NFL makes eye-opening admission to Kirby Smart about Georgia players

The Georgia Bulldogs have seemingly surpassed the Alabama Crimson Tide in the eyes of some NFL talent evaluators as the premier training ground for college football stars according to UGA head coach Kirby Smart.

The ninth-year HC admitted as much to reporters during his Monday morning news conference when talking about losing players to the transfer portal, insinuating that Georgia players have a step up over everyone else based on the feedback he’s gotten from the league.

“The transfer portal is an option for some guys to think about going somewhere else,” Smart said. “And you know, it’s unfortunate, because the feedback we get from the NFL is there’s nowhere they’d rather have players than here developing.”

Smart’s comments were pretty on-the-nose considering Georgia travels to Kentucky this weekend where the Bulldogs will face Brock Vandagriff, a former four-star quarterback who was one of the key pieces in UGA’s 2021 recruiting class but transferred to UK during the offseason.

Vandagriff left Athens because his playing time was blocked by Carson Beck, who could be a top-10 pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. Smart seems to be under the impression that even if Vandagriff wasn’t UGA’s starter, staying on the team could have done more to help his draft stock than starting for another program.

“Countless GMs have told me, ‘The kids that come out of your program are so much better off and developed for having stayed, even over playing, because of what kind of practice they get and who they get to go against in practice,’” Smart added.