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ICYMI: Video/Transcript – Kirby Smart Presser – Ole Miss Media Day – November 04, 2024

Opening Statement
“We’re excited about this opportunity to play in another road, big game. Ole Miss has got a tremendous team. Lane’s [Kiffin] done an incredible job of getting talented players, big physical. The improvement on defense for them is extremely noticeable. These guys are disruptive, powerful, fast. Tons of sacks, tons of tackles for a loss. I think Jaxson Dart’s playing as probably one of the best quarterbacks playing in the country in terms of explosive plays. A lot of respect for how he competes. The guy runs extremely physical, like an SEC running back. He doesn’t try to avoid contact; he actually seeks it. You can tell he’s got a fiery, competitive attitude, just like his coach does – just like Lane does. So, they have a lot of the same personality traits. Tremendous team that really should probably be undefeated. At the end of the day, they’ve had two really, really close games. Both games that they could have easily won. So, great challenge ahead, and our team’s looking forward to it. We’ll start getting ready today.”

On if the Ole Miss receiving core resembles the 2019 LSU offense…
“Different offense. I think a very different offense in terms of that. But certainly, the talent’s there. They’ve got several draft pick receivers that are good players. Got good tight ends. They’ve got a really good scheme. I think LSU had the same thing, but a different scheme. Those two were not the exact same. LSU could go a whole game without trying to run the ball. Ole Miss will run the ball. They commit to the run, and they create shots and RPOs off of their run game. That wasn’t really the LSU ‘M.O.'”

On coaching the defense against Jaxson Dart…
“We talk all the time. We’ve played a lot of quarterbacks that are good runners this year. You tackle the quarterback like he’s a running back. You have to. You have to approach it that way. He’s 225 pounds, and he lowers his shoulders, and he’s physical. He doesn’t give himself up very often. So, we don’t coach it any different than tackling a back. He might drop his shoulder. He might choose to slide. You have to react to what he does. You have to be physical now. You can’t approach this guy like he’s going to give himself up because he’ll run right through you.”

On the Ole Miss run defense…
“They’re big. They’re physical. The only remedy for stopping the run is have big people that are hard to move. In our history here at Georgia, we’ve traditionally been pretty good at stopping the run. You go back to the Jordan Davis days, which were probably the best we had. It’s a strong, physical defensive line, and they have it now. They’re physical at the point of attack, and they’re good at attacking and stopping the run.”

On Dart’s growth…
“He’s more comfortable. He’s played more football. He’s got more experience. He’s playing at a really high level. He sees things well. I think he, Lane and the offensive staff are further along. They know what they’re looking for. They know when you get in something, what beats that, and they know how to attack it. He’s just a proven winner, and he’s a fierce competitor. He’s hard to stop.”

On limiting turnovers…
“Just decision making. I think that’s the bottom line. I think I was more pleased after watching the tape than anything because, I mean, out of 73 snaps, he had 68 winning decisions, really good decisions. I mean, 68 for 73, pretty good in any sport I’m in, that you’re in. I think the concern is the mistakes can’t be catastrophic. You’ve got to make good decisions. The two plays that he ends up turning the ball over on, they weren’t great looks defensively against that call – we were expecting something else. So, when that happens, you’ve got to play for the next down, right? It’s the most common thing in football. You’ve got to be willing to concede a down and move on, especially when it’s first down. And both those were, and two of those were those situations. I still think that 68 out of 73 decision-making processes, he did the right thing and made some really, really elite plays and throws within the game. So, it’s cutting down on the catastrophic things.”

On the cause of turnovers on offense…
“I just think first and foremost, he’s done a tremendous job overcoming any mistakes he’s had in the ability to go out and close things. There’s a quality now that when you look across the NFL, you look across all sports, you look across the quarterback position, resiliency is a huge trait. The one thing that this guy has done is when he’s had to, he’s gone out with his back against the wall and made some throws. He’s overcome some bad throws earlier in the game, but I think he continues to show that. I think that’s a good thing. I don’t know that it’s a product of the throwing. At the end of the day, it’s not that far off from previous years. I think people look at our stats and say that, but there’s a skewed game in there. There’s a game when we threw the ball the entire second half just about. So, you keep looking at stats and say, ‘Well, you’re throwing the ball more, therefore you have these.’ I don’t think that’s a correlation because we had games last year that it didn’t matter what we did in the fourth quarter because we were up by 30. We were up by 20, and you run the ball sometimes in those, so that’s been different. So, I don’t know that our differences in stats is more indicative of the games we’ve had to play in.”

