What Was Said: Kirby Smart speaks again as Georgia turns attention to Tennessee Tech

ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia head coach Kirby Smart spoke with reporters Tuesday having seen a pair of practices from his Georgia football team. Monday’s wasn’t their best. Their next was better. Here’s everything Smart had to say as he addressed the media for the final time in person before the Bulldogs take on Tennessee Tech.

Smart on how practice has been so far this week…

“It wasn’t great yesterday. I hate it when you change routines, but we didn’t do anything with the players. The players didn’t have anything to do Sunday. They didn’t have school Monday. Historically, the years I’ve been here, Monday’s not great of Labor Day because they lay around all day Sunday and then they lay around all day Monday because they don’t have classes. Then they come over here, and they didn’t have a great day. Today was much better. I think maybe it had something to do with the weather. It was a little cooler today. They’re were good spirits. We had a good practice.”

Smart on playing so many freshmen against Clemson and if playing time is used against Georgia in recruiting…

“I don’t know about playing time. I think we can disprove that with the guys that have started and played. It may get used, but it doesn’t work very effectively because we have as many freshman All-Americans and as many freshmen play as anybody in the country, so I don’t know how effective it is. I don’t know. I would be interested to see how 13 compared to other years. Obviously, the type of game that we play in would dictate that. Last year, we probably had more than 13 play because of the score and the differential.

A couple of years ago against Clemson we probably didn’t have many. I know one that did, but I don’t know many more than that one. Every year is different, you know? It’s about their development. I think so many freshmen across the country right now are so caught up in am I going to play? Am I going to play this week? Am I going to travel? What am I doing? Did I make the right decision? Because all they’ve got to think about is the alternative of where I can go, and if you just be where your feet are and get better, you’ll come out on top in the end.”

Smart on how much more freshmen are ready to play today than they were 5-10 years ago…

“Oh, they’re not. They’re having to play out of necessity. They’re having to play out of the fact that we got more transient rosters. They’re not anymore ready to play physically, mentally, disposition. Not many freshmen are — let me say this: in our league, playing in our league, SEC to SEC, if you’re playing with a lot of freshmen, you’re in trouble because they’re not physically developed. That doesn’t mean one can’t do it, but you don’t want to be out there playing with a lot of freshmen.”

Smart on how Raylen Wilson played against Clemson…

“I haven’t gone back and watched the film from Saturday since, like, Saturday night. That game’s over and done. I’ll speak about Raylen, but I can’t tell you the first thing because I’m own and popping to the next one. Raylen worked really hard in camp. He had some struggles with cramping, and he wasn’t able to finish some practices.

He missed a little time, not really injured, just not being able to finish it up. I thought that hurt his stamina in camp. And then the last week he started playing better and better and better in practices, and then that carried over a little bit into the game.

I think he’s much more confident in the scheme. He’s seeing things well. He had some nice plays on Saturday. He’s a really good athlete.” 

Smart on how offenses changing has changed how Georgia recruits inside linebackers…

“Yeah, it’s a premium now. It probably used to go size, speed, toughness, keys, and now it goes speed, intelligence, space player, size. It just changes the order. It’s a priority to have length. It’s a priority to be able to match up and play in space. You’ve got to be able to run, cover down. I mean, you’re in conflict every play. You’ve got this gap, but you’ve also got to play the bubble. You’ve got to see counters, pulls, RPOs. It’s absolutely insane how much you have to defend now compared to 2012.”

Smart on Dan Jackson…

“Dan’s a product of toughness, the program. I mean, first of all, we’re lucky to have Dan Jackson because we fell into it, and we didn’t do one thing to earn Dan being here. He came to us, and he’s made himself into a really good football player, but he did that through hard work. It’s proof that if you stick around and you have toughness and you’re smart, you’re going to play. I mean, we’ve got millions of examples of kids that have come here, have showed toughness, stuck around, and played. Cash, Prather, and all these guys have done it, and Georgia has a long history of great walk-ons, and he’s one of those.”

Smart on Jordan Hall, Xzavier McLeod, their rehab..

“Yeah, they’re both doing great, man. They were running today, flying around, sideline running, not practicing, but running, straight line, cutting. I’m fired up. I mean, Sunday or Monday, I looked out my office. Two days run together, Labor Day, but Jordan was out there smoking it across the field, and excited. He was up at 5.30 in the morning, game day, rehabbing on his own, beat Ron in there, riding a bike in Atlanta. I mean, he is a different dude when it comes to rehab. He has attacked it and dove all in. I think he’s probably a little ahead of McLeod because dealing with different muscle tissue-type injury. He also hasn’t really ever had a significant injury. But They’re both pushing. 

Smart on non-conference scheduling, lack of in-state schools on the schedule…

“Not the slightest clue. I can’t give you good input. I mean, the schedule I have now, as far as I know, I inherited it. If I didn’t inherit it and I’m lying to you, I don’t know. I didn’t go down the schedule and say, oh, let’s go play Tennessee Tech over Georgia Southern or Mercer. I mean, I don’t know. That’s probably a better question for Josh Brooks.”

