The Georgia Bulldogs and Kirby Smart claim that they are a powerhouse in sports and academics. No one can dodge their first claim. It’s no secret that the Bulldogs have had a lot of success on the field. Georgia has bagged two national titles and two SEC championships over the past four seasons (from 2021 to 2024). But the last one? Did they really hinge on their academics pretty much to impress the talents and boast of a class? It was at the bottom of more than 130 FBS when it comes to the graduation rate back in January 2024. But after a steady and consistent effort, Coach Smart and co nailed that spot and can now easily live up to their second claim.

The Georgia Bulldogs had their 10 football players graduate on the weekend of May 9-10. So, there can’t be no better time to dig into how Georgia football delivers academically. In the name, image, and likeness era, academics are something that often tends to take a back seat, but there are still a few students who equally value the academic standard before giving their words. While your coaching lines and the production history work as a real asset to snagging talents, academics remain a silent booster.

Kirby Smart makes sure it doesn’t trade down amidst the high-flying scoreboard and the recruitment flex. Georgia’s current Academic Progress Rate (APR) is in the middle of the pack of the SEC, with the four-year average of 979, placing them eighth in the conference. They are visibly in a better place than they were in the last two years.

For those unversed, APRs signified a way of monitoring the student-athletes’ academic growth and performance. Programs are bound to retain APR of 930 to be eligible for the postseason. Akron (APR of 914) faced a stroke of hard luck as the first college football program to receive a postseason ban due to academics since 2014.

Maintaining academic success along with the top-tier sport is not a cakewalk. But it’s not impossible either. Having your students’ grades on point gives you a lot of edge in establishing an overall good, clean image in the market. A big and valid net to catch big fish! So, greater academics don’t imply lesser academics. Look at Sherrone Moore and University of Michigan and Stanford University. They both have been carrying a strong academic reputation. Georgia joins the club with full rights.

Georgia’s 2023-2024 APR sits at 1,000, which is the highest ever for an individual year. Georgia’s four-year APR of 979 marks the highest in the NCAA’s APR database as well, which was initiated during the 2004-2005 academic year.

However, the coach offers you a chance to better academically, but that doesn’t mean there’s a compulsion. But Kirby Smart believes when football fades out, academic saves the boat for many of his boys.

Kirby Smart believes football isn’t the end goal for the players

“At the University of Georgia, we are committed to supporting the student-athletes on the field of play, but also and most importantly in the classroom and in life after graduation,” UGA president Jere Morehead once said, and the university followed through.

Smart always focuses on the players, not compromising their education for the season or athletic responsibility. Sports never get in the way of your studies in Athens. Parents can rest assured of that. But yes, the spirit of Georgia believes the choice to pursue your education varies from man to man. The last school can do is make the avenue open for the same.

“I think everybody in the building pushes the guys to get degrees. I have heard Coach Smart say multiple times that football doesn’t last forever. Of course, some guys don’t take this as seriously just because you are currently playing.” Van Pran Granger, a former Georgia athlete, while addressing the academic policy and mindset of the Dawgs. “There’s definitely a focus for guys to get their degrees. At the end of the day, it’s your own personal choice. If you want to take out the money from football and be an entrepreneur, that doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.” 

No head coach can have all the answers, but Smart, at least, tries to be a jack of all trades, and that can really be a banger move in the recruitment.