On the growth of Ben Yurosek this season…
“I think he’s learned the speed and the way to approach practice here. I think sometimes that takes guys – it takes freshmen a long time, but it takes transfers a little bit sometimes. They’ll say, ‘Golly, I didn’t really know what it was going to be like.’ Usually younger guys that come in, transfers, not necessarily older guys. But his ability to practice well has gotten better with every week. It’s translated to what he puts on the field, and he plays more physical. He practices more physical. He bought into the idea that, ‘Oh, if I actually practice like a game, I’ll play better in the game.’ That’s helped him, and it’s helped us.” 

On his assessment of transfer portal additions this year…
“I’m trying to think of who all we’ve got. Ben Yurosek is probably one of the primary contributors for us. We’ve got some guys in the secondary who came in that have probably helped some on special teams roles and helped there. I think it varies position to position and year to year, depending on what you need. We’ve also got some really good, young, talented freshmen that have come in that are going to be good players that we took over some transfers.”

On the growth of C.J. Allen…
“I think his confidence has improved. I was watching the Ole Miss game from last year, and I’m remembering him and Raylen [Wilson] having to be out there together and playing in that game. That’s not normal for an inside linebacker to be playing as a true freshman in that magnitude of a game. I think about seeing that picture and then seeing the picture of him playing against Florida. I thought the Florida game was one of his best games since being here. All in all, he had a couple touchdown-saving-type tackles. He had a couple checks on our defense. The obvious was the interception. He’s a high-motor, high-energy guy. And you know what? He practices really hard, too. So, it carries over for him, and we have to keep him improving at that same rate.”

On the focus in practice this week…
“Getting better. It’s not always just about Ole Miss. It’s about the fact that we’ve got a tough schedule remaining, and Ole Miss is who we’re focused on this week. It’s about us looking kind of inside and saying what can we improve on and get better at that’s going to help us in this game. It’s going to be a very passionate, competitive, high-stakes game on the road in the SEC. I’ve been to Ole Miss a lot of years, and it’s a really tough place to play, and they’ll have a great environment. So, we’re focused on us and getting better.”

On the Ole Miss run game…
“They do a great job of spreading you out. They’re almost always right in the box count. So, when you look at their runs, they’ve got one more hat than you do, and I think at one point Jaxson Dart was their second-leading rusher. That’s just telling you that they get rushing yards when he takes off and runs. He’s a tremendous athlete, hard to tackle. The backs are good. They do a great job getting a hat on a hat up front, and if you counted the passing yards, they get on the RPOs in their run game, they’d lead the country because they get a lot of yards off that, as well.”

On Lane Kiffin as a play caller…
“He knows scheme. Lane has been around a lot of football. His dad is one of the greatest defensive minds there ever was. He knows how to attack defenses probably at a higher rate than most offensive coordinators. He’s been experienced with that; he knows the difficulties that come with it. It’s one thing to know it, it’s another thing to have players that can take advantage of it. He has that too. When he has a quarterback that thinks like he does and they understand things, his offensive coordinator Charlie [Weis Jr.] does a great job, too, and they have Joe Cox who was over here. They have a really good offensive staff. They know how to attack defenses and at the end of the day you can’t make it about scheme. You have to make it about, ‘Do I play harder than the other guy across from me, do I play harder than the other guy, do I play more physical than the other guy.’ It still comes down to blocking and tackling a lot of times and both teams do that well.” 

On improving communication…
“Same as we’ve done every week. Practice it, put it on tape. That’s what we do, we practice it each week. We do it with crowd noise, with different ways to communicate. It doesn’t take but one. You can do 52 of those right and you do one wrong, and the one wrong is the one people talk about. So, you just have to do it right all the time.” 

On the weather this weekend…
“We keep an eye on the weather at all times, we get updates each day, so we’ll see what happens with that.”

On Trevor Etienne…
“Etienne, I feel good about. He felt good yesterday and did some things yesterday with our guys. I don’t know a lot until we get out there and practice today, but we’ll certainly see how he feels, if the trainer feels good about him. The big thing is just his ability to sustain and deal with a little bit of pain because he’s going to have some there. But he’s a tough kid, and I think he’ll do well with it.” 

On preparing his team for a tough road environment…
“Every week is a season. So, we’re on a new season this week. I honestly think you prepare for things like this in the offseason with the mental fortitude of your team, the conditioning that your strength staff does, the adversity that you put in front of them. There’s nothing that can simulate the schedule that we have. I can’t go in the offseason and simulate the schedule. But we try to be business-like and intense throughout the season and not treat one game bigger than the other because when you do that the kids read into it. So, for us, it’s a lot of big games. I think the elasticity of someone’s ability to focus can be stretched, and we’re trying to stretch that mental preparation so that they can do it over and over again throughout the season, however many games it takes. 

