UGA Sports Communications
A feasibility study for updates to Foley Field and Jack Turner Softball Stadium, plans for a six-court indoor tennis facility and improvements to Sanford Stadium were a few of the topics discussed Friday at the University of Georgia Athletic Association Board of Directors fall meeting.
In addition to facility upgrades, J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks touched on a variety of items in his report, including efforts to improve the game day experience, a budget overview, the academic achievements of student-athletes and the success of Georgia Olympians.
Below are highlights from Brooks’ remarks.
• The athletic department has started a feasibility study for Foley Field and Jack Turner Softball Stadium.
• The No. 1 goal is to improve the student-athlete experience by creating indoor spaces for hitting and pitching. UGA will also look at what is possible in terms of increasing seating capacity.
• Brooks announced plans for the Sanford Stadium Press Box and 100 Level Concourse. The goal is to expand the concourse and improve restrooms and concessions, while increasing ADA seating. Phase 2 will include building a new press box in the southwest section of Sanford Stadium, while the current press box will be converted to a premium space.
• There are plans to renovate the former football locker room in the Butts-Mehre building to create a better space for the track and field squad.
• Members of the athletic department had their first meeting with the design team for the new indoor tennis facility.
• Brooks touched on the efforts of his staff to improve the fan experience at all Georgia home events, including family-friendly concessions menu and Zaxby’s ice.
• KultureCity has helped train UGA athletic department personnel in assisting individuals with sensory needs at Bulldog events.
• Financially, UGA closed the year in the black thanks to the phenomenal work by all staff.
• Brooks touched on the fact that 8.6 percent of student-athletes had a perfect 4.0 GPA last academic year, which is the highest percentage on record at UGA.
• A 3.15 combined GPA for Bulldog student-athletes in 2020-21 was the second highest on record at Georgia.
Other highlights of the meeting included:
• A comprehensive financial report by Treasurer Ryan Nesbit, who expressed gratitude to the Athletic Association for its efforts in overcoming unprecedented financial challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
• A glowing academic report from Faculty Athletics Representative, Prof. David Shipley. Highlights of Shipley's report included:
• Women’s golf won the Faculty Athletics Rep (FAR) Award for the highest GPA among Bulldog athletic programs with a 3.54 GPA, while men’s cross country posted a 3.48 GPA to lead all men’s teams.
• Close to 70 percent (67.2 percent to be exact) of Georgia student-athletes finished with a GPA of 3.0 or higher for the 2020-21 academic year.
• Deputy Athletics Director Will Lawler gave an annual compliance report with an emphasis on NIL (Name, Image and Likeness). He stated that the Athletic Association has gone through many efforts to assist student-athletes during this time.
• Student representatives Josh Stinson (UGA baseball player) and Brennan Cox (non-athlete student rep) also shared reports.
J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks
On the feasibility study on Foley Field and Jack Turner Stadium improvements …
“That’s why we are talking about feasibility studies. When you think about projects, there are really three basic phases of projects — feasibility, design and then construction. When you announce a feasibility study, it is to go into the site and see what is possible. We did some work at Foley a number of years ago. Based off that, what we learned there is what is possible. Where can we go and expand out for more player-development spaces and coaches offices, and then how do we use that space smartly? … Now, you also have to be smart about how you use it. So, do you obviously want to add some general seating, probably more seating for students — that’s always a great thing. Then, really look at some interesting ways to use premium spaces, so that will be part of that feasibility process — seeing how others have done it, how we can do it and really what the demand is.”
“We have had phenomenal attendance at softball games, and we really want to expand it. That is again why it is important to have those fair concession prices. We bring out families, it is a free event, and we do not want to gouge them at the concession stand.”
On the financial success of the Athletic Association during the pandemic …
“Earlier in the year, it was projected to be a bigger shortfall. That number kept decreasing as we did a better job of managing expenses, as our development office and ticket office did a phenomenal job of getting people to convert their refunds into donations. Throughout all those measures, it led us to a point where we are in the black.”
Friday, September 10, 2021
Thursday, September 9, 2021
UGA To Honor Coach Richt
UGA Sports Communications
Former University of Georgia head football coach Mark Richt will be honored at halftime of the Dawgs’ football game versus Missouri on Nov. 6, J. Reid Parker Director of Athletics Josh Brooks announced on Thursday.
“We are so appreciative of all of Coach Richt’s contributions to the University of Georgia,” Brooks said. “His impact on Georgia football, the Athletic Association and the Athens community is immeasurable. We are thrilled we are able to honor him at Sanford Stadium this season.”
