Kirby Smart understands that even though Georgia, or other elite College Football Playoff-caliber programs, may pull in top-shelf talent, not everyone can start as a freshman, or even play early.

Smart offers a unique perspective because he has seen elite talent at Georgia and Alabama, and seen players start early on, and wait to play early as they develop. During a national championship press conference this week, Smart shared his thoughts on what the ultimate goal is for those type of players, the NFL.

“Because the truly great players understand that no NFL scout or general manager or head coach has called me and said how much time did Roquan Smith, how much did Nakobe Dean play as a freshman,” Smart said. “That’s not what they care about. What those guys care about the intangibles, size-speed criteria, leadership skills, how good a football player are they in year 3. That’s what they want. They start evaluating those guys really hard in year 3.”

The end goal is what matters the most, because it’s not about who played as a freshman, he said, it’s about how each player is as a junior.

“You want to be the best player you can be in 3 years. Where do you go to do that? You go where you can compete against really good people in practice. You get millions more snaps in practice than you do in a game,” he said. “So you want to go against the best, where does the best pass rusher want to go? Against the best tackles. Where does the best tackle want to go? Against the best pass rushers. Where am I going to develop the best? Where have they proven that they can take me from a really talented player to a disciplined team-buy-in, NFL-type offense and defense and special teams and they can grow?”

The kids that are looking for that they can find that at these programs. So it’s an easier decision than you think, because it’s not just about playing early. I’ve seen a lot of guys play early and not get better and not grow, not have the same nutrition, the same strength staff. And they might not leave as good as they would have, but they played early.

I’ve seen some guys get impatient here and there and leave and have regret over leaving because if they had stayed they would have been a better football player for staying.”