Kirby Smart shares inspiring words on his special Georgia Bulldogs leaders following College Football Playoff exit
The Georgia Bulldogs 2024 college football season ended in disappointing fashion on Thursday via 23-10 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The inexperienced Gunner Stockton tried his best to lead the Bulldogs to victory, but a slew of turnovers and mistakes made by several Georgia players ultimately led to an early exit from the […]
The Georgia Bulldogs 2024 college football season ended in disappointing fashion on Thursday via 23-10 loss to the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. The inexperienced Gunner Stockton tried his best to lead the Bulldogs to victory, but a slew of turnovers and mistakes made by several Georgia players ultimately led to an early exit from the College Football Playoff.
However, it wasn't all doom and gloom following the game. Kirby Smart expressed just how proud he was of this year's team. How they fought through adversity. How, even when they lost their quarterback, his Georgia players rallied around Gunner Stockton and won the SEC Championship. But more specifically, he couldn't help but share inspiring words on two of his team captains Tate Ratledge and Jalon Walker in his post-game press conference on Thursday:
"I don't know who picked these two guys (Tate Ratledge and Jalon Walker) to come up here [for the press conference], but they would have been the guys I picked. When we [decide on] our captains–and rarely have I ever seen this–where we [selected] our captains and two guys got more than anybody we've ever had. A combination of an offensive player and a defensive player. Well, that's picked by the 130 players on the team. They picked these two guys at about a 95% rate. Meaning, out of the 130, 95% [of our players] put these two guys in their combination [to be voted as captain]."
Tate Ratledge (right guard) and Jalon Walker (linebacker) became two of the most important leaders for Georgia this season. Walker won the Butkus Award for being the nation's best linebacker. Ratledge's vocal leadership–even when he was injured some this season–played a pivotal part in getting Georgia to the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff. It's no surprise their teammates loved them.
Kirby continued, sharing specific examples of their leadership and impact on their teammates in Georgia's "toughest year" of Smart's tenure:
"What [Tate Ratledge and Jalon Walker] did with this team in the toughest year…They dominated the room. They controlled the room. They led the room through hard games and situations…I'll never forget [Jalon Walker] against Georgia Tech chasing everybody down telling them to stay in the game, hope's still alive. [Tate Ratledge] doing the coin toss and saying we're about to win this game in overtime…These two guys right here are as special as they come."
Kirby then turned to both Ratledge and Jalon Walker and said, "Thank you guys."
It was a touching moment. And it was an excellent way for Kirby Smart and Georgia to sign off on the 2024 college football season. You can watch the inspiring comments from Coach Smart in the below:
Jalon Walker was a destructive force for Georgia all season long. His tackle total might not have been through the roof, but he did everything for the Bulldogs. He allowed just 89 receiving yards throughout the entire season on nearly 200 coverage snaps. He racked up over a half dozen sacks and pressured quarterbacks 17% of the time when he rushed the passer. Walker was a run stuffing machine too. When you combine all that with his incredible athleticism and leadership, it's clear why Kirby Smart loves him so much.
Tate Ratledge surpassed 2000 career snaps for Georgia this season, having started in both 2022 and 2023 already. He missed time due to injury and could have tuned out, focusing more on his NFL future, but he didn't. Instead he stepped up as the leader Georgia needed him to be to the very end.
Both Jalon Walker and Tate Ratledge are likely headed to the 2025 NFL Draft here shortly and are widely considered round one (Walker) and round two (Ratledge) prospects. Hopefully they both find success in their pro careers too. They certainly possess all the intangibles to become immaculate professionals. And let's also hope the next generation of leaders at Georgia follows their example, stepping up in 2025 and beyond for Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs.
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We'll be back with more Georgia Bulldogs coverage here at A to Z Sports here soon! Follow me (@FF_TravisM) and A to Z Sports (@AtoZSportsNFL) on X for all the latest football news!
And if you would like to watch Kirby Smart's full press conference with Tate Ratledge and Jalon Walker you can check out the video below!
