What Georgia coach Kirby Smart said about Tennessee on the SEC Coaches Teleconference

Everything Georgia coach Kirby Smart said about facing Tennessee during his appearance on the SEC Coaches Teleconference on Wednesday:

Opening Statement

“We’ve been in prep for, I guess two days, really three days now, getting ready. And it’s always a really hard prep for these guys. They test you in a lot of ways, very different, the style of offense we have to play against. And they’ve improved immensely on defense and are playing with a really tough attitude and demeanor and they strike up front. So, it’ll be a great challenge for us as we go into Knoxville.”

Where he has seen Georgia linebacker Smael London improve

“Probably the most since he got here was his toughness and his strength. He’s improved his weight room numbers, his weight. He was a little undersized when first signed him. He’s added that. His confidence has improved immensely in terms of learning the defense (his) first year to executing it last year to leading it this year. So he’s improved in a lot of ways.”

Georgia’s team leadership 

“We spent a lot of time in the offseason developing leadership and trying to spend time with players to put them in a role, to be good leaders. And for the most part, those guys have stepped up and the young ones are learning from the old ones, so they can replace them one day.”

What Tennessee has done to improve on defense

“I think the improvement with Tennessee’s defense is they have more experienced players in their system. They’ve got a lot of players to me that have been playing for two, three, four years. And those guys are very experienced. A lot of playing defense is the experiences you’ve had and you’ve played in these big moments. And they have talented players. They have more size across the defensive line. They play with great pad level and strike. So they’ve improved immensely in terms of how aggressive they are. They got a great pass-rusher that’s a freshman that’s come on and been a big impact. So you just see it all over the tape. And they’re playing at a high level.”

How Georgia QB Carson Beck handled the environment earlier this season at Auburn, what he can take from that experience to Tennessee

“It’s a tough environment when you go on the road in the SEC, it’s never easy. Neyland presents one of the toughest (road environments) there is in the country in terms of environment and noise. But we emphasize that. We don’t do that week to week. We have to emphasize that for our defense when we’re at home. So we do it to the offense when we’re going against the defense. So it’s something that’s continuous for us, even in the off season. That doesn’t mean that it’s easy, it’s hard and you scheme things differently. You do a little less of this and a little more of this, and you carry a little more of these and a little less of those. When you’re at home or road, you have to execute at a high level. It puts more pressure on your run game. because you have to be able to run the ball. And the line of scrimmage is important anytime, but it’s really important on the road.”

What makes the environment different on the road at Tennessee

“The setup of the stadium is unique. It’s really vertical. It feels like (the fans are) right on top of you. It’s not as leaned back (as a stadium). It’s right there on (you), a lot of fans very passionate fans. And that makes it tough.”

How Josh Heupel’s tempo offense at Tennessee compares to what he ran at Oklahoma

“I don’t really know what he was in those days you’re referencing because the Oklahoma experiences he had, I wasn’t really part of. He’s always been really good at running the ball and making sure that the toughness and the run element is part of his offense. But he also has the ability to stretch the field horizontally and vertically. So that’s been consistent. I can’t speak to the Oklahoma days.”

If the pressure grows with each game as Georgia’s win streak continues and they chase a third straight national championship

“We’re just trying to win the now. I mean, we literally are just trying to win the now today and be where our feet are and try to dominate the moment. And not get caught up in all the noise. And the way to do that is have good leadership that focuses on humility.”