WATCH: Carson Beck, Georgia players share after win over Tennessee

ATHENS, Ga. — DawgsHQ was present at Sanford Stadium last night to see Georgia take care of business against Tennessee. It was a win that will keep the Bulldogs in the College Football Playoff discussion, and could be what gets Georgia in. Furthermore, it was a much needed boost in momentum for Kirby Smart’s squad after suffering a second loss of the season the Saturday before in Oxford against Ole Miss.

After the game, we heard from Georgia players including Carson Beck, Smael Mondon, Oscar Delp and Jalon Walker. Below we’ve got video of those interviews for you as well as partial transcript of each.

For more Georgia Football coverage, be sure to check out the DawgsHQ YouTube channel where you can find press conferences, player interviews, podcasts and more!

Carson Beck | QB | No. 15

On speaking to the team this week…

“Yeah, I mean, I didn’t really feel any pressure, to be honest. I stood up in front of the team on Monday, and I just kind of talked to them about how I felt about how our season’s gone, whether that’s, whatever’s happened has happened. And that all we can control is what we can control moving forward. Sorry, my voice is gone. All we can control is what we’re controlling in the future. So I mean, our next opportunity is Saturday, which is today. Focus day to day. Take practice like it’s your last one ever because we don’t know when our last game is going to come and when our last game in the stadium is going to come. So I’m just super proud of these guys and the way that we really approached this week was unbelievable. And the way that we were able to bounce back from last week, like I said, I’m just super proud of these guys.”

On Nate Frazier…

“Yeah, I’m super proud of all those freshman backs. I mean, you’ve got Trevor out. Cash is filling in. Branson’s out. I mean, Rod’s out. I mean, Rod hasn’t played the whole season. But we’ve got three freshman backs in there. Cash is hopping in there when he can. He’s playing a little banged up, a little injured. I mean, so many guys are banged up and injured. That’s what it is in the SEC. But I mean, obviously, I’m super proud of Nate. I mean, he’s had a pretty good year this year. I’m really excited to see what he’s going to be able to do in the future.”

On the connection with Oscar Delp tonight…

“Yeah, I mean, I thought we had a really good game plan going into it. And our tight ends really stepped up. I mean, all of those guys were able to make some plays. Obviously, Oscar was able to get into the end zone. And on the first touchdown pass, he made a great play on that ball down the middle. But no, I mean, I was super proud of him and the way that he was able to step up in this game.”

On how important it was for the Georgia offensive line to keep him clean…

“Oh, yeah, absolutely. I mean, that helps me out tremendously. And then you add that, and we’re able to run the ball when we want to, whether it’s with my legs or hand it off to the running back or whatever kind of way that we need to run the ball. When we’re able to do that, and then they’re able to protect me, it gives me time to be able to distribute the ball to our wide receivers.”

On the momentum from his early run…

“I mean, I don’t know. It kind of woke me up, get hit a little bit. But no, I thought it might have juiced us up a little bit. I mean, it was a good little run, so.” 

On extending the Georgia home winning streak…

Yeah, I mean it felt really good. I think up to this point, still my class and down hasn’t lost at home. We put that up on the board going into this week and I mean that means something, you know, you got to protect your house. I thought the fans really showed up today. I mean the blackout was super cool, to play at night, College GameDay. I mean crazy atmospheres. It’s definitely going to be one that you know, you remember for the rest of your life.

On what this win shows about Georgia…

I mean, I think we’ve shown this the whole entire year. But I think the word that really identifies us is resilient. We stay so composed in high-pressure moments. And although it might not look perfect, it might not be pretty, we’re gonna get the job done. And I think that’s what defines resiliency.

