FOOTBALL
Coach Mark Richt
“The one thing, we think it will be cooler than it has been. Those first three games in the noon heat, that was a great point on emphasis. Sometimes we were able to do that and sometimes we weren’t, just by virtue of a guy being nicked or banged up. I want to play the guys who deserve to play. I want to play the guys who have earned the right to play and the goal is if you are a second teamer and maybe you are starting out with 10 percent playing time, the better you do, hopefully it can grow for you and maybe you can overtake another guy. Of course, the starters, we want them to hold them off and hold on to their jobs and their playing time. We just want those guys to continue to compete, but because the weather will be cooler by the time we play this thing, I don’t think we’ll have as much of a reason to substitute for guys being tired as much as guys trying to earn that playing time and deserving to play.”
On Nick Williams:
“He’s getting a little bit of linebacker look, but mostly safety still. He’s just that hybrid guy. Depending on injuries and things of that nature, when Dowtin got hurt, we wanted to get Nick some work in there in case he had to play linebacker throughout the year. We really weren’t sure how quickly Dowtin would turn around. Those kinds of injuries can be a week or they can be six weeks, so we really weren’t sure. We were getting Nick some work there, but it looks like Dowtin is going to be back so he’ll be spending more time at safety now. It’s a tough spot for that kid. Our last defensive staff, is he a linebacker or is he a safety? Then our new staff comes in and they are trying to evaluate him, is he a linebacker or is he a safety? So he’s kind of been back and forth a bunch. It’s unfortunate that he’s not been able to settle into one position and hopefully before it’s over we’ll get him in the right spot. He’ll run hard. He loves contact. He’s doing very well on special teams now which is a big part of the game, but I’m sure he’d like to have more reps than what he’s getting right now.”
On Kiante Tripp’s career at Georgia:
“I don’t know if I can remember it all, but I know he started out as a defensive player. We liked his size and athleticism and thought he might be a heck of a tackle. He has some bright moments at tackle, but it just wasn’t the best fit for him and we moved him back to defensive end. Then his size, he stayed big and we kind of moved him inside. In our new scheme, he’s called a defensive end, but in reality like in nickel he’s a defensive tackle. He’s playing and he’s doing well. He hasn’t been overly productive as far as getting sacks and tackles for loss, but you could be doing your job up front and not necessarily getting the statistics to prove it. Just the fact that he’s earned the right to play, he’s done well.”
On Kwame Geathers:
“Everyday in practice we want to see it. He did have the one big play in the ballgame (#99 above), which was a step in the right direction too, but that’s the main thing. Everybody has an opportunity everyday when you put your pads on in practice, so he’ll plenty of opportunities to prove he deserves more playing time. I’m not going to try to predict how snaps he’ll get.”
On Dexter Morant:
“He had a shoulder surgery a while back, at least a week ago. I’m not 100 percent of what will happen even in the spring because his other shoulder might need surgery also, kind of like Josh Davis did. It worked out good for Josh once we finally got him repaired, but we figured we would get started early on Dexter and get him squared away.”
#51 Inside Linebacker Akeem Dent
On playing Mississippi State:
"I'm just anxious to just get to work so hopefully we can go out and get a 'W.'"
On defensive coordinator Todd Grantham's message to the defense:
"Basically, after the game he says the same thing he says now, that guys have to play disciplined. That's the main thing. We have to be disciplined and just do our assignments and do our jobs. We can't give up the big plays. We have to try to minimize those."
On the defense's play outside of the big plays against Arkansas:
"We did a pretty good job defensively, but those big plays cost us. With the big plays that we gave them, a couple of them were for touchdowns and the others set up touchdowns, so they were pretty crucial. We have to minimize those."
#83 Outside Linebacker Cornelius Washington
#83 is being held by the jersey and facemask, illegal chop block on #75, Umpire is looking straight at both.
On the defense:
"If you go back and watch film, the defense really hasn't played bad at all. But our biggest problem is that we've given up big plays, so we have to go out and execute and focus in on key downs to be able to not give up big plays."
On not letting the new defensive system be an excuse:
"I feel the system has been in for a fairly decent amount of time. Outside of things Coach Grantham puts in every now and then, we should pretty much know what we are doing. For the most part, everybody does except for those little tweaks. I'm assuming that's what we are having problems with is those little things. We just got to focus in on what we are supposed to do and go out and execute."
On how long it takes him to get over a loss:
"Till I get the next win. Coming off a loss on a Saturday, you go in Sunday and you're probably not having a good day. Monday, you got to come in and watch film, and then all week you are trying to prepare to get the next win. You have a nasty taste in your mouth until you get the next victory."
#45 Inside Linebacker Christian Robinson
On the mindset of the program with people on the outside of the program saying the chances of Georgia winning the SEC is done:
"It's difficult, but at the end of day, with our group of guys, we come together and say the only people that matter at the end of the day are the people in this room. We stick together and count on each other. I really feel like we have gotten better, and when we are called upon to get a stop, we have the capability of doing that. If we continue to work hard and correct the things that we've done wrong, and if we continue to do what we are good at the right way, we have a chance to get to a better place that people might not think we are capable of getting to."
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