Kirby Smart offers impressions of Eli Drinkwitz and Nick Bolton, managing changing roster dynamics
By Keith Farner
Published:
Georgia faces first-year coach Eli Drinkwitz and Missouri this week and the Tigers have become one of the pleasant surprises in the SEC this season. The Tigers are 5-3 and coming off of a last-second win against Arkansas.
“He’s done a tremendous job, he’s a really good football coach… going back to his NC State days, he’s created issues for defenses,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said on the SEC coaches media teleconference. “He is a really good coach, guys are buying in, good staff, the quarterback is really impressive, his composure, accuracy and he’s a good enough athlete to get out of there when he has to… they are very different to play against.”
On defense, Mizzou boasts one of the best linebackers in the SEC in Nick Bolton.
“He’s a player,” Smart said. “He’s a thumper, a tackler, instinctive. When you talk linebacker play, he’s as good as there is. I love the way he plays.”
Smart was asked about the strange season, and how difficult it is to manage a program and a roster for a variety of reasons.
“More different than any other year, we’ve combined like 8 factors… early signing day, opt out, transfers, juniors, seniors allowed to return… you can worry all you want but you can’t control it,” Smart said. “You have to sit back and let the numbers play themselves out.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
