Five priorities for Kirby Smart, now that his focus is finally only on Georgia

ATHENS -- Kirby Smart is now 100 percent Georgia's head coach. He no longer has to share time elsewhere. He no longer has any games at Alabama to prepare for.

All of his attention, following Alabama's 45-40 national championship win over Clemson on Monday, can be paid to doing his job furthering the football program at the university he once played for.

Smart won't have any time to relax following the championship win, however, as he'll now have some important matters to tend to.

Here are five areas of focus Smart will need to address now that he's Georgia head fotball coach.

FINISH STRONG IN RECRUITING

At this time, Georgia has the No. 5 recruiting class in the nation, thanks to landing five-star tight end Isaac Nauta during Saturday's U.S. Army All-American game. Smart will look to continue the momentum he has gathered since taking the program over to try and land more top-notch recruits to Georgia.

ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS

One of the drawbacks Smart endured during his time pulling double duty was that he was unable to meet individually with any of the returning players. When he was hired, he met with the team as a whole before hitting the recruiting trail and returning to Alabama to prepare for the playoff games. Smart will need to meet with each player and establish a rapport so that a trust can be formed. Once a bond is created, Smart will be able to get his players to play for him like they did for the man who recruited them, former head coach Mark Richt.

FIT PERSONNEL TO SCHEMES

Smart likely has watched plenty of Georgia film from this past season when given the chance. And that has to do with self-evaluation and realizing what exactly he has returning for the 2016 season. While Georgia predominantly will run a pro-style offense and a 3-4 defense, there will be variations and other kinks that Smart and his staff will do differently to what Richt and his staff did. Smart will need to evaluate the roster and figure out where players can best succeed.

SET PREPARATIONS FOR SPRING PRACTICE

Before he realizes it, Smart will be coaching spring practice sessions and preparing for the annual G-Day game. With that in mind, Smart will need to take the information he has gained from his own film study and figure out a practice plan that works best for him. Will he take a lot from the way Alabama head coach Nick Saban sets practice up? Or will he change some areas that make matters more comfortable to him as a head coach. Regardless, Smart will need to put a plan in place for how practices will run and which position competitions will be at the forefront. Of course, the battle for Georgia's starting quarterback will be a big one for Smart to monitor in his first season.

ESTABLISH HIS IDENTITY FOR THE PROGRAM

Fair or unfair, Georgia earned a reputation as a program that couldn't win the big game and lost a couple of games each season it shouldn't have. One of the main reasons athletics director Greg McGarity moved on from Richt and hired Smart was to hopefully set a change in motion that would result in Georgia competing with the likes of Alabama not only in the conference but nationally. Smart brings a ton of energy as a coach, and he'll look to feed his style into a team identity displayed on the football field.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 5:18 PM with the headline "Five priorities for Kirby Smart, now that his focus is finally only on Georgia ."