College football insider predicts Kirby Smart's Georgia breaking out with serious moves in 2026

During a media availability on March 18, Georgia coach Kirby Smart talked about the freshmen, which led to a reflection on the changes in college football over the past four years.

These changes have been a divisive issue in college sports, and insider Steve Wiltfong weighed in on how Smart is starting to take the NIL deals more seriously.

“I think this is truly the recruiting cycle where we see Kirby Smart and Georgia kinda let it rip a bit more on the NIL front,” Wiltfong said. “I think when he talked to some people, I think, that to a certain degree, I think he thought that people were full of sh*t at how much they were actually getting.

"Georgia was winning with the way they were recruiting and developing players internally. But to have some misses on the recruiting trail and know that those misses were purely because of NIL. I think we’re seeing Georgia arming up in that arena more than ever in 2026 as well.”

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Kirby Smart on winning mentality over NIL

While Smart is adapting to the changes that NIL has brought, he also believes that the NIL money alone does not promise performance on the field.

"I want to see the fire," Smart said ahead of Georgia's first spring practice, via 247Sports. "I want to see the passion, the energy. I want to see who wants to be a good football player, who really cares about this game. They care more about the game than they do about their NIL revenue stream.

"Like, if you really, really, really care about the game and you want to be good, it doesn't matter about any kind of money. It matters how I play the game.”

Smart also stressed that teams that play with the most heart and care often outperform those with the most talent.

"And more and more we're seeing across college football, the purists, the ones that care about the game the most, play the hardest,” Smart said. “And usually the team that plays hardest, wins. … So my goal is to find out how hard do you want to play? How much do you really want to be great? Because if you do, it'll show by how you practice."

As the Bulldogs go through their spring practice, Kirby Smart is getting a close look at the players who will help define the team in 2025.

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