Kirby Smart's Final Press Conference Before Georgia vs Ole Miss
Kirby Smart's Final Press Conference Before Georgia vs Ole Miss
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00:00 >> Hello everybody, we're gonna go straight to questions.
00:02 So if you have a question, raise your hand, we'll get one of the remote mics to you.
00:06 Always be able to press the button if you need to work over there when we're done.
00:10 And remind them they're live streaming.
00:13 Raise your hand.
00:17 >> How's practice been a couple days in a row?
00:20 >> It's been good.
00:21 I had two good days.
00:23 Intro to Ole Miss yesterday and then some regular day on stuff today.
00:28 And do some more third down red air tomorrow.
00:31 They've been locked in.
00:34 It's a tough prep because they do a lot of different things offensively.
00:38 And create a lot of problems on defense.
00:41 I mean, they create TFLs and then they're havoc.
00:47 I mean, they create a lot of havoc.
00:49 So trying to stay ahead of the sticks and ahead of the chains.
00:54 They do a good job.
00:55 So it's been a good prep though.
00:56 >> Yeah, cuz you talked about their run game.
01:00 The quarterback's an extremely competitive runner,
01:02 particularly outside the pocket.
01:04 How do you go about coaching your team up to hit him this week outside the pocket
01:08 without going out there?
01:10 They do a good job of protecting the quarterback with the rules and
01:12 things like that.
01:13 Do you go about this guy different with the way that he runs?
01:17 >> No, once he's a runner, he's no more protected than a running back.
01:21 I mean, we're gonna tackle him like we tackle backs.
01:23 He's physical.
01:25 I mean, their backs are physical.
01:27 They're all hard to tackle in terms of size and stature.
01:30 He's, you get over 210, 215 pounds and they're running four fours,
01:36 four fives, it's physical.
01:38 And he lowers his shoulder and competes to play.
01:41 So I have a lot of respect for the way he runs.
01:45 But in terms of us tackling him, it's gonna be like we do with the back.
01:49 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:51 >> Coach, what else brought by him that we're gonna do these two days and
01:54 how would he look?
01:56 >> He's working hard.
01:56 He's doing all he can in terms of trying to get himself in shape and get better.
02:03 I mean, he's back running now on dry land.
02:05 And we're hoping that he keeps getting better.
02:10 I mean, that's kind of a MO on this injury.
02:13 Every kid we've had so far has had it.
02:18 Week one, they do this.
02:19 Week two, they do this.
02:20 Week three, they do this.
02:21 Week four, I mean, he's right on schedule for
02:24 the things he's been doing.
02:25 >> Just a quick follow up, if you don't mind, I have no idea.
02:27 As far as the tightrope surgery goes, how much does the pain tolerance play into how
02:33 when a player is cleared to be able to get back on the field?
02:36 >> Yeah, I've never had it either, Anthony, so I can't answer that.
02:38 I don't know.
02:41 As some guys say, it hurts worse than others.
02:42 I mean, Lucky shared his experiences with Brock, and
02:46 Joss had two of them, Cash had one.
02:49 Mount Mims obviously had one.
02:52 So from what I hear, it's more painful in the beginning.
02:58 It's like a roller coaster ride.
02:59 It has its ups and downs and moments, and you continue to push through it, and
03:03 then you get better as you go.
03:04 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:11 >> Yeah, we'll get to talk to Marcus in a little bit.
03:13 Just what can you say about the journey he's been on here from that first year,
03:17 he suffers that ankle injury against Florida, and now he's a leader on the team,
03:21 one of the top receivers on this offense.
03:23 >> Yeah, when we recruited Marcus, we knew we were getting that kind of kid.
03:28 He went to a great school down in South Florida, St.
03:31 Thomas, and he's a great kid.
03:33 He comes from a great family.
03:35 He's very passionate about football.
03:38 I don't know when you rank leaders at Georgia,
03:43 there's been some great ones since we've been here in terms of the command and
03:49 respect they've earned by what they've been through and what they've done.
03:52 And he would be right there at the top of those guys in terms of when he speaks,
03:56 people listen, the way he competes, and his toughness and his effort.
04:01 He upholds our culture, he begs to be on special teams.
