If you had Kirby Smart as the first SEC head coach to make a Star Wars reference on your SEC Media Days Bingo card, go ahead and mark that spot.
Today, when Smart was asked what it was like to be answering questions from his former boss, then adversary, turned media member, Smart answered with a Darth Vader reference.
"It's weird, I mean the call I did leading up to Media Days, I was nervous because for like 15 minutes I'm going to share with him about my team?"
"I feel like I'm giving answers to Darth Vader."
Smart was an original member of Nick Saban's 2007 staff at Alabama, joining the program as assistant head coach / defensive backs coach before being promoted to defensive coordinator in 2008.
He held that top post under Saban until 2015, helping the Tide win four national titles before leaving to be the head coach at Georgia.
In Athens, he faced off against his former mentor six times, going 1-5 in those matchups - a record that provides some additional perspective to that "Darth Vader" comment yesterday.
Georgia Bulldogs HC Kirby Smart on Nick Saban now being apart of the media and sharing UGA info with him:
— Zach Klein (@ZachKleinWSB) July 16, 2024
“I feel like I’m giving answers to Darth Vader” pic.twitter.com/GZigSxBbcu