A few slivers of clarity are emerging regarding Kirby Smart’s staff at UGA. The parent of UGA receiver target Tyler Simmons said running backs coach Thomas Brown told him he would be back at UGA. Those two met yesterday.
“Thomas did say he is retained and he will be retained,” Shon Simmons said. “He knew definitely that he would be retained.”
Brown is actually the only current UGA staff member that Smart has followed on his new Twitter account. That makes sense given the two went on a recruiting visit together.
Simmons said the coaches on the road have limited information regarding the makeup of the staff under Smart, but the first significant piece would be naming the offensive and defensive coordinators.
“Once the coordinators are hired, they are going to give the coordinators a chance to bring on some people as well,” Simmons said. “I think Kirby wants to give the offensive coordinator a bit of that ability to bring in his own guys.”
What will that offense look like? Simmons got a good idea of what Smart has in mind. It starts with the selection of that coordinator.
“From what I was told by Thomas (Brown), Kirby is looking for someone who is going to be a traditional Georgia guy,” Simmons said. “Keeping up with the same standards that Georgia has always ran with a pro-style offense. They really think that’s the recruiting tool to keep kids coming to Georgia and to continue to get kids to the next level. They are looking for someone with the same philosophy Georgia has always had and not moving to the spread. They are going to be keeping to the same pro-style offense.”
There is a recruiting event in the works for Saturday night that will be a get-to-know session with Smart and UGA’s major targets. That will be vital for the prospects who will enroll early like 5-star quarterback Jacob Eason and 4-star offensive tackle Ben Cleveland, among others.
Tyler Simmons will be there. Chad Clay, a senior UGA commitment from Peachtree Ridge, is also expected to be there. Nigel Warrior, his teammate who is one of the top safeties in the nation, will also try to make the event.
The gathering will take place separately from the end-of-the-year awards banquet with the current team.
Jeff Sentell covers UGA football and UGA recruiting for AJC.com and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Follow him on Twitter for the latest on who’s on their way to play Between the Hedges.
