Tuesday Press Conference

UGA Sports Communications

Coach Kirby Smart, along with two players, previewed Saturday’s season opener against Clemson. The Dawgs and Tigers kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET in Charlotte, N.C.

On Tuesday, Coach Smart, and seniors Ameer Speed and Quay Walker offered the following comments.

Coach Kirby Smart

On the progress of Warren Ericson and the special team's status…

“Warren Ericson is doing awesome. We’re fired up about Warren Ericson. He’s been able to practice the last two weeks, and he’s done an excellent job. As far as punt return and kick return, we didn’t get to go outside today, and we were going to get to do some live kicks today to finalize that. Probably Kenny, Kearis, Ladd, those are the guys in the running for PK. So, those three guys primarily, and Cook had worked back there and Zamir. Every one of those guys, kickoff return, will be one of the backs. Punt will be Ladd, Kearis, DK, Burton, but really those guys have all kind of been neck and neck, and it will probably just be Kearis. But to be honest, he hasn’t gone through everything in this camp, so he’s had some time where he wasn’t out there, and he’s been out there now for I guess the last two weeks. So, we certainly feel very comfortable.”

On the secondary…

“We typically play the best corners. So, we don’t rotate at corner unless we feel like A. There is a conditioning issue, B. There is a matchup issue, but your best guy has got to be out there at all times. In all my years coaching, the conditioning has not been a factor for our corners, unless maybe he is coming off an injury or coming back from something where stamina doesn’t allow him to play the whole game. We’ve had years where we rotated in because we thought the guys we beaten, but it’ll all go game-by-game. What are the matchups? What is he good at? What are they good at? Those kinds of things… The tempo doesn’t allow you to play any more guys. We’ll play typically like we always do, we’ll have four DBs on the field some, we’ll have five DBs on the field some, we’ll have six DBs on the field some, and then we have packages with seven. So, we’ll carry the same packages that we’ve always carried. There’s no difference for us, we’re just not as deep. But that doesn’t prevent us from doing our packages.”

On matching up with Clemson’s receivers…

“That is definitely a strong group. They are big, they are physical, they do a very good job going up and getting the ball. They are really good 50-50 ball guys. We’ve seen a lot of them on tape, you know, Justyn has been a great player for a long time, and he is coming back, so I know they are excited to get him back. They are a match-up problem. In some ways, we are bigger at corner than we have ever been, too. But we’ve got three guys who are 200 pounds rotating through there. We’ve had really fast, really long guys, but uniquely we’ve got three or four guys who we plan on playing now who are all 200 pounders. Now their guys are 210, 220. So, if anything concerns you, it’s 50-50 balls, blocking on the perimeter. That’s critical, to be able to block on the perimeter, and you don’t go against guys that size. We put our guys up against tight-ends just to try to simulate what we think they’ll see in a game, the size of those guys. Getting on and off blocks is critical in every football game, but it’s really critical to this game because we know the spread element of them, the perimeter screens, the ball out quick. You have to be able to tackle and get off blocks. Those big guys make that hard to do.”

On the expectation put on Georgia this year…

“Well, it has to be. If it’s not coming, then what are we doing? So, I don’t look at it from the perspective of winning. I look at it from the perspective of what’s important now, what are we doing now? And I know the people in this organization, the administration, the people in the state, the people that love Georgia, and the energy and enthusiasm they have, it’s just always been long overdue, right? I don’t care if you won one years ago, it’s overdue. So, for me, that’s the end game, that’s the goal. That’s what you’re always trying to work towards. It doesn’t make it a successful season or a failure if you don’t. I just don’t look at things that way. I don’t let that control my thought process in my life. But I certainly pursue excellence, and that’s what excellence is.”

On personnel decisions for Clemson matchup…

“There are decisions like that every week. We have young, talented players (I’m not going to say that we don’t have older, talented players - that’s not fair - they wouldn't be here if they weren't talented.) But you may have more talent in a spot or more experience in a spot - you are weighing those two options of where does the experience of the lesser talented player versus the talented and less-experienced, where does that balance hit? There are some different scenarios on there. 

 It’s early in the season, we haven’t had a game, so we haven't found out a lot. We tried to find out in the spring game that we had a lot of mid-years play. We tried to find out in pre-season camp in two scrimmages, but it's hard to measure what this game is going to be like for a kid that hasn’t maybe played. Maybe he was on the team last year and, I am trying to think of an example, he didn’t have a large role and now his role has to increase. And then you have to weigh the option of another guy. We’ve got several situations like that - it might be on the offensive line in some cases, it's that way in the secondary. Experience is just so valuable in those positions - I’m talking about the back end; I’m talking about the offensive line. Because one mistake on the back end and it's a touchdown. One mistake on the front line and you may have a sack fumble, or you may have a turnover. That’s not always the case at receiver - we chose to do that with Jermaine last year and it helped us in the long run, but it probably hurt us at some points and caused some mistakes, but we are forced to make those decisions and they/re not always easy decisions. Sometimes they change in the middle of the game.”

On the team's readiness to play…

“I am pleased with the preparation. I’m ready to play a game, our kids are ready to play a game. We need to play a game. We need to play a game to get better. I don’t know that we are going to get better continuing to practice against each other, the walkthroughs, to teach. There's no more time for that. We have a couple more days and we start to prep these days; we’ve got a lot we can improve on for that, but we need to go play. We are not where we need to be. Number one, we are not healthy to the point we need to be. But we also aren’t as good as we need to be. We’ve got some young, talented players that don't have the experience. You know how they're going to get it? They’re going to go play. At this point, we’ve got to go play. I am sure they’re no different. With the exception of their defense, they got everybody back, they’ve got young guys who are going to have to go play.”

On the evolution of perimeter blocking in college football…

“I don’t know if it just snapped - it evolved. For a long time on the perimeter - you never brought the DBs to the inside run, you just let the linebackers and safeties and O-line and back and tight ends have it out while corners and DBs just played one-on-one. Slowly, but surely the RPOs, the perimeters, the plays that have two plays, sometimes have three plays, the quarterback can run it, he can throw it, or they can throw a single back to the X. So, you have a play to the field, a play to the boundary, and a play to the middle and you’ve got to have everyone to defend it. It’s just very unique how football has grown, and it makes all offenses hard to defend. I can’t get a year on that, but every year every offensive coordinator gets a new wrinkle.”

On Dominick Blaylock’s rehab…

“Dominick has done an incredible job with rehab. He has worked really hard. It has been a tough year for him. When you think about going through what he went through. He had fought all the way back, re-tears the same ACL and now it's over a year since the time he tore it and it’s been twelve months. He’s gaining confidence in it. Today he was running routes, he was on the scout team and did everything against the defense so we could get an even better look. He’s done everything. You say, ‘why can’t he go play?’ Well, he’s still gaining confidence and is getting his stamina back. It’s being able to get him a cumulative number of reps - he hasn't been able to rep with our one and two offenses because he hasn't been ready. Now he’s building confidence, I thought he made a couple plays out there today that were good plays and really challenged our first and second defense. I can’t tell you when he's going to be out there because I don't know, but he's close.”

On the team’s energy and needing to play…

“I think it's great. No, they need to play because it’s time to play. We don’t practice this game, we practice playing. There’s nobody that’s signed up for football to go practice for life and never play a game, right? So, like, they want to go play a game, there’s no vibe or energy that says that they’re tired of practice. If anything, our energy is ramped up with exposure to Clemson. They get excited about it when they hear about it. We are trying to keep the reigns on that and build that to a crescendo for the game and not have it built in practice, but certainly, they’ve enjoyed getting after it and they enjoy practicing for Clemson. They are just excited for a game and so am I.”

On the running back room as a whole….

“Excited. I think I feel about our running room probably like they feel about their defense, you know, you’ve got all these guys back that have played a substantial amount of time. You got James Cook, Zamir White, and Kenny Macintosh like he’s an old player now, and Kendall Milton getting to play and like Daijun Edwards, I mean there’s just a lot of backs that have done a lot of good things. It’s not that you wish you had more of them, you just wish you had more positions with the same experience that that position group has. It certainly will be the position group where our team has the most experience and confidence.”

On Jordan Davis’s improvements as a pass rusher and achieving a 3rd down role….

“In roles, yes, he is a 3rd down player in certain roles. He certainly is elite at pocket push, he’s elite power, one of the strongest kids I have ever been around. He helps you the way that he’s able to run games and things because he’s just different. There’s just nobody quite like him in terms of the volume and the reps. He has a 3rd down role for us, yes, but his primary role is first and second down obviously. He’s worked really hard to improve his quickness and that’s been one of the areas that he knows that when he’s in there that there’s less run game in between those “A” gaps with him in there. It’s all about if he can affect the perimeter and cover down and do things and that’s what we’ve tried to work really hard on.”

On the importance of strain during a game….

