Georgia gains trademark mental, physical toughness via preparation habits
ATHENS, Ga. — Go through Kirby Smart’s on-the-record comments during the week leading up to the Tennessee game something will standout. The Georgia head coach told anyone who would listen that the Volunteers are physical, that Josh Heupel had brought a toughness to Knoxville along with his brilliant offensive mind.
That probably was an is true but it was made apparent this past Saturday in Athens that Tennessee isn’t on the Bulldogs’ level in that regard. Georgia bullied its SEC Eastern Division rival, still ranked No. 1 in the College Football Playoff rankings until those are updated on Tuesday night.
“We hit — mentally tough and physically tough,” Smart said when asked about how his team has developed that mental and physical toughess. “We hit a lot. So they get that speech before they come. Because I don’t want to lie to them. So we tell them, ‘We’re going to be in pads Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday. And we’re going to be physical. And we’re going to practice physical, we’re going to be physical in the spring. We’re going to be comfortable being physical.’ So that’s agreed upon when they come.”
Georgia owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball against Tennessee. It picked up eight sacks (six official) and had another negated by a penalty. Whether the Volunteers elected to run it or throw it, a high number of those plays ended with the Georgia passing the more impactful lick.
When the dust settled, Tennessee had less than 300 yards of total offense. It had allowed just 13 sacks all season coming into the game and Georgia officially posted six. The Vols couldn’t run or throw it consistently while UGA’s offense was the only thing that could stop itself.
The physical toughness was impressive but mental toughness played an equal role in Georgia emerging victorious in the highest-ranked matchup in Sanford Stadium history. Stopping Tennessee’s high-flying, score-in-the-blink-of-an-eye offense takes a certain amount of physical ability but it’s also a thinking-man’s game.
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Communication is always a must but even more so against Hendon Hooker and his pass catchers. Making sure that every receiver is being covered and with the right leverage is a tall task when the Vols butter their bread by lining up ultra fast and getting the opposing defensive backfield to break down in coverage.
A plan was needed. The coaches put that together and the players bought into it. Even when adversity struck, like the fumble on UGA’s opening possession, the plan was embraced.
Most coaches will tell you that it takes toughness, in both areas, to win big. It’s a core tenet in the perpetual process put in place at Georgia by Smart and his coaching staff. It’s something they spend all year tweaking and, ideally, enhancing.
“I would say really just our practice habits and what we’ve worked on since fall camp, since winter workouts last year,” redshirt sophomore wideout Ladd McConkey said. “It’s something we pride ourselves on.”
