Kirby Smart: Georgia defense knows Clemson is going to attack their eyes

Ahead of the highly anticipated matchup between the Georgia Bulldogs and Clemson Tigers, Kirby Smart is weary of the Tigers’ offense. Interestingly, Smart has a unique perspective on his opponent’s strategy. 

In comments prior to Saturday’s game, the Bulldogs head coach praised Clemson’s offensive talent.

“I think any good offense keeps the pressure on you,” Smart said, via the team’s website. “We have faced a lot of good offenses in the SEC and we have faced Clemson in the past as well in my history of seeing those guys. 

“They do a great job of number one they have great skill players and when you have good skill players the pressure is always on. I mean they have had incredible wideouts as they do this year. They’ve got elite backs that can catch the ball in the backfield. And they have really good tight ends especially this year because they have a veteran group. The pressure comes from the players, it is not just the schemes.”

‘An attacking offensive group’

While Smart mentions that the players are the cause of the pressure, Clemson offensive coordinator Tony Elliott’s schemes still can keep you up at night. Of course, it helps when you have a quarterback like D.J. Uiagalelei.

Furthermore, Smart mentions that Elliott’s offense is an attacking group, with many ways to beat you.

“They’re an attacking offensive group that knows how to get the ball in the perimeter in the run game,” Smart said. “They know how to run the quarterback. [Clemson] builds plays so that if you are stopping one thing, they have a compliment off of that same thing. They build their play-action game each week to where their play-action game is married up with their run. 

“So if they have a really good successful run you better believe they are getting ready to come back with a play-action to come off of it to get you to bite on it.”

While Smart will have his defenders prepared, the chess match between the Georgia defense and Clemson offense will be riveting.

‘Attacking your eyes’

While Smart may be impressed with Clemson’s wealth of talent, he mentions his defense is working on something unique to prepare for Saturday. Prior to the must-see Top-5 matchup, Georgia is working on eye control.

“We talk about eye control, eye violators; everyone in college football right now is attacking defenses’ eyes,” said Smart. “If you take your eyes off of the right thing for a second it can be an explosive play. So they do a good job of attacking your eyes.”

Evidently, Kirby Smart is pulling out all the stops to prepare for Clemson. While Georgia attempts to keep their eyes on Clemson, our eyes will be glued to the television.