Richt’s 145-51 overall record in 15 seasons at UGA ranks him 10th on the all-time winningest SEC coach list. The Dawgs had an 85-40 SEC record during his tenure and made five appearances in SEC Championship games, winning twice in 2002 and 2005. Richt, a two-time SEC Coach of the Year honoree, led Georgia to nine bowl game wins, with two Sugar Bowl victories in 2002 and 2007.
During Richt’s tenure leading the Dawgs, his teams produced 84 NFL Draft picks (2002-16), including 13 taken in the First Round, had 17 All-Americans and finished with 106 All-SEC selections.
“Katharyn and I are excited about being honored on November 6 in Sanford Stadium,” Richt said. “Athens and the University of Georgia have been very special to us and we are humbled to be a part of the great history and tradition of the football program. We also would like to thank the people of Georgia for the love and support we felt throughout our time in Athens.”
Network and game time for the Georgia-Missouri game have yet to be announced.
“We are so appreciative of all of Coach Richt’s contributions to the University of Georgia,” Brooks said. “His impact on Georgia football, the Athletic Association and the Athens community is immeasurable. We are thrilled we are able to honor him at Sanford Stadium this season.”
Richt’s 145-51 overall record in 15 seasons at UGA ranks him 10th on the all-time winningest SEC coach list. The Dawgs had an 85-40 SEC record during his tenure and made five appearances in SEC Championship games, winning twice in 2002 and 2005. Richt, a two-time SEC Coach of the Year honoree, led Georgia to nine bowl game wins, with two Sugar Bowl victories in 2002 and 2007.
During Richt’s tenure leading the Dawgs, his teams produced 84 NFL Draft picks (2002-16), including 13 taken in the First Round, had 17 All-Americans and finished with 106 All-SEC selections.
“Katharyn and I are excited about being honored on November 6 in Sanford Stadium,” Richt said. “Athens and the University of Georgia have been very special to us and we are humbled to be a part of the great history and tradition of the football program. We also would like to thank the people of Georgia for the love and support we felt throughout our time in Athens.”
Network and game time for the Georgia-Missouri game have yet to be announced.
Wednesday, September 8, 2021
Wednesday Press Conference
UGA Sports Communications
Coach Kirby Smart and select players offered the following comments leading up to Saturday's home opener against UAB at 3:30 p.m. ET. Coach Smart sat in on the SEC's weekly teleconference call, while players met with media.
Coach Kirby Smart and select players offered the following comments leading up to Saturday's home opener against UAB at 3:30 p.m. ET. Coach Smart sat in on the SEC's weekly teleconference call, while players met with media.
Coach Kirby Smart
Opening Statement
"I'm excited about UAB. Bill Clark is a good friend, and I have a lot of respect for what he's done with their program. What a tremendous job they've done since cutting football and then rebuilding it back really quickly. A lot of talented, really fast players, especially defensively. They've been a Top-5 Top-10 team in the country four or five years in a row now. They play really hard. They are physical, up front offensively. You find out a lot about a team when you see their special teams and see how hard they play. The punts they've blocked. They do a tremendous job. We're excited to be back home in Sanford Stadium in front of a packed crowd, and get this game going."
On the COVID concerns…
"We've had the highest amount we've had since the beginning of fall camp, and that is a spike. But that's staff and players combined. The total number is not over five, but again that is staff and players. I think that got blown way, way out of proportion. A spike to me is zero to five, but that is staff and players included."
On inside linebackers today…
"The way the game has changed, inside backers are athletes. You look across the NFL. They are not taking on Iso's, full-backs, and leads. They are in space, playing empty, playing five out. Playing Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, people like that, so inside backers have to be much better athletes than they've ever been. It changes kind of who you recruit and how you recruit. you have to look at alternative positions to find the best inside backer. Sometimes high school football teams are not even playing inside backers."
On Nakobe Dean's biggest improvement…
"Confidence and Leadership. He's always been a great kid. A hard worker. He's one of the fastest to learn things and understand the defense that I've ever been around. He came in and immediately picked up the defense. He's very conscientious of his work ethic, but the biggest area of improvement has been his confidence and leadership."
On Zamir White…
"Toughness. Hard nose. Physical runs. He doesn't shy away from contact. He has toughness and cares about his teammates. He's selfless. That has kind of been the mantra of our team, but also our running back room because we have talented guys in there. They have to understand that they serve an even greater purpose in their role on special teams and all-around team morale even though not any one person is going to get tons of opportunities and carries. You're not going to end up with a guy with 20 carries probably. Not with a backfield like we have, but it's still demoralizing to other teams to have a fresh back coming at you all the time."
On UAB's multiple QB's…
"They both have a lot of experience. They do a great job. that offense sets up nicely for them. Tyler Johnson III seems like he's been playing forever, and Dylan Hopkins has great arm talent. They have a really good pairing there. they understand their route system. They are a play-action, launch it, team, on you. They run the ball really well. They don't get themselves in long-yardage situations and that helps them be efficient."