“No, I definitely think strain is important. I’ve stressed that you can be out strained and it’s critical to any game. I think it measures somebody’s heart and courage and toughness to strain a little longer than the other guy. Are you going to hold your block a little longer? Are you going to fight a little harder? Everybody wants to win, but will you out-strain the guy across from you in every one-on-one battle? That’s what we’ve challenged our guys to do this week, not just do it during Saturday. Build where you can’t help, but do it because it's your habit, you do it every day in practice. We talked a lot about strain and Vince is a guy that strains really well.

Ameer Speed, Senior, Defensive Back

On the size of Clemson wideouts…

“They have a very big and physical set of wideouts, so we are looking forward to that. We are planning on using our size and ability to just match and play these receivers the best we can.”

On Clemson wide receiver core…

“Me being a big DB, I’ve always loved going against bigger receivers. Being a big DB, we like matching up with bigger people. Them being big and physical and us having big and physical corners too will make it a fun game.”

On secondary…

“As a group, I feel like we are ready. We’ve been working and grinding and preparing ourselves to be the best we can be this season. I feel like the hard work in practice and dedication will all pay off in due time.”

Quay Walker, Senior, Linebacker

On injury concerns this preseason…

“I haven’t any injury at all, I’ve been practicing like everybody else. 100% just like everybody else, just working and trying to get better leading up to the game.”

On Clemson’s run game…

“It’s just a normal game, pretty much for an inside linebacker. It may be more to do with the tasks that I have to do. Coming to Charlotte this week, going against Clemson, but I just have to have my eyes in the right place and everything else will play out for itself.”

On the impact of Jordan Davis in the front seven…

“He plays a huge factor, I would say, just how big he is and how he can get off blocks and all of that. Especially for me, he makes things way easier for me by him just lining up in front of me. So, whenever JD is in front of me, I don’t have too much to worry about, to be honest.”

Monday Press Conference

UGA Sports Communications

Coach Kirby Smart, along with several players, previewed Saturday’s season opener against Clemson. The Dawgs and Tigers kick off at 7:30 p.m. ET in Charlotte, N.C.

On Monday, Coach Smart, junior tight end John FitzPatrick, junior quarterback JT Daniels, and junior linebacker Nakobe Dean offered the following comments.

Coach Kirby Smart

Opening Statement…

“Thoughts and prayers going out to those in the Gulf Coast and New Orleans areas. We obviously have a few players from those areas and it is something that we are thinking of those folks and all that they are going through. As this hurricane makes it way northward, we are hoping for safety for all during this time."

"We are obviously excited about this game it seems like it has been a long time coming. We have had a good camp in terms of working on ourselves. We moved onto Clemson last week, Wednesday or Thursday we started working on these guys. We got a chance to watch them in the summer and we got a chance to watch them in the spring. They are really talented, probably one of the best defenses I have ever seen returning in terms of number of starts and number of games played, the volume of experience is unmatched anywhere and anytime and I have been in college football a long time, just in terms of how much football those guys have played. Then you know their quarterback got some experience last year when Trevor Lawrence was down, he has one of the biggest arms I have ever seen, he is very talented, very hard to defend. It’s like every play it’s tough to defend when you play these guys, it’s like there is no time to rest. Special teams wise they have always had good specialists and they continue to, that is a rich history tradition in that both teams have always had great specialists. I think special teams will play a big outcome in this game.”

On the confidence of going into this season knowing who is starting quarterback is…

“There is a lot more confidence this year compared to last year not knowing for sure and a lot of it had to do with no spring. Our spring was our fall camp last year, you don’t get enough body of work to see the guys play and see the guys start out and go do things. In terms of wishing JT Daniels started earlier last year the big thing was the confidence in his knee and getting him through rehab. We have talked about that before, it was something that was beyond our control in terms of him being stable enough and able to go. But I will say this, a lot of the confidence you have in your offense comes from what’s earned right? You earn that by how you play and who you play. These guys we are about to play are extremely talented on defense and extremely well coached, and have everybody back. So when you talk about opening tests these guys are really good defensively.”

On JT Daniels’ preparation….

“I am extremely confident in his preparation and his focus, that is not a concern for me. The concern is who we have to block, the players around JT, everybody puts everything on the shoulders of the quarterback but so much of the outcome of the quarterback is how the guys who play around him. Who those guys are, the experience level, do those guys play well, do they play with physical toughness, do they strain, do they do all those things. I am very confident in JT’s preparation up to this point and his preparation over the summer. The distractions of the outside world has they really aren’t distractions for JT. He has a single-minded focus all the time on being his best and being the best leader he can.

On Jamaree Salyer, Sedrick Van Pran, and the offensive line…

“Both of those guys have repped at center. Jamaree Salyer has kind of worked across the board of the offensive line. Warren Erickson has practiced the last two weeks, he has been practicing, he is practicing again this week, so we feel good about him. We feel like those guys are healthy, available, and are excited to go see them play. At this point for the offensive line to get better they have to go play and they will certainly get to play against a very talented, twitchy, athletic group of defensive pass rushers and defensive linebackers.”

On having to reload the secondary in the offseason and getting them ready for Clemson’s offense…

“We’ve never had that many holes to fill. I know not in the years I’ve been here. I can’t think of a year ever coaching in my experience that we’ve had that many departures in the same unit. So, it’ll look very different. A lot of those guys are as talented as the guys we’ve had in the past but very rarely have we had lack of experience. We just don’t have a lot of guys with a lot of playing experience back there and the only way to grow up is to go play. They’ve had some good competition getting to go against our wideouts in the spring and our wideouts all of fall camp, but it’s time to go find out what they can do in the heat of the moment- what decisions they can make, what plays they can make. They’re plenty talented enough. We just have to go execute and we have to communicate well. Clemson makes it hard on you because they do a good job of moving people around and shifting in motion. That’s something we always see when we’re preparing and we work really hard to get these kids ready for that.”

On an update on Arik Gilbert...

“No update other than Arik is not currently with us still. We are praying for him each and every day that he will come back healthy.”

On how Clemson’s front four compares to a group he previously coached at Alabama…

“That’s probably not fair for me because years don’t work well for me. I don’t know who ’11 and ’12 was at Alabama, unfortunately. So it’s a hard comparison. I can talk about their front four because a couple of them are from our state- we recruited each and every one of them. They’re really talented. Every kid across that front we had on our campus at some time. We lost probably on all of them in terms of trying to get them. They’re talented, they’re quick. But what makes them so good is the defensive package and the way they us them. It’s not just their talent level, they fit the scheme. You have plugging linebackers, extremely smart linebackers, very good tacklers, great blitzing linebackers that are very aggressive in terms of what they do. It fits. They fit their scheme. Those kids really fit the way they play.”

On the similarities between Georgia and Clemson…

“I don’t think we’re real similar. I don’t think our two quarterbacks are exactly the same, maybe in terms of experience, but very different type quarterbacks. I think secondary, they have more starts in their secondary returning than any secondary I’ve probably ever played. I’ve been watching the same guys play in their secondary it seems like forever. They’ve had them back there every single game. We have common opponents that we’ve both played and they’ve had those guys back there forever. Their front is different than our front. We both do have experience in our front seven. Theirs is different than ours. Ours is a lot bigger, built to stop the run, and theirs is pushy, more athletic and built to rush the passer. They’ve done that, statistically, really well. They’ve effected every quarterback they play in terms of sacks and those numbers. We’ve been better in those categories, but not as good as what they’ve done. Offensively, there are some similarities there. We have a lot of our backs back. Obviously their best back got drafted but they have very capable backs, kids they beat us on recruiting. And they have good wideouts. There are similarities there but outside of that I don’t think there are a lot of similarities between the two.”

On how excited he is to see guys like Adonai Mitchell, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, and Ladd McConkey...

"I'm really excited. That's the area that I think we can grow in the most, because we have the least experience. We went from a really experienced receiver team, to a not very experienced receiver team. With George Pickens out, Kearis Jackson and Jermaine Burton missing some of camp. Those are the guys that have the most experience and the guys that don't will have the opportunity to go out and make plays. Some of them got to play a lot in the spring because of the injuries. Jermaine, didn't get a spring practice, AD did and still has a ton of growth. He's got so far to go to reach his potential. We're going to find out a lot about those guys as well as the tight ends and the backs. That's the big thing, we need to perform well in the skill position around JT Daniels to help him with this rush group they've got."

On Darnell Washington and Tykee Smith...

"Each one of them are doing great. They're moving around now and I'm hoping both of those guys will be healthy soon."

On what went through his mind on playing Clemson and an SEC schedule...

"Opportunity. The bottom line is our kids come to the University of Georgia to play in big games. We had an opportunity to play a really good opponent. For me, it's what Georgia is about. Our fans crave these kinds of games, we as coaches crave these kinds of games. You find out a lot more of yourself when you play in these kinds of games. For you guys it's everything, for us it's an opportunity to make us grow and be better in our SEC schedule regardless of the outcome. We are going to be a better team after playing these guys and they can say the same for playing us. These opportunities are why you come to major colleges to play in. When you have an opportunity to play a paid opponent, you jump at that."

On Derion Kendrick and how to focus and calm down for such an emotional game...

