Georgia Kirby Smart Talks Week One of Spring Practice
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00:00 [BLANK_AUDIO]
00:10 >> Excited about where our team's headed.
00:17 I'm really excited about this group.
00:19 We've had three practices, two shorts, and then one full pad practice on Saturday.
00:25 And we're good to be in pads today and keep things rolling.
00:29 A lot of competition out there.
00:31 As a whole, the overall field's probably a little younger than what I remember in
00:36 the past.
00:37 Maybe it's the total number of new players in terms of mid-years.
00:41 I think we're up a little bit in mid-years.
00:43 We've broken a record every year with more and more mid-years.
00:46 And then the addition of the portal guys, so it's just a lot of new faces out there.
00:51 And that's the biggest difference, but they're progressing well and
00:55 practicing well and have our first scrimmage Saturday.
01:00 And looking forward to that.
01:01 We've got a huge coaches clinic going on.
01:03 This weekend, I think we got over 700 or 800 high school coaches that still enjoy
01:08 coming to our clinic and get to enjoy that.
01:10 That's a big piece of it.
01:12 A lot of spring sports, the exciting moments going on.
01:15 I know our women's swimming program's getting ready to have NCAAs,
01:19 a lot of tennis going on, baseball, softball's doing incredible.
01:22 So a lot of spring sports right now competing that we all can support
01:27 as Bulldogs.
01:27 With that, I'll open it up.
01:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]
01:33 >> Coach, I think I saw Jamie Chadwell's gonna come in.
01:36 And I know every year you look at different teams and what they do.
01:40 Are you guys looking at some Liberty stuff?
01:42 And what is your relationship with Coach Chadwell?
01:45 >> I know Coach Chadwell really well.
01:46 I think he's a great guy, great coach.
01:48 We were lucky to be able to get him in here.
01:51 Excited to get him in here.
01:52 I think more than us studying them, there's a lot of high school coaches
01:56 that try to implement philosophies he has on offense.
02:02 There's a little bit of a option carryover, a new age offense in terms of
02:07 the ability of the quarterback to run the ball, run option from the gun.
02:10 They do a really good job of that.
02:12 He's done that since Coastal and Liberty.
02:14 So we try to gear our clinic towards benefiting high school programs
02:20 in our footprint and not just our state, but in a five hour radius.
02:24 And he certainly does that as well as Coach Fritz, who I have a lot of respect for.
02:29 He's gonna be at our clinic and be one of the keynote speakers who
02:32 did an incredible job at Georgia Southern, incredible job at Tulane.
02:36 And now will do an incredible job at Houston.
02:38 He's just a really good football coach.
02:40 >> Yeah, Coach, I think when we spoke to you during National Signing Day,
02:42 you talked about how large your offensive line class was.
02:45 And you mentioned how most of them have to lose weight or will have to lose weight.
02:49 I'm curious if you could provide an update on it,
02:50 if anybody's gotten down to that.
02:52 I think it was the 330 mark you mentioned, nobody had played over that for you.
02:56 >> Yeah, I don't know, I've recognized a large group of that group.
03:01 That group as a whole has been tremendous at weight loss.
03:05 I don't know if any of them are, maybe a couple are right at 330, but
03:09 Nair's had the greatest loss going from 396 to, I don't wanna quote, so
03:15 I don't know, I mean, he's lost 40 to 50 pounds somewhere in that window.
03:18 Daniel Calhoun's lost a tremendous amount.
03:20 Easley's lost a tremendous amount.
03:23 Ooney has done a really good job there too.
03:25 And Toliver probably had the least to lose, so he hasn't had to lose a lot.
03:29 He is having to play center, new position that he's developing at.
03:32 But that group across the board is unique to have,
03:36 most of the time mid-years you have two or three alignment.
03:39 Having five is very unique.
03:42 So you don't really want all five of them there at once,
03:45 because you get a recipe for disaster.
03:48 But you got five players who are getting better a lot faster, and
03:51 we've tried to integrate them into different parts of the practice,
03:55 not all at once.
03:56 Because it's hard, being the largest jump there is in all of sports to me,
04:01 to go from a high school offensive lineman to a college offensive lineman.
04:04 >> Yeah, we'll get a chance to talk to Jalen Walker today.
04:10 When you were recruiting him, how were you able to sort of build the trust level
04:14 of you guys were going to be able to develop him as an inside linebacker?
04:18 And moving that move from a guy who played a lot of edge in high school to
04:21 ultimately developing him as that inside linebacker for you guys.
04:25 >> Yeah, he played both.
04:27 He played a little bit of what we call Sam Star, played out in space, and
04:30 he did rush off the edge.
04:32 He's still a really good edge rusher.
04:34 He knows that that was part of the development plan,
04:37 because he had seen Quaye do it.
