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UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA FOOTBALL MEDIA CONFERENCE

November 25, 2019

Kirby Smart

Athens, Georgia

COACH SMART: Looking forward to those two visits, those are always great events. I can remember doing those events as a player here before we played in Atlanta. So I know our players will be looking forward to it as well.

Our guys are good to go and ready to move on to Georgia Tech. I know they're excited for this week of practice. It's kind of a different schedule for us with Thanksgiving being involved. And a lot of the guys get to go home, that live within a close enough radius, to share time with their family and return here and travel over to Atlanta as a team, as we prepare for Georgia Tech.

Q. I know there were weather issues in the first half this past week and the week before. Auburn has a really good defense. If you look at Jake's last three games he's been so accurate, but he's gone three straight where he hadn't completed 50 percent. Is there any common thread or is each theme just an isolated issue as far as game by game?
COACH SMART: You know, it's hard to put a finger on it. Auburn they play really tight coverage. There's no really easy throws. I thought these guys -- guys had just played Texas A&M. Their pass efficiency defense is really stellar. They do some good things defensively. Their coordinator was at Notre Dame; he's done some really good things. Makes it tough at times but at times you've got to hit the open guy.

I think Jake would be the first to tell you that. We missed a couple, made a couple. There's no easy throws. When you start looking at it there's not like a "gimmee" here or three. You try to get high-percentage throws and we had a couple of those to the back in the flat and to Charlie and to the swing passes. But we've got to do a better job helping him out and he's got to do a better job hitting the ones when they're open.

Q. As you look at Tech and tape from this year, have you seen them progress as the years go on, as they get more comfortable with the system?
COACH SMART: Yeah, I think their offense has grown and they got better and better from the beginning of the year towards the end of the year it's like two different teams. I think they were learning a new system.

And any time you're learning a new system and you have growing pains and you push through those. Their quarterback's done a tremendous job. We know him well, recruited him out of high school. James has been extremely athletic and he's gotten better throwing the ball. He threw the ball with a lot of confidence Thursday night and their team's growing.

Q. To follow up on Jake, I wondered is his arm health okay? And I know with as many throws as they throw all year long and him trying to get timing down with receivers and that kind of stuff, is his arm healthy?
COACH SMART: Yeah, his arm's fine.

Q. What's different preparing for Georgia Tech without the triple option? I know it was an all-consuming thing for this week usually.
COACH SMART: Yeah, they still have a lot of elements of the options. So obviously when I say a lot, I don't mean as much as what they had previously, because they were -- they were all in when they were triple options. They have elements of the triple.

They still -- you can't just flip it over and just go completely to a non- -- when that's what your roster is made. They have dive pitch keys, they have reads. They have perimeter runs, inside runs. They've got elements of the option.

So it is different from a perspective of not having to do everything we used to do, which was completely different. So where it was a 100 percent different defense, it might be 50 percent difference now with some of the things they're doing.

Q. On injuries, Stokes and Mays, I saw Tyrique McGhee out there and Cager. Can you catch us up? Was there anybody else get dinged up in that game?
COACH SMART: Tyrique cleared out last week. Was able to practice -- Tyrique McGee was able to practice a couple days and thought we could use him. He made a good play on special teams and got real involved with the special teams units. And he helped provide depth in the secondary.

So, it was great to get him back great to get him back for his last game because he's a kid who has had a lot of injuries and been in and out of the roster.

Cade was, just like we said last week, was cleared to go. He was going to be able to go if we needed him to. We wanted to try to avoid it if we could. And we were able to get through the game without having to use him.

We talked about Cager after the game. He didn't feel like that he was able to go and was going to be 100 percent. But there's nothing new on those two as far as we're moving forward. They should be cleared to practice this week and we're hopeful they'll play.

Stokes got dinged in the game. I think it was on the offensive pass interference play where he and the receiver kind of ran together. He took a jolt. But we think he's going to be fine. Think he'll be fine to go today.