"We've spoken to him about it and we continue to. The good news is he has played in a lot of big games having been at Clemson. The hurdle is more of the emotional side in playing your former teammates and old family. It can be a knee jerker and tough on you at times. I talk to him everyday, we're watching clips of Clemson, so it can be awkward at times. I've been through that, when we played Georgia and I was at Alabama or playing someone the year after you were there. It makes it different, there's a personal touch to it. He's got to be able to separate himself from that, lock it out and go perform. He works hard, he loves football, it's important to him and he's bought into it. I'm excited to see him go play."

On Coach Muschamp and if his coaching ability has helped him...

“Yes, he’s been a tremendous asset. I can’t express enough the move to get him on board, and how important it’s been especially considering our situation, him being an on-the-field coach. He’s been a jolt of energy to special teams. He’s been an extra set of eyes in the defensive backfield. We’ve been able to break things down. You know there are a lot of parts to the secondary and when you’ve got new parts in all those parts it helps to have an extra set of eyes. He’s been tremendous at that and he’ll operate on the sideline and make a lot of special teams calls, signals, and decisions. Those kinds of things, and he’ll also help with our defensive backs on the sideline.”

On Jordan Davis' return to Charlotte and his recruitment...

“I don’t remember specifically, but I do remember watching some video we shot at a practice and just knew right away this guy was a jumbo athlete. He went through bags. He actually was working out as an offensive lineman. We recruited him the entire time as a defensive lineman. It was his athleticism at offensive tackle that stood out to me. He could bend. He could move. He had quickness. He was huge. It just left me wondering why more people weren’t on him. We thought he was one of the best players in the country and we recruited him as such. It was easy to see. It was evident on the tape and Tray Scott brought that back from going to watch him up there. We just had a very consistent relationship from talking to him, and Tray did a great job recruiting him. His mother is just a wonderful person and there was a bond for him there and he decided to join us.”

On if he views Clemson as a measuring stick...

“I think every game is a measuring stick, right? You measure yourself every game on how you perform and how you play. It’s no different in this game. I mean it will be a national measuring stick for everybody to say Georgia is either here or Georgia’s gone. I acknowledge that. I understand that, but that’s not going to change how we prepare for this game. It’s not going to change how we prepare for the next game. It’s life. It’s what the world is made out of. You’re judged based on your performance right now. I’ll never forget when they threw away the Patriots and Tom Brady after one game and said the dynasty was over and they were terrible. Then the next couple of weeks they go on and end up having a great season and win the super bowl. I don’t think you ever judge things based on one game. That’s obviously something that is always on a continuum and it’s always going to be done. That doesn’t stress me out because I know regardless of the outcome of this game, were still going to have a good football team one way or the other. The job that I will have to do will be different depending on the outcome of this game, but Sunday morning we will be worrying about our next opponent. ”

On Derion Kendrick and having a player that knows the opposing team well...

“I don’t know that you can or can’t. His information would probably be more personnel, in terms of what guys are like. I’ve been against these guys. I know their wideouts. I know maybe something about their defensive backs or something specific. Scheme-wise I think it’s tough. There is so much more that goes into it. There’s not like, oh when they do this, this is what’s coming. You can’t say that because no offensive coordinator, no defensive coordinator gives the same look over and over. All that ends up doing is gets you chasing the wrong idea. So from a personnel standpoint, it probably helps because I think he knows those guys, but outside of that there is not a lot to it.”

John FitzPatrick, Junior, Tight End

On JT Daniels’ confidence …

“I see it every day in practice. He’s prepared in walk thrus and meetings. And then come practice time, he shows it on the field. His confidence, it shows out there. He has a swagger, confidence, and he leads the team in the right direction.”

On preparation for Clemson…

“Obviously spring ball is about focusing on ourself, but you start watching Clemson as soon as possible here and there in the spring. And then a lot of the time it’s on your own and when you can get extra film in. The tight end room will go watch film together on a Sunday here and there, and just get notes down, look at some schemes. We just continue on throughout the summer, so it’s been an ongoing process.

On Clemson’s defensive line …

“Absolutely, we’re ready for the challenge. We’re excited for the challenge, but at the same time we have a bunch of studs up front from left tackle to right tackle and the guys in the middle. They’re all studs and we’re excited for that challenge.”

JT Daniels, Junior, Quarterback

On Daniels’ connections with teammates …

“We have been talking about it a lot. We have a lot of guys, first of all, lot of guys I feel comfortable with and being with just the amount of work that we got in the off season. Guys missing a couple days missing here, or you got guys rolling in and out. However it is, we have the report that we’ve been building over time. So there’s no concerns of that from me.”

On Daniels’ transition to Georgia …

“Football is just another thing on the west coast I would say is kind of how it felt versus football being the thing here. I remember driving in, it’s the first thing I remember from being in Georgia from when my family and I drove from the Atlanta airport to Athens. Just seeing the Georgia flag flying and the Georgia Dawg flag flying everywhere. I just really came to experience what it’s like, you know having football be such a main focal point and such a communal aspect. But for me I loved it since I’ve gotten here and I still do. And I’ve been vocal about how much I really love being here and the way that it functions. For me it wasn’t much of an adjustment, that’s how I've been my whole life.

On John FitzPatrick’s role in the offense …

“First with John FitzPatrick, Fitz and I are great friends, have been since I got here. Having a guy that you know where he’s going to be, he knows all his assignments, you know he’ll fix something that you don’t think about but not everything comes in right from the sideline sometimes. You know there’s a lot of variables in running an offense, and a guy like Fitz that always knows what we’re really trying to do is a guy that plays a big role in fixing the small mistakes or miscommunications. And of course, athletically, I think he’s underrated in terms of what he can do as a pass catcher and as a blocker. I’m excited to see what Fitz will do this year.

On preparing for Clemson’s defense …

“In terms of the mental clock, there’s elite pass rush in the SEC and with a team like Clemson, they’re no different. I’ve always tried to be get the ball out, get the ball in the right guys hands. As I’ve matured, I think I’ve gotten it out quicker and quicker.

Nakobe Dean, Junior, Defensive Back

On the corner and star position …

“I feel great about it. They have put in the work, everybody on the team and defense has put in work. I trust our coach to put the right people in the right positions to make us a good defense.”

On JT Daniels’ development as a leader…

“Back when we were on the scout team, I was impressed with how he handled coming from where he came from and who he was and how he handled being on scout team and how he attacked it every day. And now he just gives the offense, I feel like, all the confidence in the world. You know, they’re on his back and every body on the team is on his back. He is the one to offensively lead this team.”

On how you have gotten better despite injury obstacles in the spring…

“For me, being able to stay engaged in the spring just came from me loving ball and knowing that when I came back I wanted to be better. I probably wasn't able to get better with technique or so but I was able to get better mentally so that was the biggest thing for me.”

On your perspective of Fall Camp…

“We had a lot of guys who had a good camp. Camp is definitely a grind. There’s a lot of people, including myself that got better this camp. It will be able to help the team this fall.”

Anderson & Podlensy Talk To Media

UGA Sports Communications

Senior Adam Anderson and junior Jack Podlesny met with the media this evening and offered the following comments regarding practice and the upcoming 2021 season opener.

Adam Anderson, Senior, Outside Linebacker

On his role on defense…

“When you come to the University of Georgia, they are going to teach you and put you in the best predicament of where you can play at. Honestly, I play from outside linebacker to putting my hand on the ground to coverage, when it comes to the star position. It just all depends on different game situations, but I’m more comfortable putting my hand on the ground because at the end of the day I just want to get after the quarterback.”

On his 40-yard dash time…

“I did run a 4.47. I feel like most people would be excited about that, but that’s not the approach I want to have. Honestly, the dream or goal that I’m really pushing for is to at least run a 4.30 and weigh around 250 pounds. That’s my goal and something that I’m still working on.”

On his pass coverage skills…

“The star position helped me in different aspects. It helped me basically learn how to open my hips. Even when I’m playing regular downs and have to play the Jack or Sam position and you have to guard certain running backs or tight ends half of the time. It teaches you how to slow down and not overrun them because when you’re playing the star you’re guarding the slot receiver, one of the fastest dudes on the team. Dealing with that and learning to play the star position has been one of the best opportunities to help me out.”

Jack Podlesny, Junior, Place Kicker

On what’s changed since the game-winner…

“You know, not really. I haven’t tried to let it affect me too much. I’m not trying to buy into the stardom that much and just trying to live my daily life like I did before.”

On coach Muschamp’s role with special teams…

“As coach Smart once said, he likes to leave us alone, and so does coach Muschamp. He brings a lot of fire and energy to the table for special teams as a whole and as a team, but as specialists alone he kind of lets us do our own thing. He gives us a little energy here and there and makes sure that we’re doing the right thing.”

On if he earned a scholarship…

“Yes, I did! It meant a lot. It was always a goal of mine once I got to UGA to work my butt off and someday get put on scholarship to pay for school. Now I’m here.”

McClendon & McIntosh Meet With Media

UGA Sports Communications

Redshirt Sophomore Warren McClendon and Junior Kenny McIntosh met with the media this evening and offered the following comments regarding practice and the upcoming 2021 season opener.