On overcoming drops…

Yeah, I mean it is what it is. It’s part of the game. You know, what can I do about that, right? They’re gonna continue to practice. I’m gonna continue to have faith and confidence in them. I’m gonna continue to throw the ball to them. I have to. You know I’m saying so? And they have so much talent, and I think as time goes and we start to really roll in this thing, they’re gonna make plays like they made plays tonight. It’s not always gonna look perfect. They’re not gonna make every single play. Some of it is my fault on ball placement and stuff like that. But no, man, I have so much belief in them and I really think that it’s really about to start exploding for them.

On if this win says Georgia should be in Playoffs…

I mean I didn’t even know that we were left out to be honest. I kind of live in a little bubble by myself kind of so I don’t really see that. I didn’t even know we got left out. But no, I mean we got we got the rest of the season, we got next game and then I mean we play a good Georgia Tech team that just had a really good win a couple weeks ago. So we’ve got to finish the season now and then I mean if they want to decide to put us in, then let’s roll. 

On interactions with Mike Bobo this week..

Yeah I mean obviously going into the week just discussing the type of plays that you know, he wanted to run and how we were gonna attack them. Throughout the meetings on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, I mean, we’re changing stuff. We’re you know, dicing stuff up all the way up until, shoot this morning. There’s stuff we’re still going over, especially with the night game you have a little bit more time. But no, I mean those type of conversations are really goo, and I think our relationship has really grown over the past two years and I’m happy that he has faith in me and confidence in me to lead this offense. 

On the atmosphere…

Yeah, I mean I thought the atmosphere was great. It was it was a lot of fun to be a part of and then you add into the fact that we get the win, we played really well I thought offensive, defensively, special teams, it all just makes it that much better.

On his cell phone getting leaked…

Someone came up to me and was like, ‘Yo, your phone number got leaked.’ I was like, ‘What are you talking about? Like I haven’t I haven’t gotten any text or whatever.’ But, nah, it was my old number from like high school. So he showed me, he’s like, ‘This is your number?’ I was like ‘Nah, I was like, I’m two steps ahead.’

On having a Stetson Bennett like game…

“Yeah I guess so.”

On the last play of the first quarter…

“Yeah, so yeah it’s just like a essentially they jumped and then I mean we’re snapping the ball, but it’s a free play. We’re running four verticals. Let it rip.

On the Georgia offense finding a rhythm…

“I mean I thought we just had juice and intensity and there’s just a fire about us tonight. Seems like we’re just having fun.I think that’s the biggest thing for us. Just go out there have fun like regardless of the mistakes regardless of what happens. Like it is what it is. Like we get the opportunity to go out there and play on the field. We don’t get this forever. You know, you don’t know the last day you’re gonna strap up the pads and put the helmet on. So I think that’s the biggest thing for us and I really think that creates juice for us.

On playing with joy…

Yeah, I mean obviously playing well is awesome. And when you’re able to celebrate obviously with your teammates and you know do it together it makes it makes it that much better. But I’m super proud of the guys I thought we had a lot of fun out there.

On talking to the team… 

“Oh, well, I mean every Sunday we just go in we watch a film. We correct it and then we move on.  So we got done with the team meeting on Monday, I didn’t even know I was gonna do this. So we’re sitting there and then coach Smart was like, okay like coaches out like some of the players I guess some of the players had texted him and been like, hey, like ‘heywe want to take talk to the team, whatever.’ So I’m just sitting there. I’m like, well shoot I mean, I’ll get up there too.

And if it comes my way then I’ll say something. But a couple guys stood up there, Jalon Walker. I mean Tate, me, Malaki. There’s a couple guys that stood up and talked.

On understanding the moment they were facing…

“No, absolutely I think everybody was you know, like you said like understood the situation that we were in and you know our backs are against the wall and the only way out is through whatever’s in front of you.

On how often he addresses the team…

“I mean, it’s not like a thing that I do often. I mean obviously as a quarterback I’m addressing the offense every day, right and I’m addressing the huddle every play. I’m able to do that to the best of my ability. But whenever you know give an opportunity to speak to the team, I’ll  always try to say something, you know, because I don’t I don’t talk much. So I think when I do speak up that it means something.

