Kirby Smart Press Conference Monday before Georgia vs Vanderbilt
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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:03 >> Hello everybody, thanks for coming.
00:05 Reminder, Foley Field, press conference is open if you need to work.
00:09 We'll get a few opening remarks from Coach Mark, then we'll take your questions.
00:13 Remember to raise your hand, we'll get one of the remote mics to you.
00:18 Also a reminder that basketball media availability is at 240 at the Coliseum.
00:22 And please no live streaming, thank you.
00:25 >> Thanks, Claude.
00:28 For us on the Vandy yesterday, and we got to start on these guys in terms of
00:34 watching games and importantly, his team got a lot of respect for Clark.
00:37 He's been a good friend for a while, but
00:40 really become closer friends since being in our league.
00:43 And he's a very intellectual guy.
00:47 He ran our meetings, he was the head of our meetings for the SEC meetings.
00:50 And probably did a tremendous job of leading the discussion about issues and
00:55 things we come across in our conference.
00:57 But he does a tremendous job.
00:59 He's gotten more energy and had some big wins since arriving there.
01:03 I know he's an alumnus, which takes a lot of pride in being from the school,
01:07 as I know myself.
01:08 And we're preparing to go up and play these guys in an early kick in Nashville.
01:13 And we gotta prepare our guys the right way.
01:16 So we'll start on that today.
01:17 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:22 >> Yeah, Coach, halfway through the season,
01:24 you're quarterback's fourth in passing, you're averaging 40 points per game.
01:27 I'm just curious, has the transition from Coach Munkin and Stetson to Bobo and
01:32 Beck been as smooth as you thought it would be this offseason?
01:35 >> Yeah, and I never, I mean, I made a quick decision there cuz I was really
01:39 confident.
01:40 And we had the luxury of having a quarterback coming back that really wasn't
01:44 your typical first time starter.
01:46 And when you have a guy that's been in the system as long as he has,
01:49 I felt comfortable that he knew the system.
01:52 I wanted to keep the system the same.
01:54 And those guys have transitioned well together.
01:56 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:59 >> Talked about being pretty good friends with Clark Lee,
02:02 that sympathy and empathy is not big in football.
02:05 But can you process what the challenges,
02:10 the unique challenges a place like Vanderbilt has?
02:13 But at the end of the day,
02:14 they draw the same check as everybody else does in the SEC shares.
02:18 So can you just talk a little bit about that dynamic,
02:21 what the public climate program looks at every year?
02:25 >> I don't think I can, because I don't know.
02:27 I don't know his issues and problems.
02:29 I think we all have our distinct institutional things that we deal with.
02:35 And everybody's is different.
02:37 I mean, whether it's geographically, academically, financially.
02:43 I mean, everybody's situation is completely different.
02:45 So I can't draw a comparison to his, and he's not one to sit around and
02:49 complain and cry about it.
02:50 He's from there, he's proud of it.
02:52 They've done a tremendous job.
02:53 I think he has the right approach.
02:55 He knows the area, he knows that state, he knows the institution,
03:00 which institutional knowledge is powerful information.
03:04 So it's hard for me to draw a comparison.
03:06 I have a lot of respect for him.
03:08 And as you know, one of our coaches' son is committed there.
03:12 So I know that Will has a lot of respect for their program and
03:16 what Clark's done, and he went on an official visit there.
03:19 So I have a lot of respect for what they're doing.
03:21 >> For Carson, that's three straight 300-yard passing games.
03:26 What does he bring to the position that makes him well-suited to operate this
03:29 offense at that level?
03:32 >> Great mental processing.
03:33 He's a great processor.
03:34 I mean, Carson's very intelligent guy.
03:37 And so to run by the quarterback position,
03:40 you have to process information rapidly.
03:43 And the more information you can handle,
03:48 the more flexibility your offense has.
03:51 And the flexibility of an offense is usually tied to what the quarterback
03:56 can handle.
03:57 And our quarterback, not only cuz he's smart, but cuz he's also of age and
04:04 been in the same system for multiple years, has been able to grow from that.
04:07 You find very, very, very rare in college football or
04:11 pro football for a quarterback to be in the same system more than three years.
04:16 And I don't know how many years Carson's been in the system, but
04:19 I think it's three or four.
