UGA football coach Kirby Smart and two players, Zion Logue and Warren McClendon spoke to reporters on Monday morning about their upcoming game against the Tennessee Volunteers.
The top-ranked Georgia as well as second-ranked Tennessee will play on the same day, Nov. 5, at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga. The match will be broadcast by CBS at 3:30pm Eastern Time ( Buy Tickets).
Brad Nessler will call the play-by-play. Gary Danielson will provide analysis Gary Danielson will give analysis Jenny Dell will report from the sidelines.
Below is a transcript from the Tennessee press conference that was supplied by UGA.
Head Coach Kirby Smart Opening Statement
“I start by felicitating my former teammate, Champ Bailey, on his entry to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame that he’s already received the honor and has been accepted into. It’s likely to be in the half-time break or at some point during the game, I’m certain the player will be honored. Also he was a part of The Georgia and Florida Hall of Fame was there Saturday. But congrats to Champ and all that he has done to our school and how we represent our school and what he represents to our university. The University of Georgia is pretty amazing. I’m thrilled for him.
After that, I moved to Tennessee Josh, who has performed a fantastic job. I gained a lot of respect from Josh. Always had. I was an athlete and later as an instructor. The coach was at Missouri for a couple of years and enjoyed lots of success. He’s now relocated to Tennessee and has done an amazing job. His entire staff has accomplished a remarkable job of the amount of work they’ve put into. We’re all excited and eager to play the best matchup at Sanford Stadium. I’m sure our fans will be enthusiastic and proud. I would like to challenge our fans to be more — It’s true that everyone speaks about the Notre Dame game, but we’d like to be louder than the average fan base. We’d like to arrive earlier than the average. We had some excellent matchups last year in the home arena and I felt they had a huge impact on the game every time we played a huge game. Therefore, we’ll be needing these again, and we’ll be prepared.“
On the shoulder of Nolan Smith …
“His availability is not yet established. It doesn’t look promising for his availability this week. It’s a pec muscle. It’s one of the deals we’re performing an MRI on. We’re still gathering opinions about the matter. However, he’s likely to be doubtful for the rest of this week.”
What can allow Tennessee to get going so quickly …
“They are extremely fast. They have a lot of at-bats and possessions, and they begin quickly. I believe that the team did a great job at growing and improving throughout the year. Each week, including the off-week, we’ve made an improvement in our team. I’d love to see that continue. We’re heading in the right direction in terms of improving both defensively and offensively.”
You can also read: Slingbox streaming boxes go off life support tomorrow
On injury updates …
“Not sure , as I’ve never seen them train. Kendall has an injury to his quad that is bothering him. AD is still swollen on his ankle, and we went on a trip with him and gave him some time to recover. So I’ll be able to find out more details with him today. Also, Mims has a minor MCL that we’re hoping that he’ll be capable of going. However, we’ve not had any training and it’s going to be difficult to determine.”
If you must be prepared for Tennessee’s offensive during the offseason and in the summer …
“Yeah we’ve worked on them during the offseason, but we also work on many opponents during the offseason. We focused on them during the bye week, however we also worked on a couple of opponents during the week before the bye. It’s a tough game to be prepared for as They’ll admit that they don’t listen to the entire tape since they use a portion of it that uses certain parts they do not. They use some traditional forms and plays that are traditional. However, a lot of what they play is quite unique. It’s unique with a strategy of attack based on the way you’ll use their game. There’s no way to say they’ve never experienced — you’re certainly not going to fool them. You’re not showing them something that they haven’t yet experienced. You have to show them the things you can do better than what they do. They’re very good at what they do.”
In Comparing this season’s Tennessee team with last season’s Alabama team’s offense …
“No. There’s no comparison between the offenses. They’re totally different.”
On Jalen Carter …
“He performed probably better than I had hoped. I’m sure when you wanted to know about the game afterward I was unsure of the impact he had. He was running on the running, he was also in on passes. He was able to execute very well. He was able to hold the line. He didn’t really feel that it irked him. It’s true it’s all about stamina, and being able to stand up when he’s in a state of training. One thing he’s been doing quite a bit lately is training. He wasn’t practicing. Therefore, we’d like to have him in top condition and hopefully, he’ll be able to perform fast.”
