Kirby Smart was hired at Georgia with one mission in mind: Bring championships to Georgia.

Everyone knows what great character former head coach Mark Richt has and the level of achievement he reached during his tenure in Athens; Richt’s 145-51 record in 15 seasons at Georgia proves it. But it wasn’t enough, as Richt only won two SEC titles during that span and had begun to annually fail at in opportune times.

How does Smart plan to buck the trend of the Bulldogs constantly underperforming preseason expectations? It all starts with recruiting with Smart, as the former Alabama defensive coordinator knows all too well what talent it takes to build a national power.

“That’s the standard in this league,” Smart told ESPN’s Chris Low. “At the end of the day, if you’re not beating the teams on the road recruiting that you have to beat on the field, then you’re probably not going to win many championships… If you get the best players in this state, you should be winning championships.”

A big key in getting Georgia on equal footing with the best in the nation starts with facility upgrades. The Bulldogs are currently the only team in the SEC without an indoor practice facility, however construction is nearing completion on one and it is projected to be complete by next signing day. Smart also requested a new recruiting lounge, a new weight room and an expansion to the locker room all be built.

“We’ve got to recruit at the same level of the people who are winning titles and playing for titles, and to do that, we’ve got to have great facilities,” Smart said. “We have the resources and the people within the radius of us to build those facilities, and we’re going to recruit like crazy. We’ve just got to have the facilities to get them in here.”

Smart also touched on the pressure he feels from the enormous expectations Bulldog Nation has put on him but he understands that’s part of it and something he’s prepared to handle. No doubt learning how to handle pressure was something Smart observed from Nick Saban, who has never faltered in the face of arguably the biggest expectations in all of college football coming annually from the Alabama fan base.

“I feel the pressure of the whole state. I mean, you feel it every day, and we haven’t played a game,” Smart said. “I want to be great. The people that love this place, I want to be great for them. I want to be great for us. I want to be great for these players. At times, it’s overwhelming when you start thinking about the magnitude of it, but that’s what we all signed up for, and I’m honored to be here.”

The benchmark in Athens has been set incredibly high but for Smart his goal is to annually compete for the SEC title. Winning the toughest conference in the nation almost certainly earns a spot in the College Football Playoff field and as Smart suggests, getting there and running through a rugged league may be the toughest part.

“If you win the SEC, you’re going to be in the [College Football Playoff]. That’s the aiming point: going and winning the SEC and getting in that four and then going and playing teams that maybe aren’t as good as the ones you played during the year.”