04:20 So it's like he understands it, he knows how to use it, and
04:25 he's got good weapons around him to help him with it.
04:28 So his intuition, along with ability, has helped him.
04:33 >> Kirby, I saw this nugget from ESPN that said Carson became just the third
04:39 quarterback in the last decade to throw four touchdown passes and
04:43 complete 85% of the passes against the Blitz.
04:46 What's the most important thing a quarterback must do when preparing or
04:49 dealing with the Blitz?
04:50 >> Understand his protection and understand his route structure.
04:55 So Carson does a great job of that cuz he is very composed.
05:00 I think a baseball background, I've learned,
05:03 gives you the ability to handle pressure.
05:05 Cuz there's no greater pressure than you have to throw a strike.
05:07 Nobody can help you throw that strike.
05:09 No coach, no pitching coach.
05:11 You gotta stand out there and throw a strike.
05:13 And that pressure is not the same as a man running in your face.
05:17 But it is pressure.
05:20 And he does well under pressure, and
05:24 he has ten good friends that are on the same page with him.
05:29 We do a lot of pressure pickup in the offseason, walkthroughs, preseason camp.
05:35 I mean, we spend a lot of time on Blitz pickup to the point of nausea.
05:40 So I think that helps him, but not a lot he hasn't seen.
05:44 But he does a nice job of executing in those scenarios.
05:50 And when you have a clean pocket and seeing throw,
05:53 it makes people wanna pressure him more cuz you don't wanna have clean pockets.
05:57 >> Coach, just to continue following up on Carson,
06:01 you mentioned his processing ability, I feel like before the season.
06:05 How do you go about testing the processing capabilities of a quarterback,
06:09 maybe even outside of practice?
06:10 And when did you first know that Carson had that elite processing ability?
06:14 >> He's had it since he got here.
06:16 I mean, he hasn't been where he is, but
06:19 I think the guy has a lot of spring scrimmages, fall scrimmages.
06:24 We scrimmage three times in the spring, three times in the fall,
06:27 that's six, times three years, 18.
06:29 You're going against defensive talent for
06:33 18 of those games, in my mind, that were really talented and they're blitzing you.
06:38 I mean, you get better.
06:39 He still has growth he can do and can get better in understanding things and
06:45 decision making.
06:46 There's times that he's averaged about two plays a game where he puts us at risk
06:51 of just get out of a bad play, man.
06:54 Just throw it away, take a sack, take off running, and
06:57 don't throw it into danger.
06:58 So he has to continue to grow at that, but the guy's had a lot of practices.
07:02 He's not your typical second year sophomore starter.
07:06 [BLANK_AUDIO]
07:09 >> Kirby, two part question.
07:10 First, any clarification on the Miley Cyrus knowledge?
07:14 Number two, on edge defense, Kentucky did get some.
07:19 How much of that is just kind of pure edge defense?
07:22 How much of that is reading misdirection?
07:23 >> You gotta define edge defense for me.
07:27 >> Run defense.
07:28 >> So run defense on the edge.
07:31 Yeah, I think you create edge a different way.
07:34 I don't know if you mean like outside run tall sweep, or
07:38 if you're talking about counter and pullers gap schemes.
07:42 Because they can all end up on the edge, depending on how you play them.
07:47 So everybody has a defensive philosophy on how they play football, and
07:51 we don't like balls to run north south.
07:54 So if the ball's not running north south, where is it running?
07:57 East west.
07:58 If it's running east west, where does it have to get to?
08:00 The edge.
08:01 So most of the runs we give up, by design,
08:06 are on the edge, cuz we're not gonna allow you to go north and south.
08:10 And if you go north and south on us, we got bigger problems.
08:14 If we can get it to go sideways, we tend to think that our speed runs it down.
08:18 And that hasn't always been the case this year.
08:20 We have not done an awesome job at running things down that we make go inside out.
08:25 Some of that's been by scheme, some of that's been by protecting the corners.
08:29 I mean, we've had different runs get out for different reasons.
08:32 But I'm not saying you're concerned about our edges, if that's what you're asking.
08:37 We can definitely do a better job run fitting things.
08:40 >> I have two questions for you as well.
