Georgia Football: To Whom Much Is Given, Much Is Required

Kirby Smart and Georgia are no longer ahead of schedule. The Bulldog faithful expect a National Championship, and for the first time, those expectations are warranted.

My high school football coach used to share pieces of wisdom with us after practice. Huddled around the coach, controlling your breathing after a grueling practice, helmets off, eyes up and attentive, all the players would listen to see what a man that had all our respect had to say. Being a man of faith, many of the coach's sayings were rooted in scripture. One of his favorites surrounded the ladder half Luke 12:48 "...Everyone to whom much was given, of him, much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more."

The high school I attended had state of the art facilities and tremendous community support. He'd ask us, "you've been given the much, now are you ready to give what is required?" 

There is no question that Kirby Smart, and everyone involved with the Georgia football program, is prepared to give the effort that is required to win it all. In Smart's first four seasons it could also be argued that the coaches and players had higher expectations for the team and the program than the fanbase. 

Don't get me wrong, the Georgia faithful have always expected to win, but that creeping doubt of "are we good enough yet?" has always lingered. No longer. Those whose blood runs red and black are not optimistically hoping, they're realistically expecting.

Now, it all comes down to execution. No longer is Georgia in need of help from other teams. No longer is there a need for some kind of unbelievable stretch of play beyond their talent level. No, after three straight top-ranked recruiting classes, fantastic management of coaching staff changes, and an administration that bends over backward to help the program, all the ingredients are there.

S, Richard LeCounte

Georgia's defense was the best in football last year. They have a plethora of talent both returning and coming aboard the 2020 version of the defense. 

Kirby Smart then put away all of the talk about how he's stuck in the past offensively with the hires of Todd Monken and Buster Faulkner. Jamie Newman is likely to add a dimension of excitement and playmaking ability that Georgia has not seen at the quarterback position in over a decade. The receiving corp woes have been addressed with five outstanding prospects that all possess abilities to help them see the field early.

Adding the likes of these talented freshmen to arguably the best young receiver in college football in George Pickens, a budding star in Dominick Blaylock who is returning from injury, and embattled upperclassmen Demetris Robertson and Matt Landers should help cure the ills of lack of explosive plays. The tight end position is going to be as talented as it has ever been and of course, the stable of running backs is there.

TE, Darnell Washington

The one place that Georgia would appear to be hurting would be the offensive line. I mean who else loses three 5-star linemen — Thomas, Wilson, and Mays — in a single offseason. However, Kirby Smart and former OL Coach Sam Pittman did such an excellent job building depth in the offensive trenches that Georgia has four returning linemen with meaningful and significant starting experience. Trey Hill, Ben Cleveland, Justin Shaffer, and Jamaree Salyer have all played key roles in the past and will be counted upon heavily this year. 

Georgia has been to the precipice of the ultimate goal with a roster less talented than the one they'll take the field with in 2020. Kirby Smart has talked repeatedly about things he personally has learned from his four years as a head coach. Game management issues and personnel issues did not plague the Dawgs in 2019. When they got beat, it was simply because they did not execute.

The standard has been set for a while. Georgia strives for that standard every day and it's fair to say that they will not be outworked, but ultimately it's going to come down to avoiding the self-inflicted wounds that have helped to squander commanding leads in the past.

No more Tua. No more Burrow. There is no team in the country with better talent, more resources, or a more committed fan base. The time is now. Anything less than winning it all in 2020 is falling short of the standard. Kirby Smart would tell you so himself. 

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