Kirby Smart Press Conference After Orange Bowl
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00:00 Kirby Smart, and then we'll open it up for questions.
00:03 Coach Smart?
00:04 >> Yeah, I'll open with the fact that I wanna thank the Orange Bowl committee,
00:07 the Orange Bowl staff, so many people here, Palm CEO, make this possible.
00:12 It's really unusual to have people care enough about an event.
00:20 There's a lot of pride in the city.
00:21 You see people talking about the Orange Bowl.
00:24 The Orange Bowl is one of the most historic bowls there is.
00:26 I grew up watching the Orange Bowl.
00:28 I've seen so many classic games in the Orange Bowl.
00:31 And times, they are unchanging.
00:33 And the people that are a part of this committee,
00:36 people that are part of this city, people that care about this game,
00:39 it matters so much to them.
00:41 And I wanna thank those people who make sacrifices to put this event on.
00:46 It's a great event, it's a great stadium.
00:47 It's an awesome time for our players who get a chance to go out and
00:51 finish off the season.
00:52 So a lot of thanks to the Orange Bowl committee, our fan base who followed us
00:56 down here and came, gave these kids great support.
00:59 So many of these players that were playing the last game were also part of
01:03 two national championships.
01:04 And I think our fan base realized that and gave them tremendous support.
01:08 And last but not least, our senior class of people who care,
01:13 who love Georgia, and just wanted to play football again because they love football
01:19 and they wanted to do it the right way.
01:20 So I got a lot of thanks to give out to all those groups.
01:24 >> Okay, now we'll open it up for questions again for
01:27 those of you just joining us.
01:29 Please raise your hand, a microphone will be brought to you.
01:32 And when you get the microphone and get acknowledged, please state your name,
01:35 your affiliation, and to whom you are directing your question.
01:39 Our first question is on the left.
01:41 >> Yeah, Brooks Austin, it's for Coach Smart and both players.
01:45 Coach, what was your message to the players about why this game mattered?
01:47 And guys, what did you take from that?
01:52 >> Well, first, why did the game matter?
01:54 Cuz we're playing a game.
01:55 And as long as winning matters, we're gonna compete like hell at Georgia.
01:59 It doesn't matter what it is.
02:00 Number two, we gave them about five things and
02:03 we looked at them each day before practice.
02:06 And there were five notes on there and
02:08 one of them was a senior class turning 49 to 50.
02:11 And these two guys right here were a big part of it.
02:13 They're tremendous parts of our culture.
02:16 And all games matter if you're playing a game.
02:19 I'll turn it over to them.
02:20 >> Yeah, like Coach Smart said, to me, it really matters to me, like he said,
02:24 because it's a game, you wanna take every game serious.
02:27 No matter what the level is, you have to prepare the same way.
02:29 Because at the end of the day, this is top level college football,
02:32 any given week.
02:33 So we took that very personal.
02:35 And also, man, just being able to go out there with the guys.
02:38 This is a team that after this game, nobody,
02:41 it's not gonna be the same next year.
02:42 People are gonna go to the league, some, the portal, some.
02:46 Might not play football, this team might not ever be the same.
02:48 So I feel like you have to really take advantage of every opportunity.
02:52 And I really felt that being here for going on my fourth year.
02:55 I've seen teams change.
02:57 I've seen 13 to 18 people leave.
02:59 And the locker room is very different.
03:01 So I feel like you have to really take advantage of every opportunity,
03:04 because you don't get too many opportunities.
03:06 [BLANK_AUDIO]
03:09 >> Yeah, I mean, I would say basically, I think the game matter just because
03:14 if you're a competitor, then every game matters.
03:16 Every opportunity you get to go out there and play the sports you love,
03:19 play in front of the people you love, play for the people you love.
03:21 I mean, it's second to none.
03:23 I mean, you can't take it for granted, the opportunity to come out here and
03:26 play with guys like this, play with coaches like this.
