Trio of former Georgia teammates thriving as coaches
ATHENS, Ga. — The 1994 Georgia Bulldogs finished 6-4-1 and missed out on a bowl game in Ray Goff’s sixth of seven seasons as coach.
Yet three future Bowl Subdivision head coaches were being formed on the field and in the meeting rooms.
Georgia’s 1994 roster contained senior safety Will Muschamp, freshman safety Kirby Smart, who redshirted that season, and redshirt freshman quarterback Mike Bobo, who replaced an injured Eric Zeier and led the Bulldogs to a 43-10 demolishing of Georgia Tech. Muschamp, Smart and Bobo are a combined 20-5 at their respective programs entering this weekend’s games.
Two of the coaches will have their teams square off Saturday afternoon, when Smart’s 8-0 Georgia Bulldogs host Muschamp’s 6-2 South Carolina Gamecocks.
“I take pride in the fact that we all kind of grew up educators’ kids and coaches’ kids,” Smart said. “We grew up around the game. It’s what we’ve been around all of our lives, so I respect both of those guys, and I think they do a great job. ”
Smart is 16-5 in his second season at his alma mater, while Muschamp is in his second season at South Carolina, having taken over a 3-9 program and produced a 12-9 record. Bobo is in his third season at Colorado State, having posted consecutive 7-6 records before this season’s 6-3 mark that includes a respectable 41-23 loss at Alabama on Sept. 16.
These are the first head-coaching opportunities for Bobo and Smart, while Muschamp was 28-21 as Florida’s head coach from 2011 to 2014.
Muschamp went 1-3 against his alma mater at EverBank Field in Jacksonville, with Florida’s 38-20 upset of the No. 9 Bulldogs in 2014 the lone win. He has returned to Sanford Stadium as LSU’s defensive coordinator and as Auburn’s defensive coordinator but will be a head coach on the opposing sideline there for the first time this weekend.
“I had great experiences as a player at the University of Georgia,” Muschamp said. “It’s an outstanding school, but that’s been a long time ago. They’re playing with a lot better players than me now, I can tell you that.”
Smart’s Bulldogs topped Muschamp’s Gamecocks 28-14 last season at Williams-Brice Stadium, when Sony Michel rushed for 133 yards and Nick Chubb added 121. Perry Orth was the South Carolina quarterback that Sunday afternoon — the game was postponed one day due to Hurricane Matthew — but the Gamecocks had an open date the following week and gave the reins to true freshman Jake Bentley.
Since Bentley became quarterback, South Carolina is 10-4 in regular-season contests.
“After our game, he came in and really played well,” Smart said. “He has played well this year, so I do not even see him as a freshman. He is a sophomore. He has been around the game his whole life, so the guy just knows where to go with the ball and understands the offense.
“He does what they ask him to do really well. He is really athletic. He was a good athlete in high school.”
Smart said the season is far too busy to visit with Muschamp or Bobo over the phone, but the families do spend time with one another in the summer. When asked if being close friends with an opposing head coach provides added motivation, Smart shifted the focus.
“You want these players to have success,” he said. “I want my players to have success just like he wants his players to have success. It’s not about Will and me. It’s not about us. It’s about the players, and I think he would be the first to tell you that.”
Odds and ends
Georgia does not have any first- or second-team players injured this week. … South Carolina defensive back Chris Lammons when asked Tuesday what concerned him most about the Bulldogs: “The run. They can’t pass.”