Kirby Smart's Final Press Conference Before Georgia vs Tennessee
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00:00 [INAUDIBLE]
00:02 We're going to go straight to questions.
00:04 And a reminder, if you'll raise your hand, if you have a question,
00:07 we'll get one of the little mics to you.
00:09 And a reminder, no live streaming, please.
00:11 Yeah, Coach, I'm sure you've answered this question
00:21 1,000 different times.
00:22 But I want to ask it again.
00:23 How do you prepare for the pace?
00:25 Do you run multiple huddles in practice?
00:26 Is there a specific way that you've
00:28 learned over the years that works best?
00:30 I don't think you can simulate their pace.
00:36 They're really good at what they do.
00:37 They're fast at what they do.
00:39 We try to.
00:41 But I don't really delve into how we practice publicly.
00:44 So we keep that in-house.
00:46 But it is tough to simulate.
00:50 Kirby, how has Amirius looked just a few days
00:52 removed from his first game back?
00:54 He's looked good.
00:57 He played good.
00:58 He feels more comfortable with each day.
01:00 And the highs and lows of that injury are pretty common.
01:04 And he feels good.
01:09 On the injury front, just wanted to get an update on how
01:11 Warren Brinson has looked this week after calf strain,
01:14 like you said.
01:15 And then, didn't look like CJ Smith was dressed out
01:17 this past Saturday.
01:18 What's he dealing with?
01:19 Yeah, CJ's dealing with a knee injury.
01:20 It's been bothering him.
01:21 He's had it off and on for a while.
01:24 So we're hoping to get him back soon.
01:27 Warren had a calf injury.
01:29 So we're hopeful to get him back.
01:32 He hasn't been able to do much this week.
01:34 He felt it in the game some.
01:36 But we're hopeful to get him back.
01:37 He was out there today moving around.
01:39 My understanding, Coach, is Brock
01:52 is very competitive off the field.
01:54 I just wonder when the initial discussions
01:56 began about, hey, do we fix this?
01:58 And how quick can we get back?
02:01 Was there any conversation about, well,
02:02 Tua did it in 28 days.
02:04 I can beat that kind of thing?
02:06 Was he set on beating the markers
02:09 that were set out before him?
02:12 You're probably better off asking him that.
02:15 He wanted to get back.
02:17 I don't think it was--
02:18 it was never a rush.
02:20 You don't rush an injury back, especially not
02:22 somebody like that.
02:23 You have markers to hit.
02:25 And when you hit the markers, you go to the next marker.
02:28 And once you hit the four markers, then it becomes,
02:31 are you capable of playing at a high enough level
02:35 to contribute to the team?
02:38 So it was never about a number of days.
02:40 It was about the markers.
02:41 And he clicked those off.
02:43 And he went to the next step each time.
02:45 And he felt like he had the confidence to go out there
02:47 and play.
02:48 And he did that.
02:52 Yeah, Coach, I think for the first time in your time here,
02:54 you guys are throwing the ball more on offense
02:56 than you are running the ball on offense.
02:59 Does that say anything about the way your programs progress
03:02 during your time here?
03:04 No.
03:04 I mean, we had Nick Chubb and Sonny Michelle
03:06 when we got here.
03:07 So we'd be fools to throw it more than we run it.
03:09 They're both first-round picks in my mind.
03:13 So it's really about your personnel.
03:17 Kirby, on the O-line, how important
03:19 is alignment between a coordinator and an O-line coach?
03:23 And how much did that figure in, I guess, a year ago or so
03:27 when you were hiring Stacey, knowing that Mike was here too?
03:32 And knowing that you might--
03:35 I think I hired Stacey before Mike.
03:37 But I'm not sure the order of events there.
03:41 Maybe Mike was here, but he was an analyst.
03:45 So I mean, we hired Stacey because Coach Monkman was
03:49 really comfortable with Stacey.
03:51 I was comfortable with Stacey.
03:52 He had worked with him in LSU.
03:53 I'd worked with him in LSU.
03:54 He's a really good O-line coach.
03:56 So the hiring of Stacey didn't have much to do with Mike.
04:02 That really-- the coordinator O-line is a big deal.
04:07 That's his go-to guy.
04:08 So they want to have a good relationship
04:11 and a good understanding, and philosophies need to marry up.
04:14 So that was really important to Monkman in that hire.
04:19 Is that what you're saying?
04:20 Yeah, that's what you're asking.
04:21 Because I don't-- I mean, once we hired Mike,
04:24 it was a no-brainer because he had already been a coordinator
04:27 and he'd worked with everybody in the room.
04:28 Kirby, what has stood out to you about Mike and his role
04:34 as coordinator and play caller this season?
04:37 His ability to adapt to the personnel we have.
04:40 I mean, he's had a very rotating lineup.