04:07 I mean, he just embodies what you want a Georgia football player to be and
04:12 have a lot of respect for him as a competitor.
04:13 >> Coach, getting back on this defense again,
04:17 how much is what they're doing for us, schematics go similar,
04:21 what he's doing similar to what he did at Alabama?
04:24 >> Well, he doesn't have the exact same players he had at Alabama.
04:26 So I think he's done a good job making his scheme his scheme.
04:31 And there are similarities, but you don't just do the scheme.
04:34 No defense coordinator just goes, well, I'm gonna cookie cutter this.
04:36 This is what I do, this is what I believe in.
04:38 You do what fits your system.
04:40 And he's taken the players he has there and he's made them better on defense.
04:45 They fly around, they attack the ball, they do a lot of really good things.
04:50 But I mean, they're just not the exact same players that they have at
04:55 Alabama in terms of just sheer size and numbers.
04:58 But they are very talented in what they do.
05:00 >> Kirby, you all have probably had several kind of cornerstone pieces during
05:05 this run you all have done.
05:07 Cedric seems to be one of them.
05:08 I'm curious of what he's brought to this program.
05:11 >> Character, leadership, charisma, heart, he's not afraid to speak up.
05:18 But look, all the great leaders we have this year,
05:20 they learned two years ago from a great leadership class.
05:23 That leadership class learned from a really good,
05:25 I mean you learn from those before you.
05:27 And those that laid the foundation all the way back to Nick and
05:29 Sony have trickled down to everybody else.
05:32 So when you have good core people, you're not gonna win every game.
05:35 I mean, it's just not gonna happen.
05:37 You're not gonna do that.
05:38 But if you put good people in your program and you demand excellence and
05:41 you hold them to a standard and you pay attention to every little detail,
05:46 eventually you get pretty good leadership out of people.
05:50 And that's, we've been bearing the fruits of a lot of work
05:54 that we put into these players, really from COVID on.
05:58 >> Yeah, obviously even before this week, CJ Allen and
06:02 Gwen Wilson had shown that they were gonna be able to contribute and
06:05 help you guys.
06:06 Is there anything, maybe early on in their time here or
06:08 when you were recruiting them that sort of let you know that these are gonna be
06:11 guys that are gonna be able to help us their first year here on campus?
06:16 >> Yeah, I don't know that I can sit here and say anything to set them apart to
06:19 make them able to, you don't know if a guy's gonna go play as a freshman until
06:22 they get here and see how they learn and process.
06:25 And they were both bright kids and they were both really talented kids.
06:29 So physically they had the gifts to be able to play.
06:32 But I mean, within our defense, there's a mental rep count you gotta get.
06:38 And luckily they had all spring and they got it down in the spring and
06:42 they had all summer and they've had all fall camp.
06:45 And Rayland would be probably at least where CJ is or
06:49 ahead if he had not had the injury in camp and that set him back.
06:53 But he's caught up really quick and they're both really good athletes.
06:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]
07:01 >> Yeah, you mentioned sharing different stats like the explosive stat with Lane
07:06 and his staff.
07:06 I'm curious if there's any other things that you guys have kind of shared back and
07:10 forth over the years.
07:11 And I know you've talked about the relationship, but
07:13 is there any other uniqueness of it that there's some mingling between the staffs
07:16 in the off season?
07:17 >> No, I mean, I have a lot of respect for Lane.
07:21 I've told you that he and I shared seats next to each other at Alabama for
07:26 I don't know, two years, I guess it was, maybe three.
07:29 I don't ever know how long we were there together cuz it all runs together.
07:32 But a lot of respect for him as a coach.
07:34 He was a head coach at a really young age.
07:36 He taught me a lot of things about what he believes in being a head coach and
07:43 doing it your way.
07:45 And he certainly had a unique experience in terms of the places he's been able to
07:49 work as a head coach.
07:51 And he draws on that.
07:53 And there's times we share ideas or GPS numbers or whatever.
08:01 But there's nothing outside of just a really good friendship and respect.
08:07 [BLANK_AUDIO]
08:13 >> Coach, I had you late, now Branson Robinson is doing a visit rehab.
08:17 Is he going to be able to go for come spring practice?
08:19 >> I don't know the answer to that.