On Jordan Davis…
"Jordan has been tremendous. He's worked really hard. He continues to work and keep his weight down. Part of staying humble is particularly to work and be explosive and affect teams in the passing game. Obviously, he's a space-eater. A dominant guy against the run game. He's hard to move. I think it was great for him to go back to Charlotte and have a good game because that's home to him and his mom lives there and works. His little brother is there. It just means a lot to him to go back. That's why he decided to come back. He wanted to have a big game."
On the ideal weight for Jordan Davis…
"You know it's body mass, body fat, bone structure. A lot of things go into that, so it's hard to say what is optimal. One 6'6" guy could be 200 pounds and one 6'6" guy could be 350-360 pounds. It's not the weight that concerns me as much as the stamina, and stamina is much more important than just weight alone. If he can play 15-20 snaps in a row at 350 or 330 or whatever weight he's best at, and we like to think that is maybe around 340-345lbs and that's what we try to work with him on."
Ladd McConkey, Redshirt Freshman, Wide Receiver
On playing in the opening game…
"Like I said it was an awesome experience just kind of getting out there for the first time, just kind of feeling everything that comes along with actually playing for the University of Georgia and being there with my teammates. So, it was a great time.
On growing up a Tennessee fan…
"It's kind of a funny story. I grew up and every bit of my friends, everybody around, was Georgia fans, except for my family. We kind of grew up Tennessee fans. This is not how my grandfather was, so my dad was raised, kind of grew up, a Tennessee fan. So, I grew up with Georgia fans harassing me all the time, trying to convince me to change over. But I mean, once they offered me and I got up here, there was no denying that this was the place I needed to be.
On missing a "catchable ball"…
"It was just something I can work on, getting off the ball and just not really getting re-routed and standing back. So, I mean, there was just kind of little things to it that we have worked on this week, and we fixed up to make sure that won't happen again."
Warren McClendon, Redshirt Sophomore, Offensive Lineman
On working on pass completion after the Clemson game and what Clemson's defense was giving Georgia during the game…
"I was probably just what Clemson was given us. We're still working on our playbook running all the plays that we have. And we're just focused on UAB now and just working on our game plan for that"
On focusing on UAB this weekend after the buzz of the Clemson game…
"You know, everybody's been talking about Clemson the past week, but we've been focused on UAB, they have a good team. They have a bunch of us returners coming back. They've won conference championships for their conference, they're a good team, so we're focused on them and our game plan for Saturday."
On run blocking in the Clemson game…
"In the beginning of the game, it wasn't a standard that we wanted but towards the end of the game we started clicking and moving the ball down the field. Well this week we want to put an emphasis on running the ball more efficient and just being better off."
Opening Statement
"I'm excited about UAB. Bill Clark is a good friend, and I have a lot of respect for what he's done with their program. What a tremendous job they've done since cutting football and then rebuilding it back really quickly. A lot of talented, really fast players, especially defensively. They've been a Top-5 Top-10 team in the country four or five years in a row now. They play really hard. They are physical, up front offensively. You find out a lot about a team when you see their special teams and see how hard they play. The punts they've blocked. They do a tremendous job. We're excited to be back home in Sanford Stadium in front of a packed crowd, and get this game going."
On the COVID concerns…
"We've had the highest amount we've had since the beginning of fall camp, and that is a spike. But that's staff and players combined. The total number is not over five, but again that is staff and players. I think that got blown way, way out of proportion. A spike to me is zero to five, but that is staff and players included."
On inside linebackers today…
"The way the game has changed, inside backers are athletes. You look across the NFL. They are not taking on Iso's, full-backs, and leads. They are in space, playing empty, playing five out. Playing Alvin Kamara, Christian McCaffrey, people like that, so inside backers have to be much better athletes than they've ever been. It changes kind of who you recruit and how you recruit. you have to look at alternative positions to find the best inside backer. Sometimes high school football teams are not even playing inside backers."
On Nakobe Dean's biggest improvement…
"Confidence and Leadership. He's always been a great kid. A hard worker. He's one of the fastest to learn things and understand the defense that I've ever been around. He came in and immediately picked up the defense. He's very conscientious of his work ethic, but the biggest area of improvement has been his confidence and leadership."
On Zamir White…
"Toughness. Hard nose. Physical runs. He doesn't shy away from contact. He has toughness and cares about his teammates. He's selfless. That has kind of been the mantra of our team, but also our running back room because we have talented guys in there. They have to understand that they serve an even greater purpose in their role on special teams and all-around team morale even though not any one person is going to get tons of opportunities and carries. You're not going to end up with a guy with 20 carries probably. Not with a backfield like we have, but it's still demoralizing to other teams to have a fresh back coming at you all the time."
