College Football

Georgia Football: Kirby Smart's second season, defense will shape tenure

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 5:00 p.m. ET

Fansided, Erich Hilkert/FanSided via Saturday Blitz

Kirby Smart"s second season with Georgia football, along with his defense, will shape his tenure with the Bulldogs.

When it comes to recent Georgia history and Kirby Smart, year two, the coach's defense in particular, is absolutely pivotal.

Fairly or unfairly, this is quite possibly the year that defines Kirby Smart's tenure at Georgia. Admittedly, there are plenty of disclaimers to go along with such a statement. Often, the true definition of a coach's overall tenure comes much later, but year two plays a critical role.

Mark Richt

Smart's predecessor, Mark Richt, was beloved by most Dawgs fans for a long period of time, mostly because of the success the team experience in his second year at the helm. In 2002, Georgia won the SEC, defeated FSU in the Sugar Bowl and finished the season ranked third overall.

The lone loss that caused the team to finish third and not higher? To Georgia's most hated rival, the Florida Gators, a close 20-13 loss.

Richt's second season as a head coach in 2002 set him up for a long run in Athens. Some have argued his early success also helped secure his exit because the team didn't win the East in his final three seasons at the school.

Nick Saban

Similarly, Smart's head coach at Alabama, Nick Saban, experienced success in his second year in Tuscaloosa, setting up a long run with the school and setting the bar high. In 2008, Saban guided Alabama to a perfect regular season that also included two losses to close out the season, including a loss to Florida (hello, again) in the SEC Championship. Year three served as Saban's defining moment—winning a National Championship while finishing the season a perfect 14-0.

Stylistic signature

Smart may have many great years ahead, but year two will be vitally important to establishing optimism for the fan base and momentum for the program.

Richt's offense guided the way in 2002 with quarterback David Greene earning SEC Offensive Player of the Year.

Saban established his defense in 2008 with Terrence Cody earning first team All-American, Rashad Johnson earning second-team All-American and Rolando McClain earning third-team All-American.

With all this in mind, it is imperative Smart develops his defensive vision in 2017. As was the case with both Richt and Saban, both sides of the ball will be important to the team's success, but a coach excels especially in his background area. Smart has nine years' experience as a defensive coordinator and several more as a defensive positional coach (and one year as a running backs coach at Georgia).

2016 season

In 2016, Georgia had a strong statistical season defensively. Georgia allowed 30 points or more just twice—both losses. The Bulldogs held Auburn to just seven points total in a win.

Most of the team's question marks hovered around Jim Chaney's offense. The team's offensive line remains the biggest question mark heading into 2017. Having a true freshman quarterback in Jacob Eason played a big role in questions surrounding the offense in 2016.

Lorenzo Carter emerged as probably the leader of the defense in 2016. Carter was tied for the team lead with five sacks, served as a vocal leader and seemed to always fly to the ball.

2017 season

In fact, the team's greatest strength appears to be at the linebacker position with Carter, Roquan Smith, Natrez Patrick and Davin Bellamy playing significant roles.

Aaron Davis and Malkom Parrish came on strong for the secondary and one of the SEC's best safeties, Dominick Sanders, returns for his senior season. The defense will feel the loss of team captain Maurice Smith, but he and Quincy Mauger are the only significant losses on defense.

Georgia may have freshmen contributors this season following a top-three recruiting class. Five-star recruit Richard LeCounte enrolled early and impressed at the G-Day spring game.

The specifics of the 2017 Georgia defense will play out this fall, but it is clear Smart can build on a strong 2016 season starting with what appears to be one of the top linebacker units in the SEC.