FOOTBALL
Coach Mark Richt
Opening Statement…
“I had a brief press conference in Orlando and got a chance to meet Bo Pelini, Nebraska’s head coach. We were just kind of sharing the things that head coaches share about that time of year, all the recruiting things that are going on and managing practice and classes and final exams. I had a really good visit with him. I was born in Nebraska and I was a Nebraska fan. I was a Nebraska Cornhusker fan until high school when I started getting opportunities to go visit schools. Of course I became a Miami Hurricane out of high school. I’ve known about Big Red for a long time. It’s been engrained in my family. My mom and dad were born in Nebraska, and all of their families are from there. All of my siblings except one were born in Nebraska, so I’ve got a lot of ties there. To be able to play them is exciting for me on a personal note.
“Nebraska is a team that one their division, just like we did. They were 7-1 in league play; we were 7-1 in league play. Their losses were to the Pac-12 runner-up, an undefeated Ohio State team and to Wisconsin – a team they actually beat in the regular season. They beat them one time and lost to them one time. That’s it. Right before the championship game they had won nine out of 10 games and really had been playing extremely well.
“They’re a veteran football team. Aside from the two wide receivers listed as starters, everybody is a junior or senior. Defensively there are eight seniors and three juniors. Offensively it’s a little bit more of a mix. It’s a very veteran football team, a team I’m sure with a lot of good leadership and a lot of pride, very similar to ours as well.”
“I know that it’s kind of hard to get things going again. Today is the first practice back in a while. You get out of that mode of every single week having a job to do and having every minute of your day planned out. Coaches are out on the road recruiting. Players have been studying for final exams. Some guys’ exams might have ended early and they might have found time to go home. There are a lot of things that are a change of the routine, now we have to get back in the routine. We’re going to have 10 bowl practices here. Starting today we’ll go 10 consecutive days. We’ll let them go on the 21st after a morning practice, and we’ll report back to Orlando the day after Christmas. We’ll have a practice that night. We’ll have five practices there and 10 practices here to get 15.
“The great majority of our bowl practices have always been based on game planning our opponent and practicing the plan. We will take some time at the end of a lot of our practices – maybe half of our practices at least here – to scrimmage some of the younger guys and the guys who aren’t getting as much work. We’ll get a little bit of that, but it’s not like a full-blown spring practice for us. It’s getting ready for the opponent and doing everything we can do to try to secure the victory and play the best we can possibly play and send our seniors off with the greatest experience possible, and also try to build that momentum for the future. It’s a unique game in that you’re finishing with one group and you’re starting a new year. It’s actually on New Year’s Day, so there’s a lot of truth to it being the beginning of next year as far as our season is concerned. That’s kind of what we’re working on. Our coordinators have done a good job of preparing a plan. Not every bit of it is knocked out, but we have enough to start working on that will be valuable, so we’re not just out there practicing for the heck of it. We’ll be installing some things on day one.”
On the emotional state of the team entering bowl practice…
“I haven’t been around them much lately. We did have a big team meeting the Monday after the Alabama game, and we talked about all those kinds of things and talked about what was going to happen in the future. We knew at that point where we were going and who we were playing. We talked about the logistical plan and talked a little bit about Nebraska. I think most of them understand that you can’t turn the clock back. We fought hard, we had a great plan, we did what we could do that day. We just couldn’t get it done. We didn’t do enough to get it done, but everybody knows that you have to move on. There are still things that are worth playing for. Number one we get to play another football game. I think our guys enjoy playing football, so I think that in itself is going to be enough motivation. I think landing where we landed as far as the Capital One Bowl, being in Orlando in a warm weather climate, knowing we were going to play on Jan. 1 against an outstanding football team – I think all those things have been positive. I will be challenging our leadership to finish better than we did a year ago and to solidify the job that they’ve done, because I think they’ve done an outstanding job to this point. I think they need to put an exclamation point on it or at least finish strong in a manner worthy of the way they led the entire offseason from January until now. That will be a big part of it. I’ll be talking a lot to the younger guys - the guys who know they are going to be coming back - to honor those guys the way they play. Bowl games tend to shape people’s opinion of your team and your program. There is a lot of that we’ll be talking about as well.”
On the team's mentality about the Capital One Bowl...
"In some ways I appreciate the media saying Georgia got this or Georgia got that, as far as they didn't get what they deserved and they should be a BCS team and all that kind of thing, but the bottom line is only two per conference can go. Is Florida deserving of an opportunity? I think they are. I think we are, and LSU might be, and South Carolina might be as well. Do we have teams that are good enough to play in BCS bowls? Yes, but the rules say that only two teams can go. I understand the deal, and that's just kind of the way it is. But I think we landed in a tremendous place. The Capital One is a great bowl, and Nebraska is a great football program."
On the attitude of the Georgia people following the SEC Championship Game…
“Everything has been extremely positive. I think the Georgia people, the recruits, our own players – no one likes to lose, but I think everybody felt like we were there in the game that meant everything. Not many people were in a game like that. There were three teams left and we were one of them. We played a great football team and played a great game. I’d say the same thing I said after the game. I was extremely disappointed in the outcome of the game, but not disappointed one bit in our players and coaches and how we battled.”
On whether or not other schools have contacted him about his assistant coaches...
"I think our coaches are worthy of that, and I think our coaches have obviously been courted, but no one has called me. Have I been contacted? No. I've not had one call."
Wide Receiver Tavarres King
On his legacy at UGA…
“I think the class before me, and my class, we’ve changed the culture a little bit here. We’ve gotten Georgia back to a place where you expect to win. That’s satisfying – the way Georgia used to be thought of is back. People knew they were playing Georgia and they had to buckle down, and I think that is back.”
On his career…
“I’ve progressed every year and gotten better, that’s because of Coach Bobo and Coach Ball. They coached me, and put me in the position to succeed, and I can’t thank them enough for that. I will work on continuing to get better, learning and growing as a football player.”
On getting to play in the Senior Bowl…
“It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to it. To me it’s one of the most prestigious all-star games to get chosen for, and it’s a chance for me to showcase my talents, get out there and make a name for myself.”
On being ready for the Capital One Bowl…
“We will have to be. Any time you put on the pads and helmets and wear that G, we’re coming to play. We’ll be excited and we’ll go out there and compete to get this bowl win.”
Flanker Chris Conley
On his progress this year…
“I feel like now I can say I can play in this league. When I came here I knew about the tradition and all the talent, and I wanted to be able to add to that. I think now I know I can, and I want to continue that.”
On the Capital One Bowl…
“I feel like I, personally, have been given more opportunities as the season has progressed, the coaches trust me, and I’m thankful. I feel good about this game and as we head into bowl practice, we’ll get back to fundamentals and play the best game we can.”
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