03:28 I mean, so just being able to come out there and
03:30 not just go out there with the guys one last time this season, it meant the world.
03:33 >> On the right side.
03:36 >> Mike Griffith, Dog Nation.
03:37 Just kind of follow that up a little bit closer, Kendall.
03:40 Right after the SEC title game, you said in that hallway,
03:42 there was no way you were gonna abandon your brothers.
03:45 And I think I saw on another social media post, Kamari, that you and
03:49 Bullard were talking about running it back one last time.
03:52 What was it like behind the scenes getting the buy-in for
03:56 there to not be any opt-outs when you look around bowl season and
04:00 all these teams are missing players?
04:01 What happened behind the scenes there?
04:03 >> I mean, to be honest, the rest of the team kind of took on that responsibility.
04:07 The whole week, I would have receivers, the offense alignment,
04:11 the defense alignment, they coming up to us saying,
04:14 we're gonna send you out the right way.
04:15 And that showed in practice, that showed how hard we all practiced.
04:18 You would have thought it was a scrimmage the way we were practicing,
04:20 you know what I mean?
04:21 Everybody really took it to heart.
04:22 And I'm just blessed to be with a group of guys like that.
04:25 I've been fighting tears all week before the game, fighting tears after the game,
04:29 fighting tears because this team is a family.
04:31 Like some people just say it, but this team is a real brotherhood.
04:34 It really shows day in and day out.
04:36 And I couldn't ask for a greater team to be a part of.
04:40 >> Yeah, I mean, connection behind the scenes is nothing but connection.
04:44 Just being able to get up every day and be with a bunch of guys like this.
04:48 Guys that you laugh with, guys that you cry with, guys that you sweat with,
04:52 you're tired with.
04:53 I mean, you're getting a hot tub together.
04:54 I mean, you just do basically everything with these guys.
04:57 I mean, we even go to class together.
04:58 So I mean, there's not really much of a reason why you wouldn't wanna play with
05:02 these guys one more time whenever everything's online.
05:04 It's another chance to grow up with the guys you love,
05:06 the guys that you've been with for four to five years.
05:09 >> On the left side.
05:12 >> Hey guys, David Hamm with USPN.
05:14 This could be for any of y'all who feel like answering it.
05:16 But you just won an Orange Bowl against a 13-0 team by the largest margin in
05:21 bowl history, which by the way,
05:23 you broke your previous record from the last bowl game you played in.
05:27 Is there any doubt in your mind that if it would have been a 12-team playoff this
05:30 year, if you'd stuck it to the four,
05:32 that you guys would be the ones holding the trophy at the end?
05:35 >> To be honest, in any fight, in any war, I'm taking my guys against anybody.
05:41 That's just the belief I have.
05:42 I have that faith in my team that everybody's gonna go out and
05:46 lay it all on the line.
05:47 So I take my guys over anybody.
05:50 >> Yeah, I mean, coming from me, I'm not really into speculation.
05:54 But anytime I get to go out there with those guys,
05:56 I'm gonna take my guys 100 out of 100 times.
05:59 Just because of the things that I've seen these guys do day in, day out.
06:02 >> In the ring.
06:06 >> Two questions.
06:07 Well, I'm Joe Lamar from WSAB.
06:10 Question for Kendall and a question for Kamari.
06:12 Kendall, first, you shared a moment with Coach Smart after the game.
06:15 As the clock was ticking down, what did he say to you and
06:18 what did that mean to you?
06:19 And for Kamari, you shared a moment with Kalen and Warren after the game.
06:24 What did it mean for you to be with those guys that you grew up with in Savannah?
06:28 >> To be with Coach Smart after the game, he just told me how proud he was of me.
06:32 I feel like if anybody knows, Coach Smart knows what I've been through here at
06:36 Georgia.
06:36 This, not in any way, has been an easy journey.
06:39 It hasn't been just a smooth journey.
06:41 It's been a lot of ups and downs, a lot of speed bumps along the way.
06:44 But Coach Smart, he told me how proud he was of me.
