Everything Georgia Football coach Kirby Smart Said After UGA's 45-17 Win Over Arkansas
FAYETTEVILLE - Here is everything Georgia Football coach Kirby Smart said after the Bulldogs’ 45-17 win over the Arkansas Razorbacks.
KIRBY: (It was a) hot environment; tough environment to come in and play. We talked all week about road games in the SEC. I am proud of this team. I am excited about this team. We got a lot we can get better at, but they buy into it. They are physical. They believe in who we are, and we continue to get better.
We have to improve, but that is always tough to go on the road when 50% of your team is in a first-time environment. And hell, really the whole team was in a first time here, because we've never been here. So a lot of respect for the way their team fought. Really appreciate the way our team fought, and the things we did in the game to control the game.
Q: Did you guys anticipate Gunner using his legs as much as he did today?
KIRBY: If he needs to. I mean, it's one of those deals. He's got... He's a weapon, because a lot of those are drop back passes that become explosive plays. I think any time your quarterback can take off and run, it's a value too. And he's made really good decisions so far on when to run and when not to run, and also when to get down and when to take a hit.
Q: What was your reaction when you saw him take off for 60 yards there? Were you happy to see that?
KIRBY: I just knew he was going to run out of gas. I mean, he was - He got tired there at the end. We had guys blocking for him, and he got ran down. But (he) made some good cuts and, and honestly he never got touched on that play, so it was very well blocked.
Q: Kirby, Isaiah Canyon played a little bit early and then came out, and then Nate obviously got dinged up. Have you got any update
KIRBY: Yeah, I think both of them are fine. I don't honestly know. Nate had a little ding. It's bothering him. We're going to go check on it, and Isaiah the same way. But I thought both of them probably could've played if they needed to.
Q: What can you say about Chauncey Bowens? Three touchdowns for him today, career best. How has he impressed you so far?
KIRBY: I love Chauncey. Chauncey is one of the hardest workers on the team. I think he’s a violent runner. He likes contact. He seeks contact. He got the beneficiary of some good blocking on a couple of those.
He had a couple of runs that I thought could've been even bigger. But he also bounced out on some and made some plays.
Q: I think it's the second year in a row, your SEC road opener, you got two true freshmen on your offensive line.
KIRBRY: Gotta keep getting better.
You know had a stupid penalty and just have to keep getting better is what they have to do. But they, they're certainly talented young men that have to keep improving. We're going to need them to improve in areas if we're going to beat really good teams.
Q: Looks like 36 of your first 42 plays were run plays. I guess just tell me a little bit about the, the plan there and what you were seeing defensively.
KIRBY: Well, we had a lot of shot plays in there. A couple of the shot plays were no plays, meaning they didn't count in the stats because of the penalties and things. But I think Gunner does a good job making us right.
Several of those were pass plays that became run plays. So it's all relative to what they're doing and what they're giving us. There's certain looks we don't want to throw into, and there's certain looks we want to run into. So again, the defense dictates some of that, and we're going to take what they give us.
Q: How have you seen Craig Dandridge just improve over the first few…
KIRBY: Yeah, he works really hard. Craig is very smart, he's very intelligent, he's savvy. He plays fast. He catches the ball, and he runs after the catch. I mean, he made a great catch on a bubble pass that, that probably shouldn't have caught.
Then he caught the big over and broke a tackle. So we tell our guys all the time: ”If you catch the ball well and you break tackles, you're going to get touches."
Q: Nate looked like he was banged up a little bit. Is he doing all right and things like that, or does it feel like anything greater?
KIRBY: Did somebody already ask that?
Q: No. I might be.
KIRBY: You were thinking about your question probably. Yeah, I think Nate's fine.
Q: Currently, how would you evaluate the pass perfection today?
KIRBY: They got a little bit after Gunnar, I think two or three times, got on the ground, but he was able to escape a couple times. Obviously, that's just kind of first time, like you said, SEC environment.
Q: Does this unit plan as a team…
KIRBY: We have to get better. We have to run the ball better, we have to pass the ball better, we have to rush the passer better. That was what got me. We didn't affect the quarterback enough defensively, in my opinion. He got to hold it. Again, we can all do better.
Q: What does Khalil Barnes add into the secondary?
KIBRY: Intelligence. He's very savvy, experienced, a good tackler gets balls out, awareness. He's seen it all and played it all, so he's very wise.
Q: In your experience when you start the season with three blowouts, are you able to still learn quite a bit about your team when you have these type of games?
KIRBY: I don't know that I would call that a blowout. I mean, y'all might say that, but I don't look at SEC games that way. I mean, they're trying to score the whole game.
We're trying to stop them the whole game. I don't even know what the score says. Like, I, I couldn't tell you the score right now. I don't look at the scoreboard. I look at how we play and never look at the scoreboard, because when you look at the scoreboard, it affects things that out of your control a lot of times.
So obviously, situationally, we'll look at the scoreboard, but I'm not measuring our team based on scores. I'm measuring our team based on execution.