About how Chaz Chambliss played and on how other players stepped in to replace Nolan Smith …
“Well, Robert played. He took a smaller hit than he did when Nolan suffered an injury. Chaz was a great player when he came into the game. It was nice to have him back. I had no idea he would be required to perform so much in this job. His hamstring is still bothering him. It stung him some the other night following the game. It’s one of the things that we’ll be watching what he’s like today and how he shifts around. I’m hoping to be able to get Marvin, MJ, all of them. The truth is that nobody played as much since it was only Chaz and Robert Really.”
On one of the most important lessons he received through Coach Dooley …
“Probably because of the way he conducts himself. This is one of the most classy men. Humility alone is the most important thing.”
The story of Rodney Gardner and characteristics of his defensive line …
“Toughness. He’s obviously old school when it comes to hitting players or playing games with physical strength. When you’re playing with any of his defense lines they’re not going to back away from the contact. They won’t shy away from any contact. They’re not going to back off when faced with the challenge. It’s not due to the things they’ll do this week, but due to the way he’s developed them and how they’ve been coached by him. It’s true that he is a tough coach, he is a hard coach. He hasn’t changed his approach due to the changing generations of players. He’s always been like that. In fact, when I was an GA here he was instructing the players hard.”
On LSU’s offensive in 2019 …
“Well when I think back to the game it was a struggle due to the fact that they had five, six, or something in the first round. If it comes to throwing Jamar Chase and quarterback they had all of these first rounders. They were extremely skilled and did an excellent job in executing. They did employ some time. Perhaps it’s not the exact structure of coaching, but you already know. We did learn some things that we learned from this which have helped us in the years to come and we kept the lessons in our collection of the different three-down looks they used. It’s true that we played with seven DBs during that game. They had different looks, and you try to cause them confusion. However, there aren’t a lot of resemblances between these two violations, if that’s the question you’re trying to find out.”
With any additional emphasis placed to work out this week, ahead for this weekend’s Tennessee match …
“If they’re not in good shape it means you’ve been doing something wrong before. We’ve been working towards this week’s goals in terms of starting from the first week, the condition levels of players have been an ongoing major concern each week to me. It’s among the biggest questions, are you physically fit enough? If not, you won’t be able to recover in a single week. It’s one of the things that we really work on. I’m not sure of how other teams are able to perform in the nation, but we practice frequently because I think it’s vital. We haven’t been in a few games where we’ve played a number of snaps. This is why the fact that if you’re not playing your snaps in the match, then you need to finish it by the week. You know that we’ve been working hard at it. We’ll find out the next day if we’re in good condition or not. I can assure you that, because they’ll take a shot to try and get a lot of snaps.”
What can Tennessee’s receivers do to be so explosive …
“Speed space, space scheme, skilled arm. You may have the best receivers on the planet and they’re always open but if they do not have someone who can bring it to themThey have someone who will protect them and bring the ball to him. They’re doing a great job of doing that. That’s another task for us next week.”
How he envisions an opponent embracing the chance of playing Tennessee …
“Yes. I’ve seen them accept the challenge every single week.”
What is distinctive about Hendon Hooker …
“Just another year on the offensive. It’s true that he’s one step over the level he was at. When you think about the reps and games that he’s played since his games in the last year, he’s still just as unattainable, but he’s likely to have the same arm ability. Those two don’t improve. It’s his judgment and processing. And his teammates are performing better, too. They’re doing much better on the offensive line and they’re running the ball, and they’ve explosive playmakers who are performing better. The team has improved and he’s improved.”
How Stetson Bennett did this past Saturday …
“He’ll prepare next week. And he performed some impressive things during the game. There were some elite, elite things that were done in the game. There were some choices that would have been better off if he could reverse them. There aren’t any quarterbacks who play games that you don’t claim that about. It’s just a matter of trying to wash them out. Because in the college game of football, which includes Tennessee and every other team in the nation the pressure is on the quarterback’s decisions. We do the same with Stetson. You know Stetson isn’t ever going to be the one to take the best choice. We’re just going to have to make the correct decision many times.”
What factors influence decisions on the fourth and final down …
“Just do some research. Study on tape. How did they perform in these situations? How do we handle these situations, what’s our strategy for these situations? What is our game plan and what’s the timing of the half as well as the score, how’s the momentum, our defense in the red zone? how is their offense in the red zone? It’s many factors that go into the equation. In the end, you have to make a decision, and then affect what happens afterward and then move on to the next step. It’s a playing mentality. If we weren’t successful in achieving it, we’d have to go out to put them out of their misery.”