06:47 I stuck it out.
06:48 I ended up making it to the end and I achieved success.
06:52 And I basically told him, thank you for believing in me.
06:55 Cuz at the end of the day, that's all you can ask for.
06:57 Your coach to believe in you, your teammates to believe in you.
07:00 That was what I really said, that is thank you for believing in me.
07:03 Thank you for giving me the opportunity to go out here and play the game.
07:07 >> Yeah, to answer your question, just to embrace those guys after the game.
07:13 It was kind of awesome, everything kind of came full circle.
07:16 We're just three kids from Savannah, Georgia.
07:20 Kalen and I, we was on the same little league team, Savannah Stars.
07:22 So just for us to be able to play against each other,
07:25 basically on one of the biggest stages in all of college football.
07:28 I mean, it's just a testament for each one of our work and stuff like that.
07:33 So just being able to have a moment where we're just able to just take everything in
07:38 and just see everything around us, it definitely meant a lot.
07:40 >> In the front, on the left.
07:44 >> Yeah, Connor Riley, this is for Kirby.
07:46 You won the last game of last season by 58 points, and
07:49 then you won this game by 60 points.
07:52 Why does your team play its best football in the final game of the season?
07:55 >> I don't know, I certainly think that we get better as the year goes.
08:02 There's a culture on our place of work ethic, that the job's not done.
08:05 I think a lot of coaches relax at the end of the year.
08:08 They kind of just, they say, well, this game doesn't matter, or
08:12 this game is not important.
08:14 And there's nothing that's not gonna be important at our place.
08:17 There's not gonna be a day that we walk out on that field that Kamari Lester is not
08:21 walking through that it's not important.
08:23 That Kayla Mills is not doing blitz pickup that is not important.
08:26 And I think that standard has translated into success,
08:32 and I think that's a big part of the culture that's been created.
08:34 >> On the left, second row.
08:39 >> Kirby, you guys didn't score on the first drive of the game, but
08:42 then every drive in the first half, and then Gunner comes in, and
08:45 you guys keep it going.
08:46 How important was it, you don't have time to kind of send that message, and
08:50 what did you think of how Gunner played?
08:53 >> I was really pleased.
08:54 He's a kid that didn't get a lot of reps during the year in terms of game reps.
08:57 Brock got most of those, and I told the team at halftime, I said, look,
09:00 guys, we're gonna go out there and all the starters are gonna play.
09:02 It's gonna be the one offense, and Gunner's going in.
09:05 I wanna let him call the game and let him go execute and
09:07 play cuz he deserves an opportunity to play.
09:09 And the only way you get better at that position is to go play meaningful minutes
09:14 and get time, and I thought it was big for him to go in.
09:17 I thought Mike called a good game for him, and he made some really good decisions.
09:20 And we think he could be a really good player, so I was very pleased with Gunner.
09:25 >> So Coach Sparr, you obviously recruit all these guys, and
09:29 some of them probably know they're not gonna get to play that much.
09:32 So when you see a guy like Jackson Mush champ get the 14 yard and
09:34 everybody goes crazy, and some of the other guys who got a chance to play and
09:38 score today, how much does that mean to you?
09:39 Is it rewarding to you to get to see that and just the way the sideline reacts?
09:44 >> Yeah, I mean, the whole sideline went nuts cuz Jackson's been doing that.
09:47 We had to run a lot of gun runs this year, quarterback runs, and
09:49 we didn't really have a natural quarterback run guy.
09:52 So Colin and Jackson had to run the ball all the time, and
09:55 I tell Coach Mushchamp all the time,
09:58 he's a lot better athlete than Coach Mushchamp ever was.
10:01 >> [LAUGH] >> I got on the headphones in the starting
10:04 five when Coach Bobo called a sprint out.
10:06 I was like, I don't wanna come again, I wanna get this first down.
10:09 And I said, Coach Mushchamp, you might wanna step up here,
10:11 cuz he's over here with the defense.
