Kirby Smart Press Conference
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00:00 >> We'll continue on with Coach Warren, a minor at the corner field.
00:04 Coach Fox is open to your work.
00:05 If you're done, we'll get a few opening comments and take questions.
00:09 Raise your hand, we'll get one of the floor mics to you.
00:10 Also a reminder, the basketball media availability with Coach White and
00:15 a couple players is today at 2.30 at Table Room in the Coliseum.
00:19 You need to enter through the loading dock.
00:21 >> Okay.
00:22 >> Thanks, Claude.
00:23 I'm getting ready to go on the road for first time this season.
00:28 Road SEC tests are always difficult.
00:31 There's no way around it.
00:32 I think any conference, when you go on the road in it, it's always a test.
00:38 A test of focus, patience, endurance, composure,
00:43 all the qualities you need to be a good team.
00:45 So we get our first one, going to Auburn.
00:49 Got a lot of respect for Hugh and the job he's done everywhere he's been.
00:54 He's really been successful.
00:56 He's very bright.
00:57 He does a great job with his team.
00:59 And they're playing really, really hard right now.
01:02 And got a lot of guys in, transfers in, that have added to their depth.
01:08 And they're doing a really good job, playing extremely hard.
01:10 And I know the environment we'll be going into will be extremely tough.
01:13 >> Coach, when we spoke to you last week about crowd noise,
01:19 you mentioned simplifying the game plan just a little bit offensively to avoid
01:23 some of those issues.
01:24 What does that look like?
01:25 >> Really don't know.
01:27 I think that depends on the level of maybe experience you have,
01:32 how you choose to use your offense.
01:33 I think everybody's different.
01:35 So we'll put a plan together and do the best job we can.
01:37 >> Based on what you've seen and you know about Carson Beck,
01:41 how do you feel about his ability to handle his first SEC road start?
01:45 >> I think that's something that we're gonna find out.
01:50 I don't think you know.
01:52 I think he's been through some ups and downs.
01:55 He's certainly been against good defenses like Auburn has.
01:58 He goes against our guys.
01:59 So it's different when it's live.
02:01 So you gotta find out how he responds to that.
02:05 And I'm very confident in Carson's ability to communicate,
02:11 to understand things.
02:13 He's been in our system.
02:15 You only get good at these situational football things by playing football for
02:19 a long time.
02:19 And he's been with us for a while doing it.
02:22 This is his first chance to do it on the road.
02:24 >> Auburn uses both their quarterbacks and in the run game.
02:29 Just what are your thoughts on Thorne and Robbie Ashford?
02:33 And how do you deal with both of them?
02:35 >> Well, they're both really good athletes.
02:37 I don't think people give Peyton Thorne enough credit for
02:41 his athleticism and quickness.
02:43 Now, obviously, when you talk about Robbie,
02:46 you're talking about a different kind of athlete.
02:47 This guy's as fast as anybody we've ever played against with size and
02:51 a strong arm.
02:52 So they do a good job of using, number one, their backs run extremely hard,
02:58 extremely physical and tough and are hard to tackle.
03:00 And you combine that with a quarterback run, and
03:03 it creates a lot of eye candy, a lot of misdirection.
03:08 They do a really good job, I mean, Hugh always has done a good job of that.
03:11 >> Kirby, it's been, I guess, seven years since you've gone up against Hugh.
03:17 How similar is what they're doing this year to what he was doing back then when
03:21 he was at Ole Miss, especially offensively?
03:23 >> I think that people evolve, they've evolved.
03:27 They've evolved in protection, they've evolved in route structure.
03:31 He's not the same staff he had, and Hugh doesn't do everything.
03:35 So he's got a staff that he puts in charge of doing things, and
03:39 they've gone out and added some wrinkles.
03:40 There are qualities and traits of his DNA,
03:46 his offense from years ago, that are still a part of this.
03:49 But there's things that have been added,
03:51 just like defensively we've added things throughout the years too.
03:54 [BLANK_AUDIO]
04:01 >> Yeah, when Jermon was in here, he said he would characterize his own play as
04:05 average so far this season.
04:06 Just what have you seen from him and sort of in year two as a starter and
04:09 progressing through these first four games of the season?
04:12 >> A good leader, he's been a little more vocal this year,
04:16 which I think is important.