Warren McClendon, Redshirt Sophomore, Offensive Lineman

On Amarius Mims and Broderick Jones’ development…

“They have been working hard every day - they come in and they give it their all. The good thing about Coach Smart is that everybody gets reps so they are coming along well and getting their reps.”

On key for offensive line when developing chemistry…

“I would say the main thing with chemistry is just getting the reps and being there and going through the progression of every play. Our connection is really good in the offensive line room being with each other every day for hours.”

On Julian Rochester’s sixth season…

“With Julian being here for six years, that is leadership. He knows the ins and outs of everything and you can go to him and ask him questions and he will help you out. Having that leadership here has been great. “

Kenny McIntosh, Junior, Running Back

On how the defense has improved…

“The defense has been improving a lot throughout camp, tackling and everything, you know, just really doing what they have to do. Listening to Kirby, being very coachable, taking from the meeting to the field. All of that is adding up, and you can really see that on the field. They’ve really been increasing that and improving on that side of the game.”

On the depth at running back…

“I think it’s a blessing to have a lot of running-backs. It’s a lot of talent on the field on one team. It takes a lot of wear and tear off of each of our bodies, so all of us are getting opportunities to go out there and perform, and we love it.”

On what makes the running back group competitive…

“The most competitive, what I would say, is the mindset. Just going out there and being able to compete and having the mindset that this is our job to come out here, and we have to do what we have to do every single day. So, having that mindset is what I would say is most challenging.”

Post Scrimmage Press Conference

UGA Sports Communications

Coach Kirby Smart met with the media in the afternoon and offered the following comments regarding today’s scrimmage and the upcoming 2021 season opener.

Opening Statement…

“I thought we had a really productive second scrimmage. It was not as hot. It was a little bit overcast. It wasn’t nearly as hot as last week. We were able to complete the scrimmage and get everything we needed to do. We had around 120 or 130 snaps, and both our ones and twos had right at 50 or 50-plus, and then the threes got another 20 or 30 of those snaps. The offense did a little better job this time. We had more explosive plays, some good opening drives. Defensively, we started with the tackle. I thought we actually tackled better in the last scrimmage than we did in this scrimmage, which is not usually the way it goes. The more you tackle the better you get at it. We struggled a little bit with that today, so I think it’s really something we can work on, hone in on. All in all, I’m pleased with the scrimmage, but we have some communication things we can work on, getting plays in on time on both sides of the ball, special teams. That stuff probably wasn’t as good as the last scrimmage, so we have to figure those things out. I was excited about the way guys competed. Today kind of ends what I consider to be our camp. We’ve gone inside more this camp than we ever have before, some by NCAA rules and some by choice, but I’m pleased with where our guys are. I’m pleased with the attitude they’ve had. We’re going to take the day off tomorrow and some of Monday and get back to work Tuesday.”

On the star position…

“Latavious Brini is working there. We have linebackers working there. We have a couple other defensive backs working there. I feel really good about the play of Brini from the bowl game. Brini has played that every year of his career since he’s been here. Poole has played a lot of that. We have several guys working.”

On the team’s offensive identity…

“I think some of that is dictated by who the defense is. We want to dictate to the defense what we do, but, at the same time, some of what they do matters. Every defense we play will be different. There will be three-down fronts, four-down fronts. There will be big, small, experience in this level, experience in that level. We want to take advantage of what they give us. We can identify what we need to work on, but we’re just trying to figure out who the best football players are, not who can read the signal the best and go execute. We’re trying to figure out who the best football players are, and that has been our intent in the two scrimmages, not to go out and trick the defense. We’re going out to play fundamental defense. Now, it will become a little more scheme because we need to figure out exactly what each guy can do and what he does well and who we want to become.”

On Lewis Cine…

“Lewis Cine is a special talent. He has extremely good speed. He has extremely good toughness. He has good ball skills. He has size. When you design a safety, he has all the qualities when it comes to it, and he’s really been a student of the game. He came in as a raw talent who had played up in Boston in high school and then moved to Texas and bounced around. He never really learned a scheme. He learned how to play the position, and he’s really grown at that. He’s played multiple positions for us, free, strong, and the money position. He’s been able to do a lot of different things athletically, and he’s tough, and he’s fast. He’s an interesting kid because his motivation is his daughter, his family, his father, his mom, and he’s spent a lot of time outside of football working on his career. He’s been very adamant to me that his career after football and making sure he’s good and making smart investments when he does make money is more important to him than anything, and he’s done a lot of internships to better himself.”

On players like John Fitzpatrick, Arik Gilbert and Dominick Blaylock returning from injury…

“We are hopeful to get all of those guys back soon. That is the plan with really all of the guys that are injured- we don’t have an injury where there are guys out for a long amount of time. We are hopeful to get all of those guys back, I mean every one of them are day-to-day- I mean some of the guys you mentioned can practice now and are practicing. Each one is a different situation but I expect to be full tilt when Clemson comes, when it comes time to play them. We had more guys today than we did at the last scrimmage, we are in a good position.”

On the offensive line…

“We have really settled in with the five that have been getting reps with the ones. We just rotate to get depth and just to rotate guys around. There is still a good competition at tackle, there is a good competition going on at center. When Warren Erickson has been healthy to practice since his return from his injury, so he has been able to practice some and things. Then Justin Shaffer and Tate Ratledge have been the primary at guard, but we have shuffled some guys around at guard to get them in there. I feel good about our depth within our offensive line, we still have time to determine who the starting five will be in terms of the tackles. It is not like not like we are out there doing musical chairs. I mean they play 20 plays one way and they might play another 20 the other way just to give you the best guys on the field.”

On the defensive backs…

“Yeah, Jalen Kimber and Kamari Lassiter have done a really good job. Nyland Green and LC (Lovasea Carroll) continue to work, they are working with the corner position. DK (Derion Kendrick), Kelee Ringo, Ameer Speed and Jalen Kimber bring us the most experience. Kamari, obviously he is the youngest but he has worked all over the place, the guy has played almost every position on the field. He is a bright young player that has good instincts and we have to find a home spot for him to get him more reps and ready to play. But all of those guys have done a great job.”

On the road or neutral game experience…

“We never-we are pretty secluded. We don’t get around a lot of fans, we don’t get around fans. Our travel is just us, that is not going to change. Our hotel is just us, we are portioned off from the crowds and the people. The biggest difference is the vaccination and obviously that doesn’t make you full-proof, we would never do that anyways. The same precautions that have been taken will still be taken. The biggest precaution is the vaccination, we have a large number of our guys vaccinated and we want to protect against that. I think there is maybe a misnomer out there that we are…It was not a lot different last year because we were secluded but we were always secluded. That will be the case when we travel and that will be the case when we are at the hotels.”

On the decision to keep the media virtual...

"The first thing I'd say is that defers to the medical staff here, and Ron Courson and his staff met on that, talked about that, they came back and visited with us and gave us input. And I follow the input that they give us. It's usually a safety measure. I will say different than just COVID-posed issues, because those are the primary issues, we also have major, major space issues. I know people don't really know we are dealing with construction, and we are actually limited to one field right now. And it scares me to death every day that we practice right now with guys on our sideline, guys in the way because we lost a practice field. We have one practice field. When you throw that combined with COVID, it's a real situation for us. And I know you can say, ‘Well other people are different ways.’ Well, I defer to Ron and his staff, and it's something we evaluate each week - it's not permanent. Right now, for us, it's the decision we feel like is the best for us.

On the program's current vaccination rates...

"...We've been over 90 (percent) for quite a while, so we've been over 90% for some time now, not just 85 (percent). But I don't actually know the exact number, right now because our percentages change based on who is on our team. We've had an influx of kids when school started that were walk-ons who came back and joined us. So, it would be inaccurate to say I knew exactly what the percentage was. I saw the Falcons 100 percent, a lot of credit to them, and ultimately that's our goal, but we are not there yet.

On the progress of Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Justin Robinson, and Arian Smith...

"Yeah, each one of those guys has had a competitive, tough, physical camp. Each one has a different skill set. So, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint is a tough, contested-catch guy. He works so hard day-in and day-out with everything he's got. He's a really good special teams player. You know, Justin has taken on a little bit more ownership, in that I'm going to be able to help this team and have a bigger role in this team, whether it's special teams, as a wide receiver, and doing other things - he's getting better. And then Arian, coming from track, he missed some of the summer workouts, and we had to shut him down and not do everything. He's bounced back; he's been battling a couple of injuries the last couple of weeks. He's had some turf toe injuries, a toe-nail that got stepped on it was just bad, really bad. But he's missed a little time. But they all three have a different skill set and they all three are competitors. They continue to grow into that receiver rotation."

On how the program adjusts to fatigue and other difficulties in camp...