Q. Did (indiscernible) go special teams --
COACH SMART: Yeah, I think he did the PAT/field goal team.

Q. Another Tech preparation question, when you were preparing for Paul Johnson, you'd take time in the spring and preseason camp and devote a couple of periods to cut blocking. How did that change this year as far as what did you use that time that you used to spend on that? And how comfortable were you before you felt good implementing a plan for Tech given that there were so many unknowns at the start of the season with what they were going to do?
COACH SMART: I didn't know if it was an unknown. Geoff hires an offensive coordinator, an offensive staff; you know what they do. So you try to plan based on that. We get to watch -- we have a person that scouts ahead. It's advanced scouting.

So they watched teams that we're going to play. And we try to look down the road and say what's going to be really difficult. What's different? Not necessarily, though they've got really good players, you look at teams and say, what is it based on that's so different they do that we can't handle.

So we said, hey, Georgia Tech's got a very different offensive system than what we faced week-to-week. Even now they're different. So during the off week, we took some periods and worked on some different things they were doing.

So it's never based on who you play in the future, what their record is. It's what they're doing offensively or defensively that's different than what you see.

Q. Kirby, statistically this team compares a little bit to your last team at Alabama in terms of offense, defense ranks and such. Do you think there are similarities and can that in 2019 be successful?
COACH SMART: I don't even remember that team at Alabama. I really don't. I was so consumed -- I guess you're talking about the year we played Clemson in the national title; is that correct?

Q. In terms of really good defense. Offense (indiscernible).
COACH SMART: Like I said, it's hard for me to compare that because I didn't look at that team through the glasses of a head coach. I looked at that team through the glasses of a defensive coordinator where I was really focused on that.

Obviously this team has some really good traits. I don't know how they compare to that team. I can't even remember that team. I do know to be successful we've got to play better in every facet of our team -- special teams, defense and offense. But certainly we have to improve offensively the most in order to get where we want to go.

Q. Can you talk about your relationship with Geoff and other guys? Brent Key on that staff is somebody you're pretty close with?
COACH SMART: Geoff and I have worked on the same staff at Alabama. Got a lot of respect for Geoff. He has a ton of energy. Does a tremendous job. He leaves no stone unturned. He's looking for every competitive advantage he can get, whether it's through recruiting, whether it's through innovation, whether it's through scheme, whether it's through motivation. He's a high-energy guy.

And Brent's the same way. Brent's a Georgia Tech guy. He played there. He played there while I was playing here. And he and I have never been on a staff together but we've always crossed paths and been friends in recruiting. We go to the same schools as assistant coaches. And I see Brent in the offseason a lot. I have a lot of respect for those guys and the job they do.

Q. Georgia Tech's defensive line is a little thin and dinged up. Curious how you see that matchup with your offensive line with their defensive front?
COACH SMART: When you look across the board they've got guys that play quite a bit of snaps. They rotate a lot of guys in there. They play a ton of players. Geoff's always done that. He had that philosophy when he was at Mississippi State, when he was at Florida.

I think that helps build morale and self-worth within your team. You have more kids bought into the organization when they know they're going to get an opportunity to contribute. So they play a lot of guys and they move and they've got athletic guys up there.

We've got to worry about ourselves more than we have to worry about Tech. And that's the case every week. You have to get better at you, and it's not really about the other team. And that's what we focus on regardless of who we are playing.

Q. With you guys adding more marquee non-conference games going forward, do you wonder what kind of effect that sort of has on the significance of this game, with it being typically, they usually -- typically the big Power Five nonconference game on the season?
COACH SMART: I don't worry about -- no, I think this is one of the most traditional rivalries in all of college football. And I don't know that our scheduling is going to change the fact that -- it's not going to move the proximity of their university and ours.

We're always going to have interstate rivals, whether it's through recruiting, whether it's through recruiting students, whether it's through anything. So I think the history and tradition is there that this game is always going to be a big factor.