04:18 He has the pulse of the team of when to push somebody and
04:25 when to back off a young player and help him and pat him on the back.
04:28 So he's done a good job in terms of that.
04:30 >> Kirby, in July in Nashville at the SEC media days,
04:36 you were talking about how you were so concerned about complacency and
04:40 its impact on the team.
04:41 And I'm curious, just two months later,
04:43 what have been your thoughts, observations about that?
04:45 >> Hard to say, I think the focus level each week has been good.
04:54 The results always have it, but the preparation is what's more important to me.
04:59 I actually put a lot of value on Monday to Friday, mental makeup, disposition,
05:05 practice habits, improvement.
05:07 We've repeatedly said we wanna be leading, getting better, and
05:11 I've really been pleased with the progress that we've made.
05:13 So that makes me feel comfortable that there's no complacency there.
05:17 >> Kirby, I know you've talked about Ladd's situation is frustrating.
05:23 What is it that you need to see to be able to say, hey,
05:26 we feel confident in him going out there on Saturday?
05:28 >> Well, he's got practice.
05:29 He's gotta be able to practice, and that's a big part of it.
05:32 And he's gonna be able to come back to practice this week, and
05:35 we're gonna be able to do some more things with him.
05:38 How he does in those things will determine whether or not he's able to play.
05:41 We had a kind of a two-week advised shutdown.
05:44 He's done that, and we're expecting him to be able to go out there today and
05:48 do some things, but non-contact early in the week and try to move to that.
05:52 >> Kirby, I wonder if you can help break the tie for me.
05:57 I asked Pop about Brock's patented stiff arm, and
06:00 he says Brock's too smart to try that in practice on the linebacking crew.
06:04 Brock says he'd love to do it, but he can't get close to the linebackers.
06:08 What's your take on who wins those Brock versus your linebacker battles in practice?
06:12 >> We don't have a lot of Brock versus linebacker battles.
06:15 I mean, most of the battles, there's no stiff arm cuz he's usually caught the ball
06:19 and run away from them when they're on him.
06:21 There's not an opportunity to, so maybe a run after catch type deal,
06:26 screen or something like that.
06:28 But Brock's stiff arm's pretty strong.
06:30 I mean, I saw that firsthand.
06:34 >> Coach, I believe they've been using Robbie Ashford as more of a red zone
06:38 threat, or Hugh Freeze at least mentioned a red zone package for him.
06:43 What would be the advantages of having an athletic quarterback down in the red zone?
06:47 >> Extending plays, it's an extra element.
06:51 In the red zone, every defense has an extra hat because nobody has to back up and
06:55 play deep anymore.
06:56 So it becomes really tough to get the ball in in the red area in our league,
07:00 and Robbie gives you that dimension.
07:03 I mean, he is elite at the plays they do with him down there.
07:08 They're really hard to defend because there's so many options to it.
07:13 They got good runners, they got good people to block.
07:15 And then you add him to it and the fact he can throw, it makes for
07:19 difficult situations, they do a good job with his package.
07:23 >> Yeah, you mentioned the eye candy and stuff that Auburn creates.
07:27 Just how critical is it gonna be for, especially the younger inside linebackers
07:30 like CJ Allen, Jalen Walker, guys who maybe haven't seen that kind of Auburn
07:34 offense before, to stay disciplined against them on Saturday?
07:37 >> It's very important.
07:38 It's very important every game they have discipline eyes.
07:40 [BLANK_AUDIO]
07:45 >> Yeah, Jermon's talked about some of the communication issues that have been
07:49 happening on the defensive side.
07:50 And when you have a guy like Javon Bullard,
07:52 who's such an important communicator on the back end.
07:54 How hard is that to replace when he is out with injury?
07:57 And then I guess on Javon, plan for this week, practice, and
08:00 then see how he goes as he recovers from that ankle injury?
08:03 >> Yeah, I think he's gonna be able to do more, hoping to get him back.
08:07 No more, if he gets more done today and tomorrow,
08:11 if he's able to practice any, we'll obviously no more.
08:14 But I don't feel any communication issues result of Javon,
08:19 because Dan is really bright, David Daniels is really bright.
08:22 They know our system, they've been in it.
