Kirby Smart Presser Monday UAB
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00:00 We'll take your questions and I'd like you to raise your hands and
00:04 we'll go to microphones that will get to you.
00:06 And no matter, no off-screen.
00:08 >> Thanks, Claude.
00:09 I would start with kind of a congratulations for
00:13 all the University of Georgia for the eighth straight year.
00:17 UGA was ranked in the top 20 of all public universities in the,
00:22 I think it was US News World Report, which is pretty remarkable to do that for
00:28 eight straight years.
00:28 I think when you look and say how many schools have been able to do that,
00:31 eight straight years being the top 20 of public institutions,
00:34 it's pretty incredible.
00:35 That starts with great leadership.
00:37 I think President Moore has done an awesome job with that.
00:39 We sell that in recruiting.
00:41 Makes me proud cuz I am an alumnus and I have my degree from here.
00:44 So it makes it very worthy to be a University of Georgia grad and
00:50 proud of what we've been able to do from an academic standpoint, I think is great.
00:56 Moving on into our team, Ron informed me that we have the longest
01:00 injury list we've ever had since being here.
01:02 So it continues to grow, and I think that's a trend across college football.
01:07 You very rarely hear me talk about our guys being injured or woe is me.
01:12 I don't think it's something that you can control.
01:14 We practice how we practice.
01:16 And for a couple years, we've been really fortunate
01:21 to not have very many injuries.
01:22 And I always hear about other teams.
01:24 And this year, it seems to be the theme across.
01:26 I know Shane had a lot at South Carolina, knows a lot of them in SEC opponents.
01:31 But we certainly have more than we've ever had.
01:33 So that becomes a hurdle.
01:34 We gotta do a good job overcoming that.
01:36 And we gotta be very resourceful as coaches in how we use the players we do
01:41 have.
01:42 With that, I'll open it up.
01:43 Obviously, in UAB, we're moving on to UAB, and I'm excited to play these guys.
01:48 I've known Coach Dilfer for a while.
01:50 I don't have a personal relationship with him, but
01:51 I do think a lot of him as a coach.
01:53 Their staff, I know a lot of guys on their staff.
01:56 Eddie, who was here with us for a long time, does an incredible job.
02:00 And looking forward to playing those guys this week.
02:02 >> What have you seen out of UAB on film if you've got any through their first two,
02:07 three weeks of the season?
02:09 >> Well, I guess some good football players.
02:11 They got really good athletes.
02:12 I don't think the record indicates that, but they play and you watch them.
02:16 And I'm like, man, defensively, they do some four down and some three down.
02:19 They got really good backs, got good skill players.
02:21 Athletic quarterback who extends plays.
02:24 They play really hard.
02:26 They had a weird situation the other night with ULL.
02:28 They had rain delay and different things in there.
02:30 But they got a very talented football team, especially in their conference.
02:34 >> Speaking of rain, Coach,
02:36 I think I saw you come out in pregame multiple times to check the weather.
02:40 Walk me through all the processes and
02:42 the things you have to consider when weather's an impact.
02:46 >> And you consider which way to kick the ball, whether to take the ball,
02:49 which way you're gonna go.
02:50 Is it gonna rain more later than earlier cuz it impacts the game?
02:54 It's not really an advantage for anybody because both teams got a play in it.
02:58 But you would rather have possessions not in the rain versus in the rain.
03:02 That's just see the turf, how much of an effect the rain that had fallen
03:07 had affected the field, but that's it.
03:08 >> Kirby, what more do you wanna see out of Carson as he enters his fourth game
03:16 as starter?
03:17 What areas does he need to grow still?
03:20 >> It's different every game.
03:21 I think we challenge him with different things.
03:23 What I've been most proud of is his composure, number one,
03:27 which I never doubted.
03:28 He has a great demeanor about him that he handles positive and
03:33 negative almost the same.
03:35 As a matter of fact, there was a touchdown Saturday.
03:37 I saw him celebrate for the first time and that's really good.
03:40 Like when you see that emotion, there's one of the touchdowns the second half that
03:43 he got a little emotional, excited.
03:44 I think our guys kind of rally around him when he does that.
03:50 Stepping up in the pocket,
03:51 there's a couple times that he started losing a little confidence and
03:54 started stepping back.
03:55 He's gotta be willing to step up like they talk about race car drivers.
03:59 When the smoke's there, you gotta go right through it.
04:01 There's a lot of smoke in there sometimes, especially when people pressure you.
04:05 You gotta be willing to step up and go through it and
04:07 not always out and around it, cuz you can't always outrun it that way.