10:13 I said, Jackson's gonna sprint out, and we're gonna throw a pass.
10:16 And Coach Mushchamp was like, God, God.
10:18 >> [LAUGH] >> He sprinted out, they pulled it up,
10:21 he stuck his foot in the ground and got a first, and it looked pretty damn good.
10:24 He really looked good in that jersey number he had on too, so he-
10:27 >> [LAUGH]
10:28 >> He had that 16.
10:29 But I was proud of those guys, and
10:31 we had a lot of guys get an opportunity to play tonight.
10:33 And that's the thing that nobody talks about these ballgames.
10:36 I got to play in three or four ballgames, and
10:38 that was the highlight of my college career.
10:40 We didn't make it to a national championship.
10:42 We didn't make it to an SEC championship.
10:44 So the highlight of my career was getting to play in opportunities like that,
10:48 in ballgames, and got a lot of kids an opportunity to play today.
10:52 >> On the right side.
10:55 >> Will McBroom, WVFS Tallahassee.
10:57 Coach Smart, obviously Brock Bowers wasn't able to play in this game, but
11:01 he was on the sideline.
11:02 I saw him talking to Oscar Dell.
11:04 What impact did him being here have, both on the tight end room and
11:07 just on this team as a whole?
11:09 >> Well, I don't know what impact he had today, but
11:10 the impact he had over the last 30 days was tremendous.
11:14 He came out of the SEC championship game really beat up,
11:19 banged up, and did all kinds of work to get healed and get healthy.
11:24 Me, it was the same way.
11:25 They were in every single practice, they were in every single meeting.
11:27 They were in everything they were supposed to be at, and
11:29 we told them we're gonna bring them down here later in the week.
11:32 And we did that, and I got tremendous respect for
11:36 those two guys who pushed everything they had to get back.
11:40 And really, to be honest with you, to give us an opportunity to be in
11:44 the national championship, they both came back and really pushed hard.
11:47 So they're tremendous leaders.
11:49 The team has nothing but respect for them, and
11:51 I'll never forget what they gave to this program.
11:53 >> Chip Towers, Atlanta Journal-Festitution.
11:57 This is for Coach Smart.
11:59 It seemed like two plays that really sort of got captured momentum for
12:02 you guys, as the tackle by Cash Jones, they turned it over on, and Cole Spear.
12:09 You're talking about guys who don't normally get in the box score, and
12:12 then the play with Lab McConfey.
12:15 He was laughing about it in the locker room that he really wanted to throw it.
12:19 He hated that he didn't get a chance to throw it.
12:21 But can you just comment on those plays and their effect in the game?
12:25 >> Yeah, I forget what the score was when the lab one happened.
12:27 I mean, the fumble and kickoff happened, I guess it was 14, or 20, or 21, 3.
12:32 I don't know when that happened.
12:32 That was a huge momentum swing.
12:34 Cash, man, all Cash does is give effort.
12:37 We do special teams all the time, and you're like,
12:39 how does that guy beat some five star down the field?
12:42 Because he wants to, he cares, it's important to him.
12:46 He's a tremendous toughness, and it shows on special teams.
12:50 Cole Spear is the same way.
12:51 Cole Spear is one of our best special teams player.
12:53 And for Cash to knock the ball off of him, and Cole recovered, and
12:57 those kids were excited as hell.
12:59 And so were we, because of what they did.
13:01 And we've had that play in all year with Lab.
13:03 We just never had a chance to call it.
13:05 And I thought it was a great time to call it, because they covered it.
13:08 And it becomes improvisation if he gets covered.
13:13 And they got covered, and so Lab turned the improv into a touchdown.
13:18 And that's what good players, they make your coaches right.
13:20 And Lab made a tremendous play there.
13:22 >> All important, the red and black guys, you got to see Kendall,
13:28 the gym, Kamari, you got to see so many younger players.
13:31 Whether Roderick or even Daniel Smith on the other side.
