Georgia Bulldog Coach Kirby Smart Brags About One Of His Assistants
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ATHENS - When you talk about Georgia’s incredible run in the Kirby Smart era, you have to give a lot of credit to Bulldog defensive line coach Tray Scott.
One of the longest-tenured Georgia football coaches still on the staff, Scott started coaching Georgia’s defensive line in early 2017 and has completely turned that room around.
Scott turned Georgia’s defensive line from a weakness to a strength, recruiting at an elite level, developing his players, and sending them off to do big things in the NFL.
A big reason why Georgia won back-to-back national titles not too long ago was because of the elite play of their defensive line, which was of course built by Tray Scott. He’s one of the best in college football for a reason and got some big praise from Georgia head coach Kirby Smart towards the end of last season.
“Yeah, he's a rock. He's a pillar at this place and he's one of the guys that's been here the longest, which I have a lot of respect for because we don't do it easy around here. You know, we work a tough schedule, work a hard schedule, I’m very demanding of our coaches and I have high expectations and he meets those. He is tremendous with his group. He's tremendous with other groups. He inspires people with his story, but you know, he cares about these kids.
“He's really what college coaching is all about”, Smart added. “The guy pours into these kids so much. It means so much to him that he wants to give back to them and change their lives, not about playing time. You look at the relationships he's had with Zion Logue, Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt, Jalen Carter. I mean the guy has just had tremendous relationships and he keeps in touch with all the guys he has coached. I can't say enough good things about him, so he's definitely deserving of that honor.”
Scott’s resume speaks for itself.
Early in his career Scott discovered a massive three-star project in Jordan Davis. With Scott’s help, Davis turned into a Bulldog legend, winning the 2021 Outland Trophy and 2021 Chuck Bednarik Award along the way.
He developed Devonte Wyatt from a respectable four-star prospect into a major contributor and a first-round pick. He took Travon Walker, an elite five-star prospect out of high school, and got the absolute most out of him, turning him into a No. 1 overall draft pick. Jalen Carter, another elite prospect out of high school, got better and better under the tutelage of Scott.
It’s hard to image where the Bulldogs would be without Scott coaching the defensive line over the last several years. He made Georgia the place to be for outstanding defensive line prospects and added another elite defender in the 2025 recruiting class in five-star Elijah Griffin. If history tells us anything, you can expect Griffin to be the next great Bulldog defensive lineman.
It’s not easy to work for Kirby Smart, but Tray Scott has excelled at it. It’s hard to find another defensive line coach in college football better than Scott, and Georgia fans should be hoping and praying that he stays in Athens for a long, long time.