04:12 So, but I'm really pleased with the way he's playing, but
04:15 certainly things he can continue to work on.
04:19 >> Yeah, Kirby, kind of along that vein, going back and reviewing,
04:23 can you see any commonalities on the red zone issues?
04:27 And what would you like to see you guys do better down there going forward?
04:33 >> It really is both ways.
04:34 It was red zone defense where we've been remarkable and elite.
04:38 I think we were one in the country last year and
04:40 we had two red zone opportunities that we did not capitalize on defensively,
04:45 which was really the difference in the first half.
04:47 I mean, at the end of the day, the difference in the first half was red area
04:49 play both ways.
04:52 Things we can improve on, you have to be able to run the ball in the red area, and
04:56 you have to be able to stop the run.
04:58 We did not, we let somebody run the ball in on us on defense,
05:01 which is a no-no at Georgia.
05:03 And we didn't have positive first and
05:07 ten plays in the red area on offense, which that gets you in trouble too.
05:11 Because you usually have four downs down there to go for it, but
05:14 you can't do that if you're fourth and ten.
05:16 If you're fourth and one or two or three, you can.
05:19 So we gotta have positive plays both ways to get better.
05:23 We certainly have to improve in that area.
05:25 >> Yeah, you touched on injuries off the top there, two-year offensive tackles,
05:30 Marius Mims and Austin Blaskey.
05:32 What's the update on them?
05:33 >> Yeah, I think we're gonna get Blaskey back today.
05:36 I don't know if he's 100%, but he's gonna be able to practice.
05:39 Mims' ankle sprain was bad.
05:40 He's gonna have to have tight rope surgery.
05:43 So he'll have surgery on that, similar to what Cash had done,
05:48 similar to what Lawson Lucky had done.
05:52 So we don't know how long that'll be, but he'll be back.
05:55 It's just a matter of how long.
05:56 >> Kirby, when Aaron Rodgers went down in the NFL,
06:01 there's a lot of talk about injuries happening on grass versus turf.
06:06 When you've done your data, when you've had injuries in practice,
06:09 turf versus grass,
06:10 have you seen any correlation between more injured players on one type of surface or
06:14 the other, and have anything,
06:15 what you're dealing with now, affected to artificial turf?
06:20 >> No, most of the indicators we have outside of our practices
06:25 suggest a little more on turf.
06:27 I think that's what the NFL would probably argue,
06:29 that more on turf and less on natural grass.
06:32 We're on natural grass a lot more here than we are on turf.
06:35 We keep independent studies of where ours happened.
06:38 Ron and his staff report that, submit it, so that you could follow it.
06:42 We don't have any indication that ours is more or less on turf than grass.
06:46 It's actually almost exactly the same.
06:49 And ironically, most of ours this year have been in games.
06:52 So that's where you'd rather your injuries happen in games if they're gonna happen
06:56 at all, we don't want injuries to happen.
06:58 But when they've happened in games this year, they've obviously been on grass.
07:02 [BLANK_AUDIO]
07:04 >> Yeah, Kirby, going back to Kars,
07:06 what specifically did you learn about him in terms of handling adversity?
07:10 Going into the locker room with a 11 point halftime deficit and
07:13 sort of rallying the offense to come back there in the second half?
07:16 >> He didn't rally the offense to come back.
07:19 I mean, we had a 13 and 11 play drive in the first half that he came out to be
07:24 three points, you know what I mean?
07:26 So that's hard to do, if you look at it, that's really hard.
07:31 You can't have a 14 play drive and 11 play drive and get three points.
07:34 That's just, I mean, you just have turnovers, right?
07:37 And we didn't have that in those situations.
07:40 So it wasn't a matter of, that could happen, and
07:44 you're gonna get stopped at times, you're gonna struggle at times.
07:47 But we struggled less in the first half than we did against other opponents.
07:52 So I thought he did a good job keeping his composure, though, and
07:55 showed his resiliency.
07:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]
07:59 >> Kirby, I know you don't consider yourself too much with outside noise or
08:03 fans, but in terms of the structure of your oversight of the offense, I mean,
08:07 everybody wants to throw a mic bubble under the bus anytime anything goes wrong,
08:11 it seems like.
08:12 Can you share how you game plan for that complimentary football?
08:15 I know earlier you said, first game plan,
08:18 need a little bit more on the defense cuz they were experienced.
08:20 Is there still some of that going into each game?
08:23 >> No, I would say the first game when I made that comment,
08:26 it was more about Carson's first start and trying to protect him some.
08:30 But the offense that we've played this year is the exact same offense as we've
08:34 played for the last three years.
