NFL head coach just gave Kirby Smart the best recruiting pitch Georgia could ask for

As if Kirby Smart needed any more help sustaining the dynasty at his alma mater of the University of Georgia, look at what Houston Texans head coach DeMeco Ryans just said about one of his players, as well as his program in general. Ryans was a star at Alabama playing for Mike Shula. He then went on to become of the best players in Texans franchise history at the linebacker position. He is a star!

So with the head coach of a serious Super Bowl contender like Ryans is in Houston saying glowing things about a school he never went to, or a head coach he never played for, with or maybe even crossed paths with, that speaks volumes. Ryans is all-in on one of the stars of his Texans' rookie class in defensive back Kamari Lassiter. He could have been a first-round pick, but still went in the top-50.

While at the podium earlier in the week, Ryans talked about the type of player he has in Lassiter.

“For Kamari you can tell he’s built for this. Like when it comes to the mental toughness piece that plays a lot into being a good football player at this level, you have to be mentally tough. You have to have that next-play mentality and at Georgia, Kirby has done a great job, you can tell, of raising them the right way.”

While not all Georgia players pan out in the league, more and more of them seem to be NFL ready.

“Kirby has done a great job with all of his guys. Having those guys NFL ready to go and that’s one thing you see from Georgia, year after year since he has been there, those guys are plug-and-play type players, and it’s a credit to him and his program and how they run things there. You get a Georgia guy you know you’re getting an NFL player.”

Here is a clip from Ryans' press conference with the Texans media after practice discussing Lassiter.

Given that Smart was a former defensive back himself, this is the team getting paid out in dividends.

DeMeco Ryans speaks highly of Kirby Smart, UGA with Kamari Lassiter

One of the reasons why the Texans have gone from a sad bag of crap to a juggernaut in the AFC South so quickly is they have been honest with themselves, especially when it comes to talent evaluation. Ryans in conjunction with general manager Nick Caserio don't care about college football politics; they are trying to scout and draft the best players possible, no matter what school they're at.

You look at their two first-round picks last year in quarterback C.J. Stroud and edge rusher Will Anderson Jr. Where did they play their college football at? Stroud starred at Ohio State, while Anderson was the closest thing we have seen to the iconic, late, great Derrick Thomas coming out of Ryans' alma mater of Alabama. Lassiter is not on their level yet, but Houston wants its college stars.

As for Georgia, this just kind of shows a stark contrast between the first several years for Smart's mentor and former boss at Alabama in Nick Saban. Many of the best players on those early Saban Alabama teams did not see their games translate to the next level. Julio Jones' obviously did, but players coming out of Alabama were often also-ran, as Saban got all of their talent before the NFL.

Georgia does have draft busts, but some of Smart's best former players are or have torn it up in the NFL. From Nick Chubb, to Andrew Thomas, to Jordan Davis, we should be seeing even more high-end impactful players coming out of Athens for years to come. Lassiter could be special, but there is going to be another star defensive back or two coming out of Georgia in the next few NFL Drafts, too.

Keep an eye on safety Malaki Starks potentially being a top-15 pick in next year's 2025 NFL Draft.