Kirby Smart Makes It Clear College Football Has Bigger Issues Than House Settlement Or NIL; It's The Portal

DESTIN, Fla. - There's a new voice that has taken over for Nick Saban in these spring meetings that take place every year in Florida, and it's Georgia head coach Kirby Smart. 

While there are plenty of coaches who can control a room, like Saban did during his time in the SEC, it's become abundantly clear that Kirby feels much more comfortable talking about the key issues that are plaguing the sport of college football. 

And sure, there are plenty of voices to go around, but being the tenured head coach of a conference as big as the SEC, the need for one guy to be the voice was up for grabs the day Nick Saban announced his retirement. Now, with all the talk being centered around how much money a player will be making, or how college athletics is headed for massive change if the House settlement is approved, Smart is pointing his attention towards another hot-button issue. 

If you've been living under a rock for the past few years, you have missed a lot when it comes to how long players are sticking around at one school. And, it's not just about an athlete chasing a paycheck with the current NIL system. There is a contentious conversation ongoing inside meeting rooms across the country about how college leaders can control the transfer portal. 

For Kirby Smart, this is the biggest issue in college athletics that is not being talked about enough in his eyes. To be honest, I tend to agree with Kirby Smart, though there are plenty of subjects that have college administrators scrambling towards the July 1 deadline of when these new rules under the House settlement would begin. 

But, speaking inside the Hilton theater room on Tuesday, there was a sense of urgency in the voice of Kirby Smart while discussing what he thought was