13:35 And then coach obviously also can see guys like Mikel and
13:39 Jalen Walker make plays and lead the team in tackles.
13:41 What was it like to see, A, some of your younger teammates play so
13:46 well towards the beginning and end of the game?
13:48 And then coach, what was it like to see some of the guys that you're also gonna
13:51 have come back play at such a high level?
13:53 I know this was something you were talking about,
13:55 being excited for coming into this game.
13:58 >> I can think back all the way to the first game of the season.
14:02 And I remember in warm up, I looked at Andrew and Rod, and I told them,
14:06 I believe in y'all.
14:08 Because I knew it was a game that they were gonna get in.
14:10 And I told them, I believe in y'all.
14:11 I know y'all are young, so your head's probably spinning, getting to the game
14:16 time, but if nobody told you, I believe in y'all.
14:19 And to see them go out today and achieve success, and
14:23 Rod running through people, AP running through people.
14:26 Man, that just made me so happy.
14:27 I was jumping more on the sideline for them than I was for my own touchdowns.
14:31 Just because those are my little brothers.
14:34 I really look at them as little brothers.
14:36 I took them under my wing because at the end of the day, this is a family.
14:40 And so to see them achieve success and
14:43 do the things that they've been working all year for,
14:45 even when they haven't got all the opportunities that there was games they
14:48 didn't get in, they were frustrated throughout the week in practice or
14:51 whatever, they still stuck it and kept fighting all the way through.
14:55 And I'm just proud of my boys.
14:56 I'm proud of my little brothers to see them achieve success.
14:58 And I'm excited to see them achieve success next year.
15:01 >> Yeah, definitely being able to just see the growth of those guys.
15:04 Guys like Daniel, guys like Daly, guys like Julio.
15:07 Just being able to see their growth from the beginning of the year to now.
15:11 With Dan being able to take a punch early in the game and
15:13 then being able to come back, I have forced a lot of incompletions.
15:16 It's just so happy to see.
15:19 It makes me really happy because during the season, things can get hard,
15:23 especially whenever you're younger.
15:25 We've all been there before.
15:26 We're not playing, we're not the guy.
15:28 Whenever you come in from high school, you're so used to being the guy,
15:31 then you get to a place like this and it kind of humbles you.
15:33 So I mean, just being able to watch those guys just be able to grow and
15:36 continue to progress and trying to do everything the right way,
15:39 it makes me very happy.
15:41 Like Kendall said, those are my little bros.
15:43 There's not too many things in this world that I wouldn't do.
15:47 Just being able to see Daly get in the session, Daniel being able to force
15:50 completions, even Chris Peel being able to get in the game.
15:53 I mean, yeah, those guys, Mike Caldwell and they played tremendous.
15:58 They were great leaders during the time preparing and they got bright futures.
16:03 And I'm really, really pleased to see all those players get in and play.
16:05 >> We have one in the rear.
16:07 >> Yes.
16:09 >> Liz Lyons, Augusta WRDW.
16:11 You had a handful of guys in the second and third quarter that had only played
16:14 maybe a handful of games, I think it was six all season long.
16:17 So to have them come on and execute seamlessly throughout this game,
16:22 what's that like for you to have that confidence in them,
16:25 knowing that they can go out there and play Georgia football?
16:28 >> Yeah, I wouldn't say they executed seamlessly.
16:30 There were some mistakes and some things in there, but
16:33 the results may have been good.
16:35 We ran the ball hard, we played hard, but we didn't play perfect by any means.
16:40 And I certainly am proud of the guys that got to go in and represent us.
16:44 And that's what we said at halftime,
16:45 we wanna go out and continue to attack and play the right way.
16:48 [BLANK_AUDIO]
16:51 >> Yeah, Coach, Cedric Van Praan, I believe, made his 44th consecutive start
16:54 today, can you speak to what that means and how hard that is to do here and
16:59 what Cedric's meant for this program?
17:01 >> Yeah, it's hard to do, I mean, 44th to start is incredible in this league.
