To likely no one's surprise, Kirby Smart is dominating SEC Media Days on Tuesday when it comes to the value being put on what he has to say. And the one comment Smart made that is making the most headlines is what he shared about Georgia's NIL philosophy.
"We sell relationships over transactions. We don't believe in just being transactional because when you're transactional, you cannot accomplish whatever your ultimate goal is, whatever your greatest reach is," Smart shared via 247Sports.com. "Whatever the ceiling is for every player and every team we have, you don't reach that without relationships."
Kirby Smart, Georgia value relationships over transactions
Smart made it very clear what is important to him and everyone at Georgia when it comes to recruiting in the NIL era. While being competitive from the a financial standpoint is still important, Smart will always value relationships over transactions.
Many college football fans and analysts have doubted if this strategy will continue working for Georgia in the NIL era, but Smart and UGA have shut that narrative down. Not only has Georgia won multiple championships during the NIL era, but they also currently have the No. 1 recruiting class in the country.
A great example of this philosphy in the real world is Georgia's loss on the recruiting trail on Tuesday when five-star Tyler Atkinson chose Texas over the Bulldogs. Even though Georgia recruited Atkinson the hardest and longest out of every program in the country, Atkinson still chose Texas likely because of the NIL offer they gave him. And if that is the reason why he chose Texas, then he is not the player Georgia wants in their program in the first place.
So while every other program in the country worries about how much money they can offer recruits, Georgia will continue to prioritize looking for those players that want to work hard and be developed rather than trying to make as much money as possible.