Everything Georgia Football Coach Kirby Smart Said About The Florida Gators
ATHENS - Georgia football coach Kirby Smart spoke with reporters on Monday about the Florida Gators...
On John Summerall and the Gators...
“They have a lot of physicality in the program. They play really hard. When you turn on the tape, you see the physicality they play with on both sides of the ball. A ton of respect for both coordinators. Going against both of them for multiple years they’ve got great scheme, got really good players. A lot of respect for Buster Faulkner who obviously was on our staff and just think he's one of the best offensive minds in the country. They’re really hard to defend but I'm so happy for his success and how well he's done. Close friend and a lot of respect for him
On playing against local players...
“We've got guys playing all over our team from those same teams they were on. So I don't know that it's just this area as a whole. I think it's the state provides a lot of uber talented high school players. You look across the college football landscape. Every time I turn the game games on, there's a kid from state of Georgia performing really well. That's no different in the case of Aaron Philo and Bailey Stockton and all those guys are doing well.
On Jordan Hall’s energy...
“He’s consistently energetic and plays really hard. He does not want to be seen as a loafer or someone that doesn't play with high effort, and that carries over to the other guys. I don't think that had anything to do with the injuries because he was the same way before he got injured. He certainly played with a lot of energy and toughness, and brings the FPE.
On Jadan Baugh...
“They’ve got a great rushing attack and they’ve got a great back to do it with. So when you can run the ball and know that your back's gonna make people miss in the open field or break tackles by running through them, over them around them it certainly gives you the confidence to give him touches and he's been incredible. I mean we've shown our guys clips of him since the start of the year, to kind of say, are you practicing to tackle him? Are you practicing to tackle who you're playing against? We're driving the motivation that every day you're trying to prepare for the best. He's certainly done that and he’s a talented young man.
On KJ Bolden’s injury...
“Yeah, I really don't know on either of them because we haven't done anything since Thursday. You know we had good practices all week, last week, and then leading into this week, we'll find out more about where they are today and and through the injury report, information we have. Some of our players needed recovery more than they needed to get better. We all need to get better, but we’ve got some guys that need to get well and get healthy, and hopefully we're able to do that some. I always worry, because, you know, you spend so much time trying to get healthy, you better be ready to strike somebody in this game, because it's gonna be physical.”
On practice habits after an off week...
“We went Tuesday and Thursday with Wednesday being a lot less. We scripted reps for certain guys more than others. That's been the last two years, really. I mean, it's not what everybody thinks it is, you're trying to keep your team healthy, and I’ve got less depth than we've ever had. So certainly, we're trying to develop our guys that will be playing if guys get injured or they might be playing next year. And we're trying to maintain the conditioning level and the physicality of the rest of them.”
On Tramel Jones and Aaron Philo...
“Both are very talented. One beat Ole Miss mishandly, and one beat Texas on the road. I mean, they're both completely capable, good players, knowing about both of them for a long time, and in terms of their ability, they're both plenty capable, especially in in Buster's offense. It's quarterback driven, but it doesn't require the quarterback to be perfect. He gives them so many options, and he can play to the strengths of each guy.”
On what he wants to see from his team after a loss...
“To improve. I mean, regardless of the outcome of a game, that really doesn't matter. I mean, the results are what people focus on, but it's the process that we try to focus on, which is like, Okay, what can we do better? How do we not turn the ball over? How do we, you know, stay away from dumb penalties? And how do we tackle better? You know, how do we get more turnovers so that our turnovers are less glaring? Because if you get three, you give three, your net 0 and you're a lot better off. So I'm a lot more interested in the improvement than I am just the results.”
On Jamarley Riddle...
“Jamarley’s improving. He plays more strong safety than anything else. He's very intelligent. He has good instincts and he communicates really well. So he continues to improve coming off a very significant injury to end last year. Similar to what Jordan had, and that's tough when you play a defensive back position. But he's improved with every week. He improves every day in our system, understanding how to do things, and he's got good competition around him including Dink, including Kyron, Zion. I mean, all those guys, Todd, they've all improved and they continue to get better.
On Florida’s defense...
“He’s got some really good players. Some twitchy, violent sized, length guys. They strike people. He's always had really good defenses. So I think when you put him in the Florida system, and you get those kind of athletes and pass rushers, it kind of compounds his effect to affect the game. They're always long. They're always physical. They always have a great depth in their defense in terms of the way they play. So, a lot of respect for the job he does.
On Anthony Lonon Jr...
“I’ve loved Anthony since high school. He's a really hard worker. I played with his dad here. He’s a humble kid who just goes out and gives a full day's work. I mean, he's a good athlete. He's more athletic for his size than most people. He has twitch. He has leverage. He's gonna get better because he's gonna stay humble and keep working. But I'm really pleased with this progress.
On Ellis Robinson...
“Yeah, Ellis is a competitor. He’s really driven to be good at what he does. And he works hard at it. It's important to him that he, you know does things the right way and plays with the right technique, and he likes the game. He likes to play, he likes to have chances to make plays on the ball and cover people, and he has a good mindset about the position that, you know, giving up a play is not the end of the world. He can erase it quickly and move on to the next, and that's a good trait to have at his position. So, been really pleased with his effort and the things he's done.
