By Mark Pszonak
The world of recruiting has changed in recent years with the inclusion of NIL, but even with this development, it still takes a head coach who can close in order to be successful. Two of the best continue to be Georgia’s Kirby Smart and Clemson’s Dabo Swinney. But who is better?
Kirby Smart
It shouldn’t come as a surprise that winning makes recruiting easier, and Smart has done plenty of that since taking over at Georgia prior to the 2016 season. He has compiled a 105-19 record, won two national championships and three SEC championships. This has helped Georgia reel in the top high school recruiting class in the country numerous times. Coach Smart has the state of Georgia on lockdown, but he has also showcased his skills in other states too. Just a few examples of this include RB D’Andre Swift (PA), RB James Cook (FL), LB Nakobe Dean (MS), WR George Pickens (AL), DB Kelee Ringo (AZ), DL Jalen Carter (FL) and TE Brock Bowers (CA).
When it comes to the transfer portal, Georgia hasn’t been overly aggressive, but they do usually plug a few holes. However, it can be argued that the transfers that signed haven’t met expectations, such as RB Trevor Etienne, WR Colbie Young, WR Rara Thomas and TE Arik Gilbert. This winter the Bulldogs added wide receivers Zachariah Branch (USC) and Noah Thomas (Texas A&M) in hopes of strengthening their passing game.
Dabo Swinney
Swinney has long been considered one of the top head coaches in the country. In charge of Clemson since the 2009 season, he has a 180-47 record while bringing two national championships and nine ACC championships home to Death Valley. Coach Swinney’s family approach to recruiting is impressive and tends to pull in kids who otherwise might not be as interested in Clemson. He has also gone toe-to-toe against the elite and prevailed, such as grabbing WR Justyn Ross out of Alabama and OL Jackson Carman out of Ohio.
Swinney does most of his work in high schools, as he has been slow to adapt to the current transfer world. But after showing a bit more interest during this winter, that philosophy may be changing. If he does decide to become more aggressive in the transfer portal, there is no reason to believe he won’t be successful.
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Conclusion
Both coaches are at the top of the recruiting world, so it is difficult to nitpick between the two. However, it wouldn’t be smart (no pun intended) to choose against Coach Smart in any recruiting battle. He has proven time-and-again to be elite, and quite possibly one of the best closers ever.