04:39 He had seen other football players in our program develop as an off the ball
04:43 backer and an into the line backer, and he does both those things really well.
04:48 He missed last spring to develop at inside backer.
04:51 He's using this spring to springboard himself into a better all around football
04:56 player, but it was not a hard sell because he's got wonderful parents,
04:59 wonderful sibling.
05:00 I mean, his dad is a college football coach, has been for a long time, and
05:05 knows football.
05:06 It's great and soothing to have a conversation with somebody that
05:11 understands the development process and nobody better than his dad and
05:15 his mom to help him realize how far he had to go.
05:20 But he has been on a journey and he's much more than a football player.
05:23 He's one of our best leaders on and off the field.
05:27 In a lot of organizations on campus, he represents the student athlete
05:31 the right way.
05:31 >> Yeah, mentioning the inside linebackers,
05:37 kind of unique this spring without having smile.
05:39 Just what are your early impressions of this group that on the whole is fairly
05:42 young?
05:43 >> Young, I mean, that's the first impression is a lot of youth there,
05:46 a lot of reps.
05:48 If you know the Raylan and CJ are way ahead in terms of play time that a
05:54 second spring player, this is their second spring would normally be.
05:59 In a perfect world, we'd like these guys to be coming into playing time.
06:03 That's not the case.
06:04 They got thrust into it and had to learn kind of trial by fire.
06:10 So the guys behind them are even younger than them.
06:13 There's not, between smile and the next guy, there's a big gap there.
06:17 And I think part of that gap was created because the two young guys
06:22 played well and were good last year.
06:24 And if you're sitting behind that,
06:25 sometimes you start questioning what you should do.
06:27 And the guy that's had a good spring so far has been bold.
06:31 He's done a good job and he's picking things up.
06:33 He didn't get the benefit from his high school not letting him go midyear.
06:37 He didn't get the benefit of coming in with those guys, but
06:40 he's just as good an athlete as those guys.
06:41 And he's gonna help us special teams wise.
06:44 He's learning the defense.
06:45 And then the other three guys that are here midyear provide good depth and
06:49 they're learning.
06:49 >> Coach, I'm curious of what you've seen so far from Trevor at the end and
06:57 just wondering how much of a transition is it for him from a
07:02 playbook standpoint?
07:04 >> Yeah, I think running back is one of the positions that you can pick up really
07:07 quick.
07:08 There's some similarities between our offense and theirs.
07:11 A lot of the same runs, a lot of the same words in some cases.
07:14 So he's not struggling to transition that part.
07:18 I think getting comfortable in the offense.
07:22 There's nuances I've met with him about it, differences in the way we do things and
07:25 they did things offensively that he's picking up on.
07:27 He's very bright.
07:28 Not gonna be a problem for him.
07:30 There's been some mistakes and things, but nothing that can't be corrected.
07:36 In terms of his effort and practice habits, we've encouraged him to
07:41 give great effort, run the ball, pass the last defender.
07:45 And he's a sponge.
07:47 He's absorbed that.
07:49 He's enjoyed getting pushed.
07:51 He's enjoying the competition of that room
07:54 because there's guys he's competing with within that room.
07:57 So I'm very pleased with where he is and
07:59 hope that he'll continue the trajectory he's on.
08:01 >> Yeah, Kirby, we've talked to Brock Bowers in the past.
08:06 He talked about wanting to set the example for
08:07 the tight end room in terms of his work ethic, things like that.
08:10 How have you seen Oscar Delt kind of try to take up that mantle as
08:13 the elder statesman in that tight end room now?
08:15 >> Oscar's really physical.
08:17 He does things his way.
08:18 He's not Brock.
08:19 He doesn't try to be Brock.
08:20 He's a quiet leader, similar to Brock, but he's really physical.
08:24 He's tough.
08:25 He knows the work ethic it requires.
08:28 I mean, the guy's taken a lot of reps since being here.
08:31 He's been durable, and he's doing a good job leading in that room,
08:37 as well as Lucky is and the two young kids.
08:39 >> Coach, keeping on the transfer steam, ask you about the three wide receivers and
08:47 kind of what you've seen from each of those guys so far.
08:49 >> Well, they've been a little banged up.
08:52 Kobe's been a little banged up.
08:53 He's had an ankle, happened I think right before we started or
08:57 right before we went on break.
08:58 And so he's been able to practice some and do some things.
09:02 He's actually gotten better with each practice,
09:04 probably did the least any of his practices, the first practice.
09:08 A little more the third practice, and then hoping today he's able to do some more.
09:12 So he's very bright, transition smoothly.
09:15 Michael Jackson's shown up, made some plays, and so has London.
09:19 London is really in his second year of college football.
