‘We’re not real close’ – Georgia’s Kirby Smart details his personal relationship with Tennessee’s Josh Heupel
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart was asked this week about his relationship with Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel. Tennessee and Georgia will meet on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville in one of the biggest college football games of the season so far. The Bulldogs have won eight straight games in the rivalry. Smart is […]
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart was asked this week about his relationship with Tennessee Vols head coach Josh Heupel.
Tennessee and Georgia will meet on Saturday afternoon in Knoxville in one of the biggest college football games of the season so far.
The Bulldogs have won eight straight games in the rivalry. Smart is 8-1 against Tennessee with his lone loss in the series coming in his first season as Georgia’s head coach (the 2016 game in Athens that ended on a Hail Mary from Josh Dobbs to Jauan Jennings).
Kirby Smart says he’s not “real close” with Josh Heupel
“I like Josh,” said Smart on his radio show on Thursday. “I think he’s opened up some more over the years. The first couple of times I’ve been on the field with him, or been in meetings with him, he doesn’t say a whole lot. He keeps to himself. But I think he’s getting more comfortable in our league in speaking up in meetings.
“I mean, our relationship is we’re not real close. We’ve never been on the same staff. We don’t really have any connections. But I have a lot of respect for him and they way he runs his program. And they do a great job there. They’re very physical.”
That’s not a surprise to hear that Heupel and Smart aren’t “real close”. As Smart noted, they’ve never been on the same coaching staff, which is where those close relationships are typically formed.
But it’s clear that both sides have a lot of respect for each other — which is why the intensity on both sides has undoubtedly been cranked up this week as each coach knows that it’s going to be a tough 60 minute battle on Saturday in Knoxville.
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