17:06 The amount of physicality in the offensive and
17:08 defensive lines of our league is brutal.
17:12 And he stayed healthy, he's competed,
17:15 probably one of the best leaders I've ever been around.
17:17 He got the most votes for captain.
17:21 But not as many as some of our other years,
17:23 we've had guys really get outlandish number of votes, Zs and N'Kobi.
17:27 But what was amazing is how consistent Ced has been as a leader.
17:31 And he doesn't really, he doesn't care what you think about him.
17:35 He'll say anything he wants to the team and
17:37 he doesn't care what anybody in that room thinks about him.
17:40 And that's kind of the way the center's gotta be.
17:42 It's gotta be a little bit of an asshole.
17:43 And he's not afraid to do that.
17:47 And I have respect for him.
17:49 I mean, Coach Bobo texted me and said, whatever night it was,
17:52 either Tuesday or Wednesday, and he's like, you ain't gonna believe this.
17:54 He said, Ced's got the whole line down here watching film,
17:57 Stacey's not here, not during meeting times.
18:00 Like, not even during meeting time, he's got them down there watching tape.
18:03 It's a group.
18:04 That's just unheard of in this day and age.
18:06 >> Mike Griffith, Dognation Kirby, bowl games, I guess, recap.
18:13 Seniors leave in, current status, preview next year,
18:16 you had two freshmen starting linebackers.
18:19 Can you talk about them and I guess the leadership?
18:21 I know Smile was out today, but some of the leadership you're gonna have coming
18:25 back and what this game means going into the offseason with some of those guys?
18:29 >> Yeah, so leadership at Georgia is not, I don't know how people do it other places,
18:33 but leadership at Georgia is never not gonna happen.
18:36 Like, we develop these kids at young ages.
18:38 We put them on leadership groups.
18:40 We put them in our school sessions, and they start developing early.
18:45 What I've noticed is our captain vote has started spreading out.
18:48 It used to be five guys, six guys, seven guys got all the votes.
18:52 Now it's like 11 or 12 guys get the vote, and
18:54 it's more spread out across the board, cuz we have a lot of really good leaders.
18:59 So we've got a lot of really good leaders going into next year,
19:01 because they got to learn from these guys.
19:04 And these guys learned from the guys before them.
19:06 So if that's passed down, if that culture's created, it's a really good thing.
19:10 You're always gonna have more turnover on your team now with the age that we're in,
19:15 but you gotta make sure that your team's built annually the right way.
19:19 And I'm very excited about the leaders we have coming back for next year and
19:24 the team we have coming back for next year.
19:26 >> This is the first of our final two questions on the left.
19:30 >> For both the players, you guys talked about the importance of having
19:37 everybody play and sending seniors out on the right note and
19:41 getting to play with your teammates one last time.
19:43 That obviously was not true of the opponent.
19:46 I'm wondering if there was any sort of frustration on your end that you gave
19:50 them your best shot and didn't necessarily get their best shot.
19:53 >> One thing that I learned earlier on in college is you can only control what you
19:59 can control.
19:59 You can't control what other people are doing, what other people are saying.
20:03 All you control is how you approach every day and
20:06 just how you handle things on your end.
20:08 And I feel like that was the mindset our team had.
20:10 We weren't worried about what people were saying,
20:12 what was happening on the other side.
20:14 We just knew that this was our last game together, so
20:17 we took it serious as such.
20:20 >> Yeah, I mean, the way I see it is I'm just happy to see whoever's
20:24 crossing me, I don't care who it is, honestly.
20:26 I mean, it could be Coach Smart, I don't care.
20:28 >> [LAUGH] >> He means that, he means that to me.
20:32 >> It really doesn't matter, so just being able to, just knowing I have 11 or
20:35 10 guys behind me and just knowing that it's 11 guys that I get to play against,
20:38 it doesn't really matter who it is.
20:40 I just love the game so much and I just like being able to compete.
20:42 So whoever's out there, I'm gonna give my best shot regardless.