On UAB's multiple QB's…
"They both have a lot of experience. They do a great job. that offense sets up nicely for them. Tyler Johnson III seems like he's been playing forever, and Dylan Hopkins has great arm talent. They have a really good pairing there. they understand their route system. They are a play-action, launch it, team, on you. They run the ball really well. They don't get themselves in long-yardage situations and that helps them be efficient."
On Jordan Davis…
"Jordan has been tremendous. He's worked really hard. He continues to work and keep his weight down. Part of staying humble is particularly to work and be explosive and affect teams in the passing game. Obviously, he's a space-eater. A dominant guy against the run game. He's hard to move. I think it was great for him to go back to Charlotte and have a good game because that's home to him and his mom lives there and works. His little brother is there. It just means a lot to him to go back. That's why he decided to come back. He wanted to have a big game."
On the ideal weight for Jordan Davis…
"You know it's body mass, body fat, bone structure. A lot of things go into that, so it's hard to say what is optimal. One 6'6" guy could be 200 pounds and one 6'6" guy could be 350-360 pounds. It's not the weight that concerns me as much as the stamina, and stamina is much more important than just weight alone. If he can play 15-20 snaps in a row at 350 or 330 or whatever weight he's best at, and we like to think that is maybe around 340-345lbs and that's what we try to work with him on."
Ladd McConkey, Redshirt Freshman, Wide Receiver
On playing in the opening game…
"Like I said it was an awesome experience just kind of getting out there for the first time, just kind of feeling everything that comes along with actually playing for the University of Georgia and being there with my teammates. So, it was a great time.
On growing up a Tennessee fan…
"It's kind of a funny story. I grew up and every bit of my friends, everybody around, was Georgia fans, except for my family. We kind of grew up Tennessee fans. This is not how my grandfather was, so my dad was raised, kind of grew up, a Tennessee fan. So, I grew up with Georgia fans harassing me all the time, trying to convince me to change over. But I mean, once they offered me and I got up here, there was no denying that this was the place I needed to be.
On missing a "catchable ball"…
"It was just something I can work on, getting off the ball and just not really getting re-routed and standing back. So, I mean, there was just kind of little things to it that we have worked on this week, and we fixed up to make sure that won't happen again."
Warren McClendon, Redshirt Sophomore, Offensive Lineman
On working on pass completion after the Clemson game and what Clemson's defense was giving Georgia during the game…
"I was probably just what Clemson was given us. We're still working on our playbook running all the plays that we have. And we're just focused on UAB now and just working on our game plan for that"
On focusing on UAB this weekend after the buzz of the Clemson game…
"You know, everybody's been talking about Clemson the past week, but we've been focused on UAB, they have a good team. They have a bunch of us returners coming back. They've won conference championships for their conference, they're a good team, so we're focused on them and our game plan for Saturday."
On run blocking in the Clemson game…
"In the beginning of the game, it wasn't a standard that we wanted but towards the end of the game we started clicking and moving the ball down the field. Well this week we want to put an emphasis on running the ball more efficient and just being better off."
Tuesday, September 7, 2021
Tuesday Press Conference
UGA Sports Communications
Coach Kirby Smart, along with senior Channing Tindall and junior Nolan Smith previewed Saturday’s home opener against UAB. The Dawgs and the Blazers kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET in Athens, GA.
Coach Kirby Smart
On Nolan Smith’s preparation for the season…
“I thought he was a more confident leader. He worked out really well, he always trains hard. It seems like he is always in a good mood, excited about practice, just a really fun kid to coach. But I don’t know that he trained, I mean everybody trained different this year dealing with COVID, but his training was a commitment to gaining a little weight, being a better leader, and I certainly thought he took on the role of leadership much better.”
On Blaylock and Kearis’ injury concerns…
“I told y’all Monday, Blaylock and Kearis are practicing every day. They are repping, they’re going. Basically, they are cleared. Kearis was out there. Dom is working out; he is practicing every day. It’s a matter of those guys working themselves back in. I mean, the body of work that Ladd and Jaylen have, Kearis is not 100%. Dom is, well, Dom may be closer to 100% than Kearis. But there is not a lot more we can do other than them getting reps and working themselves back. So, everyone keeps asking when they’re going to be back. Well, they’re back. They’re just not completely 100%. SO, when they are better than the guy who is playing, we’ll get them out there. They’re not 100%.”
On Dominick Blaylock’s injury…
“Dom has been practicing. Dom has been practicing for a while. Dom is getting confidence back in his knee. He is getting stamina back. He is getting contact. He is getting reps back. I mean, it’s more than just saying he is cleared. It goes back to our quarterback last year, you know, you can’t just say that you got to put him out there. Well, no; it takes more than that. I mean you’re out there with people trying to knock your head off, and you’ve had an ACL surgery. You would like to be 100% of your old self, and it may take a little while on an ACL. Especially on a second ACL. So, he is cleared to practice, and he does all kinds of things, but there’s a difference between being game-ready and out there practicing.”
