Entering the 2024 season, the Georgia Bulldogs are viewed as one of the top championship contenders while the Tennessee Vols are viewed by most as a "sleeper" to reach the newly expanded 12-team College Football Playoff.
Those, of course, are the media's expectations.
However, if you listen to what Kirby Smart is saying during fall camp in Athens and what Josh Heupel is saying in Knoxville, you'd think Tennessee is the championship contender, not Georgia.
Heupel has spent a chunk of the offseason lauding Tennessee's improved depth, noting multiple times that it's his deepest team yet on Rocky Top.
"We've got, without a doubt, the best, the deepest roster that we've had," said Heupel during an appearance on Josh and Swain in July. "We've had to navigate some really unique circumstances -- we've never given ourselves an out. But we're at the best point that we've been and it's not even close."
That's a coach that loves the way his depth chart looks right now.
Smart and the Bulldogs, on the other hand, have already been dealing with some injuries and roster issues (wide receiver Rara Thomas was dismissed from the team recently after getting hit with multiple charges including second-degree cruelty to children and battery).
On Tuesday, Smart confirmed that Georgia defensive lineman Jordan Hall, a former five-star recruit, is out indefinitely with a stress fracture.
Smart told reporters on Tuesday that he feels like he has less depth right now than he's ever had since taking over at Georgia nearly a decade ago.
"We got a long way to go as a football team," said Smart. "We are nowhere close to where we need to be. I feel like we have less depth than we've ever had . And that's kind of a common theme, talking to other coaches that I talk to. I call it the deterioration of football. Because every year we've been here, I feel like we've had more players capable of going in and playing winning football. And every year that goes down. So we gotta keep working to increase that number."
It's certainly possible that Smart is sandbagging a bit. He loves to temper expectations because he thinks it keeps his team hungry (which is a good strategy by Smart). So it can be tough to know just how transparent Smart is being with the media.
But at the same time, there almost certainly is some truth to Smart's comments. Georgia loses elite talent to the NFL every season. And they lost 24 players to the NCAA transfer portal this offseason while adding just nine ( per The Athletic ). Combine those numbers with the reality that Georgia isn't dominating on the recruiting trail liked they used to (they're starting to miss on some elite in-state recruits -- such as wide receiver Mike Matthews, wide receiver Travis Smith, linebacker Tavion Wallace, quarterback Julian Lewis, and offensive lineman Josh Petty) and it's easy to see how the depth in Athens isn't as elite as it has been in recent years.
Depth, of course, is one of the main ingredients to winning a national championship. Georgia's won two national championships under Smart not just because the Bulldogs have elite starters, but because they have elite backups, too.
The transfer portal combined with the NIL era is starting to create some parity in college football. And Georgia is seeing that first hand.
This is an area where Tennessee seemingly has an advantage because of the way Heupel and his staff recruit. The Vols are picky under Heupel. They want elite players who are insanely competitive, but they want good culture fits, too. Essentially, if you want to play at Tennessee, you have to be a good culture fit. It's a dealbreaker if you're not.
That strong culture is why Tennessee, for the most part, has been able to keep their roster intact the last few seasons, which is why they've been able to be a bit more selective in the transfer portal (Tennessee's passed on some guys that other SEC schools took a chance on).
Based on all the off-field issues at Georgia under Smart ( well over 20 driving related incidents since 2023), it doesn't sound like culture is a dealbreaker in Athens.
Despite the issues and depth concerns, I don't think Georgia is going away anytime soon. And I don't suddenly think that Tennessee is the team to beat in the SEC. But after hearing the stark contrast in Heupel's tone and Smart's tone, I think it's safe to say that the gap between the two programs is starting to shrink.
It feels like Georgia may have already peaked under Smart while Tennessee is just about to hit its stride under Heupel.
Related: Former Vols OC Alex Golesh gets candid about taking over a tough situation at Tennessee in 2021
Local Georgia State
Most Popular
Comments / 0