FOOTBALL
Coach Mark Richt
On if preparing for Florida has evolved through the years…
We've tried different things. I know one year or two years, and one year in particular that I can remember we had a team meeting every day in the off week bringing in somebody that played for Georgia or coached for Georgia that had success and let them talk to the group. I can't remember when we did that. I think we might have done that a couple years and one year we won and one year lost.
I think we are much better off focusing on the things that really truly matter, and that's what is your job, what is your assignments, what are you going to do if this happens, what are you going to do if that happens. When we get there, I don't think we are going to have any problems emotions. I don't think we are going to have any problem with guys being excited to play that game. We practice crowd noise, practice schemes, try to get better fundamentally and get after it.
On how Georgia addressed its special teams during the bye week…
We looked at our scheme again, we looked at our personnel again. Let’s say you make a mistake in any phase of the game, you can go and correct that mistake, but if you go and correct that mistake based on what happened last week, it may not be what you see this week. So if you spend too much time correcting the mistake from a week ago, you really aren’t preparing for that’s going to happen this week. We didn’t try to go too crazy about it, but we know we have to get better. I think a lot of it has to do with challenging those units to do exactly what the coaches tell them to do. That’s been at least 50 percent of the issue.
On Georgia’s special teams personnel…
Every time guys get healthy, that does give you more depth in your special teams. Not to say Alec Ogletree couldn’t run down and cover a kick too. I wouldn’t be surprised to see more of that. Even Shawn Williams, as that Vanderbilt game was going on and he knew what was at stake every time the ball was being kicked, he was personally taking younger guys off the team and putting himself on the team to help us win, so I wouldn’t be shocked to see that.
On the effect Blair Walsh's season has had on him…
As a head coach, it really hasn't phased me. I'm sad for him that he has struggled and maybe didn't have the type of season statistically that he had hoped he'd have at this point. But I really do have full confidence in him. I'm not going to go into this game saying I'm not going to attempt that 52-yarder or 47-yarder. I’ll have the same mindset with him that I had in game one in regard to that. I know how hard he has prepared, and I know how good he is. When it's your senior year and you're wanting great things to happen and he knows it is a team sport, but he also knew he had a really good shot at some national awards at that position. Those things are not very likely now but he still wants to help Georgia win and finish strong, and I believe he will.
On going week-to-week knowing that a loss would be set back after getting on a winning streak…
Our focus is the Eastern Division. That's all we really have been thinking about, talking about and aspiring to win. We know this game could set us back but it wouldn't bury us. With the way things are happening in our league it doesn't count us out. We know if we win it, it doesn't count us in. It's important and it's huge and we know we are in much better shape if we win the game, but there's no guarantees either way win or lose.
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