On George Pickens’s injury…
“He is rehabbing every day. He is lifting every day. He is going to school and doing all his schoolwork, and he has done a good job of doing that. So, we will see. We don’t know – it’s one of those where he gets kind of a monthly check-up, and we haven’t had an update in quite a while. I think he is scheduled to go see Dr. Andrews here soon to checkup and visit, but he is doing his rehab. He is working hard and straight line running, but I have no idea on the date of return. It’s just too far out right now.”
On the challenges UAB presents on defense…
“Yeah, they are really good on defense. Bill Clark does a tremendous job mixing up coverages. They’ve got long, rangy outside backer-types that are hard to block, quick switch guys, really athletic linebackers. And their secondary - they’ve got a lot of guys who have started a lot of games. They have two corners who seem like they have been playing forever. You go back and watch games on them, and it seems like that same group of secondary has been playing for a long time. They do a great job. People don’t understand, these guys are a one score game, late in the game with Miami. You know what they did to Georgia a long time ago, they played them really tight. They do a tremendous job; they’ve got really good football players and I have a lot of respect for what they do.”
On standout special teams players…
“Yeah, Smael Mondon is a guy who does a lot of good things on special teams. Jake Camarda, like last year, does good things. Arian Smith was dominant the other night and made some good plays. Kendall Milton stepped up and did a lot of good things on special teams. So, we have a lot of our freshmen and are two deep on special teams. Javon Bullard did a great job there, Rian Davis. We have a lot of guys who are going to be able to play a role, and hopefully a bigger role in special teams. We didn’t get a lot of opportunities the other night.”
On Jack Podlesny…
“I am very pleased with his work ethic, his attention to detail. He does a great job of preparing himself mentally every day, day-in and day-out. Looking forward to getting him back out there for another one because I have a lot of confidence in him.”
On Defensive Backs Coach, Jahmile Addae...
“He has done a tremendous job. He is very intelligent, works hard and has a great relationship with both recruits and players. He is diligent and I appreciate the hard work he has put in. His family has come to Athens hopefully to see a Sanford Stadium atmosphere for the first time on Saturday.”
On the Right Guard position……
“We want the best five to play for sure so it’s a depth concern because we have to have enough guards and we have to have enough centers. So, we’ll play the best five and hopefully, provide enough depth while doing that. But if something happens to a center then we got to have a center ready, so you got to have two centers more than you got to have guards available. We got tackles that can play guard, but we don’t have tackles that can play center.”
On practice this week and the back-up quarterback…
“Monday was a good attention to detail practice, had a lot of energy and enthusiasm, moved around. I think Labor Day and sleeping in probably helped them some. But today we were not as sharp. Didn’t have as good a practice as we had Monday so hopefully that’ll improve tomorrow. Carson’s been our number two quarterback. He’s worked with the twos and has worked a lot there, taken a lot of reps. Stetson still gets some reps from time to time but he’s got a lot of bank reps so we ask him to do a lot of things mentally to be prepared and ready to go.”
On Dan Jackson…..
“Dan Jackson came to us and wanted to walk on. Certainly, was a good high school player, watched his tape and thought he could help us. Didn’t realize he would help us this quickly. He’s a really good athlete, very intelligent. When he first got here, the first summer he ran a really fast 40 time and we thought wow this guy could help us, he could play on special teams and he’s done more than that. He’s taken an opportunity where we have very, very limited depth and he seized it, he seized the moment. He’s gone out and practiced really hard towards the end of last year’s bowl practice, we started working in and then in spring practice he went with the twos pretty much the whole time and had a good spring and we felt good about his role. He’s a great kid, a really smart kid, he works really hard every day and is a blessing to coach.”
On the reserve offensive lineman…
“Tell them they can come to the spring game to see them or they can come out and watch them in warm-ups before a game or if we’re ever fortunate enough to get a lead they may get to watch them. Right now we’re worried about their safety on the field and that’s the key for our guys to stay safe. Devin Willock’s done a great job. He’s a big guard and he’s working with the twos at guard and we think he’s going to be a good football player. Lindberg got to go in the other night and got to play on special teams and filled a big role for us on the field goal when Tate went out. He’s working at guard as well.”
On Broderick Jones….
“He’s ready. He’s done about 60 or 70 practices, he’s had probably about 200 lifts, he’s had about 100 days of workouts but he’s worked really hard. He’s improved. He was not very strong last year, he was weak at the point, he’s put on some weight he’s about 315. He’s intelligent, he’s played left and right tackle. He understands how to pass off twists and gains. He’s still got a ways to go to be ahead of the guy in front of him but he’s a good football player and we think he’s ready to play.”