08:24 So I don't foresee any communication issues there with Bull been out.
08:29 [BLANK_AUDIO]
08:33 >> Obviously, the two and a half long drives are concerning.
08:36 You've mentioned that before.
08:37 I mean, just in reviewing that, the last couple of weeks,
08:40 have you found any kind of common denominators that you can point to,
08:43 to improve in that area?
08:45 >> Execution by the offense, a couple explosive plays,
08:52 extended plays by the quarterback, throw and catch the ball, man.
08:56 They throw and catch the ball, they tend to move it.
08:59 In both those cases, they did.
09:01 I helped them last week by calling timeout.
09:04 So that didn't do anything but benefit the offense.
09:07 So some of it's decision making, some of it's execution.
09:10 Some of it, give them credit.
09:13 When you execute and do things well, you'll have success.
09:16 >> Gary, what stands out to you about Auburn's running backs and
09:21 the fact they've got several different guys that they've used to start this year?
09:24 >> Yeah, the difference in the guys.
09:25 I mean, they've got one of the hardest guys to tackle in the SEC.
09:29 And he runs really hard, he's physical.
09:32 They've got fast backs, they've got elusive backs, downhill backs.
09:35 I mean, they do a good job.
09:37 It's like by committee, and they got several guys that have done really well.
09:42 >> Kirby, you've been at Auburn as a player and assistant, head coach.
09:47 You spoke about that a little bit Saturday night.
09:49 Could you elaborate on what makes different road environments unique to
09:54 themselves?
09:54 >> I think they're more similar than unique.
09:58 I would have a hard time pinpointing differences other than they're all loud
10:02 as hell in our conference, and they do a great job.
10:05 I mean, people, we went to Missouri last year and
10:08 I thought it was as loud as anything at night.
10:11 The environment was really loud and it's not even an enclosed stadium.
10:16 And this stadium is enclosed and it's similar to ours.
10:20 People have always said there's a similarity between the look of theirs and
10:25 ours, but it's extremely loud.
10:27 I mean, I don't know how to differentiate one school to another because they're just
10:32 loud, all their fans are passionate, it's a very similar environment.
10:36 >> Coach, you mentioned helping them out with that two minute timeout.
10:41 I'm assuming that was cuz you guys wanted to get the ball back or
10:44 get a two minute possession right there before the half.
10:46 Is that one of those examples of a coaching decision that you might second
10:49 guess only because it didn't result in a positive result?
10:53 >> Sure, I mean, you second guess every decision whether it works or not.
10:55 So you can make the wrong decision and it work out good, and
10:59 it's still the wrong decision.
11:00 You can make the right decision and it come out wrong, and
11:05 I still think it's the right decision.
11:06 So it's just a matter of philosophically what you believe in.
11:10 And I wanna be aggressive and always try to get the ball back for our team and
11:13 show confidence in the players that we're gonna stop.
11:17 >> Brock and Jamon said you blew the speakers last week.
11:20 >> [LAUGH] >> Is that, first,
11:22 have you gotten replacement ones in?
11:24 And is that something that you do not just for road games but
11:28 home games as well, work on that crowd noise aspect?
11:30 >> We use crowd noise year round.
11:31 We use it in spring.
11:32 It's a great change up.
11:33 Coaches can't coach the players.
11:36 They don't necessarily like it cuz people get a headache.
11:39 But we've done it since the first day of practice this camp.
11:42 We did it four practices in the spring.
11:44 We do it all the time.
11:46 It doesn't matter though cuz the crowd noise doesn't always create the anxiety.
11:50 So you can't simulate that.
11:52 You simulate the communication it requires.
11:55 And we play at home and we're the loudest stadiums in the country, so
11:57 our defense has to communicate during it.
11:59 So I like doing it both ways.
12:02 And it makes players, you find out what they know when nobody's out there yelling
12:06 and screaming at them, so it's important.
12:08 But we got the speakers fixed.
12:11 I don't think they blew because of us, but may have just been old age.
12:16 [BLANK_AUDIO]
12:19 >> Kirby, Ron Roberts has been really creative in how they bring pressure,
12:23 sort of disguising it and trying to make it hard for offenses.
12:26 What is that challenge that this Auburn defense presents in that way to your
12:29 offensive line and just knowing where the pressure's coming from and
12:32 how to pick it up?