Smart on Tennessee Tech taking the check…  

“Does he still want the check? He said he absolutely did. He said there’s no other way really for them to do it than that. That’s my point. Everybody can put me in a pigeonhole of, well, ‘Kirby believes in these games.’ ‘Kirby doesn’t believe in these games.’ I believe in the sport of football. If you told me that the sport of football is going to lose programs because they can’t sustain without the financial help, then I want to support that. I also want the financial support of our fan base. If you told them they’d rather us play Clemson, Notre Dame, every week play somebody. I respect that too. I enjoy that. I coached in the NFL. I’ve been around those kind of leagues.

I’m sensitive to both of those things. I just think that if we’re going to lose football at a lower level, for financial reasons, I’d rather try to sustain those programs and keep them up. Which, by the way, the quarterback he brought in played really well too. He’s a really good athlete. I hate it for the other kids. Obviously, he was a starter.”

Smart on if he looks ahead to Kentucky at all this week…

“Yeah. I don’t have time. What I do do is look at all the third and one and fourth and one plays in our conference, all the explosive plays in our conference, and they tape was extremely long time, considering there’s 60 and 70-point games out there. But it’s not looking at anybody specifically. It’s just what’s going on.”

Smart on Michael Jackson, Jake Pope… 

“Both working hard. Both doing good. Both part of our culture and our program. Really doing a pushing and fighting for playing time.”

Smart on why it is he looks at the short yardage plays…

“It’s something I always do. I think it’s important. If I’ve got to make the decision whether we’re going for it and third and one or fourth and one, I want to know what’s going on.”

Smart on injuries to Joenel Aguero, Warren Brinson, Mykel Williams…

“Yeah, it’s a soft-tissue injury. Joenel practiced and did everything today. I wouldn’t say he’s 100%, but he practiced and did everything. Warren did some things, was out there, moved around pretty good. I would say that Joenel’s ahead of Warren, but Warren’s got a shot. Mykel’s out there watching our guys, doing rehab, being at all the walkthroughs and things, but he’s not participating.”

Smart on if Trevor Etienne will play against Tennessee Tech…

“Again, we’ve all talked about it. It’s not something that I share or talk about. Respectfully, respect your question.” 

Smart on providing clarity with future suspensions in the SEC availability report, giving ESPN information he doesn’t provide reporters…

“I didn’t tell ESPN anything. I don’t talk to ESPN, so don’t put words in my mouth, Chip. I didn’t say that. You said I might have told them. I haven’t talked to anybody. I’m not giving anybody have any more information than I gave you. I don’t tell them anything. As I understand the availability report when it was discussed, there was a debate about whether you had to put that on there. I think you’re talking about a non-injury reason to not be playing. Like a kid’s got a death in the family and he’s not going to be at the game because he’s got to go to a funeral or he’s suspended. You have another category there that you have to report that they’re not going to play. There was a debate about that. I think it ended with you do have to put that, but there was disclosure to me and to several coaches in the SEC that were concerned about what the speculation will be. If you put them in that category, what are you immediately going to assume? That they’re what? Suspended. I don’t think that’s fair, you know what I mean? Because you can get an assumption that is wrong. But I think you do have to disclose that in there. I’m not 100% accurate on that. We haven’t had to worry about it because we’re not to Kentucky week. And like I said, Ron’s going to handle the entire injury part of that. Because I don’t want anything to do with injury. 

Smart on if it’s gamesmanship to not declare…

“No, it’s not gamesmanship at all for me. It’s a kid. It’s a kid, his family. It’s respecting. When recruits come in my room, they say, we respect the way you handle things because a kid takes enough drug through the mud headlines. Everybody puts it out there. And then nobody knows if it’s wrong or if it’s dropped or any of that. They never get to do that. I want to defend the kid. And to discuss it again and say it again, then it’s another whole headline out there. So it’s not gamesmanship in any way, shape, or form for me. It’s just, I don’t want that for the kid. I don’t want to have to go through that again. That’s why I don’t discuss it.” 

Smart on if he was pleased by the toughness from freshmen against Clemson…

“I don’t know. I didn’t see, had a couple freshmen go in and get knocked off the ball. So, no, I wasn’t real proud of that. But I had some guys, I don’t know that a freshman got to show toughness. There was not enough snaps. I mean, what freshman took the most snaps? K.J. Bolden? He didn’t have to show a lot of toughness. He went up there in the trenches, and he had some nice tackles, he had some nice plays, but he didn’t have to show toughness. Nate Frazier had some nice holes and made some nice cuts, but he didn’t have to show toughness. So I respect your question, but I don’t know how to answer it because I don’t know that all freshmen had to show toughness.” 

Smart on Monroe Freeling…

“He’s physically stronger, mentally in a better place, more confident in the system. We wouldn’t put him in there rotating if we didn’t have a lot of confidence in him. So he’s got to continue to get better.” 

Smart on the two-minute timeout…

“Well, I mean, I think it’s an extra timeout. Like I’ve said repeatedly, I think it’s going to get coaches more criticized. It’s another thing that you can screw up. You’ve got to be really smart.I’m not talking about me now. I’m talking about you’ve got to be really smart to not screw it up based on the analytics and all the things. A lot of people just say, oh, I’m not worried about that. I’m just going to play with my gut. But when you read all the analytics into it, it’s pretty deep.”

Smart on if there is someone on staff who specializes in clock management… 

“Yeah we’ve got three or four people on staff that do that. It’s really critical you’ve got people covering your back.”