama (3-0) is one of six undefeated teams in the SEC. The Crimson Tide beat Wisconsin in Madison before also enjoying a bye last week.
“They’re different defensively for sure. Obviously the offensive staff and defensive staff changed,” Smart said. “There’s remnants, because the quarterback’s the same. The history there, at Washington with Kalen (DeBoer) and defensively the history Kane (Wommack) has and what they’ve done this year is different.”
No matter the system Alabama runs on offense, Smart said the challenge of getting ready for Crimson Tide quarterback Jalen Milroe can be overwhelming. Milroe has 590 passing yards, eight touchdowns and no interceptions in the pass-first Alabama offense this season.
“With him, the challenges are immense because he’s an incredible football player,” Smart said. “There is no design to a play that you can draw up and then say, âWell, I’m pretty sure this is going to happen on this play with him.’ Because you don’t know what’s going to happen. Sometimes the worst thing you can do is cover everybody with him. Sometimes the best thing you can do is cover everybody. It just depends — are you capable of getting him on the ground and tackling him at times? What matchups do you have?”
Milroe also has two rushing touchdowns in each of the first three Alabama games this season. Milroe completed 13 of 23 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns to beat Georgia 27-24 in the SEC Championship game, his only career start against Smart.
“He’s as different a football player in college football as I’ve played against in a long time,” Smart said. “People think he’s just a runner and that’s not the case. He can do things with his arm other people can’t. He can reach spots on the field and get it there faster than you can break on it better than most arm-talent people. It’s a tremendous challenge to defend people like him.”