Q: Did you see the type of physicality you wanted today?
KIRBY: Sometimes. You know I think physicality is an important trait, but it's not the only trait, because I've seen explosive teams that aren't physical.
Well, we didn't get to play the whole game, so we don't really know, but it was hot. And I think both teams I thought both teams came out a little tired in the second half, and that was a big opening drive for us.
Q: What did you think of Thomas (Blackshear) stepping up his post?
KIRBY: Yeah, Thomas has gotten great reps for the last two weeks.
He works really hard over there, and we've got a multiple offense where multiple people can play that position. Thomas has played it well. Will Taylor's played it well. Um, so I'm really proud of Thomas stepping up and getting an opportunity. I wish he'd got to get some more throws because he had some great routes that didn't get rewarded.
And we'll have to find a way to protect it to get him the ball.
Q: Were y'all anticipating them playing two quarterbacks today?
KIBRY: Oh, yeah. Obviously, AJ Hill.
Q: Did y'all recruit him at all in high school?
KIRBY: Yeah, we recruited him. I've known AJ since he was about seven-, eight-years old. I mean, I go way back with Trey Hill and his uncle Derek Hill. I coached at Valdosta State, so I've known AJ since he came to my camp when he was eight, nine, 10 years old. Great kid, great family.
Demelo Jones gave us some balls to a really good player there in the first half - a lot sharper second half.
Q: I mean what kind of players see him react that way to those things and, and what kind of adjustments did you guys make?
KIBRY: Oh, we didn't make any adjustments. I mean, at the end of the day, when you play corner at Georgia, you're going to be asked to play one-on-one, and you're going to win some, you're going to lose some, and that's the way we play.
And we have ways to help him. We have ways to leave him alone. Quarterback knows what we're playing. They're going to throw the ball over there one-on-one. We got to win some. And they got a good wide out, and I thought going into the week, their quarterback really could throw the ball well. And that's what the difference in Utah was.
Utah got more pressure and probably affected the quarterback more. They, they protected better today, and they threw and caught the ball better today. But we play a lot of different defenses to try to change it up and, and help our corners as well. So I, I was proud of the way Demelo bounced back.
Q: What did you think of Arkansas today and just the job that Brian Silverfield has in trying to rebuild the program?
KIRBY: Yeah, that's not my evaluation. I mean, I hate to say it. That's... What does my opinion matter on that? I'm worried about my team. I'm focused on my team. I just would rather not comment on that.
It's not my place.
Q: Gunner slid a couple of times. We had some nice runs. Is that good to see him not trying to always complete the play, throw down?
KIRBY: Yeah, it's great. I appreciate it.
Q: You said this team has been testing you: So this a good test or…
KIRBY: Every week's a test. I mean, every week's a test, right?
This team could have not shown up today. This team could have read the newspaper clippings and, and all the stuff about Arkansas and all that. I mean, hey, it's a nameless, faceless opponent. We got eight weeks in a row, man. So strap it on.
Q: Kirby, knowing what you know about this team, the three blowouts and, and those things, press clippings, all that stuff, how's your team going to kind of react to Oklahoma? How do you expect them to react, um, with that, you know, big environment coming in after three games like this one?
KIRBY: Same thing we did for the first three. We're going to prepare. We're going to do the same routine we did. We're, we're not an up and down yo-yo team. I mean, it's just, it's not... You can't live and die on this r- big rollercoaster.
Consistency and performance has been the trait we've had, and I try to say all the time, if we can be consistent in practice, we'll be consistent in games. And so we're going to play a, a upper level, another really good football team. Uh, and we gotta go play good. We gotta play better. We gotta get better this week.
Q: Gunner takes his first sack of the year today. How would you rate the offense's just bounce back ability after those moments of adversity here?
KIRBY: Yeah. And I don't know exactly how many of those we recovered from, but we had a penalty that backed us up, and we overcame it.
You, 90% of the time, you don't overcome a sack. I think we might have overcome one or two of those. We got really lucky on some PIs that, that kind of helped us get a cushion, because those could've been the other way. We're going to get sacked. You're going to get sacked. You throw the ball and you're explosive, you're going to give up sacks.
It's just you don't want to give up many of them. Probably the most disappointing thing was the first and goal at the two, where Gunner's gotta make a better decision. The back’s have to know what he's doing, and get rid of the ball. So we're second and two at the two. We're not going backwards.
Q: Through three games, what do you like about your team so far?
KIRBY: Character. Work ethic. The leaders holding people accountable for how we practice. And look, this team could burn out and fizzle out and wear out and not, not practice well, but they haven't done that yet. So still early. Time will tell.
Q: How valuable are those snaps in the fourth quarter for some of those guys on defense?
KIRBY: Well, I don't know, because we've had them for three straight games, and it hadn't helped. So I mean, we did it last game, and they didn't play good. We did it the game before that, and they didn't play good. And we did it this game, and they didn't play good.
So tells me we can't play them. I mean, it's the only bottom line. I'm, I'm not going to let it ruin my day like I did last time. I'm happy for the rest of the guys, but just poor performance by the guys that went in.