Q. I was going to ask you about the rivalry of Georgia Tech. Where do you think it fits in into the grand scheme of things and your memories of it? And also just wondering with Geoff there and kind of a change in system, do you find yourself running into Tech coaches and running into them on the recruiting trail a little bit more than you did when they were running a very specific system before?
COACH SMART: I'll answer the second one first. I don't know if I can remember the first one. The second one, we do run into them a lot. We ran into them before because nobody's not going to recruit in our state. Let's be honest. There's good football players in our state.

They probably recruited different type players in a lot of situations. Like tight end, obviously they weren't recruiting a lot of tight ends during their last staff. And you can tell that Geoff and his staff have made it a priority through their transfers and through who they're recruiting.

So you come across those guys much more. As far as the rivalry, I mean, it's always -- when I came to school here as a player, it was one of the biggest rivalries there was. It was what you talked about as a freshman. It's what was engrained in you to have the hate and build that up.

I think because of the conferences and because of the importance of winning your conference, that may have diminished some in regards to over the time. But the game, the rivalry is usually based on wins and losses and who is winning those games.

Georgia has so many rivalries that you can't say one's more important than the other. You don't think it's important, then lose it and then it will be really important. And I know the importance of this game and I know the significance it has to so many of our fans, especially the crowd that may be older that traditionally Georgia Tech was a national powerhouse year in, year out. It means so much to them.

Q. Since we last saw you, LSU clinched the West. So if you'd like to comment on that future matchup, you're more than welcomed to. What's the challenge and focus this week knowing you have a big game the week after?
COACH SMART: The challenge is about the rivalry. So when you think about this game, records are thrown out. None of that matters. They finished Thursday. This is a huge opportunity and stage for them. We acknowledge that.

A lot of our kids will be playing in front of their home crowd where they're from, their community because of so many kids being from the Atlanta area. That's the focus and that's the concentration, and our guys understand that.

We have a mature team and we said the other day that most important step is the next step. Georgia Tech is the next step. And they've got a football team that's peaking at the right time. Played a really good game Thursday night. So we've got to go out and play a good football game.

Q. As you get later in the season and you go through the wear and tear of all this, is there anything extra you all do as a team to help with injury prevention and rehabilitation?
COACH SMART: Yeah, we drive recovery home. Recovery is so critical to your soft tissue muscles, and part of recovery is rest. So we talk about sleep, making sure you're getting proper sleep, extra treatment. We've cut time out of practice, whether it's five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, that you hate doing as a coach, but you're trying to get return on investment and say, okay, you've got to spend this time in the cold tub. You've got to spend this time in the training room.

Instead of walking through on Friday and going straight to dinner, we took 20 more minutes and got everybody some extra recovery because we think that can be the difference at the end of the year if you're out recovering a team than you've got an opportunity to have a competitive advantage and we're trying that.

Q. Going back over to the history of the rivalry and everything, do you remember anything from your experiences playing at Georgia Tech? If I see it correctly, you won three and lost one.
COACH SMART: The memory I have is probably the worst. It's what you always do; you don't remember the positives sometimes, you remember the bad. It was my last home game at Sanford Stadium and lost on a game-winning field goal with Joe Hamilton's drive. So that was my last memory of Sanford Stadium.

Thank God I got into coaching; I got to fix that. But otherwise that would have been the last time that I was in there. That was a tough loss that if Georgia had won at that time, I think maybe three or four, I'm not sure how many in a row they had won, and our senior class lost to a well-coached, really good football team.

Q. Do you get a chance to enjoy Thanksgiving and what will you do with family and all?
COACH SMART: The actual Thanksgiving day, I wouldn't say -- the week is a work week for us, game week. So Thursday we get to finish a little bit earlier, move some things up. It makes for an awkward scheduling. But I say awkward because it's different than a normal game week but it's not awkward for Thanksgiving. It's what everybody does.

Your goal in high school football is to be playing on Thanksgiving and your goal in college football is to be relevant and still have an importance to the game. For our kids, I know they're fired up to get see their family but they like this game, it's an exciting game.

