Kirby Smart Knows What is Coming for Georgia Football – Sports Illustrated

The Georgia Bulldogs are now well into their SEC slate with its third conference game coming against Vanderbilt this weekend. 
The Dawgs are playing against several quarterbacks that are dangerous runners in addition to being tasked with throwing the ball. Assuming Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis plays (he is a game-time decision), then that will continue on Saturday. 
Although Georgia forced Oklahoma quarterback John Mateer to commit four turnovers, Kirby Smart wasn’t completely pleased with how they defended the very talented runner. 
“I don't know if we took his legs away. I talked about we affected him. Um, so I don't wanna say that we took his legs away. He's a good athlete. He still scrambled. We had a lot of missed tackles. We expected that coming in but he's a good player and we’ve got to finish better on the quarterback when we have a chance” Smart said after the game on Saturday. 
Georgia will be tested again by a mobile quarterback if Curtis suits up. Smart knows as well as anyone how talented he is. He had Curtis committed to Georgia for a long time. 
“Tremendous talent. Better athletically than people give him credit for. He’s strong, quick, and powerful. Everything everyone thought about him is true,” Smart said. 
Smart echoed the importance of tackling again on Monday. 
“It's always important that you tackle well, right? No matter if it's a running back, a receiver, a tight end, or a quarterback, you got to tackle well,” Smart said. 
After this game, the Dawgs will have to face Alabama’s Keelon Russell, Auburn’s Byrum Brown and Ole Miss’ Trinidad Chambliss – three dynamic runners. Two of those guys are some of the best dual-threats in the country, with Chambliss being a prime Heisman candidate who has tortured the Dawgs in the past. 
“I mean, who's not mobile? I mean, tell me someone that's not mobile that plays quarterback. I don't know if there is one. So they're all mobile, they're all athletic, and they all have good arms, and they're all good players.So it doesn't change what we have to do each week,” Smart said.
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Ryan Kerley began his journalism career in the throws of COVID in 2020 – complicating the start of his career in the space. A year later Kerley reported from Athens to Miami to Indianapolis as the Bulldogs won the program's first national title since 1980. Kerley has covered SEC Championships, Peach Bowls, Orange Bowls, Sugar Bowls and College Football Playoff National Championship Games. In addition to his duties at Dawg Post, Kerley is an accomplished play-by-play voice for both football and basketball. Kerley graduated from the University of Georgia in 2024 with a degree in Journalism. Kerley is a native of Cleveland, Georgia.
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