09:22 So I think a lot of times you take a guy in the portal,
09:24 you would think of immediate, Rah-Rah, Dom.
09:27 Those guys had played in our conference a lot.
09:29 London had played in our conference, but probably a young player that's developing.
09:33 The other two guys are a little bit older, but
09:36 very pleased with all three of those guys.
09:38 I don't sit here and put expectations on top of people of
09:44 having super high expectations.
09:45 I want them to fit into our culture and buy into special teams and
09:50 practice hard and learn how to practice in the spring and then come back fall.
09:54 They should be conditioned and smarter and be able to benefit us more.
09:57 And each one of them has done that.
09:59 >> Kirby, I wanna ask about the tight ends, I guess, Oscar and company.
10:05 What are your impressions of them as a whole?
10:06 And what did you guys see from the transfer that's gonna come in the summer
10:10 that you wanted to add to that position?
10:12 >> Well, experience, size and speed.
10:15 With knowing Pierce's unfortunate situation,
10:19 we were gonna be short there and we felt like we're getting a really talented,
10:24 intelligent, experienced, mature body type.
10:28 And we need that at that position.
10:31 Lawson's having a good spring so far and Oscar's a proven player with toughness.
10:36 We gotta bring the two young kids along really fast.
10:39 Jaden's, Riddell's been dealing with a little bit of a hamstring.
10:41 So we're trying to get him back out there best he can, but
10:45 they need all the reps they can get.
10:47 They just need to go out there and take a ton of reps and
10:50 keep getting better so that they can grow.
10:52 But we're not where we need to be from a health standpoint in that room.
10:55 And it would help to have been here, but he's not and he'll be here in the summer.
11:00 >> Hey Kirby, last week,
11:03 Mikkel talked about both the team and him individually having a get better mindset.
11:10 I know last week you said the team is still finding their identity, but
11:15 for all three units, have they gotten better?
11:17 And what exactly does that get better mindset mean for each of those units?
11:23 Offense, defense, special teams?
11:25 >> Just being detailed in what we're attacking each day.
11:27 Don't go out there without a purpose.
11:29 I try to have the coaches each day go in and give a few points of emphasis.
11:33 Because if we're not careful right now, there's so
11:35 many things to correct that you can't see the forest for the trees.
11:39 And it can be overwhelming to a young player.
11:42 So we try to narrow their focus on small things.
11:46 And we got 15 opportunities to get better.
11:49 And so far we've done that in the first three.
11:52 And I have full expectation that they'll come out there today with the intentions
11:57 of growing and getting better.
11:58 >> Yeah, Coach, when we talked to Carson last week and
12:01 asked him about areas of growth, he mentioned playing with more confidence.
12:05 Curious what that looks like, what development looks like in the area of
12:09 confidence, and if you've seen any steps in growth.
12:13 >> Yeah, I think one of the big challenges for
12:14 him is being comfortable and trusting the receivers around him.
12:17 He's had the fortune and
12:20 misfortune of Brock and Ladd and Marcus Rosemay being in the lineup.
12:24 But yet he's also had the misfortune of him not being in the lineup.
12:27 And as a quarterback, you ask any good quarterback, they like wide receivers.
12:32 They trust, they know, they have intuitive ability to think the same way.
12:37 And there's a lot of change in that room right now.
12:40 So showing confidence in himself and showing confidence in those players
12:44 to do their job and trust them is a big part of it.
12:48 That trust is not given, it's earned.
12:50 And they're earning his trust, and it goes both ways.
12:53 >> Kirby, I saw you talked in Macon last night about Nick's comments on NIL and
12:59 just kind of the state of things.
13:00 There was so much talk in the offseason about college coaches wanting to move on
13:05 because of everything going on.
13:07 And did you have any thoughts on that?
13:10 And do you have some confidence that the leaders in college athletics are gonna
13:15 come up with solutions that'll make it so college coaches like you wanna stay?
13:19 >> Yeah, I think the leaders are gonna do a great job positioning us for
13:27 the future in terms of what they do.
13:29 The choice of each college coach is obviously up to the college coaches.
13:33 I mean, there's certainly higher stakes and
13:37 higher pay than there's ever been for college coaches across the board.
13:41 I mean, the guy's making money and making livings that coordinators can retire now.
13:47 They don't have to go get a head job.
13:48 You look back even ten years ago, how much has changed for coaches.
13:52 So there's no crying out there from my end.
13:58 I want what's best for the student athlete.
14:00 And sometimes I question the system we have now if it's best for
14:05 the student athlete cuz it's not necessarily best for the sophomore,
14:09 junior, and senior.
14:10 It may be best for the freshman, but it may not be best for the sophomore,
14:13 junior, and senior.
14:14 I would love to see a little more fair system for
14:17 the players in terms of within the players.
