Georgia football will hear the roar of Sanford Stadium soon. Marshall walks into a hostile environment, meanwhile. Many nationally believe the atmosphere will intimidate the Thundering Herd — except Kirby Smart.
Marshall is undergoing a coaching transition. Longtime head coach Charles Huff left for Southern Miss in a high-profile departure. Tony Gibson takes over the head coaching reins. But Smart admitted to Dawgs247Sports that he's having a “really hard” time preparing for the season opening opponent.
“I think when you look across the board, there's so many different guys coming in and going out. It's really hard. You start with a quarterback position, where they may play multiple guys,” Smart said regarding Marshall.
But Smart dove into researching past Marshall teams to gain an idea of the Bulldogs' opponent.
“When you look at their history, they've got guys that can run it, guys that can throw it. Defensively they've had really good players come through there. And not to single anybody out, I just think they've got really good football players,” Smart said.
Kirby Smart points to 1 ‘tremendous' Marshall spot ahead of Georgia clash
The defensive minded Georgia coach noticed one deep position for Marshall: The backfield.
“When you look across the backs they've got coming in, you watch the tape of the backs of where they played the year before, tremendous group of backs,” Smart said.
The Herd lures in college football transfer portal additions into the RB room. Justin Williams-Thomas heads to Marshall via Cal. Michael Allen is another new entry on the Huntington, West Virginia campus from UNLV. Jo'Shon Barbie is one more newcomer — who arrives via McNeese State of the Football Championship Subdivision level.
But a familiar face returns to the Sun Belt power. Antwan Roberts is back after missing 2024 with an injury. Gibson could lean into a RB committee to test a younger edge rush room on Georgia's side.
Smart and Georgia, however, have no gauge on who'll lead Marshall at QB. The Thundering Herd brough in a whopping six transfers behind center. Including two hailing from the power conference realm in ex-Syracuse passer Carlos Del-Rio Wilson and former North Carolina State signal-caller Robert Shockey.
Georgia enters '25 with big predictions. Including conquering Alabama during the regular season. The march to the national title starts Saturday.
