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ROSE BOWL GAME: GEORGIA VS OKLAHOMA

December 28, 2017

Pasadena, California

THE MODERATOR: We'll get started with the Georgia offensive press conference. With me on the far side is running back Sony Michel. Next to him, quarterback Jake Fromm. And offensive coordinator Jim Chaney is right next to me. We'll get started with an opening statement from coach.

JIM CHANEY: Did you say that Coach Stoops has already been? The defensive guys were in? Did he say anything that was worthy? No.

THE MODERATOR: You'd have to ask them.

JIM CHANEY: Did he say anything, guys?

No, guys, it's a pleasure to be here to represent the University of Georgia. It's a lot of fun being out in Los Angeles playing in this prestigious Rose Bowl. We've had a heck of a season. These guys have worked their tails off from the beginning. From the conclusion to last season to now, I tell you it's been a whirlwind and a lot of fun.

These guys are a fantastic bunch much of guys. They've done everything we've asked them to do as a coaching staff. We're blessed at Georgia to have the type of players we have. It's been fun watching them grow and their leadership come to the foremost, the best that they can be, and watch them developing into the offense that they could possibly be.

It's been fun. I don't know what more I can say other than it's been a privilege to be a part of it, and I'm blessed to have a bunch of assistant coaches that work with me every day that are fantastic and keep me headed the right way.

Coach Smart lets us do what we have to do to try to score enough points to ensure victory, and, quite honestly, it worked a little bit this year. So we're happy with that.

We're tickled to be here. And plan on playing a physical football game, and looking forward to playing Oklahoma in a few days.

Q. Jake and Sony, have you guys met anybody in Athens who isn't coming to the game out here?
SONY MICHEL: That isn't coming to the game?

Q. Yeah, because I keep hearing that 50,000 Georgia people are coming to this thing.
SONY MICHEL: I'm not sure, I just know that Dawg Nation travels well. Everybody in the Georgia program is expecting all the fans to be there. They traveled well all year. I don't think this game will be any different.

JAKE FROMM: I know just about everybody I talked to said they're going to try to come out here and make the trip. I know my family's bringing a crowd, so you'll see a lot of Fromms and Haskins out there.

Q. We were talking to Oklahoma, and they did say that they saw a different Jake Fromm early in the season maybe at Notre Dame than they saw in the SEC Championship. How have you seen Jake develop throughout this year, and how much more confidence do you have in him?
JIM CHANEY: I have a lot of confidence in Jake. He's a heck of a good football player. He keeps us on our toes as a coach. You're talking about starting your first game at Notre Dame. That's a heck of a deal, from then all the way through.

I can only think about one time during the season that we had a little blemish that he acted like a freshman once in a while. But he's had a heck of a growth pattern from the beginning to the end. He's got complete ownership in what we're trying to get done offensively. He has our trust to change plays and do what we need to do to score enough points to win.

Heck, I don't know. He's grown at a rate that a lot of freshmen don't, and it's been fun to watch him do it. He loves playing the game of football, and that shows up every day on the field in practice and in games. It's been fun to watch him.

Q. I'm wondering if you can tell us if you had to put a freshman in that role, how do you make sure he doesn't have a lot of freshman moments. Have you had to coach him differently in any way?
JIM CHANEY: Jake's a good football player. He's got a good mind. He's got a good football intellect. He comes into our program with a good background. His high school program did a good job getting him ready. He's a good player. Good players get the game of football. Our job is to get the hell out of the way and let him play football. That's what we've been able to do, and Jake's been able to run with the ball.

Do they have freshmen moments? Certainly they do. Do the seniors have senior moments? Certainly they do. I can remember a long time ago playing in this game, and I had a senior quarterback playing for us that threw an interception against Ohio State that almost cost us the ballgame, but he came back and righted a wrong.

So it's been fun to watch him grow. When he makes mistakes, he owns up to them, like we all do. He's done a hell of a job.

Q. Jake, I'm curious, have you had moments where you thought, whoa, that was a freshman mistake that I did make, and how do you make sure that you can recover from them quickly and mentally?
JAKE FROMM: There's definitely been a couple during the year. I remember Notre Dame having that fumble kind of in the middle of the game, and I had to own up to it. Just kind of come back from it. Tennessee, I remember that game, just for whatever reason it was super loud there and just kind of didn't play as well as I wanted to.

But Sony and Nick, and then Isaiah, man, those guys really keep my head straight. They really helped me a lot. So they've been really good to me and helped keep me kind of level-headed.

Q. Can you take me back to the Appalachian State game when you realized you would be coming into that game? Did you ever realize or have the foresight that you'd be all the way, carrying this team here? How have you been able to stay so poised throughout the season?
JAKE FROMM: If you had told me this season was going to be written this way, I would not have believed you for one minute. I'm extremely thankful for the way it turned out for me, but, man, this has been an incredible experience and one that I'm just trying to keep improving and keep getting better from.

From the guys around me and the coaching staff, they make it incredibly easy for me. I'm ready to see what we can do with it.

Q. Sony, what do you think you teach Nick, and what does he teach you?
SONY MICHEL: It's just the competitive nature that's in us that keeps us pushing each other to be better. If I see something on the football field that he does that's out of character, even in practice, I would tell him. As a teammate, you don't want to be afraid of stepping on anybody's toes, but you have to, just to help the other person improve. And he does the same for me.

Q. Jim, could you speak to that?
JIM CHANEY: Yeah, I think they're best friends. They have a great amount of love for each other. And he touched on it, anytime they say something and the other one's not doing quite well, they're quick to get on him. They're going to get at least two reps a day in practice. I'm always on them. We've got so many running backs they don't even sweat out there in practice half the time.

But they're fantastic. They've been a great duo and fun to work with. I tell you, I just sit here and I think for the last couple years having them with us has been a blessing.

Q. As a guy who has been around Georgia for a while, was there anything in the spring or summer or maybe early camp that kind of made you feel like this was going to be the year that Georgia was going to get it done in the SEC?
SONY MICHEL: It started off by the coaches. They set the standard high. When I saw the younger guys, guys like Jake, buying in and already trying to take over that leadership role, I knew this was a special team. When younger guys wanted to be leaders, when everybody wanted to be great and reach that potential that Coach wanted us to be in, that's when I saw this was a special team.

Q. Jim, save for scoring every possession or getting a redo with the Auburn game, has your offense pretty much lived up to what you expected they could do this season?
JIM CHANEY: You know, as a coach, you're never happy. You're always looking for the perfect ballgame. So have we met every goal? No, we haven't. Have we exceeded our expectations? No, we haven't. Have we played our best football yet? I don't believe we have. I still believe there is another game or two out there that we can hopefully go out and prove that we're even better than what we've been able to do thus far.

Being content with where we're at, I'd say that's not true. I think we can continue to get better, and I believe we will.

Q. I found it interesting in your opening remark you said you look forward to a physical game against Oklahoma. Is that -- that's perceived to be an edge for Georgia coming into this game. How do you see it in terms of your offense versus the Oklahoma defense?
JIM CHANEY: I think when you're sitting here and you're one of the final four teams that are playing, you can't win football games at this level and play without being a physical team. I'm sure the Oklahoma guys feel the same way that our guys do. They hang their hat on that.

Physicality is the part of the game of football that most successful teams share, and I'm sure they share that also. I know it's an identity that we like to carry with us, and it's something we're proud of. We feel like we like to play football, and that's how we like to do it.

FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports

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