On the need to keep winning…

“I mean essentially to the point where it’s like, hey like as long as we want this thing to keep going, we got a win. You know backs against the wall like it is what it is. Let’s go roll and let’s go have fun.”

Smael Mondon | LB | No. 2

“… Once we fixed that, and then we got to clicking, and I felt like we were doing good after that.”

On what the process of fixing things on the Georgia sideline is like…

“I mean, what goes into it really just depends on what happened, but usually the coach will come up to us. Before it was more so like drawing on the boards, but now that we’ve got the iPads, it’s kind of easier. It’ll be like a couple iPads per position, and then we’ll just go through. We got a lot of older guys, though, so a lot of the older guys will kind of take it and go through with the younger guys, show them what’s going on. But the iPads help a lot, though, because the coaches can really see and break it down, and people can visualize it.”

On his experience against the Tennessee offense…

“I mean, I would really just let guys know throughout the week to really just take practice serious, because the way you prepare for it is the user gets us ready for it. So just take practice serious, and really just try to line up, get your cleats in the ground, get the call, because they’ll go real fast.”

On returning last week, how good it felt to be back out there…

“Yeah, no, I feel real good. I don’t think I’ve played in a home game since, like, the second game of the season because, you know, I missed Mississippi State and Auburn, so it felt real good to be back out there.”

On the fan support…

“I mean, they were lit. They were piped in the crowd. So to see them get turned like that, you know, we really feed off their energy. So they started getting loud. They started rocking. It was really helping us. I mean, they had a couple of false starts, so they really played a big role.”

On what this win showed about Georgia…

“I think it shows how we bounce back. You know, we got confidence in this. Like, no matter what the outcome is, like, we know what type of team we are. So really just stay true to ourselves and, like, put our head down and work this week. I mean, I feel like it showed.”

On halftime adjustments…

“We were just going over some of the plays they hit and then what they might try to go to. So I feel like everybody came out, bowed in, and then just executed the plan.”

On message this week from the leaders…

“Yeah, a lot of the older guys kind of got up. And really just talked about, like, we’ll just go out there and let it all out or leave it all out there, you know, play with no doubts. That was kind of, like, the main gist of it.”

On Kirby Smart’s message after the game…

“Yeah, he was proud of us, really. He was going over that, talking about some of the things he was proud of. But there was a lot of things that kind of, like, left out on the table. So he was just going over that. And then, you know, we got to get back to work next week and the week after that.”

Oscar Delp | TE | No. 4

On the feeling after a two-touchdown outing…

“Super good, I mean, I’m blessed. Practiced really hard this week, the whole team did. Just keep working, keep chopping, things will come your way.”

On the performance of the Georgia tight ends…

“I mean, just showing what we can do every day in practice. It all starts with practice. We got to practice hard every week. I think we had a really good week of practice as a unit and as a team. It showed.”

On Ben Yurosek…

“Yeah, it’s awesome. He’s a great athlete. I mean, he’s a great player. To see him come over here and learn this offense and kind of become the leader he is as an older guy, it’s been awesome.”

On the game plan for tight ends against Tennessee defense…

“I mean, I think we’re mismatches all over the field, no matter who we play. I think just one catch after another leads to more trust with the quarterback and that just ends up happening over time.”

On first touchdown of the season for him…

“Yeah, I mean, I never lost doubt. I never lost confidence throughout the whole season. I knew stuff was going to come my way. I just had to keep doing my job, playing my game. It came my way tonight and I was excited.”

On criticism offense took, how good this performance feels…

“Yeah, it was good. It was awesome. I mean, I know they’re saying stuff everywhere about us. A lot of the media always, good or bad, but we focus on ourselves every week. We don’t look at all that stuff. We correct what we do wrong and we just have to practice hard every day and go at it.”