On Kelee Ringo…
“I hope that he gets better with game experience, practice experience, playing the ball in and out of phases, he’s got really good ball skills. So, I’m excited to see him play because I think some people are going to go after him because of the pass interference calls. But I’ll be honest with you, he's one of our best ball skill guys. Go up and attack the ball so hopefully, he’ll get an opportunity to do that.
On Coach Cochran…
“I haven’t talked to him since probably before the Clemson game, we spoke a little bit, but he seems to be doing well, and I’m looking forward to getting him back here.”
On the top performers on the scout team…
“I would say Brock Vandagriff has been doing a really good job on the scout team. He gives us a really good look and does a really great job. Micah Morris has done a tremendous job. Defensively, last week, John Staton was Skalski, and he did a really good job of representing him. Xavian Sorey has worked really hard, and Jonathan Jefferson has really improved. So, those guys probably stick out as high-effort guys who practice really hard each day to make us better.”
Channing Tindall, Senior, Inside Linebacker
On today’s practice…
“Practice is the same regardless of what it is. We’re just preparing for a good UAB team, you know, they just won the USA Conference last year. We are just striving; we practiced because it’s not about the other team it’s about us.
On waiting for his opportunity to play consistently…
“I would say the UGA defense has always been good in my eyes, so we are just trying to, regardless of who is out there, it’s a standard – we are trying to carry the tradition. I feel like it would be a Natrez’s game, or Monty, Roquan – you just have a lot of good legends here that are playing in the league now that’s just the norm. And we don’t want to let them down, and we don’t want to let ourselves down, so we are just going to keep pushing.”
On the defensive effort versus Clemson…
“Of course, a big thing we have been talking about lately is takeaways. So, we had a lot of plays, but there were so many more plays we could have made out there, like takeaways, hauling at the ball, that’s been a big thing for us - Getting at the ball on the defensive side. Just composure and attention to detail around that. So, next week, this whole season really, we are just going to focus on that.
Nolan Smith, Junior, Outside Linebacker
On the defensive connection…
“You say that, but I say we have this connection. That’s what we focus on during the off-season - connecting. I always say, ‘everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time’ no matter if you’re a five-star or walk-on, if you love the game and are willing to put in the work at Georgia, you will find yourself on the field.”
On Channing Tindall…
“I wouldn’t call myself a vocal leader, but I just see myself as I have a lot of energy, so I want people to match me. God didn’t have to wake you up every morning to do whatever you have to do so I take it as an opportunity that I just get to wake up and play football and go to class. Some people don’t get to wake up at all, so I just feel like I try to transfer that energy over to people. We always say, ‘match me’ so if I am with my partner having a bad day I always look at him and tell him ‘we good’ and we keep going, we keep pushing. The worst is yet to come.”
On Kelee Ringo needing reps…
“I 100 percent say ‘no’ that is not something that Kelee Ringo needs to do because it's not like we don’t have George Pickins or guys at Georgia every day that are working him, so I just feel like, you know, he is doing an amazing job personally. And I just think we keep him composed and feeling good and make him believe that he isn't the only one out there - you don't have to make every play yourself. There’s ten guys that are playing around you and no matter what, we flock to the ball and all play together. That’s the other connection part that comes into it.”
Coach Kirby Smart, along with senior Channing Tindall and junior Nolan Smith previewed Saturday’s home opener against UAB. The Dawgs and the Blazers kick off at 3:30 p.m. ET in Athens, GA.
Coach Kirby Smart
On Nolan Smith’s preparation for the season…
“I thought he was a more confident leader. He worked out really well, he always trains hard. It seems like he is always in a good mood, excited about practice, just a really fun kid to coach. But I don’t know that he trained, I mean everybody trained different this year dealing with COVID, but his training was a commitment to gaining a little weight, being a better leader, and I certainly thought he took on the role of leadership much better.”
On Blaylock and Kearis’ injury concerns…
“I told y’all Monday, Blaylock and Kearis are practicing every day. They are repping, they’re going. Basically, they are cleared. Kearis was out there. Dom is working out; he is practicing every day. It’s a matter of those guys working themselves back in. I mean, the body of work that Ladd and Jaylen have, Kearis is not 100%. Dom is, well, Dom may be closer to 100% than Kearis. But there is not a lot more we can do other than them getting reps and working themselves back. So, everyone keeps asking when they’re going to be back. Well, they’re back. They’re just not completely 100%. SO, when they are better than the guy who is playing, we’ll get them out there. They’re not 100%.”
