FOOTBALL
Coach Mark Richt
On becoming a fourth quarter team…
The goal is always in your offseason to build stamina and strength and a physical and mental toughness that will help you win games in the fourth quarter. Sometimes you can’t really go by the statistics. If you look at our fourth quarters right now, you might say they aren’t doing a lot in the fourth quarter. We’ve had a couple of games where we’ve had the game in hand and you don’t really need to do a lot in the fourth quarter sometimes. We did have a great fourth quarter victory in the Florida game, which was huge. That’s the biggest emphasis. I think the fourth quarter itself was a big deal.
In our weight room we have all the fourth quarter comebacks in the history of Georgia football. That was definitely a big point of emphasis. More than saying winning the fourth quarter, are you physically and mentally tough enough, and do you have enough stamina to play hard for the full 60 minutes? I think we have. Sometimes I sound like the weatherman, but we’ve had good weather this year. Sometimes you’ll have a summer that’s mild and you’ll play the first three games and it’s scorching. All of a sudden it looks like your strength and conditioning program isn’t very good because they are so used to playing in a certain amount of weather, and then they start playing in something they didn’t prepare in. Sometimes it might be the other way around. It will be hot all summer and it’s a relatively mild fall. Weather does make a difference, I can tell you.
I played at the University of Miami, I coached at Florida State…you invite some teams from up north to come play in September, it gets them. I think we were blessed with pretty good weather when it came to that type of thing. It’s definitely more than the weather, don’t get me wrong. We’ve prepared well and we’ve had very few injuries that have cost anybody the season. Sometimes it’s luck and sometimes it’s how you prepare. I think we’ve done a very good job in the offseason.
On the path of being on the brink of the SEC Championship game…
We have this game here that we know is a very crucial game. We have to focus on the game more than anything else. Usually the loser of that Georgia-South Carolina game, historically you’ve been done. We have a chance to get back in it and control our own destiny. I don’t know if there is a time that that team controlled its own destiny until this season. If we can finish strong, that’ll be a first, so it would be unusual in that way.
On if Georgia can win the SEC Eastern Division, if it would be as satisfying as the other three SEC Eastern Division titles the Dawgs have won under Richt…
In 2002, that was pretty special and miraculous winning that Auburn game. The thing I remember most about 2005 has got to be D.J. Shockley and how he persevered. That was a special year without question. Of course, I skipped the one [overall SEC Championship] we lost. I don't know why. I don't even remember that year. Let's try to win this week.
On if at any point this season he sensed a weight being lifted off of everyone from the players to the coaches…
I don’t know. I've been so focused. I knew the best shot we got was for everybody to just do your job. You focus on doing your job. Don't focus on anything swirling around – good or bad. Just do your job. So I kind of have been in that mindset and I'm still in that mindset right now. I'm not sitting her saying that there's been any moment in time that I've had some kind of weight lifted. I'm just trying to finish the drill. I'm trying to do my job.
On if there is any statistic that he looks at in regard to Georgia getting back on track…
The turnover ratio for sure. That's number one. We've not lost the turnover ratio in our win streak. We certainly lost it against South Carolina. If we had won the turnover battle that day we might have won that game too. I think we did win or it was tied – there was not many turnovers in game one. That wasn't the deciding factor in game one. We just got beat. But that's the number one thing is the turnovers.
The funny thing is you spend hours on schemes – offensive, defense, special teams – you're grinding, but the most important thing you can do is secure the ball or disrupt the ball on defense. It's not some type of rocket science. It's the most important thing, so why don't you spend 50-percent of your time on it? Well, there's not much to coach once you teach the fundamentals. You've just got to do it. Sometimes it's funny we spend so much time on all these things and really the most important thing is are you going to secure that ball?
You guys [the media] have been out there a lot of times when we are doing ball disruption and ball security as soon as kicking is over, and we do it every day we are wearing pads. It's hard to do those drills when you're not in pads. But that's every single day. Every single day in camp we do it. The goal is to keep it from being such a mundane thing or such a boring thing – you don't want it to become a boring thing – you got to make sure the drills are still meaningful and they are really working hard on it. What will happen is things throughout the season will happen where you are like 'look at that, that's the difference between winning and losing.' So what I'm saying is that if there is a crowd of people get on the thing and don’t try scoop it up in a crowd it's because of what happened right there. It's the most important stat.
On the UGA-UK series being marked by turnovers…
Certainly, two years ago we were up by 14 I think at half and turned it over at least four times in the second half. It didn't help us at all.
If Drew Butler is in a slump this season…
I don't think so. He only punted one time last game and that was not a good hit.
On Georgia's net punting being ranked high nationally last year but lower this year…
That's a team thing. The punt itself is part of the net, but net punting is when you tackle people when you get there. You don't let them return it for touchdowns and big plays like we did this year. Is that the punter’s issue? He has some responsibility. But Drew Butler really hasn't done a whole lot different this year than he has done every year. The difference is that we didn't run down the field and tackle well – the biggest difference.
On keeping a kicker rotation the rest of the way…
It's possible. So far it's been good. It's been good for Georgia.
On DeAngelo Tyson…
I would consider him an unsung hero. He plays a position that sometimes doesn’t get a whole lot of credit, but he’s just been very efficient. He’s been a really good football player for us, but he’s done it in quiet fashion. He’s a quiet guy. He’s a man of few words. He’s really come a long way as a player and even more so as a person. He’s a grown up now. He’s a man now. I’m really proud of him.
Cornerback Sanders Commings
On the team’s confidence…
We are very confident right now. We know what we are capable of doing and we know what we are supposed to do. Coming off of last week’s game against Auburn, we see what can happen when every part of the team plays like they are capable of and we are team that is tough to beat.
On Kentucky’s offense…
Kentucky has playmakers on offense. All of their skill players have the capability of making big plays. We have to do our part to limit the big plays that they are capable of.
On the team’s preparation…
Our coaches make sure that we know that we have to prepare for this game the same way that we have prepared for every other SEC game this year. That’s what we’re going to go out and do.
On this senior class…
This senior class came in at a time when Georgia was on top. The guys have done their part to get us back to the way things were back in 2007 and 2008. They have taken over this team and have held everyone accountable, which are two big things that you have to do to be a good leader.
Defensive End Abry Jones
On Kentucky…
Kentucky has a really good offensive line that plays well together. They also have two good running backs that can run the ball well. One thing that we have to do is to not let them get into a rhythm because when they do, they can be really dangerous.
On the fans…
We want to go out and show the fans that we are grateful for their support, even through the slow start. We’re happy that we got things turned around and the fans were a big part of that. We want to go out and have a good game so that the fans can send the seniors out in a blaze of glory.
On creating turnovers…
We have a better understanding of the defense. We come ready to play at every phase. The DBs are doing a great job of getting interceptions because the line as done a better job of rushing the passer. When the ball is out or loose we really go after it instead of hoping that it will bounce in our direction.
On the team after the 0-2 start…
It was tough after the 0-2 start but as a team we knew what we could do. The difference this year is that after both losses, we didn’t feel like we got beat, more like we beat ourselves. That is something that has turned around for us. We aren’t beating ourselves anymore and I think that the defense is doing a great job of getting the offense the ball close to the end zone. The offense has gotten better at putting together long drives that run the clock out. We have done a lot to make sure that both sides have come together.
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