What Kirby Smart said about Tennessee, Georgia's injuries on Monday

Everything Georgia coach Kirby Smart said during his press conference on Monday, previewing his top-ranked Bulldogs (10-0, 7-0 SEC) play at No. 21 Tennessee (7-3, 3-3) on Saturday (3:30 p.m. Eastern Time, CBS) at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville:

Preparing to face Tennessee

“We’re on to Tennessee. It’s a really difficult prep week, probably the hardest one of the year in terms of trying to replicate what they do. They do a tremendous job, stressing you in all phases. They’ve always been good with Josh (Heupel) in terms of offensively, but I think what they’ve been able to do defensively this year, to me, is really impressive. They play really good defense, really good offense. The tempo is hard to match. 

“And then their special teams, you know, that’s the phase nobody talks about. These guys are really elite on special teams. You can tell they put a lot of time and effort into it. So, it’s a huge challenge. When you go on the road in the SEC, I say it all the time. Doesn’t matter who, where, when. Doesn’t matter anything about anybody’s record. Only thing that matters is you’re playing on the road in the SEC in a really tough environment, and the prep for that is kind of the challenge that our team has to embrace. You have to embrace — it’s different when you go on the road in our league, especially when you go to play a team as talented at Tennessee is.”

Stopping Tennessee’s run game

“You can’t stop it with light boxes. They make it where you can’t. You’ve got to be able to strike a man, get off a block. And football is so simple when it comes down to your ability to play block protection or block people. You know, like you either get blocked or you don’t get blocked. And you’ve got to win a whole bunch of one-on-ones, if you don’t have enough people in there, because they expose you quickly, and they’re very physically tough. Their O line plays that way. Their backs are easily the best stable of backs we’ve seen this year in terms of the backs, the package of backs they have. And that includes the quarterback with the backs. So, it’s a really tough prep. They do a great job. The box count is what it is. They know what you got. They know what you don’t got. So, it boils down to who can strike a block and get off a block.”

Tennessee’s defensive line

“They got good players. They play really hard. They strike at the point of attack. They’re aggressive. They’re hard to move because they’re big. And then they have elite pass rushers. When you got an elite pass rusher that you got people that can push the pocket, it creates sacks and things. So, they are very good defensively and a really big challenge, especially when you talk about the front. There’s the rush, but then there’s the controlling the line of scrimmage for your ability to run the ball. And they’re good at both.”

Georgia’s success on the road during his tenure

“You’ve got to find ways to run the ball. You can’t sit there and think you’re going to be able to just throw it every down and win the game. You’ve got to win the line of scrimmage. The keys to winning on the road are the same as keys to winning at home. It’s just more difficult. I mean, it doesn’t change. The game doesn’t change. You’ve got to be able to take a punch. You’ve got to be able to take momentum changes. But the people in the stands aren’t playing in the game. So, the outside elements of all the undisciplined penalties and all those things, we try really hard to avoid those when we go on the road, because they’re self-inflicted wounds sometimes. But that’s the challenge. The challenge is win the line of scrimmage, win the turnover battle, win the explosive battle. And you do that by blocking and tackling people.”

Dolly Parton attending Saturday’s Tennessee-Georgia game

“I do know who Dolly Parton is. I got parents that watched the ‘Grand Ole Opry.’ Was not aware she was going to attend the game.”

Keeping the focus on the opponent each week

“We focus on us every week. Has nothing to do with last year’s game. And every time we play Tennessee, it’ll probably be 3:30 CBS or 7:00 ESPN. I mean, it’s a big game every year we play Tennessee, because it’s a big game. They’re a good program, and we’re a good program, and the two are going to match up. So as far as our focus on it, our players respect the hell out of Tennessee. They know how hard it is to play them. We had to play them up there two years ago, and it’s tough. It’s a tough prep. So, we’ll be focused.”

What he’s seen from Tennessee wide receiver Squirrel White

“It takes great prep to prep for all their wideouts, and the thing that makes it hard about their wideouts is their run game. So, the run game is just incredible what they’re able to do. And then off of that comes the pass game. So (Squirrel White’s) a great player. We recruited him. He’s really fast. He’s dynamic. He’s gotten better with his age, and he’s played a major role for them in terms of run after catch and vertical speed.”

What stands out about Tennessee quarterback Joe Milton

“Elite arm talent, really, really good athlete. You know, sometimes at DB you’re looking for recovery, so I can close and get a ball out because maybe the ball is not there, but the ball gets there 0.5 seconds faster, and in the game of football 0.5 seconds is an eternity. It’s two, three steps, and (Joe Milton’s) elite at doing that. They create run game with him. So they get an extra hat in the run game, which we’ll see. And they’re good at doing it.”

Kirby Smart on Tennessee transfer Len’Neth Whitehead

“(Len’Neth Whitehead) doing great. He’s been scout team player of the week a couple times in terms of the scout special teams units he plays on. He’s very intelligent. He gives us a great look and a great picture in terms of effort and really proud of what he’s been able to do.”

The health of tight end Brock Bowers 

“(Brock Bowers) didn’t play every snap of every game anyway. So, I don’t know, I mean, you’d have to look and see his snaps in the other games. I don’t know. I’m sure he had more snaps in other games. But he’s in good shape. He’s conditioned. I don’t know that he’s 100 percent, but he’s healthy and safe enough to play. And we’re going to allow him to play as long as he wants to. And he wanted to go out there and compete and play, and I don’t think it’s a matter of how many snaps he can take. I think he’ll be fine.”

The status of Georgia defensive back Julian Humprey

“I don’t know how long it’s going to be. He’s got a dinged-up injury. It’s an upper body injury that hopefully we’re able to get him back from, but don’t know how long it’s going to be. There’s a chance. You never know. But he’s dinged up. So, I’m hoping we can get him back as soon as possible.”