On Dominick Blaylock’s injury…
“Dom has been practicing. Dom has been practicing for a while. Dom is getting confidence back in his knee. He is getting stamina back. He is getting contact. He is getting reps back. I mean, it’s more than just saying he is cleared. It goes back to our quarterback last year, you know, you can’t just say that you got to put him out there. Well, no; it takes more than that. I mean you’re out there with people trying to knock your head off, and you’ve had an ACL surgery. You would like to be 100% of your old self, and it may take a little while on an ACL. Especially on a second ACL. So, he is cleared to practice, and he does all kinds of things, but there’s a difference between being game-ready and out there practicing.”
On George Pickens’s injury…
“He is rehabbing every day. He is lifting every day. He is going to school and doing all his schoolwork, and he has done a good job of doing that. So, we will see. We don’t know – it’s one of those where he gets kind of a monthly check-up, and we haven’t had an update in quite a while. I think he is scheduled to go see Dr. Andrews here soon to checkup and visit, but he is doing his rehab. He is working hard and straight line running, but I have no idea on the date of return. It’s just too far out right now.”
On the challenges UAB presents on defense…
“Yeah, they are really good on defense. Bill Clark does a tremendous job mixing up coverages. They’ve got long, rangy outside backer-types that are hard to block, quick switch guys, really athletic linebackers. And their secondary - they’ve got a lot of guys who have started a lot of games. They have two corners who seem like they have been playing forever. You go back and watch games on them, and it seems like that same group of secondary has been playing for a long time. They do a great job. People don’t understand, these guys are a one score game, late in the game with Miami. You know what they did to Georgia a long time ago, they played them really tight. They do a tremendous job; they’ve got really good football players and I have a lot of respect for what they do.”
On standout special teams players…
“Yeah, Smael Mondon is a guy who does a lot of good things on special teams. Jake Camarda, like last year, does good things. Arian Smith was dominant the other night and made some good plays. Kendall Milton stepped up and did a lot of good things on special teams. So, we have a lot of our freshmen and are two deep on special teams. Javon Bullard did a great job there, Rian Davis. We have a lot of guys who are going to be able to play a role, and hopefully a bigger role in special teams. We didn’t get a lot of opportunities the other night.”
On Jack Podlesny…
“I am very pleased with his work ethic, his attention to detail. He does a great job of preparing himself mentally every day, day-in and day-out. Looking forward to getting him back out there for another one because I have a lot of confidence in him.”
On Defensive Backs Coach, Jahmile Addae...
“He has done a tremendous job. He is very intelligent, works hard and has a great relationship with both recruits and players. He is diligent and I appreciate the hard work he has put in. His family has come to Athens hopefully to see a Sanford Stadium atmosphere for the first time on Saturday.”
On the Right Guard position……
“We want the best five to play for sure so it’s a depth concern because we have to have enough guards and we have to have enough centers. So, we’ll play the best five and hopefully, provide enough depth while doing that. But if something happens to a center then we got to have a center ready, so you got to have two centers more than you got to have guards available. We got tackles that can play guard, but we don’t have tackles that can play center.”
On practice this week and the back-up quarterback…
“Monday was a good attention to detail practice, had a lot of energy and enthusiasm, moved around. I think Labor Day and sleeping in probably helped them some. But today we were not as sharp. Didn’t have as good a practice as we had Monday so hopefully that’ll improve tomorrow. Carson’s been our number two quarterback. He’s worked with the twos and has worked a lot there, taken a lot of reps. Stetson still gets some reps from time to time but he’s got a lot of bank reps so we ask him to do a lot of things mentally to be prepared and ready to go.”
On Dan Jackson…..
“Dan Jackson came to us and wanted to walk on. Certainly, was a good high school player, watched his tape and thought he could help us. Didn’t realize he would help us this quickly. He’s a really good athlete, very intelligent. When he first got here, the first summer he ran a really fast 40 time and we thought wow this guy could help us, he could play on special teams and he’s done more than that. He’s taken an opportunity where we have very, very limited depth and he seized it, he seized the moment. He’s gone out and practiced really hard towards the end of last year’s bowl practice, we started working in and then in spring practice he went with the twos pretty much the whole time and had a good spring and we felt good about his role. He’s a great kid, a really smart kid, he works really hard every day and is a blessing to coach.”
On the reserve offensive lineman…
“Tell them they can come to the spring game to see them or they can come out and watch them in warm-ups before a game or if we’re ever fortunate enough to get a lead they may get to watch them. Right now we’re worried about their safety on the field and that’s the key for our guys to stay safe. Devin Willock’s done a great job. He’s a big guard and he’s working with the twos at guard and we think he’s going to be a good football player. Lindberg got to go in the other night and got to play on special teams and filled a big role for us on the field goal when Tate went out. He’s working at guard as well.”