12:33 >> Yeah, you don't necessarily know where it's coming from.
12:35 That's what good defenses do.
12:36 So when you don't know, you got assignments, right?
12:40 So I got my guy, I got this guy.
12:42 And if we don't got that guy, then the quarterback better know it and
12:45 everybody else needs to know that too.
12:47 So there's only so many you can bring and there's lots of them you can drop.
12:52 And we like to think we do a lot to our quarterback off season and
12:56 things like that year round here with our defense.
12:59 But it's much tougher to when you go against somebody that maybe you don't
13:03 traditionally play against, he does a tremendous job of exactly what you're
13:07 talking about.
13:08 So it's important to know your rules and know where your strengths and
13:11 know where your weaknesses are.
13:14 >> Kirby, I wanna ask for an update on Michael Williams and
13:17 Ty Ingram Dawkins at that defensive end position.
13:19 And how did Gabe Harris kind of perform whenever that increased opportunity this
13:23 past Saturday?
13:24 >> Yeah, I don't know that Gabe played a whole lot more.
13:26 He did get an earlier opportunity, I felt like, and he's coming along really well.
13:31 He's developing, he's getting better each week, and
13:35 getting more and more opportunities due to the injuries.
13:38 But I'm hopeful that Gabe continues to grow.
13:40 I mean, he's a guy that we're repping him a lot during practice.
13:43 We're giving him a lot of extra work,
13:45 trying to speed up what that process is because of the injuries we've had.
13:49 Ty is coming into his fourth week, I think.
13:52 And again, we don't know how long it's gonna take.
13:55 I don't expect him back this week.
13:58 Michael, we're hopeful to get back if he's over the sickness.
14:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
14:04 >> Kirby, after watching the tape, how do you think Dylan Fairchild and
14:07 Xavier Truss graded out in their new roles?
14:10 >> They did a good job.
14:11 They played very consistent throughout the year, both of them have.
14:14 Dylan obviously has played same spot most of the time.
14:18 Truss has played multiple spots and some things they can do better and
14:23 clean up confidence wise, but I think they're getting better.
14:26 They understand where their help is, what we're trying to do on certain plays.
14:31 And the only way you get used to that is to keep playing and they've done that.
14:38 >> You mentioned wanting to be elite at getting better.
14:41 As far as just the play on the field, would you say that that is elite?
14:45 And if not, how close or far do you think that is?
14:47 >> I don't really judge it that way.
14:51 I don't think that answers your question, but I'm looking at the progress and
14:58 I'm looking at how much we improve each week through our practices.
15:03 Because the game is such a small vision of what we see.
15:08 And we put so much value in the prep, the walk through, the reps,
15:12 the good on good, the opportunity periods where we get younger players snaps.
15:16 I've put so much into that,
15:18 that I've been very pleased at the progression we've had in that.
15:21 As far as the field goes, it's so small that every test is another chance.
15:27 It's like these little small chapters and we're going into chapter,
15:31 what is it, five, I guess?
15:32 So we're going into chapter five and gonna see how we do.
15:35 >> Coach, just to follow up on Xavier Trust,
15:38 is he the first football player you've ever recruited from Rhode Island?
15:41 And is there any stories you remember about watching that level of football or
15:45 that kind of football, I should say?
15:47 >> Yeah, he is the first one that I've recruited from Rhode Island.
15:51 He takes a lot of pride in that area and
15:53 he always defends high school football up there.
15:55 Although, I don't know why he tries to defend it, but
15:57 especially in this neck of the woods.
15:59 But he vehemently declares that they have great high school football in the state,
16:05 and that he's a product of that.
16:07 And he always reminds us of the other kids that have come out of that area,
16:10 that have made it and played at big schools.
16:12 But nothing really sticks out about the recruitment.
16:16 Beautiful family, mom, dad, sisters, and I enjoyed going up there to visit them.
16:21 >> Kirby, curious what you've seen from this defense and run stopping,
16:26 not just up the middle stuff, but
16:28 the ability of the defense as a whole to be swarming to the ball.
16:32 >> We talking about our defense or their defense?
16:35 Yeah, I think it's been really good in spurts, and
16:40 it's been really poor in spurts.