08:36 Look at the plays, anybody that knows football would tell you that
08:40 the plays are the same.
08:41 Our execution in the red area hadn't been great and
08:45 hadn't scored as many points.
08:47 We haven't been as explosive and as dynamic.
08:50 And some of that has to do with players being out,
08:52 some of that has to do with executing.
08:54 But very comfortable with where we are offensively.
08:58 >> Coach, the third and 16, I believe you guys pressure right there.
09:01 What went into the decision to pressure and
09:03 when you go back and coach it up, what was to be corrected?
09:06 >> Well, pressure is a good thing.
09:08 And we think that the pressure on quarterbacks affect them.
09:12 Number one, doesn't give them all day to throw the ball.
09:14 Number two, it's success against how the offense you're playing handles that.
09:20 So what is their success rate when you pressure?
09:25 And that's something you look at each game.
09:27 You don't do anything 100% of the time, right?
09:29 You do something and you pitch, you throw fastball, curveball, change up, boom.
09:32 You better have three pitches.
09:34 That just came in the process of pitching.
09:36 And last time I checked, the pressure didn't cause a touchdown.
09:41 You know what I mean?
09:42 The three missed tackles and the four angles probably resulted in a touchdown.
09:46 So usually when somebody does something well,
09:50 you probably didn't do something well.
09:51 They did, they executed well, they hit a good play.
09:53 But they didn't score because of the pressure.
09:55 They scored because they missed two tackles.
09:58 >> Coach, you kind of talked about fixing those first half issues and
10:02 figuring out the game plan, stuff like that.
10:04 Just trying to work on that.
10:06 You talked at the end of the game.
10:08 What have the conversations kind of been like with your coordinators to try and
10:11 relieve those first half issues and get the ball rolling a little bit faster?
10:14 >> Well, I thought really our first half issues revolved around our
10:20 defense first possession would be the biggest thing.
10:25 I think you gotta start fast.
10:26 I think historically, defensively, somebody can do the study, but
10:30 we usually start pretty fast on defense.
10:32 The Georgia Tech game, I know that was the first possession of a game that we gave
10:36 up a touchdown last year.
10:38 And that happened third game this year on a team that did a good job,
10:43 came in and got on rhythm.
10:44 And there's still things we did.
10:46 Like, are we talking about this if we tackle him on third and 15?
10:49 I don't know.
10:49 I'm really thinking about UAB.
10:51 So I'm trying to keep you guys happy and appease you.
10:53 But I'm very pleased with where things are.
10:56 I'm not panicking in any kind of way because South Carolina has a good team.
11:01 And we're figuring out who we are.
11:04 We're figuring out who we are with our identity.
11:06 And I think our coaching staff and players and
11:09 complete organization is doing a great job.
11:12 You guys just aren't happy with the results.
11:14 But I'm very happy with the way our guys fought back and came back and overcame.
11:20 [BLANK_AUDIO]
11:23 >> Speaking of UAB going into this week, if you're without Amarius Mims,
11:27 do you stick with Xavier Truss at right tackle and Dylan at left guard?
11:31 >> I don't know that.
11:32 I mean, it's gonna depend on the health of some of the other linemen,
11:35 where's Blasky's health?
11:36 Where do we get the best five from?
11:38 So a lot of that will play itself out over the next three, four days.
11:42 But I do think Truss gives us that flexibility.
11:46 And he did a nice job on the run the other day to be able to go do that.
11:50 >> Kirby, I wanted to ask you about Carson.
11:53 Perception is not always reality, but it seems like his first three games,
11:58 first time he gets the chance to kind of take a shot downfield,
12:01 he's successful with it.
12:02 It's almost like there's a little bit of a kickstart there.
12:04 Would you agree with that?
12:05 And what do you think kind of goes into that for him?
12:07 Is it something that kind of maybe loosens him up a little bit?
12:10 >> I don't really understand what you're asking, to be honest.
12:15 You want more shots downfield?
12:17 There's shots on a lot of plays that the look's not there.
12:21 If it's middlefield closed, you don't just take a shot, take a shot.
12:24 The quarterback has a read.
12:25 They're in quarters and the safety's deep.
12:28 You don't just take a shot, right?
12:29 So what he's really good at is, one of the best I've been around,
12:32 it's seeing the coverage, knowing what it is, and
12:34 then knowing where to go with the ball.
12:36 We did have a little more pressure the other day than we're used to.
12:40 And he did a nice job adjusting to that.
12:42 I mean, they got hurt pressuring the play to Rara later in the game,
12:46 there's pressure, and he hit the right guy on the right look.
