ATHENS — Kirby Smart is well aware of what the data says about his team and its production.
With Cody Nagel of CBS Sports unearthing that the Bulldogs rank fifth in the country in terms of total snaps returning — 61% — it’s just another data point for Smart to try and hand-wave away.
“I’ve seen a lot of things said or written about guys coming back, number of starters,” the Georgia football coach said during his opening news conference this spring. “I’d probably look at it that we have the least number of starters coming back we’ve ever had in terms of competition for positions.”
The Bulldogs rank fifth in the country and first among SEC teams in total snaps returning. Of the 12 teams that made the College Football Playoff last season, Georgia also ranks first in that statistic.
Smart has countered that Georgia has players who started a handful of games but didn’t hold down a spot an entire season.
When you consider Georgia had just 12 players transfer out of the program, you understand why it ranks so highly in returning production. That’s even after having eight players chosen in the NFL draft.
Replacing those draft picks won’t be easy, as all but Colbie Young started double-digit games last season. Young would’ve hit that threshold had he not suffered a broken leg against Ole Miss in October.
“When I look out there on the field or I look at the pro day tomorrow, there’s some good players leaving the program with a lot of experience,” Smart said in March. “As these fifth- and sixth-year guys leave, our team always seems younger because we do not have many fifth-year players ever again in the program. It’s just more and more rare to have a guy (that is a) fifth-year. So, a lot of new faces.”
Smart didn’t just downplay returning starters at the beginning of spring practice. He came back to the idea in April, mentioning that some players who were considered starters last year got passed on the depth chart.
“For the first time that I’ve been here, we’ve got guys that started last year most games, or a lot of games, that got somebody either beating them out or playing better than them in spurts,” Smart said. “So, and that’s not just only on the O-line. We got guys that are like, holy cow, man, that guy’s playing really good. He’s playing better than the guy that started every game in front of him.”
One example of that appears to be Malachi Toliver and Cortez Smith. Toliver stepped in down the stretch last season when Drew Bobo got hurt. Yet it was the redshirt freshman Smith who worked with the first-team offense on G-Day.
“He was more consistent with his snaps, which is critical,” Smart said of Smith. “You know, we got to have, you know, we learned last year, you know, you got to have two centers. Sometimes you got to have three. And he’s going to get more work at guard and provide some depth there and continue competing at center. And I was pleased with his growth and his leadership.”
Smith dealt with injury last season, paving the way for Toliver to take most of the backup reps.
Smith was a blue-chip offensive lineman as a recruit, so it shouldn’t be a surprise he was able to make a move. The same could be said for the likes of Jaden Reddell at tight end, Nasir Johnson on the defensive line and Chase Linton at outside linebacker.
Smart ultimately thinks it’s a good problem if a younger player unseats an established player. He knows it has happened at times during his decade-plus run at Georgia. Ellis Robinson took a starting job from Daniel Harris last year, while CJ Allen did so to Jamon Dumas-Johnson before the 2024 season.
“It defeats complacency for a guy that says, ‘I’m gonna sit back and start because I started last year, and now here this dude is playing better than you,” Smart said. “Yeah, you may still have a role, you still may play, but your role may change because this guy’s playing more snaps than you.”
Dumas-Johnson and Harris both ended up transferring. Allen went on to become a first-team All-American for Georgia, while Robinson seems poised for a similar season in 2026.
A year ago, a player like Harris would’ve propped up Georgia’s returning production numbers, inflating the idea of what it ultimately could’ve been. But as the 2026 season showed, Georgia was a better team with Robinson taking those reps.
Smart noted that returning production numbers don’t reflect the value of freshmen. At a place like Georgia, which annually produces multiple Freshman All-SEC Team members, that shouldn’t be overlooked.
“It happens because of a guy comes in as a true freshman and just is better. You know, like it happens, but this is not all midyears,” Smart said. “This is guys that have been in the program, and just in year three, and other guys in year five, and the guy in year three passed the guy in year five.”
Coming out of spring practice, freshmen Zykie Helton, Tyriq Green and Kaiden Prothro look like players who will help the Bulldogs this season. A year ago, all three played for state championships in high school.
For all the focus on returning production, it’s also worth noting Nagel’s data doesn’t take into account transfers who played at other schools. The number of returning total snaps is more likely a look at team building rather than which teams might be the best in the upcoming season. Consider that even though Fernando Mendoza had starting experience at Cal, those reps wouldn’t have translated to national champion Indiana’s metrics last season.
Smart wants to field the best team possible, one that can win a national championship in 2026. He knows those are the expectations every year in Athens.
Last year’s team, with 61% returns, got close but ultimately wasn’t good enough. The Bulldogs will count on players who were further down the roster to help make up the difference between being good and being great.
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