Kirby Smart highlights Kalen DeBoer's "smartest" move as Alabama coach after replacing Nick Saban

Kirby Smart and his Georgia team have a big challenge ahead of them this weekend. The Bulldogs are making a trip to Tuscaloosa to face a new-look Alabama in a highly anticipated SEC encounter. Both teams currently hold a perfect record and are coming off a bye week.

Securing a victory against the formerly Nick Saban-led Alabama on Saturday is undoubtedly crucial for Georgia to maintain its current reputation. However, Kirby Smart has a lot of respect for the Crimson Tide under the leadership of Kalen DeBoer and expects a different game.

“I think the smartest thing he's done is he hasn't changed everything," Smart said on Thursday. "Offensively, they have some similarities because they have the same quarterback, and we'll probably see a lot more wrinkles they haven't shown.”

“For the most part, they kept some of the staples they had last year because it makes the quarterback comfortable.”

Kirby Smart on Alabama’s explosive plays

One thing that was expected and has been seen under Kalen DeBoer at Alabama is explosive plays on the offense. As he did at Washington, DeBoer has been able to groom the Crimson Tide offense to be capable of multiple explosive plays and Smart is aware of this.

In his media availability on Monday, Kirby Smart offered his view on Alabama's explosive plays under DeBoer and how his team plans to stop many of them in Tuscaloosa on Saturday.

“You do your job,” Smart said. They've got explosive plays that are what would you call off-schedule explosive plays, and they've got on-schedule explosive plays.

“So, when you have a chance at both those, it just increases your opportunity. And their explosives are super explosive. They're not talking about the 15-20 variety. They're talking about the 50-60-70 variety … Our job is to try to prevent those, not give up big plays.”

Kirby Smart commends Kalen DeBoer

Ahead of their encounter on Saturday, Kirby Smart lauded Kalen DeBoer for his achievements in the college football landscape over the years. Before landing at Alabama, DeBoer recorded notable success at Fresno State and Washington.

"Everywhere he's been, he's been successful," Smart told media members on Thursday. "I think he's very confident in what he does, his organizational methods, and I think it takes that in the situation he's in."

Alabama is 8-1 against Georgia in the last nine games and Kalen DeBoer will hope to continue the streak on Saturday. However, Smart has played 21 games against first-year coaches since he took over at Georgia and has won all, posing a significant threat to DeBoer.