12:49 So I guess I don't know if that answers your question or not,
12:52 cuz I don't know perception and I really don't know your reality or
12:55 anybody's reality, cuz I don't judge other people's perception.
12:59 I only look at what happens in the game and what happens in practice and
13:04 feel very good that Carson's doing a good job.
13:06 >> Are you prepared to travel next month after a comfortable four weeks at
13:12 Sanford and looking further down the line with teams like Tennessee and Ole Miss?
13:16 How is the team strengthening its game to get ready for those matchups?
13:19 >> I ain't even thought about Tennessee and Ole Miss and
13:21 I ain't thought about traveling.
13:22 I mean, it didn't even cross my mind.
13:25 So I'll respect the question as best I can that I'm worried about UAB and
13:30 figuring out how we can be more resourceful with the players we got that
13:35 are helping.
13:35 >> Coach, we talk about still learning this team's identity.
13:39 How much did you learn though from this past weekend as you move forward now?
13:43 >> Well, I learned more than I did in the other two games.
13:45 I can assure you that, cuz the quality opponent went up and
13:49 we responded to some adverse situations.
13:52 You learn more about the truth too.
13:55 The truth is what you've done is who you are.
13:58 And that's right now who we are is a 3-0 team that has played three imperfect games.
14:05 And I'm still looking for the first perfect one.
14:09 >> Hey Kirby, when you have a kicker who has a couple misses,
14:11 as a coach, how do you handle that?
14:13 Do you talk to him?
14:14 Do you encourage him?
14:15 I know kicking can be so mental.
14:17 >> Yeah, you definitely talk to him.
14:18 You try to find out the whys and how they're feeling, what's going on emotionally,
14:23 especially when it's a freshman.
14:25 And you try to talk to him and we've got guys on our team that he's close to.
14:30 We've got guys that work with the kickers within our organization that
14:33 do a good job.
14:34 And you just try to get information and you try to help them every way you can.
14:38 The first thing that will help him is scoring touchdowns,
14:40 because extra points are easier than field goals.
14:42 >> Hey Coach, what are your initial thoughts on Trent Dilfer's style of
14:47 offense that he's coaching up in their quarterback's unit?
14:51 >> Really impressed.
14:51 I mean, his offensive coordinator, Alex Mortenson, was in Alabama forever.
14:55 Chris Mortenson's son, he was in Alabama behind all the offenses.
14:58 Worked with Bill O'Brien, worked with Sark, was there when I was there.
15:03 I have a lot of respect for Alex.
15:04 He waited his turn and he got an opportunity to go be the coordinator there.
15:06 So I see a lot of flavor in his offense of a lot of the offenses that had
15:12 been there at Alabama, and I'm sure Trent imparts his knowledge on that as well.
15:16 >> Curry, back to injuries.
15:18 Did any update on Kendall and his situation?
15:21 And it looked like Roger Robinson also came off a little bit banged up.
15:25 >> Yeah, Roger got a high ankle sprain.
15:27 Find out how he is today.
15:28 Kendall had an MCL that he's had before.
15:33 He had one last year, but I don't know how significant it is.
15:36 And find out where he is today as well.
15:38 >> Ever cross paths with Trent, any travels, any relationship with him at all?
15:44 And any of your kids ever gone to one of his coaching camps back in the day?
15:47 >> No, I've only had conversations with Trent about quarterbacks that he trained
15:54 during the recruiting process.
15:55 You might call and say, what do you think of this kid?
15:57 What do you think of this kid?
15:58 How was he out there at this camp, that kind of thing.
16:00 But I've never, I've talked to him on the phone, but
16:04 I've never had a personal relationship with him.
16:07 >> Continuing the theme of injuries, can you update us on Javon,
16:11 McConkie and Swirling?
16:12 >> Yep, Javon is day to day, like I said at the game, thought he might be close.
16:20 Maybe closer this week, I think with the recovery,
16:22 he would be closer to being able to go, but I don't know.
16:24 McConkie is more than likely out this week.
16:30 We're arresting him, trying to get him back.
16:32 And we don't have a timeline on him, cuz it's a very unique injury.
16:36 So it's like everything else, you say, well, what was the last high ankle sprain?
16:39 What was the last MCL?
16:41 What was the last shoulder?
16:43 But it's different, so we don't have something to measure that by.
16:47 And then the other one you asked about was Pierce.
16:51 Don't know when we'll get Pierce back.
16:52 >> Kirby, I saw you were talking about how there'd be a lot of these close games,
16:57 and we have seen that this year in college football.