08:43 To the lane person, it looked like Carson Beck had a lot of time to throw.
08:46 You talk about the blitz pickups.
08:47 You talk, I mean, he just looked like he had all day back there.
08:50 Can you tell me a little bit about how, when you went back and
08:51 looked at the film, you always say it's not as good, it's not as bad.
08:55 Tell me about how you thought your offensive line performed last week, and
08:57 then your thoughts on Carson Beck being able to code as he's the offensive player.
09:02 >> I'm happy for Carson to get that award.
09:04 I think he'd be the first to tell you it wasn't all him.
09:05 It was protection, pass catchers catching the ball, route runners changing routes.
09:10 The level of the routes,
09:12 some of the route structure we had in last week was different than previous weeks.
09:15 So, I mean, those guys all played a part.
09:17 He certainly had a big part in that, being able to read the coverage and
09:20 make the decisions.
09:21 So I'm pleased for him in regards to that.
09:24 But the time he had, some of that was protection.
09:28 Some of that was the way Kentucky plays a defense sometimes when they rush three.
09:32 And they pressure, they brought three, they brought four,
09:35 they brought five, they brought six.
09:36 They change it up.
09:37 But when they do bring three and four,
09:40 you're typically gonna have time when you have a six man protection.
09:43 You should.
09:44 So he had some time in there to be able to do that.
09:47 You're not always gonna have that week to week.
09:49 A lot of that comes from what I said after the game.
09:51 If you're able to run the ball well, you will get play action shots in half time.
09:55 Because there's more buy in when you run the play action if you're running
10:00 the ball well.
10:00 >> Kirby, we've seen tying of dolphins on the sideline and
10:05 other things with the boot and the scooter.
10:07 And I know you guys are hopeful to get it back, but
10:09 is it, do you anticipate getting it back this year?
10:12 Or how soon is, do you think that could happen?
10:15 >> Yeah, as I talked about before, he's dealing with a foot injury.
10:18 This is a significant injury.
10:19 He's had a four week shutdown.
10:22 I think we'll be on five.
10:24 He's gonna be able to start doing a little more next week.
10:27 More being jogging and what I call weight bearing, not necessarily practice.
10:34 So we have a plan and we have stages and he's hit all the markers.
10:39 So yeah, we're hopeful we get him back this year.
10:42 But when that'll be, I don't know.
10:43 We're not, we're gonna do what the doctor said.
10:45 >> Yeah, Kirby, follow up on defense after the game.
10:50 You mentioned that after the Auburn game you showed
10:52 inclusively around defense.
10:54 You might have been really good on third down.
10:56 As a coach, how do you balance when to press that button and say, hey,
11:01 you guys are better than some of the things you showed in games?
11:04 >> You just go with that feeling.
11:07 I mean, it's where are they?
11:08 How are they practicing?
11:10 Do they buy into what you're believing or
11:12 do they buy into what you guys are believing?
11:14 It's like so they have to understand the truth is what's on the tape.
11:18 And the tape says striking blocks, playing well against the run on certain plays.
11:24 Not playing well against the run on certain plays.
11:26 Some of that's by lack of repetition.
11:29 We didn't practice it.
11:30 Some of it's didn't play physical to our standard.
11:34 And if you show that you can do it, we're gonna show you that you can do it.
11:38 And that's what we do.
11:40 We don't try to overthink it.
11:43 We just show them what the truth is.
11:44 >> The coach was starting to enter the season where it's gonna be cold weather.
11:49 And it looks like it's gonna be in the 40s with rain expanding on Saturday.
11:53 I was wondering what you guys do in practice to help with the centers,
11:55 long snappers, quarterbacks with the conditions outside.
11:58 >> Yeah, we spray water on it and
12:00 then we practice in whatever elements we have that we can create.
12:03 So we haven't practiced in much cold, I can promise you that.
12:06 But we can create some things for indoor and
12:08 we can create weather conditions with water and things like that.
12:12 We have wet ball practices.
12:14 We kind of pick on them and just say, hey, practice six, 20, 28,
12:18 we're gonna do this.
12:19 And then if we get a chance to go out in it, we do it.
12:22 But that's all you can really do.
12:23 >> Yeah, I wanna ask about two guys in the offensive line.
