Kirby Smart has made it clear that Georgia has to be a more explosive team this fall.

It was an area that limited the Bulldogs last fall, even after making improvements across the offense.

Having had time to review last season’s shortcomings, Smart drilled on a specific area that the Bulldogs have to clean up next season.

“Well, I think our explosives in our history — the years we’ve been top 10 in explosives, which we have three or four times — have been off of play-action,” Smart said in an appearance with McElroy & Cubelic in the Morning on WJOX 94.5. “It’s set up by the run game. And we had our one of our better years running the ball, wo you would beg the question, if you’re able to run the ball at least in the measure of the SEC effectively, then you should be able to play-action.”

Georgia finished fourth in the SEC in rushing offense last season, up from 15th the year before.

Yet Georgia actually had 18 fewer plays of 10-yards or more last season, despite the improvements on the offensive side of the ball.

Gunner Stockton had a strong first season as the Bulldogs’ starting quarterback, and Smart was quick to say that the struggles when it comes to play-action passing weren’t on Stockton alone.

“We missed some of those opportunities whether it was vision, whether it was a busted route, whether it was busted protection,” Smart said. “And when you play-action, you should have safe, good protection there. We didn’t get our bang for our buck out of those play actions.”

Georgia will have to replace much of its receiving corps from last season, as six of its seven pass catchers who had more than 15 receptions are off to the NFL.

That will put a lot on the shoulders of Stockton, even with a strong running game and most of last year’s offensive line returning.

For as much talk as there has been around Stockton when it comes to improvements, Smart did note his quarterback did a lot of positive things last season. Some of which may have gone unnoticed.

“Third downs, play-clock management, playing on the road,” Smart said. There’s nothing like having to go to Knoxville and play, you know, and play in tough environments. And those are places that he had to go into to play some tough road games — into Jacksonville. And he just got better at managing things, understanding things, check system, run-to-run, run-to-pass.”

Smart also praised Stockton’s ability to turn broken plays into explosives. That’s something that can’t always be practiced, but it’s a clear asset that Stockton brings to the table.

The hope for the Georgia offense in 2026 is that it can create a few more explosive plays in structure, specifically with its play-action passing game, while still tapping into Stockton’s ability to create out of structure.

The Bulldogs still had a strong season in 2025. But they know there are areas they have to improve if they’re to end the season with a national championship, as opposed to just winning a conference title.

“We had a good spring,” Smart said. “Got some guys coming back. Got some youthful spots that I worry about, but at the end of the day, you know, that’s what they pay you to do as a coach. All summer we’re going to work with these guys. We’re going to find things they can do and try to find an advantage we can put them in matchups.”