On Carson Beck…

“He’s a dog. I mean, we all knew what we’re at stake tonight with this game. He’s going to come out here and do his thing. He just needs everyone around him to do their job.”

On his postgame embrace with Todd Hartley…

“It was awesome. I mean, you know, he’s up in the booth and he’s always calling me on the phone, so it’s usually all right conversations, sometimes good, sometimes bad. But, you know, once the game’s in the bag and it’s after, it’s awesome to see him. You know, just all the hard work that we’ve put in together over the past couple years and this week, it’s awesome.”

On the Georgia locker room atmosphere…

Yeah, it’s electric. You know, I mean, this is the place to be. I think all the recruits in there know that and everyone around the country knows that. I mean, look at the people we play and what we do every week. I think we’re the best team in the country.”

On the fan support…

“Yeah, it was awesome. It was amazing. You know, they shot out fireworks for the first time, I guess, someone told me. But it was insane, you know, just the way that the fans showed up and showed out. I mean, I’ve never been at a game where before pregame warm-ups even start, the student sections were packed out, so it was awesome. I mean, we’ve got the best fan base in the country.”

On the juice Georgia gets from the fans…

“Oh, yeah, always, always. I mean, it’s the extra push, it’s momentum. I know the defense loves it. You know, we love it, too. It’s easier for us to communicate and harder for them to communicate on the other side of the ball.”

On which touchdown he liked better…

“I mean, I liked the first one, you know, a little head and shoulders, but it was good. They were both, you know, good play calls and, you know, Carson found me.”

Jalon Walker | LB | No. 11

“We had some busts in the first half, and going into the second half, we had an answer. At halftime, we looked at what we did wrong and executed on what we needed to do. It’s all about football, adjust and be able to play to your competition.”

On Kirby Smart’s message ahead of this one…

“Just be us. Go play football, go enjoy the moment, the crowd, a great atmosphere. This was our first home game in 37 days, and just enjoy the fact that we get to play SEC football and the fact that we get to live to fight another day.”

On his funny false start celebration…

“If you’re not having fun, you shouldn’t be out there. I mean, I enjoy this game so much. I got to the point, you know, going from my freshman year to now, if you have fun, it’s easy. Just enjoy the game. Just enjoy being out there.”

On the atmosphere…

“After the game, I ran over to the Spike Squad and the student section, giving them praise. They did a great job just giving the crowd volume in the stadium and creating that environment of the blackout for the whole week leading up to the game. It was just a great thing for them to come out and support us no matter what.”

On what changed for Georgia’s defense…

“Like you said, like I said earlier, we know how to take punches. We know how to give punches well. Just going out there and executing and following our game plan and eliminating our mess-ups and our busts and executing on what we need to execute on. That’s what we need to do. That’s what we had to do for our game time adjustment.”

On if the game plan was bend but don’t break…

“No, we just go out there and execute and try to play the best football we can. Of course, there’s different ebbs and flows to the game, but just being able to get out there and play football and adjust to the field advantage and this and that, just us going out there and setting off the fire going out there from going out there on the offensive side.”

On the plan for Georgia linebackers against Tennessee’s offense…

“I feel like we did a good job adjusting the game. They do have that wide offense, but we had a game plan to just make sure everything is convinced for us as the backers are staying in the box. They have a great running back. They have a good quarterback as well doing what they need to do playing big time in this football game. You don’t see those big time players. Just adjusting to the game and doing what we need to do.”

On Carson Beck this week in practice…

“I saw the same Carson Beck that I always see. Confident, ready to attack, deep balls, just executing on point. He had a great game tonight, and I’m proud that he’s my quarterback.”

On the message this week from team leaders…

“A bunch of guys, including myself, we got up there and spoke to our team knowing this is a big time game for us, and we got to go out there and execute. That’s what we did.”

On what Georgia proved in the win…

“We proved that we’re still Georgia. We proved that we are still one of the top SEC schools, one of the top schools in the country to play football.”