ATHENS — Kirby Smart’s not kidding himself, Georgia is No. 1 right now, but like every other title contender improvement is needed.

“They’re so many things,” Smart said, steering clear of any sense of complacency, “that we’ve got to do better.”

The Bulldogs figure to do just that when they play their home opener against FCS Tennessee Tech at 2 p.m. on Saturday at Sanford Stadium.

“I can’t pick one thing on improvement; there are so many things that we’ve got to do better,” Smart said at his Monday press conference at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. “There’s just a lot there that we want to improve on, and some of what you’re doing is dictated by who you play.”

Smart noted that it wasn’t Clemson’s best game, with returning starter Cade Klubnik shaky at times, and Tigers’ receivers hearing footsteps of oncoming Georgia defenders.

“…. We were fortunate to get off the field on some third downs, they were also unfortunate,” Smart noted. “They had a couple drops early that would have gotten them rolling.”

Tennessee Tech certainly doesn’t have the personnel to match up with UGA or compare with the upcoming SEC teams on Georgia’s schedule — Kentucky (7:30 p.m., Sept. 14) and Alabama (7:30 p.m., Sept. 28) are up next.

Here are other key takeaways from Smart:

Roster Management Master

Smart didn’t know where to start when discussing his roster management strategy, but that served to make his answer even more impressive.

“Just an organizational conglomeration of information,” Smart said, sounding very much like the UGA business major and All-Academic SEC selection he once was during his All-SEC playing career with the Bulldogs.

“I’m very process, detail oriented. We have a way we go about things. We talk about it. We visit with others. We brainstorm. We do what any good business would do, and we try to make the best decision.

“When it comes to NIL, what can we raise? What do we have? What do we have available? What’s the best value and what kids fit our culture and who’s going to be unselfish and come here and play for the University of Georgia and not just for the money? There’s a lot of things that go into that decision, and those other decisions you talked about, there’s a ton, especially in the offseason.”

Defensive Green Dot

Smart shared how UGA made use of the “Green Dot” radio helmet on defense, the device which allows coaches to communicate with one player on defense and offense until there is 15 seconds left on the play clock.

“We share who uses it every day in practice,” Smart said. “CJ [Allen] had it some (in the Clemson game), Smael [Mondon] had it some, Raylen [Wilson] might have had it some. We have two helmets, so it depends on which pairing of players are in.

“We have other players that have green dot helmets in case they have to play a position that they’re not normally playing.”

KJ, Freshman Phenom

You can bet there’s been a lot of hard coaching with harsh words on the practice field for KJ Bolden, and the true freshman is making good use of it.

Smart doesn’t often heap praise on freshmen, but Bolden has the makings of a superstar.

“He’s played more football than most seniors — he’s been playing since he was 6 years old, in the heart of Atlanta, in one of the toughest leagues there is to play football, and he’s played up against older kids all his life,” Smart said. “He’s extremely athletic. The moment’s not too big for KJ. He’s very gifted athletically, but he also has great football instincts and intuition. He’s been coached by his father, and he’s tough.”

Bolden might not yet have a starting spot, but he figures to get considerable action against Tennessee Tech on Tuesday as Smart works to get all the young players up to speed.