Kirby Smart: A lot of Mistakes That We Gotta Clean Up As We Put the Game Plan In
Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart
On freshman defensive lineman Jordan Davis...
“He played good in spurts. He flashes. He’s big, he’s hard to block. He’s really worked hard on his conditioning. He does extra conditioning almost every day. He’s gotten to be one of the most in shape guys because of the conditioning that he does. He works about the half the time on scout team, about half the time with us. He gives the offensive line a really good picture, and he goes against better O-linemen when he goes against our offense...He continues to get better. He hasn’t arrived yet, but of all our kids that I’m most proud of, he’s worked the hardest to get where he is. A lot of guys as freshmen got to come in, and they were two on the depth chart, or three, or they got to play, or they played on special teams. This kid has grinded. He’s grinded himself into a very productive player, a hard-to-block player. We just have to get him where he gets a little more quickness, and is able to move better.
On pass protection against LSU...
Pocket. We have to protect the pocket. They’re good. Dave Aranda, one of the premier defensive coordinators in the country. We look at what he does week to week. They do a tremendous job Always looking for new ideas, he’s a guy you look at. For us, we have to keep our quarterbacks upright. We have to keep them in the pocket. We can’t get our offensive line confused. At the end of the day, there’s about a six-seven foot area in there you have to keep people out of. You have to have a nice pocket. Sometimes, it’s stepping up in the pocket. Sometimes, it’s moving out of the pocket. They are very disruptive defensively, and they do a great job of disrupting the pocket. We have to proctect it.
On the team’s readiness for the physicality of LSU...
“I hope so. We practice physical here. We’ve got pads, we’ve got players too. I think that’s something you find out. I don’t think that’s something you – you don’t know. South Carolina was a physical game, Missouri was a physical game, Tennessee was a physical game. SEC is a physical league. So, I’m not discounting or discrediting LSU at all – they have a really physical, big football team. We’re going to find out a lot about our team.”
On preparing for the atmosphere at LSU...
“Every time you go on the road you have crowd noise you have to prepare for. If you belabor the point and talk about it, they may start believing all of it. At the end of the day, loud is loud. It only gets so loud till you can’t hear anything. You cannot hear anything in that stadium. You can’t hear anything in a lot of SEC stadiums, so it is what it is. We have to go out and execute. We know that will be a factor. We know it makes it hard on the offensive line. Those are all factors. We practice with noise. We do it all summer. We try to make ourselves comfortable being uncomfortable. We can’t let it be a distraction for us.
On sophomore inside linebacker Monty Rice’s development since injury...
“He’s doing better. He’s still bothered. He’s not 100 percent, but Monty’s one of the toughest guys on the team. He practices everyday; he wants to be out there, improving. Hopefully it will be his kind of game: physical, tough game. He likes that.
On the tailback rotation...
“I’ve been pleased with it. Honestly, I wish James (Cook) and Brian (Herrien) could get more shots at it. I think both those guys are electric players. We’ve been in some games that have been a little lopsided late, and it’s hard, because you certainly don’t feel good about getting one of those guys hurt in one of those situations. They probably, if we had played four close games, I think you would have seen James and Brian with more carries. I’m pleased with their effort; I’m pleased with their leadership. I’m really pleased with their contributions on special teams.”
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On the punt game...
“We need consistency. They’ve got a tremendous punt return. Their punt return is very similar to ours, possibly better. They’ve got guys holding up, they’ve got a great return game, they’ve got three or four returns over 20 yards. They’ve got weapons back there. You can tell they’re well-coached; they come after them. They hold you up. Jack (Camarda) is going to be big in this game. He’s got to hit some punts; he has to hit his field zones; he has to hit his hang times, and we have to cover well. We hae to cover the kicks well and make sure our speed out there will help us. That was a tremendous asset last year, and Cam (Nizialek) was a big part of that, but we also had two, three first-rounders on that cover team.
On LSU sophomore safety Grant Delpit...
“He’s a good player. He’s a great blitzer. He roams the field. Aranda does a great job of putting him in spots to make plays. They use him because of his strengths, and you have to be aware at all times of where he is. He’s just a phenomenal player in our league that can do many things.”
On freshman defensive back Tyson Campbell...
“He’s growing up. He plays hard; he plays against pretty good wideouts everyday in practice. We go one-on-one against each other; he probably gets 50 reps a day against Riley (Ridley), J.J. (Holloman), Tyler (Simmons), Terry (Godwin). He goes against good wide receivers in practice. He competes. He grew up playing against good receivers. He continues to get better; he’s played in some tough environments. The football field’s the same length at LSU as it is at South Carolina and Missouri and everything else. The environment’s going to be tough, I get that, but the field’s going to be the same. He’s going to go out there and play. He’s played in a lot of big games in his career. I expect him to go out there and play hard. If he gives up a good play, we’re going to keep playing him, because he’s a good player.”
Sophomore ILB #32 Monty Rice
On freshman defensive lineman Jordan Davis...
“He’s a solid guy. He’s young. He’s still developing, but he could be really good for us...I think he’s good at holding that double team, not getting bounced out there. That’s a tough job. That’s like 700 pounds bumping against you, and you have to hold him. I think he does a good job of that, especially when he’s fresh.”
On Rice’s assessment of the Georgia defense...
“We’re doing alright. Vanderbilt scored on their last play of the game, so you never want the other team to score, just a pride thing. I think we can always get better in a lot of areas, so we’re doing alright.”
On the LSU offense...
“They’re a very tough team. (Nick) Brossette’s a very tough runner. You just have to bring it, or you’re going to get run through. They’ve got a good physical tight end, big offenseive line, tall receivers, very athletic. Quarterback will get them in the right place.
Senior ILB #6 Natrez Patrick
On LSU...
“It will definitely be a great test for us, a great test for our defense. It’s one where we are going to have to bring our best game, in this game.”
On sophomore inside linebacker Monty Rice...
“I’d rather have him with me than against me. He’s going to be a phenomenal player; he’s already a good player. He just has a knack for the ball. You can’t beat him...Relentless, no matter what. Blood, sweat, tears, he gets the job done. He does whatever’s asked of him.”
On if road trips still excite Patrick as a senior...
“Personally, yes. I feed off pressure. I like pressure; I feel like this defense likes pressure. I can’t wait. I’m excited how guys react, see how guys respond to the pressure, and see how they respond to this big stage of play. I can’t wait.”