Georgia, Kirby Smart just made a new enemy from the Big 12

Word came out Sunday evening that Georgia was closing in on hiring a new outside linebackers coach. That coach is Larry Knight who is the current pass rush specialist at West Virginia.

Many fans assumed that this would be an easy hire for Georgia to make since West Virginia is nowhere near the level of UGA. Thankfully that is ultimately what came true on Monday as the Bulldogs officially hired Knight onto their defensive coaching staff.

Georgia makes a new enemy out of West Virginia

Knight was just hired by West Virginia in January to be their pass rush specialist. This was a big deal for him as it was his first job at a Power Four program and a big step up from his last job at Arkansas State. But Georgia came in and stole him from the Mountaineers after he spent less than two months with the porgram.

This obviously will leave a bad taste in West Virginia's mouth to the point where they could view Georgia as their enemy. But that shouldn't bother Georgia because these two programs are on two completely different levels.

Knight was the defensive line coach and run game coordinator at Arkansas State during the 2025 season. During the season his defense led the Sun Belt conference with 39 sacks which is nearly double what Georgia had all of last season (20). This is the exact reason why Kirby Smart is hiring Knight, so it will be interesting to see if he can make an impact on the Bulldogs' defense up front next season.

Barring anything crazy Georgia's coaching staff for the 2026 season is now full. While there weren't any major changes this offseason there are some new faces that will have to get caught up to speed on how things work in Athens, but things at Georgia are extremely bright as UGA will enter next season as one of the favorites to win a National Championship.