04:45 He's had this guy in, that guy out, this guy in, that guy out.
04:47 He did have two tight ends.
04:48 He didn't have two tight ends.
04:49 Pierce has been injured twice.
04:50 Wilson's been hurt.
04:51 Brock's been hurt.
04:52 I mean, he's had backs in and out, in and out.
04:54 Wide outs in and out, in and out.
04:56 So the ability to teach concepts and have plug-and-play players,
05:02 his development of the quarterback, his leadership
05:05 and messaging to the offense is critical
05:08 because I'm not over there all the time.
05:10 So he has to be the leader and voice of reason.
05:15 And he relies heavily on his staff.
05:17 He'd be the first to tell you he's got an incredible staff.
05:20 Dale Hartley, B-Max Earls are incredible.
05:23 And the analysts are incredible.
05:24 So when you put an incredible staff together,
05:27 you get good decision-making, innovative, a lot of ideas.
05:33 They present each week to him so that he
05:36 has good material to pick from.
05:40 You talked a good bit yesterday about Tennessee's run game.
05:43 And they're one of the most explosive in the country,
05:45 statistically.
05:46 What is it about the run game that
05:48 allows them to be so explosive?
05:50 Well, it's the backs.
05:53 It's the commitment to the run.
05:55 It's the spacing of the receivers.
05:57 They're not playing in a phone booth.
05:58 They're playing in a big farm field.
06:01 I mean, they've got everybody spread out.
06:02 So when a run spits, it's going to go for a long way
06:05 before somebody else gets to it.
06:07 So your ability to tackle and fit runs
06:12 is exposed at three times the level.
06:16 And they almost always have a good box count,
06:19 meaning they got a hat on a hat and they're at an advantage.
06:24 A man has to whip another man to be
06:29 able to stop the run against them.
06:31 And sometimes you don't do that.
06:33 Yeah, Kirby, I saw a clip today where,
06:42 after the game the other night, you shouted out
06:45 Marius and Brock for working their way back.
06:47 Just how important was that to you
06:49 to praise them in front of the entire team for what
06:52 they did to get back from those injuries and surgeries they had?
06:55 Well, that's just a snippet of what you saw.
06:58 I praised a lot of guys in that moment.
07:00 I don't know what they pick and choose to play.
07:02 So that's something that I don't have anything to do with.
07:04 I'm certainly proud of those guys.
07:06 But I was proud of a lot of guys the other night.
07:09 Ja-- Jamal Jarrett, he came back from an injury twice.
07:12 So I'm proud of all the players that come back from injuries.
07:15 Coach, how much does the work you guys do,
07:20 simulating the crowd, always truly help in situations
07:24 like y'all are going to see on Saturday afternoon?
07:26 I don't know.
07:28 I wouldn't go play without it.
07:31 But I can't tell you how much it helps.
07:33 I don't honestly know how much it helps.
07:36 It's hard to measure that.
07:39 Some teams can do it more than we do it
07:40 and have a young offense and have a lot of penalties.
07:43 And then you could have a very experienced offense
07:46 and not do it and not have penalties.
07:50 I mean, it comes and goes.
07:52 A lot of it has to do with the situation of your team
07:56 and the focus of your team.
07:57 Kirby, when a team's coming off not their best out in Lake
08:08 Tennessee last week, is it harder
08:09 to get the attention of your guys
08:11 to show them the challenge that it might be given?
08:15 Like last year, they came in here
08:17 as the number one team in the rankings.
08:19 It was today.
08:20 But I don't know if it was because of that.
08:23 I don't know what it was because of.
08:24 They must be feeling themselves a little bit.
08:26 I'm a little disappointed.
08:28 I don't think it has anything to do with Tennessee.
08:30 I think it's just disappointing practice.
08:33 We've had about five really good Tuesdays in a row,
08:35 and they were not good today.
08:37 Yeah.
08:38 Coach, when you have a bad practice like that,
08:44 what's the key to getting guys to respond tomorrow, I guess?
08:47 Having a good core leadership, good culture on your team
08:51 to respond.
08:52 One more housekeeping question.
09:00 I think Jonathan Jefferson had to come off the field slowly
09:03 the other night.
09:04 Can you update on him?
09:06 He's good.
09:07 His breath got knocked out of him, I think.
09:09 We're at the point in the year when a lot of teams
09:19 are making changes with head coaches.
09:21 When it comes to having assistants who wind up
09:23 being candidates for jobs, what kind of advice
09:25 you typically give them as they go through that process?
09:28 Pick the right one.
09:30 Be where your feet are.
09:32 You got a good job.
09:34 Do a good job at your job.
09:36 You'll get more opportunities.
09:39 I mean, a lot of jobs out there that
09:41 aren't better than the one you got.
09:42 Other questions?
09:48 Thanks.
09:50 (footsteps)