The next time a reporter asks Kirby Smart about one of his former touted recruits, they may want to hold that thought.

The Georgia coach did not seem to appreciate the notion that his five-star players will be seeing the field until they’ve earned it by being the best players on the field at their position. While the question was innocent enough, Smart clearly took the opportunity during his latest media availability to call out any member of his team that thinks they should be getting more reps without first earning them.

Here’s how Smart responded when asked about the loaded depth, based on recruiting evaluations, in his receiver room.

“How they came in does not matter to us. You mention how they came in, that ain’t nothing in that room. It means absolutely nothing,” Smart fired back. “Every time you guys print something about receivers, it’s about how many five-stars are in there but the guys that are playing the best in there, none of them have five-stars. We go off performance, the receiver position, it’s where do you help the team the most? Can you cover a kick? Can you block somebody? Can you make a play on the outside on the perimeter that nobody can make?

“Right now, that has nothing to do with what you were regarded as coming in. So is the culture of competition good? Absolutely because maybe those guys that were three-stars or four-stars are outworking the guys that were five-stars. None of that makes a decision for us because all we decide is who is playing well. Right now the guys that are playing best at receiver were not the highly regarded guys. We are going to play the guys that play the best.”

Well, alright then. Message received loud and clear from the leader of the Georgia program.

You can view video of Smart’s comments below, courtesy of Bulldawg Illustrated on YouTube: