Coach Kirby Smart
On the win ...
“We played really hard and we were focused. Our Saturday scrimmages leading up the season helped us toward that. We started fast and really played hard. ... We did some good things. At the end of the day, it’s all about execution. You can’t have a lack of focus or discipline, and our kids did that.”
On the defense ...
“I was happy with the way the defense played. We had good matchups outside and we challenged our guys to get their hands on them. They made some plays. ... With our bigger people up front, they struggled to move us (in the running game). They could not get us out of there. We controlled the line of scrimmage.”
On coaching up the reserves ...
“We are coaching the moment. To us, that kid’s opportunity is as big as the kid’s who starts. We want to apply pressure and make sure they understand it because you never know when your jersey is going to be called.”
On playing so many players ...
“It’s a good thing, but it’s a little concerning that we have not played a four-quarter game yet. We’re about to go down that road. Will we play the same in the fourth as we do in the first? We have physical, tough practices as if we’re in the fourth quarter. Most of our kids will tell you our practices are tougher than the games.”
On the fans honoring Arkansas State ...
“Blake Anderson is a great person and I have a lot of respect for him. He’s such a wonderful person. I can’t imagine what he’s been through.
Our fans showed up and showed out. It was a great turnout, and I’m so proud that they embraced a program that has been through some tough times.”
Jake Fromm, Junior, Quarterback
On the offensive line play...
“The guys are doing a great job up front, doing a great job of communicating. Hopefully they can keep it up and keep it going. It wasn’t very hot out there today, so they didn’t have to worry about that. But let’s keep challenging them and keep making those guys better.
On the chemistry with Lawrence Cager and his receivers...
“He’s doing a great job. Cager, he’s an older guy. He’s a guy who’s stepped up and really filled a role for us. He did a great job transitioning to block off routes and we made some extremely explosive plays today, so we’ve got to commend him for that. He did a great job of coming back to the ball on their touchdown connection. He’s an older guy, takes his job very seriously and makes great plays.”
Tae Crowder, Senior, Inside Linebacker
On whether there was any increased blitzing against Arkansas State...
“It was just something we wanted to focus in on during the week in practice. We just wanted to go ahead and show some of our defensive value.”
Lawrence Cager, Graduate, Wide Receiver
On what James Cook said to him after his block keyed Cook’s 37-yard touchdown run...
“It was just a thank you. I told him, ‘I’ve got your back.’ No matter what. Whatever they need, I’m here for.”
On freshmen George Pickens and Dominick Blaylock making plays...
“We treat every game like we’re playing in an SEC Championship or a National Championship, no matter who the opponent is. For them to come out and play the way they did with consistency, it’s exciting to see for Georgia for many years to come.”
Arkansas State Head Coach Blake Anderson
On the win ...
“We played really hard and we were focused. Our Saturday scrimmages leading up the season helped us toward that. We started fast and really played hard. ... We did some good things. At the end of the day, it’s all about execution. You can’t have a lack of focus or discipline, and our kids did that.”
On the defense ...
“I was happy with the way the defense played. We had good matchups outside and we challenged our guys to get their hands on them. They made some plays. ... With our bigger people up front, they struggled to move us (in the running game). They could not get us out of there. We controlled the line of scrimmage.”
On coaching up the reserves ...
“We are coaching the moment. To us, that kid’s opportunity is as big as the kid’s who starts. We want to apply pressure and make sure they understand it because you never know when your jersey is going to be called.”
On playing so many players ...
“It’s a good thing, but it’s a little concerning that we have not played a four-quarter game yet. We’re about to go down that road. Will we play the same in the fourth as we do in the first? We have physical, tough practices as if we’re in the fourth quarter. Most of our kids will tell you our practices are tougher than the games.”
On the fans honoring Arkansas State ...
“Blake Anderson is a great person and I have a lot of respect for him. He’s such a wonderful person. I can’t imagine what he’s been through.
Our fans showed up and showed out. It was a great turnout, and I’m so proud that they embraced a program that has been through some tough times.”
Jake Fromm, Junior, Quarterback
On the offensive line play...
“The guys are doing a great job up front, doing a great job of communicating. Hopefully they can keep it up and keep it going. It wasn’t very hot out there today, so they didn’t have to worry about that. But let’s keep challenging them and keep making those guys better.
On the chemistry with Lawrence Cager and his receivers...
“He’s doing a great job. Cager, he’s an older guy. He’s a guy who’s stepped up and really filled a role for us. He did a great job transitioning to block off routes and we made some extremely explosive plays today, so we’ve got to commend him for that. He did a great job of coming back to the ball on their touchdown connection. He’s an older guy, takes his job very seriously and makes great plays.”
Tae Crowder, Senior, Inside Linebacker
On whether there was any increased blitzing against Arkansas State...
“It was just something we wanted to focus in on during the week in practice. We just wanted to go ahead and show some of our defensive value.”
Lawrence Cager, Graduate, Wide Receiver
On what James Cook said to him after his block keyed Cook’s 37-yard touchdown run...
“It was just a thank you. I told him, ‘I’ve got your back.’ No matter what. Whatever they need, I’m here for.”
On freshmen George Pickens and Dominick Blaylock making plays...
“We treat every game like we’re playing in an SEC Championship or a National Championship, no matter who the opponent is. For them to come out and play the way they did with consistency, it’s exciting to see for Georgia for many years to come.”
Arkansas State Head Coach Blake Anderson
Opening Statement
"It’s not the way we wanted this game to go, by any means. We honestly were hoping to find a way to come in here and surprise everybody with a win. We didn’t play well enough to do so. It has been a really emotional week, no doubt. There’s been a lot of lot of conversation this week about preparing for today, about the fans.
Publicly, I would like to say 'thank you' for all who showed up today wearing pink or thinking pink. Those people didn’t know my wife, and they don’t know me. They didn’t have to do it, and I’m very grateful, honored and honestly overwhelmed.
I wish the game would have gone differently. I think we have a better team than showed today. I think we have a lot of work to do, and I'm hoping that we got out of it somewhat healthy because I think we have a very, very good possibility of a good season ahead of us if we can just continue to learn and grow.
Georgia is obviously a solid team, and they didn't make mistakes today. We needed our guys to be thinking ahead and play their best. I thought Georgia played a very solid football game and just really never gave us a chance to get involved. I'm disappointed in the sense that we just didn't make it a game at any point. We'll learn from it, we’ll move forward and hopefully get better moving into a Southern Illinois next week."
On the difference between today’s game against UGA and last season’s game against Alabama...
"Similar to today, we didn't make as many glaring mistakes. We had busted covers and calls and all kind of stuff a year ago that led to touchdowns. Today, it was a lot more solid. We just didn't tackle well defensively. Georgia owned the line of scrimmage on both sides. We really struggled just trying to create some consistency."
Jacob Still, Redshirt Junior, Center
On the pressure early in the first half…
“Yeah, there definitely was a lot of pressure. At the end of the day, we didn’t protect like we needed to today.”
On the offensive line as a whole after the first few games…
“Since the SMU game we have definitely made a lot of strides. We have improved in a lot of areas. That was a tough one today but we have to learn from it and get better this week in practice.”
B.J. Edmonds, Senior, Safety
On what he takes away from a game like the one today…
“Just the competition we just saw. Those are the best guys in the country. I mean they are ranked number three so they are one of the best groups in the country. So just to be able to line up against those guys and challenge yourself and seeing some guys you don’t see every week.”
On what it was like to run out of the tunnel and see so many Georgia fans wearing pink…
“It was amazing. Coach A talked about it before in our team meeting and I thought it was awesome of the Georgia fans to do that for us, Mama Wendy and Coach Anderson. We definitely felt that presence today.”
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