ATHENS — Kirby Smart knows his audience.
But the Georgia football coach said he wasn’t ready to deliver the message he believes many UGA fans want to hear where the offense is concerned.
“I think everybody wants to hear some grand speech of opening this (offense) up and doing that,” Smart said during his National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall.
“What you need is to be productive offensively, score points, and do the explosive plays, which we have talked about consistently.”
The offseason hire of former NFL offensive coordinator and Air Raid expert Todd Monken coupled with the addition of dual-threat quarterback Jamie Newman has sparked excitement among Georgia fans.
RELATED: How Georgia stayed step ahead adding Jamie Newman
But Smart pointed out the Bulldogs are still a work in progress, in more ways than one, so he can’t say how different the Georgia offense will look next season.
“I don’t know the answer to that,” Smart said. “I think the roles on our 2020 staff still aren’t complete with our extra assistant coach spot open. I think that will develop and play out as we go along.”
Many supposed Smart would promote recently hired offensive analyst Buster Faulkner once James Coley left the staff on Jan. 24. Faulkner was the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Southern Miss last season.
But that transaction has yet to take place, and Smart made it sound like there’s no sure thing where the open position on the staff is concerned.
“We’re still in the offseason, so all the changes aren’t done yet,” Smart said. “There’s still moves to be made for us, from a hiring standpoint, moving people around . It’s a work in progress.”
Georgia returns 5 of 11 starters from an offense that scored a 26-14 Sugar Bowl win over Baylor, including the game’s MVP, receiver George Pickens.
RELATED: The George Pickens plan for Georgia
Georgia’s passing game ranked 72nd in the nation last season with 223 yards per game. The unit was limited by the loss of the top five receivers from the season before and a rash of injuries at the position.
Smart referred to it as a “merry-go-round” receiver rotation, citing the challenge to establish any sort of consistency with different personnel on the field each week.
Smart announced the hiring of the 53-year-old Monken on Jan. 17, triggering more offensive staff changes that led to former offensive coordinator James Coley leaving a week later to become Texas A&M’s tight ends coach.