"I think you have be intelligent with your team. Some of that is based on heat, some of that is based on how many practices you've had inside or out. We've been inside; we've actually had a few more inside this year dealing with rain. We have a set schedule and routine that we follow, and that doesn't change much year-to-year. The NCAA dictates that to us sometimes. They change the parameters of how many padded practices you can have, how you can practice, how much you can tackle. But to be honest, we haven't had to change ours much. Our model that I have always followed since being here is such that you work hard through camp, take a couple days off after camp that gives the coaches a chance to re-route, recenter. The players get a chance to recover, and then you come back and start getting ready for your opponents. That's what we have always followed. We don't vary from that protocol very much whether injuries. We got the guys we got and we go play. But injuries are part of our game."

On Jermaine Burton and Kearis Jackson participating in the scrimmage…

“Jermaine Burton and Kearis Jackson both went today and practiced. We’re pretty much full load there at wide receiver. Those guys all got to practice, compete and get better. It was good to have Jermaine out there because he had missed some time in our camp and spring practice as well.”

On JT Daniels getting quality reps…

“JT has for the most part had good rhythm with the guys. You can make excuses all the time, but people get injured in football. You go play with the guys that are out there. They got to throw all summer, so all the guys were out there all summer. Some of the guys were in and out during camp, but I don’t know any team in college football that doesn’t (get injuries). In terms of some guys in, some guys out based on pulls, ankles and being banged up.”

On explosive plays at running back…

“We may have had a couple of check downs where they broke tackles and busted loose. A couple runs of 15-20 yards where they did a good job.”

On Brock Bowers…

“Brock has been a good player since he got here. You know he was probably limited some in the spring. He accelerated his learning. He’s competitive. He works his tail off every day. He’s a joy to be around. He’s what you want in a football player. We’ve got to find a way to use his skill set. He has no expectations from me. My expectations for him are to go out and lay it on the line and compete every day. He does that, so I think Brock is going to be a really good football player. We’re certainly happy to have him as part of our family, and were excited to see what he can do.

On other team protocols…

“With classes going back to full measure, our campus is as crowded as it ever has been. There are more people on our campus than there ever has been. So the efficiency for our players in terms of getting to class, being on busses, interacting with the student population that has a different vaccination rate than our team is a concern. It worries me because our guys are exposed to that. We’re trying to do everything we can to not expose them to any greater risk, and allow them to go to class. They have to go to class. We can’t put every kid on the team in online classes. We’re trying to minimize those risks as much as we can, educate our players, and try to stay healthy in terms of Covid.

On Bobby Bowden’s impact…

“He had a major impact on my life. At a relatively young age, I was in a unique position. I was a secondary coach at Valdosta State and a defensive coordinator at Valdosta State. I actually called the defenses at a young age, and I don’t know that I was ready to do that, but I also don’t know that you are ever ready. You’ve got to go do it. I got a call from Coach Bowden to come to Florida State. He, Mickey Andrews and Joe Kines all kind of recruited me to come. I played for Joe Kines here at Georgia. Coach Bowden was just unbelievable. The man, the person, everything you hear about him doesn’t live up to the justice for the way he treated people. There was never a moment that you were with him and didn’t feel special. There was never a moment where you didn’t feel like you could go talk to him. He did so much for me. He actually coached one time at Samford college, where my parents went to school. He was as good as there is. His family and all of his kids really embraced the Tallahassee community and took me in as a graduate assistant and helped me start my career. I got to see him from time to time, even after I left. I saw him at a couple bowl games we played at, national championship games. He was always such a good person. I appreciate him, and my thoughts are with his family at this time.

On Dan Jackson and David Daniel…

“David Daniel actually wasn’t with us today. He had a funeral to attend, so he wasn’t out there. He’s had a fall camp where he is growing. He got the spring in to get a lot of reps like you mentioned, but he’s still growing to help our team because we don’t have much depth at the defensive back position. He’s a guy that could have to be thrust into playing time. We had that happen last year in the Florida game when Lewis Cine got the targeting penalty. We had to stick a safety out there who hadn’t played much, and David could easily be that guy. Dan Jackson has done a real good job. He is one of the toughest hardest working young men. I think everybody on the team respects Dan Jackson because of the way he works, and he should be able to help our team this year.”

On Amarius Mims and Broderick Jones…

“Both of those guys are very talented players, everything they are advertised to be. I think unfortunately so many people think so much of guys, and they get rated by you guys and so many people to be so high, it’s hard to live up to that expectation. They are talented. They are very talented. They work hard. They are both great young men. They are having really good camps. Amarius missed some time, so it’s been a tougher progress with him, but Broderick has been healthy. He’s been competitive and he’s played left tackle, right tackle and he’s gotten better. Amarius is getting better, but he has some lower back issues, spasms, so he’s had to sit out of some practice time. Not necessarily a whole practice. He hasn’t gotten the reps, and you need lots of reps, but he’s going to grow into a really talented player and I’m excited in terms of where they are going. They are in the conversation right now at tackle, both tackles”

On the high dive at the Ramsey Student Center…

“I had no intentions, but at that point I got called out. I got peer pressured and there weren’t a lot of options once you got up there. Lot of regret, I can promise you that. I will always land on my feet and not anything else. I was sore for about three days. My fanny… I will not be doing that again.”

Thursday Media Conference

Senior defensive back Christopher Smith, Sophomore running back Kendall Milton and Redshirt Freshman offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran met with the media Thursday night after practice and offered the following comments regarding fall camp and the upcoming 2021 season.

Christopher Smith, Senior, Defensive Back

On Derion Kendrick and working at the STAR position...

"We have several different people working there. I got a couple of reps today and yesterday. It is good for me to be able to get out there and get some reps at STAR and learn a new position. DK (Derion Kendrick) has been a great player for us. He is very locked in at practice and does not take a day off."

On Kelee Ringo...

"Kelee has grown a lot. He has been locked in on his coverage. Fix on the run, tackling and everything like that, just like the rest of our freshmen. A lot of our freshmen have grown a lot in this spring and fall camp, and I have full confidence in them also."

On preparing for Clemson...

"We all know Clemson is a great team. They have a lot of good players, but so do we. We focus on ourselves and how we are able to get better. When the time comes, we will put a game plan together for Clemson."

Kendall Milton, Sophomore, Running Back

On using the run game to overcome offensive injuries...

"I feel like, with the type of school that we go to, a school with a lot of talent, so everybody works for moments and works to get their chance. We are super excited for the season. Playing with what we have, everybody is just excited with the talent that we have on the field, just excited to attack the opportunity."

Sedrick Van Pran, Redshirt Freshman, Offensive Lineman

On getting more explosive plays in the run game...

"Every day in practice, little things in practice, we are just trying to get down the vision and get the run reads and everything like that. We are letting the cards play themselves out. We are a running back room that has a lot of talent. Everybody is super talented in different aspects. We are just using our talents to our advantage and going out there to make big plays."

On how Clemson's defense looks on film...

"They are definitely a great defensive team. They have a lot of weapons and a lot of players that we are looking out for. Practicing against our defense, the defensive line and the linebacker core, it is 'best in the country' type of defense. I feel like, as a running back room, it is preparing us very well. Going against the defensive line that we go against every day already prepares you for the game-type atmosphere."

On adjusting to working with the first team…

“I don’t think it has been that much of an adjustment. I think that Coach Smart does a great job at getting a lot of guys reps, especially guys that are expected to help. He does a great a great job of rotating guys in and getting them some work. I think overall it has not been that big of an adjustment, just working on the things that Coach Luke has taught me so far. I am just trying to get better.”

On the transition from high school to college football…

“That is a good question, I will say that I think that the most difficult thing for me is honestly taking coaching every day. Taking the technique and just really getting in the film room. It really is a tough thing coming from high school and you realize going to this level you have to have to fix up some technique, not saying that you don’t have the God given ability. It really was an adjustment coming over here and fixing up some technique, fixing up some things, and really starting to play ball on the best level. I really want to credit Coach Luke for that, and I really just want to say thank you.”

On rotating in at center…

“I’ll say this Warren Erickson has been doing an amazing job. One thing that I love about the dynamic of me and Warren, I mean Warren and I excuse me-is that we always try to help each other out. It is supposed to be a competition but at the end of the day we all want to win. With Warren, it’s helping him get his snaps correctly, working with him on his opposite hand, and with me getting my snaps done correctly with moves and stuff like that. So, I think Warren has done an amazing job and I am really really proud of the progress that he is making. But also, other guys who are taking some snaps like Jamaree Salyer, me, and Warren.”

Shaffer And Speed Talk To Media

UGA Sports Communications

Seniors Justin Shaffer and Ameer Speed met with the media via Zoom Tuesday morning and offered the following comments regarding fall camp and the upcoming 2021 season.

Justin Shaffer, Senior, Offensive Lineman

On the offensive expectations for this season…

“One of our main expectations is just to not turn the ball over. Work together as an offensive and play together as an offense. At the end of the end of the day it is all about working together as a team and as an offense. I feel that we are going to be way more explosive because we have so much more talent surrounding the team. Everyone has been working together and working on the same page.”

On how the offensive line is preparing for Clemson…

“I feel like we are not just preparing for Clemson but for everyone. We still have work we have to do as a team offensively and defensively. Clemson is not our main focus but us working on each other is our main focus.”

On the closeness of the offensive line…

“I feel like since I have been here we have just gotten closer and closer. I feel like we have just been growing and growing. Me just being the older guy in the room I feel like I have to be the guy that is everyone's big brother and make sure that everyone is connecting. At the end of the day we are all one unit.”

Ameer Speed, Senior, Defensive Back

On his progress during camp…

“I have just been taking things day by day and using every day to really get better as a team and as a player, as a brother and as a person. We are just taking it step by step and not letting everything get too ahead of us, like coach says ‘moving day by day, live in the moment to be able to perfect that day so I can move on to the next day.’”

On how the team is meshing…

“We have just been trying to be a brotherhood, Coach Addae, Coach Smart, Coach Monken have been working with us all, allowing us all to perfect our crafts and just being the best we can be. Also us older guys, we are able to help out. We are all open, when one person does something wrong ‘we are all like hey, you know you could have done this or done that’, we are all working together and trying to make each other the best we can be. We are only as strong as our weakest link so once we are all where we need to be we can do anything we want to do.”

On the maturity of this team…

“It is crazy as you get older, your thought process and the way you see things just evolves on and on. I forget that I am an old head sometimes. Just seeing that influence that you have on people on the team, it does mean a lot. You can feel it at practice with the old guys helping the young guys and just us all being there for each other.”

Dawgs Hold First Scrimmage

Coach Kirby Smart met with the media via Zoom Saturday afternoon and offered the following comments regarding today’s scrimmage and the upcoming 2021 season.

Opening Statement…

“Scrimmage one in the books, I was proud of the effort of our guys because it has been a stretch of six, seven, eight practices in a row with one day off in between. I thought it was really hot early out there and the guys came through with good energy. We had some good competitive drives. We did some kicking situations as live as we can-similar to how we do our spring game, it was good. We got a lightning strike within a six-mile radius. I thought Ron Courson and his staff did an amazing job, the football operations staff with Josh Lee as well. We jumped on the buses and got back over, got in the indoor and we were started within 12 minutes of leaving the other field. That was important in terms of not having to warm up again and do all of those things. We were able to complete our scrimmage inside. I thought the guys really competed hard, we had some good competitive drives, a lot of situations, a lot of situational football. We have a long way to go. We are beat up a little bit at wide out, we have some injuries so we don’t have all of our guys out there- we have a lot of guys injured all around, but this time of year I think everyone does. But the most important thing for us is to get some reps tomorrow, get healed up, and we will get back to work on Monday.”

On the offensive line…

“Without seeing the film the only thing I will say in the third down protection periods I thought they did a nice job with the pocket. We were not exactly efficient on third down with our goal being to convert, we were converting at a lot higher rate than we did today. But the pocket was good. We rolled guys in and out of there with Warren Erickson being out we worked Jamaree Salyer and Sedrick Van Pran both in at the ones at center, that allowed us to work other tackles. Brodrick Jones has worked at tackle with Jamaree bumping inside. Xavier Truss has been able to work some at tackle and guard. Amarius Mims has been able to work some at tackle alongside Warren McClendon. Center is one of those positions you can’t play with, you can play with a lot of different positions on the offensive line but you better have a center because the play doesn’t get started without that. Laske (Austin Blaske) has worked there, Jared Wilson has even worked some, but primarily it has been Jamaree and Van Pran to work to get Warren back. I thought that we ran the ball and made some holes in there. I thought we protected consistently. But we did not make a lot of plays in the passing game that I would like to make.”

On Warren Erickson…

“Warren, I feel good about him. He is actually a classic, he is behind the play, mimicking the snap, making his points, making his calls, looking at the defense from 30-yards back, taking every single rep and practicing on air. He has a cast, it is his snapping hand that he has his cast on but he actually has the ability to snap with his right or left hand. So he is really working on being able to snap with his right. He is going to be cleared to get within the next week or so, it will just be a matter of playing with a cast. We have had people play with that injury, but we have never had a center with a snapping hand play with that injury, so that will be the key. He may work some at guard with that injury present.”

On the secondary…

“We didn’t get as stressed as we do sometimes out there, we did not have as many miss-matches with some of those guys out like Kearis Jackson and Jermaine Burton being down right now. It probably wasn’t as much skill, but they competed hard and they played hard. For a first scrimmage I thought we tackled ok, we got a long way to go tackling but most first scrimmages my bar is not really high because we have not tackled live, we had to tackle live and I thought they did some decent things. We have some experience at the star and safety position but we don’t have a lot of experience at the corner position. “

On how the weather affects his team…

“Yeah, perfect to me would not be that hot because we don’t typically play in it. I like out of your first 15 or 20 practices, what we call camp type practices. I want to be in the heat for several of those. But, I have never had a game that had to be played in that type of weather. I think I referenced to the players two or three years ago at South Carolina I thought it was really hot. The Deadre Baker and Debo Samuel game, in the second half, I mean it was scolding hot and I thought we were the more conditioned team. I think that helps if you play in that. But, it is also unrealistic because we are playing 22 players from Georgia every play, we are playing special teams back-to-back every play, and so sometimes you can’t really measure a guy on how good he is in that kind of heat. I mean AD (Adoni Mitchell) he is playing every snap and in a game he would be rotating- so it is hard to measure someone in that kind of heat. It definitely challenges our mental and physical toughness. It did today for a little bit, probably the last 20 or 30 minutes before the weather cooled because of wind and the breeze with the weather rolling in so it was not near as bad.”

On Arik Gilbert…

"Arik is dealing with some personal issues. We love him. We are thinking about him. We are trying to help him. When you think about a medical staff like Ron Courson has, he has so much experience in dealing with these issues. Our thoughts and prayers are with him as he is dealing with these personal issues, and we hope to get him back soon."

On Will Muschamp’s roll with special teams…

"If you remember, we never really had just one special teams guy. Scott Cochran had the title, but that was not the way that it was anyway. Todd Hartley did punt, and he continues to do that. He has helped out and stepped up more in the other phases. It is really a total team effort. It always is. It was last year. In the composite special teams rankings that we keep, which are our own methods, we were number one in the SEC in special teams, everything included. It was not all Coach Cochran. It was a lot of people doing it by committee. That is kind of the same way that it is. Coach Muschamp is going to reside over the other units. We have a special person on our staff that was unbelievable last year. ULL (The University of Louisiana at Lafayette) was one of the best teams in the country at the return unit. Robbie Discher, the hire that we made in the offseason, coaches the coaches. He is there for Muschamp with ideas. Muschamp has always been very involved in special teams. People think that because you are a head coach, you are not a special teams coach. You are probably more in special teams as the head coach than you are when you are the special teams coach. I know that Will ran his program very similar to how we run ours, and he was involved in special teams. I was very involved. He brings a lot of energy to the meetings. I think that the players respect him and the job that he has done. So far, I have been really excited and reinvigorated because there is a new voice, and a lot of people are up there talking. They are hearing different voices every day, and the players are really competing."

On JT Daniels’ and the offensive performance in today’s scrimmage…

"I will have to watch it to really see. He is not playing with a full deck. He does not have all of the weapons out there. Fitz (John Fitzpatrick) was actually out, too. Fitz has got a foot sprain, so we did not have all of the arsenal there. JT understands that. He understands that we are going through the process of making good decisions. I am really pleased with where JT is with his leadership and commanding the offense. I think he would admit that he could have had a better day than he did today, and he knows that. That is not all on him. That is on everybody including me, the offensive staff and all of the guys to keep improving. That is why we do this. We do this to find out where we are, and then we will move from there."

On developing the offensive line…

"I am going to be honest. I feel good about all of those guys. Two-deep, we have guys that have played. Xavier Truss got some really good experience against Cincinnati. Jamaree Salyer has played a whole year at tackle. He has bounced in at guard. He is now playing center. I do not think that you will go anywhere in the country that does not have moving parts. If you do not move anybody, and someone gets hurt, do you just play the number two? He might not be the best player. We have made a big-time effort to play guys at multiple positions. Everybody says, 'You have to get continuity.' I want to get continuity, but I know that, the SEC and the rigors of it, there are going to be injuries. We have had them. Owen Condon is down right now. He was playing tackle and guard, and he is not out there right now. He has had a good camp. He is bright. He has versatility. I am pleased with where our guys are, but we have to get better. We are going to play one of the best fronts in the country in the first game, so our guys really have to lock in and compete."

On Warren Erickson’s snapping style…

"They call that amphibious or ambidextrous; I cannot remember. I am just kidding. My mom would be disappointed in me. I do not know that, but if he does not snap it really well with the right, he will not be at center, because it is going to be hard for him to snap it with his left. I am not saying that he can snap with his right hand right now. It is something that he is working really hard on. The guy got surgery, and the next morning he was up snapping with his right hand. He has got time to really work hard at that. He is also going to work at guard like we talked about... What is the difference between amphibious and ambidextrous? I am just kidding. I really do know the difference."

On mental health…

"It is critical. I think that we all deal with issues and problems within our own households and our own families. Those are personal things. We are a family here, and our players have really embraced that. Our players have really embraced the love, the affection and the struggles that he is going through. We love him. We love his family. We love his kids. We are going to be there to support him and them just like they are one of us. That does not change. This team is very well connected and very open. We have very intentional conversations at our night meetings, and that is something that we have talked about across the board."

On the highlights from the scrimmage…

“Special teams highlights… Pod was pretty consistent. I’m not sure exactly. I think he hit two 45 yard field goals. He was very accurate there. I thought Zirkel, in the indoor hit a good field goal. I don’t know the length, it was pretty long. He hit it and made a field goal from distance, I thought our kickoffs had good hang times. Camarda hit an excellent punt that pouched and backed up around the goal line. He’s got to continue to work on his consistency. Some of his best punts out punt the coverage. You talk about distance and hang time, but sometimes he just out kicks the coverage. We’ve got to have elite gunners. We lost two of the best gunners in the world last year in Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell, and we’ve got to replace those guys for Camarda.”

“Offensively, I thought Kenny McIntosh hit a couple wheel routes. Kenny did a nice job out of the back field, made people miss. Justin Robinson made a nice play down the field. We had a couple interceptions. Some were on tipped balls. I thought Jamon Dumas-Johnson made a great play on a pick. He has flashed in camp. You know this kid did not play his senior year, they canceled football and he didn’t get to play. I keep watching him, and I’m like man who is No. 10. Man who is that. He flashes and makes plays. He and Smael Mondon are just so hard working and tough and strike people. I feel like we have to real good young players at linebacker. They’re going to be real good players, but nobody really stuck out or anything like that. There weren’t really a lot of turnovers in the scrimmage, but there weren’t a lot of big plays either.”

On how the team responded to the media training with Maria Taylor…

“Our guys do a great job with any speaker we have. We’ve covered probably five or six different topics without players by way of guest speakers, and they certainly like hearing guest speakers more than me. Especially Maria Taylor. Maria came in and did a tremendous job. She represents her university in so many positive ways. She is able to draw on her experiences. She is just an incredible ambassador for the University of Georgia. I know they loved it. They got a lot of small group time and team time. She got to speak a little bit about NIL, but that’s not her expertise. She is more into helping our guys represent the University of Georgia the right way.”

On where he feels his team is the strongest and what the team needs to work on the most…

“Well our strongest area right now is connection. I know that is not what you want to hear, but that’s what I’m most proud of. The relationships, how they feel about each other, and being very intentional about the time we spend to know what we’re fighting for. The area we can work on the most, it’s hard to pick one, I mean depth at several positions. I feel really good about the first 22 and a lot of different looks, but I don’t feel great about the depth of our team, and getting more players to play winning football so we can get to where we need to go.”

On if he ever feels ahead of schedule…

“Yeah, I never feel that way. I certainly don’t come from some of the years that we’ve had recently. There were some years we had there with Jake Fromm, Andrew Thomas, D’Adre Swift and all that crowd. You could say well we feel like we’re ahead. We’ve got a lot of guys that know what to do, but we weren’t defensively. We had to go into the defensive space. I would have said this year if we were perfectly healthy that we would have been ahead offensively than we were defensively, but some of the injuries have forced some guys up. Like what Adonai Mitchell has had to do this fall camp and spring, to what Jermaine Burton was going through last year. I thought that Coach Monken made a good decision to throw Jermaine out there and make him go play early. Even in the Arkansas game. It was tough. We went through some growing pains. He missed some things, didn’t get some signals, got called offsides, but it paid off in the end because he got a lot more confidence. We’re trying to go through some of those same growing pains with a lot of those young guys at wide out, but I never feel ahead. I certainly don’t think you feel ahead as a head coach. I do think there is a time where you can dial back the reigns, and get other guys ready and be smart for other guys that have played two or three years.”

On how the secondary improved this week…

“I’ll start with DK (Derion Kendrick). DK had one of his best friends pass away, and he’s practiced every practice with us, but today we excused him to go to a funeral. He’ll be back tonight, so he was not out there today. He’s done a good job to be honest with you. He’s been very consistent, very intelligent. He comes from a good program. They play multiple coverages in their secondary. He’s learned… you know there was a concern that can he learn our stuff fast enough, but that’s not a concern. He’s very intelligent. He understands it. He plays big, bigger than he is. He’s physical. Kelee Ringo has done some good things. He’s made some plays out on the perimeter. He’s got elite speed. He continues to grow. People forget Kelee has not played tackle football in really over two years because in the spring he missed so much time with injuries. Now he’s gone all the way through this time at camp, gotten one scrimmage under his belt and he continues to work hard. He gets better with every rep. Jailen Kimber is dealing with a shoulder injury. He’s banged up. He was unable to go today. LC (Lovasea Carroll) and Nyland Green are both in a growth process of learning. I think they are going to be good players. They are getting a lot of reps. Kamari Lassiter is a guy that didn’t get to play in the spring, he wasn’t hear, but he’s really been a surprise highlight of camp. He’s intentional. He’s smart. He cares about special teams. He learns the first time you tell him. Just another evidence that if you go get smart students that can run, they can play. I think he is going to be a really good football players. At star, Latavious Brini and Tykee Smith have split that time. I would say that both those guys are neck and neck. If you remember last year we had Mark Webb and Tyrique Stevenson that both played that star position in the same games. These guys are very similar not necessarily in their skill set, but similar in that we may play them that way. That gives Brini the opportunity to go play back at safety and provide us some depth. He played safety in a couple games last year and was able to play really well. “

On the status of Jermaine Burton and Kearis Jackson…

"Jermaine got a sprained ankle in either the first or second practice. It was just a sprained ankle, and it was a tough one for him. He has worked hard. He has been in rehab. He is running in a straight line, he is cutting, he is doing walkthroughs, and he is getting all of the reps. He has just not been able to go 100%. Kearis, as you are aware of, we made a decision to scope his knee a while back. We knew it would be slow coming back into camp, but Kearis is doing things. He did 7-on-7. He is catching punts. He is out there going in a black shirt. We will work with him more this week, and we hope to do the same with Jermaine. He should be back with a quick turnover."

Monken Discusses Georgia Offense

Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Coach Todd Monken met with the media via Zoom Thursday afternoon and offered the following comments regarding fall camp and the upcoming 2021 season.

On the offensive line...

"We have Justin Shaffer that comes back as a returning starter and Jamaree Salyer, then you've got Warren McClendon and a good number of talented young guys that are pushing them. In terms of the depth chart, it's a work in progress. I do anticipate seeing a good number of guys working with the ones and the twos. You're talking about the left side, we're looking at Amarius Mims and Xavier Truss as well. On the wide right side, we've had Tate Ratledge over there along with Devin Willock, who is a talented young guy. Owen Condon, who has been here. The good news is we continue to practice and rotate them. I'm excited to get to Saturday to see where we're at. You go all the way through spring and five weeks in pads, guys get to a point where they keep developing and you have a break. It's really an interesting dynamic and then all of a sudden, you've got May, June and July that pops back up again. So, you've got to get back and work the physical part of it. It's one thing for the mental, but there's the physical part of it."

On the difference that a year makes...

"We're just so further ahead. Let's just start with the staff. Being together for a year when we do game planning and guys make suggestions, we start talking through things. That way they get to know me a little bit better, it makes for a much easier working relationship in terms of those things. Then you go with the players and the terminology, that part missing spring and the fall and as I've said many times, the core of what you do football wise is the same in the NFL, walking, tackling, doing it better than they do it, but systematically the way you go attacking is a little different. That took time, obviously the quarterback situation adds to that. I feel like a year later I'm doing it better, that's what you're paid to do. Then last year with the staff, what you're doing offensively in terms of how we're coaching our players and honing in on who we want to be."

On the unique talent at tight end...

"Without a doubt you've got John FitzPatrick who played a lot of football last year is probably, I wouldn't say the most versatile, but in trust is the biggest word with 'Fitz.' You can put him at wide, you can put him in an 'F' tight end, you can flex him out, he's going to be diligent in the way he approaches it and you can count on him. He's a true Dawg. You take Darnell Washington who got here last year and some of those things we saw later in the year we hadn't seen earlier. We didn't go live and when we did, we didn't give him the ball to see that ability, I wouldn't say down the field, but I'm talking about run-after-catch and some of those things. We knew he'd be able to cover people up and develop him that way, but he's a unique player. I don't know how else to describe him in terms of his size and athleticism. At 6'7, 280lbs, with ball skills and he can run. He is only going to get better. He's only really scratched the surface. Then you've got Brock Bowers, who is an 'F,' you can hand the ball to him if you want to. In his high school film, he played some fullback, in terms of route running. He's another guy that's a really diligent worker, he'll run himself into the ground with how hard he works, runs and competes. So, we're really, really fortunate to have those three guys in the mix. Then you've got Ryland Goede and Brett Seither who are competing for playing time. But, those three guys, that's a pretty special room that we have with the ability to utilize them and their skillset."

On finding a balance on offense...

