WATCH: Georgia players prepared for rivalry game, bounce-back performance against Auburn

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia is in the thick of its preparations to take on Auburn, and in the midst of it, four UGA players have spent time talking to the media. CJ Allen, Cash Jones, Smael Mondon and Earnest Greene each shared on what things have been like in the Bulldogs’ building since Saturday’s loss to Alabama and how the team is looking to put that behind them to take on the Tigers this week. Below, DawgsHQ shares partial transcripts and full video of the player interviews for you to check out yourself.

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#3 | CJ Allen | So. | ILB

On knowing the significance of rivalry games…

“It just means more considering the history of the game. Some of the coaches have even played at Auburn, like this year my coach T-Rob [Travaris Robinson]. And guys have played in the game before me. But it’s just another game. It’s another game where we go out there and do what we are supposed to do.”

On what advice he gives to the freshman…

“I tell guys just to keep working because you never know when your number is about to get called. You might be one injury away, or one player away, so you never know when your number is up. Like I said, it’s a long season and we all of our guys no matter what. I also tell them just to have fun and be able to learn. It’s a learning process and you can never stop learning.”

On conversations within the Georgia defense coming off Alabama…

“We definitely look at the film and see what we did wrong. But it also just comes down to just being correct and just executing the call. Obviously, we never plan on giving up points, but we just go over what we did wrong. The conversations don’t change because the standard is still the standard to give up no points.”

#32 | Cash Jones | Jr. | RB

On what he’s seen from Auburn’s front seven…

“They’re big, they’re fast, they’re physical. I know their record doesn’t show it, but they’re really good. I know coach Bobo and coach Smart are going to put us in the best situation possible to win.”

On playing against Alabama…

“Bama versus Georgia is definitely a big game, especially in the regular season this early in the year. I had fun. I know we had a slow start, but when we went through our corrections and what we needed to fix, now we’re starting to focus on Auburn.”

On what he’s seen from the Georgia defense’s preparation for Auburn…

“They’re definitely not very happy with how the first quarter, first half went. But they’re definitely more focused on Auburn and how they’re game plan works, just because it’s the next game and we already did our corrections for Bama.”

#2 Smael Mondon Jr. | Sr. | ILB

On the similarities between Auburn and Alabama and the preparation…

“They both have two explosive offenses, and two athletic quarterbacks that can throw the ball. But as far as that similarity goes, it’s two different offenses, so I wouldn’t necessarily say there’s too many similarities.”

On Georgia getting stops on the edges…

“Really, it was kind of a mix of a couple of different things. We can’t really put it all on one specific problem. We’re going to go to the doctor today to see what we’ve got to fix, and then attack practice and get ready for Auburn.”

On how the team will moving on and focusing on Auburn…

“Just learning from the mistakes we made Saturday and then improving on it in practice, then just moving on to Auburn.”

#71 Earnest Greene III | R-So. | OL

On the key to Georgia’s offense having faster starts…

“From not only as an offensive perspective but as a team perspective, we try to take the approach of winning every moment so it’s really just attacking moment by moment and I guess we just have to win more moments.”

On the positives to take away from the Alabama game…

“At a place like this, we don’t really believe in moral victories. We try to uphold the standard and what we believe excellence is. Obviously playing hard, fighting to show this team we don’t quit, but that’s one takeaway we already knew about ourselves.”

On what he can use from playing Auburn last year to help prepare for Saturday…

“Definitely just learning from it, looking back, and seeing what we can and can’t do, especially on the road in places with tough environments. It definitely will be a good learning experience for us moving forward, just turning the page and learning from it and growing as a team.”