12:26 Ced leaves the game, obviously comes back in.
12:28 How is he doing?
12:29 And then how is Amarius Minj progressing in his rehab from ankle surgery?
12:33 >> Yeah, Ced's great.
12:34 He came back in, finished out the game, seems to be fine.
12:37 Morris is right where we think he should be.
12:41 I mean, he's got the same protocol that Russell Lucky's had,
12:45 Cash's had, James Cook's had.
12:47 We've had a lot of the tightrope surgery and he's right on schedule.
12:53 >> Kirby, I think you've got 16 former guys, 11 of them starting at other schools
13:01 in the FBS ranks with the transfer in, I know you've talked about that.
13:05 Is there anything you do conscientiously different in terms of your retention?
13:10 But this being the new state of the college football board.
13:13 >> I don't really know what you're asking.
13:16 I don't know what other people do, so I don't know how different what we do is.
13:21 I mean, do we think about it?
13:25 Yeah, do we talk and talk to guys?
13:28 Yeah, I think everybody does.
13:31 And you have to be smart and evaluate your players,
13:37 talk to your players, explain where they are.
13:40 I think it's really important to have communication back home,
13:43 have those things.
13:44 But I don't know how different that is from airbounce,
13:46 cuz I don't know what airbounce does.
13:47 >> Kirby, Vanderbilt's had some success the last few weeks throwing the football,
13:53 and Ken Sills has been the quarterback in those moments.
13:56 What sort of stands out to you about how they have done past the ball,
13:59 especially with Ken Sills as the quarterback?
14:01 >> Yeah, it stands out they have speed at receiver.
14:04 They have really good wideouts.
14:05 I didn't realize, unless I was watching all the games yesterday,
14:09 how fast they are at wideout.
14:11 And quarterback's done a great job getting them the ball.
14:15 They've had some injuries up front, and
14:16 had some guys going in and out on the offensive line.
14:18 But I mean, he buys more time.
14:20 He's mobile, he's able to highlight the layers they have.
14:25 They have really good wide receivers.
14:27 And he buys time to make throws, off-platform throws, scramble throws.
14:32 He's got a really good arm, and he's a good athlete.
14:34 So when he extends a play, it brings what the strength of their team is up,
14:41 because he gives them more time to make plays.
14:43 >> I wanna follow two little questions.
14:47 Just with Amarius, I don't know all that much about tie-up surgery other than what
14:51 I've Googled, right?
14:52 And with Amarius, it seems like his timeline could possibly look at a comeback
14:58 around Florida, or so is that a goal to try to get him back after that off week?
15:03 >> No goal, no goal.
15:05 It's really about where he is.
15:07 I mean, the timeline for Lucky would put him around there, but
15:11 he may not be the exact same as Lawson.
15:13 I mean, Lawson is a skilled position that requires more cutting and
15:17 things like that.
15:18 We've ordered a special shoe for Amarius and plan to use it.
15:23 We used that with Andrew Thomas and several other kids in the offensive line
15:27 that had ankle injuries.
15:28 But we don't put a timeline on it just for
15:30 that reason that it could be before, it could be after.
15:33 It's based on his progression of how he feels when he starts moving around and
15:37 what he does.
15:39 >> You kind of following up on what Mike said.
15:42 Just recently, Donnie Mitchell breaks his first ground pick right now and
15:49 what he's doing.
15:50 Major Burns has a pick six and clenches the game against Missouri.
15:55 On that line of NIL retention, you obviously would like to keep all
16:02 the players around, but is that part of the reason you lose them?
16:08 Really good players get outspent for them.
16:12 You know what I'm saying?
16:14 >> I wouldn't say that.
16:14 >> Is that what we're coming down to now?
16:16 >> I wouldn't say that.
16:18 I don't talk much about the guys that aren't in our program.
16:21 I love both those young men to death.
16:24 They both chose to come here and
16:26 neither one really had the options that they wanted coming out.
16:29 And we saw something in them to bring them here, but they chose to leave.
16:33 And neither one of those kids were encouraged to leave, but
16:34 why they left would be up to them.
16:36 Not for me to define or say.
16:39 I don't think it's about NIL in either of those cases.
16:42 Do I think it's about NIL in some cases?