16:59 Do you think that the more liberal transfer rules have led to more parity?
17:05 Do you think that's kind of what we're seeing right now?
17:07 >> No clue.
17:08 I mean, that's good speculation.
17:09 I could see that.
17:10 I try not to theorize those things.
17:15 I don't know.
17:16 I really just try to look at our team and say, where are we relative to where we
17:20 need to be?
17:22 I can't even keep up with all the other games out there and
17:26 how much parity there may be or may not be.
17:29 It's still not what the NFL is.
17:30 I mean, the NFL is built to have parity, and maybe that's good for
17:34 the college game that there is more parity, if in fact there is.
17:38 But I don't have an explanation for why it is, I really don't.
17:41 >> Yeah, Ra Ra Thomas, a big catch to start that second half on Saturday.
17:47 Have you seen him continue to integrate himself in the offense,
17:50 especially coming over as a transfer?
17:52 >> Yeah, he has best practices last week.
17:54 Thought he did a really good job in the practices leading up to the game.
17:59 He is getting more and more confidence.
18:00 Again, he was like a true freshman in terms of vocabulary of the offense.
18:05 And that has gotten better with every week.
18:08 He's getting so much more confident with every week.
18:11 And thank goodness he is, because we need him to keep coming and
18:15 need him to keep coming along.
18:16 >> Hey, Coach, so you talked earlier about being pretty happy with where the offense
18:22 is at and pretty happy with where Carson is at right now.
18:25 So not to speak about any other team specifically, but it's not always easy for
18:31 some of these programs to move on from quarterbacks they've had for a while.
18:35 And the transition hasn't been so smooth.
18:38 So what do you think that you guys have done here to make that transition
18:43 a lot smoother than maybe other programs may have experienced?
18:48 >> Well, I think retention is important.
18:49 I wanna clarify, I'm very, I mean, Carson has done a good job.
18:54 Again, I don't know what you guys write, read or
18:56 hear because you listen to a lot more of it than I do.
18:59 I don't know.
19:00 Like I go by his week of practice, his preparation, and his execution.
19:05 And I'm very pleased with that.
19:07 I mean, he makes good decisions with the ball.
19:10 Well, that happened the last two years when nobody was asking about him.
19:15 Nobody was asking about Carson Beck.
19:16 Nobody asked about Carson Beck for two years.
19:18 But he was out there doing the same thing he's doing now.
19:20 He was getting better and that allowed for a smooth transition.
19:24 Like the fact that he was hearing the exact same plays, exact same calls, and
19:29 everybody thinks it's some kind of different offense.
19:30 It's the exact same.
19:31 It's not different.
19:33 The results have not been the same.
19:34 I mean, that's statistical proof.
19:37 But he's transitioned well because of the fact he's in the offense that he's been.
19:42 And his strengths are different than Stetson's.
19:45 I mean, the one thing he's really good at, he was a great baseball player.
19:48 This guy catches the ball and gets it out of his hand and is very accurate.
19:53 That's baseball.
19:53 That's boom, boom, boom.
19:55 He can do that.
19:56 He does that well.
19:57 And I've been very pleased with what he's done.
20:00 And we gotta get better results, that's for sure.
20:03 But I'm certainly pleased with what both of them have done.
20:06 >> Take two more questions.
20:07 >> With Pierce and Lawson both out, how does that influence, if at all,
20:11 your ability to go 12 personnel or
20:12 just get the reps that you want from that position group in practice?
20:16 >> We did it all last week.
20:17 We went 12 in the game and we'll always carry 12 personnel.
20:24 >> You talked about Rah-Rah just a second ago, but on Dominic Lovett as well,
20:29 another transfer coming in.
20:30 What have you seen from his impact in the receiving game and
20:33 then also in those offshoot in the run game as well?
20:37 >> Yeah, most of his receptions so far have been run game receptions.
20:40 And then some really critical third downs he's made plays in the slot.
20:44 So I've seen his confidence grow.
20:47 He was probably further along than Rah-Rah in terms of learning the offense,
20:51 understanding the offense.
20:53 And he came from an offense that was somewhat similar.
20:56 So he's had an easier transition as far as picking things up.
20:59 But he's been a great kid in practice.
21:02 He's full of energy.
21:03 He competes.
21:05 We've tried to implement, tell him, hey, look, man, you gotta go strike people and
21:09 block people to be an elite player.
21:11 And he's trying his best to get better at that.
21:13 But he's done well at the supplementary run plays, the perimeter run plays.
21:20 >> Thank you.
21:20 (swooshing)