GAINESVILLE — Coach Jon Sumrall has a blueprint in mind at Florida.

On Saturday, he’ll see it up close when his No. 17 Gators (5-2, 3-2 SEC) square off against No. 3 Georgia (6-1, 4-1) in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

Kirby Smart’s program has been the SEC’s gold standard since Nick Saban’s retirement at Alabama, where Smart spent nine seasons absorbing the fine points of championship success from one of the sport’s greatest coaches.

Like Saban, Smart demands physicality, instills competitiveness and obsesses over details — traits Sumrall values, too.

“Fire, passion, energy. I mean, relentless in everything that he does,” said Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner, who played two seasons at Valdosta State when Smart was a young assistant and coached at Georgia from 2020-22.

In an era of unprecedented player movement, Smart also has found a way to retain key players and develop them. Rather than rely on quick fixes in the transfer portal, Georgia has built its foundation from the ground up through high school recruiting.

During Florida’s bye week, before turning his attention to recruiting, Sumrall studied Georgia’s roster and found a telling aspect of the program he wants to build. Under previous school in their biographies, the answer for most Bulldogs was the same: Georgia.

“Year One of our program, a lot of our guys on their previous school it says somewhere other than Florida,” Sumrall said. “Half of our roster says the high school they just came from, or a different school. We had to go out and get guys out of the portal just to be able to field a football team that could practice.

“Never again will that be the case here, I hope.”

The contrast currently is clear.

Ten of Georgia’s 11 defensive starters were signed out of high school by Smart, compared with six for Florida. All five Bulldogs starting on the offensive line were high school signees, as was their tight end. Florida, meanwhile, is starting three transfer linemen and a transfer tight end.

And the Bulldogs’ pedigree is exceptional.

Star linebackers Chris Cole and Raylen Wilson, hard-hitting safety KJ Bolden, All-SEC cornerback Ellis Robinson IV and nose tackle Elijah Griffin are among the 18 5-star recruits Smart has signed over the past five classes.

Florida’s lone 5-star during that span is junior edge rusher LJ McCray, a back-up who finally delivered a career performance at Texas.

“They’ve done a really nice job of recruit(ing) high-level high school players, developing those players,” Sumrall said. “Where you may have a roster deficiency, go get a great player. The way they’ve got it built now, they don’t go out and just go to the portal to get a third-string guy.”

The formula has helped Smart’s team dominate the rivalry.

The Bulldogs have won eight of the last nine meetings, including five consecutive wins by an average margin of 18 points. Talent, development and depth are at the root of their run.

Georgia is an 11.5-point favorite after a stunning home loss Oct. 17 to Auburn, coupled with the Gators’ upset at Texas earlier that same day. Until the loss, Smart seemed on track for his third straight SEC title, a feat achieved only once since conference expansion in 1992 — by Saban’s Alabama teams in 2014-16.

The Bulldogs could be vulnerable after the loss, or they could channel their frustration into a statement performance against their archrival.

Either way, Sumrall will get a firsthand look at the standard he hopes to establish in Gainesville.

“They’ve done that year-in, year-out the entire time he’s been there,” Sumrall said of Smart’s program. “They’re developed and they’re calloused and they’re strong and they’re physical. It’s been built over time.

“A really impressive outfit.”

Edgar Thompson can be reached at egthompson@orlandosentinel.com

Source: Yahoo Sports