Considering Georgia head coach Kirby Smart spent the last eight years in Tuscaloosa helping run arguably the best defense in college football during that span, it would make sense for him to take over the play calling duties in Athens this season. That being said, Georgia defensive coordinator Mel Tucker has plenty of experience of his own, working for both LSU and Alabama as well as spending several years coaching NFL defenses.

So which one of them plans on making all the defensive calls this season?

According to Dan Mathews of Gridiron Now, Smart said the duties will go to Tucker this season – although Smart plans on spending more of his time with that side of the ball.

“I’ll be more involved with the defense than with the offense,” Smart said at a Georgia alumni event. “But certainly Mel has called (defenses for) a long time in the NFL, and that’s the plan going forward.

“It’s a new experience for me to be a head coach. So I certainly don’t need the burden of calling the defenses while I’m trying to oversee the whole entire thing.”

Considering he comes from the Nick Saban coaching tree, Smart is taking a similar approach to that of his former boss. Saban doesn’t make the defensive calls for Alabama but does coach the defensive backs. Don’t be surprised if Smart does the same thing in Athens, as the new Bulldog head coach called safety during his playing career for UGA from 1995-98.