16:44 Absolutely, but I don't think it's about that in those two kids' cases.
16:48 That would probably be proximity to home in both those two cases.
16:51 But I just don't concern myself, I don't think about that.
16:54 I'm not even worried about that.
16:56 It's maybe a story for you guys, but for me, it's about the men that are in that
17:00 team meeting room right over there, and they're gonna practice today, and
17:04 they're trying to beat Vanderbilt.
17:05 >> You don't have a special team's coach, per se, of your on-field assistants.
17:11 I'm curious, with Peyton, who seems to have gotten on track,
17:14 what does it look like in terms of getting him right on from a coaching perspective?
17:18 Who's responsible for helping him?
17:21 >> Well, you don't coach kickers, I don't know if you've noticed that.
17:24 I don't, there's nobody in the country that has somebody that specializes in
17:29 the actual technical process of kicking.
17:32 You know what I mean?
17:33 Every team in the country that's got the financial stability,
17:36 they have good psychological sports management, and
17:41 they have all the people that can help him psychologically.
17:43 Which is more of it than anything.
17:44 Mechanically, the kids, he's been good for a while.
17:48 They all have their kicking coaches back home, and
17:50 if they're not kicking good, they might use that kicking coach.
17:52 But we use sources here that are more sports psychology
17:57 path than what's wrong with your stroke.
17:59 And so we don't have to have a kicking coach as much as we have to have
18:04 special teams, background people to help coach the coaches.
18:07 >> Kirby, Georgia passing the high school NIL last week.
18:12 What would you advise the parents, kids high school, about the process and
18:16 just kind of perception versus reality of the NIL dollars,
18:19 especially maybe in high school?
18:21 >> I honestly don't know what I would tell them.
18:23 I mean, it's all over the place.
18:25 I mean, what does your son play?
18:27 And what you see your son's net worth as may not be what Delta or
18:32 Coke or Kodak or UPS sees your son's net worth as.
18:36 So you have to be careful there, what you believe and what you hear.
18:41 Cuz I don't honestly know what the impact will be.
18:44 Cuz you gotta go to those local communities and say,
18:47 what are they willing to do with NIL when dollars are tight in a time that,
18:52 in America, that they may not wanna spend money on a high school kid.
18:56 Now, certainly that's gonna happen at some positions,
18:58 no different than it's gonna happen in college football at some positions.
19:01 But the overall impact, we'll have to wait and see what it is.
19:05 >> Let's take two more questions.
19:06 >> Coach, to follow up on the kicking, I think I noticed some balls on the left
19:11 patch, the 32 yarder, y'all kinda angled the snap.
19:14 And y'all have done that before?
19:16 And if so, what went into the decision to kinda take that guy and
19:19 put him off the left patch?
19:20 >> Well, we have rules that I don't really prefer to divulge, but
19:25 that has not changed.
19:26 So there's no change in our kicking rules.
19:29 Every field goal team in America has a rule they have for
19:33 whether they're on the hash, they move it, whether they go tackle over or
19:36 they don't go tackle over.
19:38 I mean, those are things that you get into geometry about,
19:42 of how your kicker kicks the ball, what's the flight path, how high does it get,
19:45 where's the block point, how hard do they rush?
19:48 But we haven't changed ours since we've been here.
19:49 >> Kirby, I heard a podcast with you last summer.
19:53 You went about 40 minutes talking about changes you've made over the course of
19:56 your career.
19:57 I guess when you were talking about how humility is one week away,
20:00 obviously Vanderbilt actually beat Georgia your first year.
20:04 What would be, would you say,
20:06 the biggest major change that you've made since your first season?
20:11 And does that Vanderbilt game ever flash through your mind?
20:14 >> So far back now, not really.
20:17 I mean, I've had games in my career that you remember the losses more than the wins.
20:23 But that one doesn't stick out for me as much as maybe some of the others do.
20:28 I mean, there were a lot of games that year that were really close.
20:30 We've won a lot of really close games and we've lost some really close games.
20:34 The only common theme was it was a lot of close games.
20:36 But as far as things I've changed in, it's a lot.
20:41 It's been long to sit here and just talk about it for five minutes.
20:43 Thanks.
20:44 [BLANK_AUDIO]