20:46 >> Let me say something on that, cuz you didn't ask me that question.
20:49 And maybe I'm wrong here, and maybe this will be a bad soundbite.
20:52 But people need to see what happened tonight, and they need to fix this.
20:58 It needs to be fixed.
21:01 It's very unfortunate that they, who has a good football team and
21:05 a good football program, are in the position they're in.
21:08 And everybody can say it's their fault and it's their own problem, all right?
21:11 And everybody can say that we had our guys and they didn't have their guys.
21:14 I can listen to all that, but college football has gotta decide what they want.
21:18 And I know things are changing, and I think things are gonna change next year.
21:22 And you know what?
21:23 There's gonna still be bowl games outside of those.
21:25 People gotta decide what they want and what they really wanna get out of it.
21:29 Cuz it's really unfortunate for those kids on that sideline that had to play in
21:33 that game that didn't have their full arsenal.
21:36 It affected the game 100%.
21:38 >> Our final question.
21:41 >> Janir Cooper, WALB, Kirby.
21:44 I know Dejan Esmond hasn't announced what he's gonna do next, but
21:47 if he never suits up in the red and black again,
21:49 can you just talk about the player he is and how it was to coach him?
21:53 >> Well, it's quiet, Kendall will tell you that.
21:55 You can't get Dejan to say nothing.
21:56 He's from Conqua County, which used to beat up on me in high school all the time.
22:00 So every time I see him, I talk to him, I love on him, hug his neck, and
22:04 he's become such a great person.
22:06 He's one semester away from graduating, so proud of who Dejan is and
22:11 what he's grown to be.
22:11 I mean, here he is, a kid that wasn't even that heavily recruited.
22:14 We took the kid cuz we knew he was tough as hell.
22:16 He would work hard, and he had a tremendous season for us to really help us.
22:21 Before we break, I wanna say something about these two guys.
22:24 Kendall has meant a lot to this program.
22:26 He's given so much.
22:27 He's been through a lot.
22:28 He said that.
22:29 I still remember going all the way to California, being in his house,
22:32 seeing him and his parents.
22:33 And he sacrificed a ton to make this program a better place, and
22:37 he's worked his tail off.
22:39 So I thank you, Kendall, publicly for what you've done.
22:41 And I wanna tell the story on Kamari, because it shouldn't go unnoticed.
22:46 Kamari Lasker had a one-two grade, first, second round grade.
22:51 And Kamari had to make a tough decision, like all these other people.
22:54 And I called Kamari in, and I talked to him.
22:56 And I told him, Kamari, you should come out for the draft.
22:59 That's my opinion.
23:00 You're one of the top corners in the draft.
23:02 You gotta make that decision, okay?
23:04 That's one decision.
23:05 And the second decision is,
23:06 you gotta decide if you wanna play this bowl game.
23:09 I don't know that you got a lot to gain in this bowl game, Kamari.
23:11 But I do know who you are, and I do know how you practice, and
23:14 I do know how you lead.
23:16 But I'm not gonna be disappointed in anything you decide.
23:19 He came back about three or four days later, and I met with him and his mom and
23:22 talked to him, and fully expected him not to play in this game.
23:26 He called me two days later, said, Coach, I can't do it.
23:30 I can't do it.
23:31 I'm sitting out, I'm over there coaching.
23:33 I can't do it.
23:34 I wanna be out there, I wanna play with my guys.
23:36 And I think he did it against his mother's will, to be honest.
23:39 Now, I don't know that.
23:40 But I think he did it against his mother's will, cuz that's who he is.
23:43 So all these teams that go shopping, this dude right here wants to play football.
23:47 That's all he cares about is playing football and his teammates.
23:49 He ain't worried about the next thing and all that and all that.
23:52 He said, I wanna play football, and he played football for
23:54 the University of Georgia.
23:56 And he did it when he didn't have to do it.
23:58 That's what's different at this place than a lot of other places.
24:02 Thank you.