16:41 I think that's a common theme, is the consistency in performance.
16:45 And it's not game by game, it's sometimes series by series.
16:49 And we have had the fortune of playing a lot of players.
16:53 So that's good, you gain depth doing that.
16:56 We've played really dominant at times, sometimes against inferior opponents.
17:01 And then we've had, I mean, look, there's nobody,
17:04 our standard of defense here is so high that what we consider
17:09 good play versus other people, it may be viewed different.
17:12 I mean, we play against good thrower and good pass catchers.
17:17 You're gonna give up some plays, man.
17:18 You gotta accept that.
17:20 But how you respond to those, that's more important.
17:23 So our swarm to the ball, I think, has been good.
17:26 I like how our guys fly around.
17:28 I love how they play.
17:29 I love the passion they play with.
17:30 And controlling the line of scrimmage is something that we have to do.
17:35 If we don't do that, that's the bare minimum.
17:37 >> Yeah, through four games of the season, what have you made of the progress that
17:43 the wide receiver room has made,
17:44 especially as that position seems to be battling availability injuries,
17:47 things like that?
17:49 >> Yeah, I think the younger players have all made great progress.
17:51 I think the inconsistency of the availability has been the bigger
17:58 problem with the older players, whether it's Rosamie, whether it's Ladd,
18:03 whether anybody's dinged up, or the use of Dillon at running back.
18:07 I mean, you've had the kind of in and out, in and out.
18:11 Like last week was the first week that it was pretty consistent.
18:15 Now, it's consistent without Ladd, but it was consistent.
18:18 And then you hope you have that consistency again this week.
18:22 But we've had some young guys grow up and make some plays.
18:25 CJ Smith has stepped up and improved, and we gotta keep getting guys to do that.
18:30 >> I feel like we ask you this a lot, but Andrew Paul got a few more snap shares
18:37 this past game and got an opportunity to really run the ball.
18:41 What have you kind of continued to see from his progression going through the
18:43 season and now being four games in?
18:46 >> Well, he's basically like a freshman, right?
18:48 And so a lot of our freshman running backs are, they do it by committee.
18:52 They get their opportunity, they get their turns.
18:54 He's really improved tremendously at his past pro at picking people up.
18:58 He's thick, he's heavy.
19:00 And we've got some guys that we feel like are different than him in terms of
19:04 weapons, so whether it's Cash, Dillon, Kendall Milton, Dejon,
19:09 those guys are all playing there too.
19:11 So we feel like Andrew's done a good job and continues to improve.
19:15 >> Let's take two more questions.
19:17 >> Kirby, so you wanna be elite at getting better each week.
19:19 You've had a third of the season, four games.
19:21 Where have you seen the most progress in getting better with this team?
19:24 >> It's hard to say one area.
19:29 I just feel like we've improved as a whole across the board.
19:33 We obviously had a really good test there against South Carolina,
19:38 who's a really good football team in my opinion.
19:41 And we responded to that.
19:43 But as far as pinpointing the area, it's each day in practice,
19:47 the perimeter blocking, the ability to execute more calls on defense and
19:53 growing the library that we're comfortable with.
19:56 Quarterback getting experience in playing, they've done a good job.
20:01 We did improve in the red area, it's one game.
20:04 But it's like every game you can make a case what you improved and
20:08 what you went backwards in.
20:09 So it's hard to pinpoint one thing.
20:11 >> Just a special teams assessment and kickoff in particular,
20:15 they had some pretty good returns this past Saturday.
20:18 Looked like some, I don't know if it's adjustments, second half much better.
20:23 Kickoff coverage, can I?
20:25 >> No, I've been very pleased with kickoff coverage.
20:27 I think we've done a great job.
20:28 The ball placement, I wish that it could improve.
20:31 But what Zirkle does, he gets really good hang time.
20:33 I think, if anything,
20:35 you'd say they had opportunities to kick off to return the ball.
20:38 Where previously, he's kicked them out.
20:41 So to judge it previous to now, there's really been nothing there.
20:45 So for those guys that went out there and covered it and
20:48 made some nice tackles, nice plays.
20:50 We wanna continue to get more hang time on that with our kicker and
20:55 continue to get the best guys on it to go down there and make tackles.
20:57 [BLANK_AUDIO]