How he prepares for this game based on ranking …
“No I don’tWe don’t plan for it in a different way according to rankings in case that’s what your asking. The rankings. I’m talking about, I don’t even know what the rankings are or what they are. It’s a big deal isn’t it? There’s nothing wrong with the number that is at the front of it. It’s going to be a major game, regardless. Both teams are part of the East.”
Georgia has been in this position several times in recent times …
“I believe that the home is a big help. I’m thinking that traveling on the road is always different. But I’m not sure that is the case. In fact, the team participated in some major games this season. The team played in Pitt as well as Alabama in their home stadium. They faced some very big teams , and they performed very impressively against them. This is why I don’t believe players in major games is a problem. Every game is an important one for me to be honest with you, especially in the SEC. It’s not like players go into it thinking of it in a different way. However, I believe playing in a home stadium is crucial and definitely an advantage for our conference.”
What is it that allows Christopher Smith to excel in big games …
“Experience. He’s one of the very few players in the team with plenty of expertise. It’s true that we don’t have that. When you look at our secondary team, there aren’t many players with a lot of experience beyond this season. There’s Ke’s a bit. However, outside of this, Chris has played a number of football games. That’s enabled Chris to be able to play the plays he’s played.”
Adjusting in the moment to defend …
“Yeah It’s extremely crucial every week. But it’s also crucial when it comes to decision-making as well as the method they use to follow their speed. They have a variety of paces they utilize and are able to go faster than anyone else across the country. They train it and teach it. They do excellent research and figure out ways to speed up. The challenge is to keep up with that pace and maintain that level of conditioning.”
Losing the battles over turnover and, if there’s an emphasis on it the week …
“Yeah It’s very significant. I’m not sure if we have an additional emphasis, but I wouldn’t say we place more emphasis on one week than the next. It’s impossible to not be adamant about turnovers, can you? That’s why we emphasize them and that’s the thing we begin every practice with. This is what we put our hats on. We protect our team from the ball. It’s not any more important, but it is crucial.”
On Dominick Blaylock …
“Yeah He suffered from an upper back spasm. But I think he’s likely to be okay. I believe he’ll be able to play today. He did not play following that moment when he fell on the fade ball, an interception.”
What he thinks of his secondary’s performance in this competition …
“We’re eager to watch them compete. I believe they’ve improved every week. They’ve added depth to the secondary while playing with other players. I’m excited for having the chance.
They’re going to do -one thing is certain that they’ll be able to surface. They’ll be able to discover. There’s no hiding anyone in these games.”
On Kelee Ringo …
“Well when you are playing the position he is playing and you’re playing the position, that’s all that you take note of. It’s not like you notice the other 70 or 80 games he’s playing and covers someone else and does a great job. He’s done an excellent job this season. He’s large, he’s speedy and he’s able to press players. He wasn’t able to make a fantastic play with that ball. However, he made an excellent play the next time they were in that area and made it. You know you could bat at a higher than 50 percent. This is what he’s done most of the time. This is one of the reasons which — yet I’m not convinced Kelee’s not confident enough. The thing he’s got is the toolset that the majority of guys would like to have.”
#96 Zion Logue | Jr. | DL
In the atmosphere of Tennessee’s game. Tennessee match…
“We know that this is going to be a huge event, yet we shouldn’t think of it as the final match of the year. We must treat it as if it’s just another game. Just like every other week, we should prepare and not worry about anything, and do not try to be able to overrule anything. We’re playing football.”
How the defense will prepare for the Tennessee offensive…
“It is a huge opportunity for us. The pace, we will not let it influence our performance. We will be on the field and stick to what we’ve been taught throughout the season and just play football.”
#70 Warren McClendon | Junior | OL
The offensive line’s performance during the match against Florida…
“I believe we were very physical. I believe we finished with around 200 yards of running. I’m not sure the exact number. I believe we were very physical. The team was a bit larger on the front which meant we needed to. It was a more difficult game for us, which is why we had to take away from their line.”
Regarding Kenny McIntosh coming back after the Fumble…
“It always makes us feel energized in the beginning when running backs run through those people particularly for Kenny. I can remember when you wanted to know concerning Kendall (Milton) along with Daijun (Edwards) going through other people. I thought as if you should be aware of Kenny as well. He’ll also run through people. It was really exciting to see him perform it over and over. We were really inspired by it.”
You can also read: More Canadian parents are playing games with their kids than ever