ATHENS — Kirby Smart was asked about the ongoing Michigan sign-stealing scandal during Tuesday’s press conference.
The Georgia coach shared his thoughts on sign stealing at large and its place in football.
But his most interesting comments came in regard to the 2021 Orange Bowl battle between Michigan and Georgia.
“I didn’t notice anything or know anything,” Smart said. “Nobody we talked to warned us or anything like that. I think everybody we play, they say ‘we steal your signals.’ We play somebody, they’re great at stealing your signals. But what they’re referencing is different than stealing them. They’re coming in and you’re talking about someone coming in and filming them, that’s completely different. We’ve tried to hide the signals, hold the calls, put signs up, do all that. But there’s nothing I remember about the Michigan game that makes me think that.”
Georgia beat Michigan 34-11 in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated. ESPN’s Pete Thamel and Mark Schlabach report that Michigan staffer Connor Stalions bought tickets to the 2021 and 2022 SEC championship games. Georgia played in both those games, winning in 2022 against LSU and losing to Alabama in 2021.
Georgia and Michigan are the only two programs to make the College Football Playoff in each of the past two seasons.
Sign stealing is nothing new in college football, which Smart acknowledged following Tuesday night’s practice.
Allegedly, the sign stealing involved sending a Michigan analyst to games against possible future opponents and would film the signs from the stands.
“Yeah, I never heard of anybody going to the games to watch and film and do all that — all the stuff that’s going on that everybody’s talking about,” Smart said. “I don’t know anybody that’s ever done that. I’ve never been asked to do that as a young coach or known anybody to do that. I’ve never heard of that.
“In high school football, you know, I grew up with my dad. We would go watch other teams play. That’s part of what you did. You went and watched the other team play with four other coaches and draw up their plays while they were during it. That was pre-cell phone and probably pre-signals. They were sending people in, the coach would send them in. That was a long time ago. As far as in-game, I think people try to do that. It tries to go on.”
Smart wasn’t the only one connected with the Georgia program who spoke about sign stealing its role in college football. Inside linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson scoffed at the idea that Georgia would possibly resort to what Michigan is accused of doing.
“I don’t think we sign steal over here. Our preparation and the coaches doing their job is a big piece,” Dumas-Johnson said. “I think that’s why we’ve been very successful on defense the last few years. I think that goes into our preparation and our coaches doing their jobs. I don’t know about now sign stealing.”
Smart spoke about how it was common practice for teams to try and steal signs. The Georgia head coach felt that sometimes stealing signs leads to disinformation and distracts him from trying to call his game.
“There have been times where people have said they’ve had our signals in-game and this or that,” Smart said. “You talk to the team that you played last and when you’re not going to play them again, sometimes they share what they might have had on you and things like that. So I’ve heard of it in game.
“A lot of the times you can still have the signal and not do it right. It’s kind of the joke we have you know what play is coming and you mess it up. I’ve laughed with coaches about that before.”
Georgia is the No. 1 ranked team in the country at the moment, with Michigan being No. 2. The Big Ten announced last week that Michigan was under investigation by the NCAA for sign stealing.
Michigan is off this week while Georgia takes on Florida.