08:23 The closest thing we had was Ryan Davis went through this the one year.
08:27 And it's a long, arduous process.
08:32 And I can't answer that.
08:34 I think he'll probably be cleared.
08:36 But I don't know if he'll be able to go through live tackling and everything.
08:41 >> Yeah, obviously, confidence remains high in Carson Beck.
08:44 What's been one area where going into this final stretch of the regular season,
08:47 where you wanna see him continue to improve and get better?
08:50 >> His leadership, continue to improve and exert his confidence and
08:58 put his touch on his personality with those guys is something.
09:05 He's into all the ball stuff.
09:06 I mean, he could be cleaner on some things in the pocket.
09:09 He could be cleaner on some protection things.
09:11 But he's gonna make mistakes because we put him in a position to make
09:16 three to four decisions every play.
09:18 So it's not gonna be perfect, but I can accept that.
09:21 I just, I wanna continue to grow as a leader and commanding of the offense.
09:27 >> Kirby, earlier this year, you joked around when you broke that record for
09:32 most wins in the first 100 games by an SEC coach and said you had an easy schedule.
09:36 But your easier, I think, was why you said it that night, kidding me.
09:41 But- >> There's nothing easy about this league,
09:43 I can promise you that.
09:44 >> For sure.
09:45 >> Do you think there's more parity now than there was even seven, eight years ago?
09:50 And where I'm going with that is I think you and Lane were together for
09:53 part of the Alabama 2016 win streak as well.
09:56 Is NIL and transfer rules made a little bit more even across the board?
10:00 >> I think so.
10:03 I don't know.
10:03 I don't think we'll know the totality of NIL portal until we look back from
10:09 five, ten year window.
10:11 You can't really have enough substance to judge that.
10:16 But there seems to be more parity.
10:18 I don't know.
10:19 Teams don't have as deep of rosters as we used to.
10:25 >> Yeah, Coach, obviously, every home game it's important for fans to be loud.
10:31 But with this offense having as much window dressing and
10:33 pre-setting as it does, is this a unique challenge to your fan base to be even
10:38 louder and can they have an even bigger impact on this football game?
10:42 >> Yeah, they can have a huge impact and we need them to.
10:45 I'm counting on them to have a huge impact.
10:48 I mean, look, Ole Miss has played in some tough stadiums, not only this year but
10:51 last year.
10:52 They've gone across the SEC West and seen all the tough places to play.
10:57 And it's not gonna be foreign to them to play in a tough environment.
11:01 But we certainly need to create it for them.
11:04 And we need to create problems for them on defense and
11:09 make it hard for them to play against us along with the crowd.
11:13 The crowd needs to have an impact and pull in the same direction for our players.
11:18 [BLANK_AUDIO]
11:21 >> Time for two more, anybody?
11:22 [BLANK_AUDIO]
11:27 >> Yeah, I wanted to ask about Devon Moore.
11:29 I think you might have said a little bit earlier this year,
11:32 he might have been a little bit banged up.
11:33 It seems like of late he's come back on.
11:36 Can you just talk about the importance he has even beyond the position and
11:40 how he transcends into that defense?
11:42 >> He's a great leader.
11:43 He's heart and soul.
11:44 He and Kamari have such passion for the game.
11:46 They compete against each other every day in practice.
11:48 And they're both physically tough.
11:52 They love football.
11:53 They're at the edge of their seat every meeting taking notes.
11:56 They love nuggets.
11:58 He's just a great kid, great leader that loves football.
12:03 >> Kirby, I was hearing a scream closing into, I guess,
12:07 three games off in the first season he's been out there.
12:12 Obviously, what's his been progression?
12:14 >> He's done a really good job.
12:16 I mean, he's come into a league, it's hard to play left tackle in.
12:19 He's played really well.
12:20 I mean, he's had his snafus, he's had some mistakes, he's had some jumping moments.
12:25 But I think the fact that he's played through all that and
12:28 playing with more and more confidence.
12:30 We've really challenged him to get in shape to be able to play four quarters at
12:34 full speed and give max effort.
12:36 And I think he's taking that on and really working hard at it.
12:39 He's very conscientious about working this stuff.
12:43 >> Thank you.
12:43 [BLANK_AUDIO]