On Smael Mondon Jr., Roderick Robinson and Anthony Evans…
“We’re hopeful to get those guys back is the biggest thing. I don’t know at one point it’s going to happen. But each one of those guys are rehabbing, working their butts off and hoping to get back to help the team soon.”

On the pace of the Ole Miss offense…
“Ole Miss is a super high pace. They get tons of snaps; Lane does a great job of doing that. It’s not always tempo although tempo factors into it. They want to get you worn down, tired, they want to go quick. But they do more than your traditional fast ball teams. They’ll formation you, they’ll motion, which some teams don’t like to motion because it slows you down. They’ll have different splits, they’re creative within their tempo to not just do the same thing over and over. They do a good job mixing it up. It helps them in the run game. It limits defenses. But it’s hard to simulate and they’ve been very successful at it.” 

On the SEC memo on feigning injuries…
“I respect Commissioner Sankey and what he sends out. We don’t condone that on our team or within our program, so we don’t have to address it. We just tell them that if they’re injured stay down and if not, you get up and go play. That’s just our philosophy.” 

On depth of the roster at defensive line…
“They’ve played. Xzavier [Mcleod] has played a few snaps in each game, and I want that to continue to grow. I think both [Jamal] Jarrett and Xzavier are going to be really good players and still hopeful to get Jordan [Hall] back in the mix with that too. But those guys practice hard. I think the temperature was a bit warmer down there and the volume of snaps we were taking and the physicality of the game. The more guys you can play, the harder your guys can play. So, we want to get as many guys as we can that can play winning football so we can play more people.”

ICYMI: Ben Yurosek and CJ Allen Interviews – Ole Miss Media Day – November 04, 2024

On his transition process at Georgia…
“I think any time coming from an injury from the last season and coming to a new place, it’s going to take some time to get used to things. I think the way you practice.  I think the way you show up every single day and just grow and learn this offense and master it.”

On the adjustments upon joining the SEC…
“I think competition, obviously. We’re practicing against the best every single day. Every single day you go against guys who are going to be better against the competition you play. I think that’s been the biggest thing, just every single day preparing and practicing against the best.”

On why he transferred to Georgia…
“Going back to playing against the best every single day. I think also Coach Hartley, what he does with the tight ends is very special here. Being able to be a complete tight end and obviously being in a place here where we play against the best every single week.”

On his ‘Welcome to Georgia’ moment…
“I think fall camp. Fall camp obviously showed that. The way we attacked every single day, the practice, the heat, the humidity, definitely coming from California, that humidity kicked my butt. I would say fall camp definitely was a welcoming moment.”

On his interception against Florida…
“I really just saw it come. I knew Smael was behind me, open a little bit. So, I just jumped up, reached for it and came down with it. That’s about it really.”

On the challenges Ole Miss presents to the defense…
“I think we’re definitely up for the challenge. It’s simply the way we’re going to prepare for it and stuff like that. Like you said, they’re a great offense. You can’t take away from that. They’re fast and they’re good at what they do, so you have to be able to prepare for it.”

On his growth in the last year…
“My own confidence has grown a lot. This is what kind of it all boils down, your confidence. You got to have a lot of confidence in that position and to get guys in the right spot. Give them the right call and being able to execute that call. My confidence has grown tremendously.”

On playing against a high-paced offense…
“Communication is the biggest thing because you got to be lined-up. Getting all your cleats in the dirt, line up there and execute the call.”

MBB: Dawgs Defeat Tennessee Tech in Opener

The Georgia Bulldogs defeated the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles, 83-78, in their regular-season opener Monday night at Stegeman Coliseum. Three scorers saw double figures as freshman forward Asa Newell led the charge with 26 points, matching Dominique Wilkins for the all-time program record for points scored in a freshman debut.

Fast Facts

• In addition to Newell’s team-leading 26-point debut, the freshman grabbed 11 boards off the glass and three blocks to record his first career double-double. Graduate guard Dakota Leffew and junior forward RJ Godfrey also found double figures scoring 18 and 10, respectively.

• RJ Godfrey joined Asa Newell in recording his first career double-double, scoring 10 points paired with 10 rebounds on the night.

• Dakota Leffew’s 18 points were powered by four three-pointers on the night, marking his 16th career game with four or more makes from behind the arc.

• Asa Newell’s debut performance marked the fourth time in the 2000s with a Bulldog recording 25+ points, 10+ rebounds and 3+ blocks in a game (Trey Thompkins vs New Orleans – 2009, Trey Thompkins at Tennessee – 2010, and Yante Maten vs LSU – 2018).

• The Bulldogs outrebounded the Golden Eagles 44-25 on the night.