"That's a great question. You spend the off season, when the season ends, going through our cut ups and ask, 'what can I do better? What can the players do better? Where can we put them in a better situation to have success?' The majority of our players have a skillset, especially the skilled guys, that you can utilize something. We just have to figure out what that is and if we can get them into those positions. Then you spend the off season heading into spring and evaluating what people are doing. Trying to stay on the cutting edge of what people are doing offensively and utilizing our personnel, which I thought we did a good job of. At the end of the day, the teams who are really good on offense do the same things and do it better. They tweak some, but they constantly are looking for ways to improve, but they have a philosophy of what they do. So, you're right, with having the film it's up to us to mirror our plays so they can look the same but appear different to the defense and put them in run-pass conflicts with different ways. So, I'm excited about the direction we're headed and what we carried over from last year."

On Arik Gilbert adapting to wide receiver…

“I think he has adapted well. He’s a special talent because he’s in the Brock Bowers mode, he’s athletic enough to play receiver, but big enough to do some things on the interior. He’s a size matchup. He’s a run after catch guy. He loves to play the game. We’re excited that he’s a part of our program.”

On Warren Ericson’s injury…

“I appreciate the question, but all of those questions are going to have to go to coach Smart, in terms of injuries.”

On the backup quarterback position…

“Well, we’re working through that right now. We left spring with Carson Beck as our number two quarterback, but we’re working through that now. You know with Brock Vandergriff it’s hard to assess a freshman player that comes in, in the Spring and we put a lot on those guys, and so right away they’re not able to really show their ability because they are processing so much. It slows down their feet. Slows down some of those things, but it has been tremendous there. Obviously, Stetson Bennett, and Stetson has greatly improved. So, we’re still in the process of evaluating that, and the next two scrimmages will have a lot to say with that in terms of how we end up going in the first game. I’ve been pleased with all four of them, and especially the other guys, Stetson, to be commended because it hasn’t been easy. You go from being a starter to, hey you’re competing with other guys for just the backup spot or the third spot, but he’s worked awfully hard. He’s really intelligent, and he has improved a ton. We are fired up about the group.”

On explosive run plays…

“Well first off, we have an excellent group of running backs. All five can play here. Dell McGee does a great job of keeping those guys fresh. They’ve been pretty selfless in terms of understanding that it benefits them to not have the wear and tear on them. Obviously, we have to become more explosive in the run game. I think we were consistent for the most part. Obviously, we had a couple games there against Mississippi State and the bowl game where we didn’t nearly run it as well as you would like to be able to control the game. You can’t control the game if you can’t run it. We have to do a better job of getting the ball on the perimeter because there is more space out there that will help us. Formationally, there are some things that we can do differently. You know there were some games, the Kentucky game we ran the ball well, but that was more in terms of five, six, seven yards here, but we have to be more explosive in the run game and we have to do it without a dual threat quarterback. That will add to that as well. You know at times you may not get the QB draw or scramble run, or the zone read, but that is no excuse. We have good enough running backs. We definitely have to be more explosive.”

On JT Daniels’ growth…

“His biggest growth…I might have a couple. It is different when you come into the season as a starter. I think he is more comfortable with our players. I think the second part is that he is just very comfortable with the offense and his ability to change things at the line of scrimmage and be able to do things as a player that is controlled which he likes to be involved in. He just has a greater command which is normal, I mean it is normal that he came in and had an injury and we were repping a lot of guys and he didn’t play till the end. As we keep evolving offensively, he really appears to be in control of what we want done.”

On comparing COVID this year to last year…

“Not a chance that it is the same, no chance in hell it is the same as last year. I mean just because of no spring, the pandemic, not really knowing and maybe at this point we don’t really know what with Delta variant, but back then we didn’t have a vaccine, we didn’t have what we think are some ways to curve this, we didn’t know if we were going to play. As a team and as a society we were going through some social injustice and unrest- we had a lot of things that were thrown our way, not just the pandemic. I thought that our players did a great job of handling it all. It is hard enough to win without distractions so…Everyone went through it; we are not the only ones. I really like where our team is at now and how they are working.”

On the wide receiver group and other players to look out for…

“Well, Jermaine Burton returns as a starter, you got Kearis Jackson as a guy that is coming back, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint is coming off an injury, those are the three guys that are coming back that have probably played the most football. AD (Adonai Mitchell), we think is going to be a tremendous player here. You know Arian Smith has a unique skill set that can really run, he is developing other aspects of his game, he is really quick and twitchy. So, he is not somebody who is a straight run track guy- but he is developing his traits and there are days where you see flashes. I think Justin Robinson has improved dramatically. I think Jaylen Johnson is going to add to add to that group. Ladd McConkey has made some plays. So, you lose one guy, and it is what it is, the other guys get a chance to step up and that is why you recruit players that have talent. You are moving guys around and we are just trying to find the best combination of guys-which including, you’re talking about Arik Gilbert, and the tight ends, and we have the running backs you know. We can’t forget that we’ve got some really talented guys to get potentially multiple backs on the field at once.”

On Monken’s relationship with JT Daniels…

“Well, I think with any relationship it takes time. I think as much as anything over time you get to know each other and how to get someone to be their best as a player or as a human being. So it just takes time for him to understand what we want to do offensively, what we need him to do with the team in terms of leading, in terms of being a coach on the field. I think the biggest thing is that it's developed through time. And then obviously having success, that relationship is tied to success. I mean we are tied together, let's not kid ourselves. That relationship the more success we have the more fun it is, the less success we have it is not that much fun. The better he gets, the better I do it, the better the relationship is and that is everywhere I’ve ever been.”

On the mental strength of JT Daniels...

"I refer back to 'time.' I think it is hard to just jump in there. He really was not here in the summer. He was not the starter. He was taking reps. He was not fully healthy yet. I do think that is much easier when you become the starter. You are in front of them all of the time. You are the one gathering guys to throw. That is a big part of it. Gathering guys to watch film. Gathering guys to go out to California. You do not do that when you are one of five. That is probably, as much as anything, it is hard to do that when you are not the guy that stands in front of them. I think that has evolved over time in his position on this team."

On spreading the ball around to skill players...

"Well, the thing is, I do not solve it. The defense solves that. I do not control where it goes. Now, we can move guys around and give them opportunities and touches. I have been around skill guys my whole life, that is who I coach. When you install plays and go over the game plan, your real skill guys look at the plays and say, 'Where am I going to get my opportunities?'. I enjoy that. I hope that we still have guys that are selfish. I really do. What skill guy would you not want to be selfish and touch the ball to showcase their skill set. They do have to understand that my ultimate job is to score as many points as we can and not turn it over and win the game. I would love for every guy to touch it a bunch. I want you to be selfish, but I cannot worry about that in our game planning. I have to do what I think is best for our team that gives us the best chance to win. Yet, I get it. I really do. I think it stinks, but that is the way it is. That has never changed. What has changed is that people throw it more. The game is more open, so you give yourself a chance to get other guys the ball, but, at the end of the day, the biggest thing is developing your skill set. If you develop your skill set, and you put on film what they want to see, Tre' McKitty, he did not have double digit catches, and the son of a gun went in the third round. At the end of the day, I want you to touch it. I want you to score touchdowns. I want you to be a big part of it but let us focus on developing your skill set that is going to translate to the next level while doing everything in our power to create the best version of an offense that we can for the University of Georgia."

On preparing for Clemson's defense...

"First of all, they have a tremendous coaching staff. Brent Venables is one of the best in the country. When I was at Oklahoma State, we went against him there when he was at Oklahoma. They do a tremendous job of creating some conflict and some issues with you offensively. They have done a really good job recruiting. They have some real good glue guys that are tough, outstanding football players, and they return a good number of players. With that being said, we go up against a pretty good defense every day ourselves, so it is not as if we do not have good players going up against us. It may not be the same schematically. They are going to pose some problems, just like we will for them, because we do not do it exactly the same. They will have gone up against good personnel. We would have gone up against food personnel. The reality is, 8 of the last 14 years I have been in the NFL, every week you are going up against good personnel, and you better strap it up and get ready to go. They have good players, and we have good players, so let's go. I am fired up to see where we are. That is why you come to Georgia, to play games like this. That is why you come here, to play really good people. Let us figure out where we are and how far we have come offensively."

On the leadership of Zamir White and James Cook... 

"Neither of them are vocal, at least not around me. Maybe that is just because I am 55, and they do not feel like they have anything to say to me. The reality is, they are not vocal players, but, those two dudes, they work their rear ends off. If you would ever have a chance to come watch our workouts in the offseason, those two guys go against each other. They challenge each other, and the whole running back room does. Jermaine Burton showed it the other day when we were doing some gassers. All he did was go over and run with James just to be with James, because it forced him to challenge himself against the best players in the room to find out where you are at. That is not easy. It is much easier to pick out someone that you can beat every time or someone that you look better than. Ultimately, those guys do it every single day. I rarely walk out on the field and see those two guys without a smile on their face or without an unbelievable disposition of loving football and their teammates and the University of Georgia. It is so much fun being around those two guys. I am excited to see them play this year as much as I was last year."