On Broderick Jones….
“He’s ready. He’s done about 60 or 70 practices, he’s had probably about 200 lifts, he’s had about 100 days of workouts but he’s worked really hard. He’s improved. He was not very strong last year, he was weak at the point, he’s put on some weight he’s about 315. He’s intelligent, he’s played left and right tackle. He understands how to pass off twists and gains. He’s still got a ways to go to be ahead of the guy in front of him but he’s a good football player and we think he’s ready to play.”
On Kelee Ringo…
“I hope that he gets better with game experience, practice experience, playing the ball in and out of phases, he’s got really good ball skills. So, I’m excited to see him play because I think some people are going to go after him because of the pass interference calls. But I’ll be honest with you, he's one of our best ball skill guys. Go up and attack the ball so hopefully, he’ll get an opportunity to do that.
On Coach Cochran…
“I haven’t talked to him since probably before the Clemson game, we spoke a little bit, but he seems to be doing well, and I’m looking forward to getting him back here.”
On the top performers on the scout team…
“I would say Brock Vandagriff has been doing a really good job on the scout team. He gives us a really good look and does a really great job. Micah Morris has done a tremendous job. Defensively, last week, John Staton was Skalski, and he did a really good job of representing him. Xavian Sorey has worked really hard, and Jonathan Jefferson has really improved. So, those guys probably stick out as high-effort guys who practice really hard each day to make us better.”
Channing Tindall, Senior, Inside Linebacker
On today’s practice…
“Practice is the same regardless of what it is. We’re just preparing for a good UAB team, you know, they just won the USA Conference last year. We are just striving; we practiced because it’s not about the other team it’s about us.
On waiting for his opportunity to play consistently…
“I would say the UGA defense has always been good in my eyes, so we are just trying to, regardless of who is out there, it’s a standard – we are trying to carry the tradition. I feel like it would be a Natrez’s game, or Monty, Roquan – you just have a lot of good legends here that are playing in the league now that’s just the norm. And we don’t want to let them down, and we don’t want to let ourselves down, so we are just going to keep pushing.”
On the defensive effort versus Clemson…
“Of course, a big thing we have been talking about lately is takeaways. So, we had a lot of plays, but there were so many more plays we could have made out there, like takeaways, hauling at the ball, that’s been a big thing for us - Getting at the ball on the defensive side. Just composure and attention to detail around that. So, next week, this whole season really, we are just going to focus on that.
Nolan Smith, Junior, Outside Linebacker
On the defensive connection…
“You say that, but I say we have this connection. That’s what we focus on during the off-season - connecting. I always say, ‘everyone puts their pants on one leg at a time’ no matter if you’re a five-star or walk-on, if you love the game and are willing to put in the work at Georgia, you will find yourself on the field.”
On Channing Tindall…
“I wouldn’t call myself a vocal leader, but I just see myself as I have a lot of energy, so I want people to match me. God didn’t have to wake you up every morning to do whatever you have to do so I take it as an opportunity that I just get to wake up and play football and go to class. Some people don’t get to wake up at all, so I just feel like I try to transfer that energy over to people. We always say, ‘match me’ so if I am with my partner having a bad day I always look at him and tell him ‘we good’ and we keep going, we keep pushing. The worst is yet to come.”
On Kelee Ringo needing reps…
“I 100 percent say ‘no’ that is not something that Kelee Ringo needs to do because it's not like we don’t have George Pickins or guys at Georgia every day that are working him, so I just feel like, you know, he is doing an amazing job personally. And I just think we keep him composed and feeling good and make him believe that he isn't the only one out there - you don't have to make every play yourself. There’s ten guys that are playing around you and no matter what, we flock to the ball and all play together. That’s the other connection part that comes into it.”
Smith And Davis Earn SEC Honors
Smith garnered SEC Defensive Player of the Week honors while Davis was named the SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week after the No. 2 Dawgs topped the Tigers 10-3 on Saturday night.
Performing in his hometown of Charlotte, N.C., Davis tallied three tackles, including two tackles for loss and a sack. Smith, a native of Atlanta, scored the game’s only touchdown as he returned his first career interception 74 yards for a score. He also added three stops for the Dawgs.
Georgia held Clemson to just 90 yards in the first half (one rushing, 89 passing) and a total of two yards rushing on the game as the Dawgs amassed seven sacks. This marked the Tigers’ lowest scoring output in the Dabo Swinney era and the least points scored since 2007. Clemson finished with only 180 total yards, snapping the Tigers’ streak of 12 straight games with at least 400 yards total offense.
The Dawgs return to work on Saturday in Athens, versus UAB at 3:30 p.m. The game will be played on Dooley Field in Sanford Stadium and will be televised by ESPN2.
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