14:20 But I don't have a lot of coaches complaining,
14:24 saying they wanna get out of the profession, they enjoy the profession.
14:27 They want the profession to be about relationships, developing talent, and
14:30 rewarding positive performance, both on and off the field.
14:34 And that comes through what you've done in your body of work of being there,
14:37 not necessarily where it's a reverse system of the younger players,
14:42 sometimes get more than the older players.
14:44 >> Kirby, can you tell us a little bit about Will Muschamp's decision to become
14:50 a defensive analyst and why you hired Coach Robinson?
14:54 >> Yeah, Will came and talked to me and it's really important that he continued to
14:58 be a major factor in his son's life.
15:01 He spent a lot of time around young men in this profession and
15:04 he's developed a lot of really good football players and
15:07 he's shaped a lot of boys into men.
15:09 And he's got a lot of great relationships from the places he's coached.
15:12 He's got players from Florida, Auburn, South Carolina,
15:14 that reach out to him all the time that he's good friends with.
15:16 And he spent a lot of time developing those kids and
15:21 he wants to be able to see his son.
15:23 He wants to be able to watch his son develop and play.
15:25 He got to see that firsthand with Jackson here who did a tremendous job for us.
15:29 And just every day, Coach Muschamp had to go on the practice field and
15:33 be with his son.
15:33 I can only imagine what that felt like for him and
15:37 the satisfaction of seeing his son each day.
15:39 Now he's got Witt, who's got an opportunity to go to Vanderbilt and play.
15:43 So he wants to be a factor in his life and be with him.
15:46 So that was a really easy transition.
15:48 I thought he handled it very well.
15:50 He's communicated very well with me.
15:53 And then our ability to hire T-Rob was tremendous.
15:57 Got tons of value in our SEC footprint, recruiting value, football knowledge,
16:03 leader of men.
16:05 I think anywhere he's coached, his players really, really trust him and
16:08 enjoy him.
16:09 And he's been nothing but an asset for us in terms of knowledge, but
16:13 also in terms of relationships.
16:15 So we'll get a great benefit from T-Rob coming and we'll get a huge benefit from
16:20 Coach Muschamp remaining part of our program to help us.
16:23 >> Kirby, two-parter on your defensive transfers, Jake and Xavier.
16:28 Can you catch us up on them?
16:29 And then also drawn from the making speech last night, the new assume nothing.
16:34 Why you chose that as an offseason mantra?
16:37 >> I'll start with that.
16:38 I didn't choose it myself.
16:39 I had some help and we get outside support with that.
16:41 So I'm not taking credit for that.
16:43 I think I have a close relationship with Nike and Phil Knight and
16:46 been on a trip with him for six or seven consecutive years.
16:50 And have so much respect for him and his wife and what he's done with his business
16:55 that I thought was really cool when the opportunity came up to study their success.
16:59 You wanna be successful, study successful people.
17:03 And they have certainly been that.
17:04 So that's really where that came from, from outside sources.
17:07 And then as far as Jake and X, those guys are coming from SEC programs.
17:14 They've been in those programs.
17:16 They are more mature than our mid-years.
17:19 They're intelligent.
17:21 They're familiar with our systems.
17:23 They're both developing and working hard and competing for playing time.
17:28 >> We have time for one more question.
17:29 >> Kirby, Jared's obviously a guy that's been around the program for four years.
17:32 But Cedric being the staple that he's been feels sort of new.
17:36 How have you seen him step into that role in the middle of the offensive line?
17:40 >> Yeah, I'm excited for the rest of the world to get to see Jared Wilson.
17:43 This is a guy that, number one, is I don't put a lot of high expectations on people.
17:49 And annoying people, he has a lot to do to be the best player he can be.
17:54 But when you talk about athleticism at the center position,
17:57 this guy runs faster than a lot of our defensive backs, believe it or not.
18:04 Our tight ends, our quarterbacks, I mean, his numbers, extremely athletic,
18:09 over 300 pounds, can get to the second level as quick as anybody.
18:13 Just really athletic.
18:14 So he's had the great fortune of learning from Ced.
18:17 Unfortunately, that's not a position that you rotate it at a time.
18:20 So he didn't get a lot of opportunities to go and play,
18:23 like maybe a Mims or a Dylan Fairchild.
18:26 They got to go in the game and play.
18:28 He didn't get an opportunity to do a lot of those things.
18:30 But he is a really, really good athlete, an even better person.
18:34 He's got a younger brother that's gonna be a really talented football player as well.
18:38 And we just enjoyed his leadership.
18:42 And I'm looking forward to the center being the leader of the group.
18:45 Like Ced was, he's taking on a new role and kind of doing it his way.
18:49 Thank you, sir.
18:50 (door creaking)