Q. You mentioned the recruiting trail some today. What is it that Sam Pittman does so well for you out there for you?
COACH SMART: It's Sam's personality. He kind of just oozes with confidence, and the offensive linemen appreciate that. He's very genuine. You don't get a sales pitch; you get his natural instinctive self. A lot of you guys have seen his personality through social media. That's the same way he is with the kids. And the kids -- the players gravitate to that. And I think that's a very natural for him, and he's done a tremendous job recruiting for us.

Q. Looks like this defense is one of the most statistically dominant in the league and yet you're talking about the need for this is improvement. Where on defense do these guys need to get better this final week?
COACH SMART: Turnovers. We've got to force turnovers. We've got to be better in the red area. We've slipped in the red area the last couple of weeks. We don't sustain at the end of games. Meaning we give up a pace drive or a rhythmic drive where somebody gets on rhythm and we've got to be able to stomp on people's throats when you get them down. And what they've done well is a lot of things.

But what they can improve on is several specific things that we try to work on each week and we try to demand it of them. The great thing about this defense is they take criticism well. They handle criticism well. They realize we want to be the best. To be the best means you never arrive. So you have to keep driving to get better and they've really accepted that.

Q. Noticed after, I guess it was after the Auburn game you talked about Travon and how you guys had to get him more involved and kind of wanted to challenge yourselves to do that. What did he do against Texas A&M? Seemed like he was on the field especially between first and second down. How did you guys use him there?
COACH SMART: We met as a staff and just felt he was one of our best 20 football players and we weren't getting the most out of him.

I just forced upon them to say he's got to be on the field. So we'll figure out a way. Some of that was dictated by what Texas A&M did. He has a unique skill set. He's 270 pounds. He's different than some of our other guys. He's done a really good job. We're just trying to find ways to use his athleticism. So when they're in open sets, it allows him to play a little more. And Texas A&M chose to do that some. So it helped us.

Q. Can you just tell me what you see in Jordan Mason, the running back? And, two, understanding what the rivalry means to so many. But curious, are you concerned that kids will look at the record and think this isn't as good as the team we played before, and we don't need to prepare as a rival, is there concerns about that?
COACH SMART: Mason is an unbelievable back. First of all, seen him play several Thursday night games where I've got to watch him. He's physical. Low to the ground. He runs mad. And he's thick. He's heavier than the backs that we've faced and has great strength in his lower body. I just respect his running passion and his energy. I love watching him run, and he does it the right way.

As far as our kids, no, I don't think you have to worry about that because we don't -- we don't look at the record. The record just like last week, I mean we don't look at the record. We look at the team on the tape. That's more important than their record.

We're not scoreboard watching. We're not record watching. We're looking at the guy across from us and we're really, as simple as it sounds, I know you think people don't do this, but we're trying to take the next step, which is Georgia Tech.

Q. Richard (indiscernible) forced a fumble and recovered the fumble, what did he bring to this defense this year and particularly later in the season?
COACH SMART: He's playing with a lot of energy and passion. He's practicing better. He takes a lot more pride in making his calls and learning the game plan, that he can make good decisions on the field in the heat of the moment. I think he's taken a nice step forward in regards to that and he plays really hard. He doesn't always play with great eye control or great discipline, but he plays really hard, gets after the ball, attacks the ball.

Q. How encouraged are you by some of the returns you've had recently and any rhyme or reason to them coming together at the same time?
COACH SMART: Kickoff return is different than punt return. I think kickoff return, Brian's provided us a major spark. Wish we had done it earlier. He was the off guy for so long, such a good blocker and good decision-maker, that he's been good as the primary returner. He's done a good job.

It's not like all of a sudden he's gotten better. He's gotten opportunities. We don't get a lot of opportunities when the ball is kicked into the end zone.

And then punt return, I thought Dom took what was there and got what was there, but I thought our hold-up unit did a much better job the last two weeks of giving him opportunities to make plays and we've still got to make more out of what we're getting him.

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