They threw for 280, so that's what you do, you know? And plus rushing yards takes out sacks, so it's misleading when you look at it that way. But teams are going to struggle to run the ball against us. They're going to have to throw it, and they threw it well. A lot of the numbers block to block
Q: On London Humphries…
He's the highest character kid on the team. He'll do whatever he can to help the team. He never complains about anything. He's one of the best blockers. He’s you know, he's got a deal in his NIL incentive. The more special teams he plays, the more money he gets. So he wants to be on special teams. He wants to play every snap of special teams.
And I keep trying to take him off to save money, and it's not working, so.
Q: Is that unique for guys to have special teams?
KIRBY: I don't know. We just put it in there for him because he's, he's worth it.
Q: How eager has Zykie Helton been to play fullback? Oh, he gets excited. He loves it. He thinks he's a fullback by heart, by trade.
KIRBYl: He’s, uh... Play didn't actually work. It looks like we got in late, but I don't know. We got to, we got to do some things with him because he's a weapon. He's talented, and he likes it. He enjoys football.
So you spend a lot of time with Ekene (Ogboko) coming off the field. What’s been your evaluation of him kind of through three games?
And, and he's played a lot of snaps, and- Yeah ... and so you've got a chance to see a lot of him. Well, he's got to improve his conditioning level to be able to play more snaps, and, um, he's had some bonehead mistakes that are just uncharacteristic of him, and I think getting those out of his system are going to be big.
He's, he's obviously talented, but guys, this is a grown man's league, and he's growing into a good player. But you just think of all the great tackles we've had here and how many of them played as freshmen. Not many. Not many. And he's had to go out there and get called into action, and he's done a pretty good job doing it.
He had a mistake today. He can't go downfield on a pass play.
Q: It pointed out a couple times in the broadcast that, um, during the TV timeouts, you were doing defensive like line drills during it, and they said that was very unique. Why was that something that you guys were doing?
KIBRY: That’s a question for Trey Scott.
That's a, a belief he has of, you know, we're not getting enough work. They're not, they're not running the ball. They're not being physical enough. They're not, they're not... We need to get work, so he gets work between snaps and between huddle breaks to make sure we're getting enough to earn in their NIL every day.
Nick Peal made the trip, and we got to see a little bit of him. What's impressed you the most about him?
KIBRY: He’s sharp. He's intelligent. He picks things up really quick. This guy's a great blocker. I mean, what a great find he's been. He’s tough. He plays on special teams out of Roswell, and nobody in the country was really recruiting him, and no power fours were, and we got a, we got a great player in that kid, and he loves Georgia, man.
He loves Georgia, and he, he's going to be a good player for us.
Q: I just want to kind of get your assessment on kind of where you guys are injury-wise, big picture, how dinged up y'all are as a team.
KIRBY: We’re about like we were coming into the season. I mean, I'm not going to sit here and whine and complain about players. I mean, everybody's got problems, different position groups. That's a very thin group for us, and Q's been dealing with stuff. He hadn't been able to practice much. Kamari missed ten practices in camp.
Uh, luckily PJ's been healthy, and we're trying to move other guys to that position. We're just not very deep there. But I'm not, I'm not complaining. I'm proud of the ones that are working.
Q: Kirby, you've got the highest winning percentage among SEC coaches in history now. What does, what does that say about where you guys are at or…
KIRBY: It says humility is a week away. Humility is a week away. Next week, humble pie somewhere.
Q: Kirby, I think you guys used three running backs the first series. When, when Nick goes out, how do, how do you feel with Johnson and Blake?
KIRBY: Interchangeable parts. I mean, they all play, they all work, they all do the same practice habits. So I, I, I love those guys.
I like all our backs, so I’m excited about Bo and keep getting better.
Q: Coach, you talk about your leaders, and going on the road…
Well, it's a really tough balancing act. I don't think anybody has more experience dealing with SEC environments than I do. So I teach and educate, but don't fear. You can't go fearful. You gotta go in there to dominate, take over the place, run the people out of there, but you gotta be smart about the way you go about it.
You can't take uncalculated risks. You can't... On the road, you can't turn the ball over, and you've gotta give your quarterback smoke breaks. You don't live and die in these third and longs and expect to be able to pick everything up they do. And we got a very experienced quarterback. We're fortunate that, that our guys last year we were dealing with the road anxiety.
Now we're just trying to get the rest of them used to the road anxiety, and there is such thing. People can say it's not true, but these kids have anxiety when they go on the road, and, um, I thought our kids led and fought through that well.
Q: How has Will Taylor carved out a role on this team?
KIBRY: Toughness. He's one of the better wide outs. I mean, we don't, we don't go out there and say, "What is your star rating?" We go out there and say, "Who wins in one-on-one? Who blocks well? Who can execute their assignments?" And this guy's as talented a players we got, and he's under-recruited. And he makes plays every day at practice.
I love watching him. He's a competitor, and he's really been a great special teams player.