Head Coach Mike White

On what the team can improve on before Sunday:

“This team also has got a ways to go,” head coach Mike White said. “It’s easy when you’re at Charlotte and you’re up big late and there’s no game pressure on you and the things fall in and we’re getting tip dunks and what have you. Then you play Central Florida, who we all knew was a lot better than that. We probably weren’t that good. I hope to be that good in a couple months. Now it’s equal opportunity, a lot of stuff we were doing today, but that’s another area where we’ve got to grow and learn who we are. Who’s getting the ball and what spots at what time of the game and how we’re going to execute, what we can really hang our hat on. So, we’ll be able to learn a lot from this game.”

On Dakota Leffew’s performance:

“Really good. Not surprising. I’ve said this publicly a few times. He’s coming off the bench for us right now. Who knows who will start Sunday, but there’s been a lot of practices where he’s the best guard on the floor. A lot of practices where Silas [Demary Jr.] is the best guard on the floor. A lot of practices where Blue [Cain], you know. Savo [Drezgic] didn’t get an opportunity tonight, but he’s a really talented guard. Tyrin Lawrence was fantastic in our last game, and I’m probably forgetting a guard or two. Dylan James can play in the backcourt. Developing and merging. Our most versatile guy. It’s nice to see Dakota get it going. That’s what he’s capable of. He actually had a couple other opportunities where he was in the paint, and I thought he got a little bit too unselfish. I thought we took one selfish one early in the game up the right sideline in front of their bench. And outside of that, I liked our shot selection a lot. But I thought Dakota, you know, got a little bit passive there a couple times. He’s just such an unselfish guy. But he’s a very talented scorer and passer.

On why the guards struggled against Tennessee Tech:

“I credit Tennessee Tech. I thought Coach Pelphrey did a great job. Their tempo offensively, just the overall tempo of the game, they looked really quick and fast. And, you know, you go back as a coach, and you think about everything you’ve done the last 72 hours in preparation. We just looked a little bit slower to the ball than those guys did. We struggled to contain them. They pressured us into a few ill-advised decisions. We did have some interior looks that just rolled around the rim and didn’t go. We had some open looks early from three that didn’t go. And then all of a sudden, you’re dealing with a team that’s, you know, an inferior opponent that’s playing with nothing to lose. That’s playing, just making shots, and playing with confidence. And I thought, you know, that Tennessee Tech could have won that game. And they play that well, you know, in conference play. They’re going to have a good year. But their ability to isolate us, we had to get to a point where they’re really exploiting our ball screen coverage. And we got to where we did a lot of switching down the stretch. And then, you know, in isolations, they just made some big shots off the bounce. Some of those possessions, we did a pretty good job. But good offense always beats good defense.”

On Georgia’s perimeter defensive performance:

“Not great. Not great. But, again, I was really impressed with their speed. I mean, they just – we struggled to stay in front of the ball. Not only the contested jump shots, particularly the threes off the bounce that were heavily contested, some of them, but also their ability to put their head down and get in the paint and finish. And some of them were and ones. They were good. They were really good tonight. We’ve been a lot better than that defensively, a lot of practices in our exhibitions, of course. But I thought Tennessee Tech had a lot to do with that.”

On Asa Newell tying the all-time program record for points in a freshman debut:

“He’s a winning player. He’s just – he’s about the right stuff. He’ll be in the gym tomorrow morning getting shots up on his own. You know, he’ll be – it’s a day off tomorrow. He’ll be begging the GAs to get in the gym to work him out. That’s just who he is. In the summer, we can kick him out of the gym. You know, you need some rest. He understands that he gets it. He knows that we weren’t at our best defensively. And he’ll put some of that on himself, although he was fantastic. You know, I don’t think there were as many defensive miscues with him as there were across the board, generally speaking. But six offensive rebounds, in passing lanes defensively, altering shots at the rim. He’s mature beyond his years. He’s an accountable player. He’s got high basketball character.”

On offensive rebounding:

“Yeah, and we talked about that, right? In the spring, more so after our class was complete, summer, fall, where we talked about what do you expect with this team, with this roster. And I would have been shocked if we’re not significantly better defending the glass, defending the paint, blocking and altering shots, and then obviously on the offensive glass and also just getting easy ones. I mean, how many times did, these last couple times you guys have seen us where we’re just in the paint and we get our hands on. Whether it’s a loose ball or a dump ball for a lob, but we just, Asa’s just got an ability to make things look easy. Somto [Cyril] does too. Justin Abson, RJ Godfrey, you know, he normally, collectively, those four normally, along with Dylan, I think finish it better. But again, give Tennessee Tech credit. I thought they had really physical wall-ups. They were smaller than us, but they played just as big.”

On RJ Godfrey’s double-double:

“Yeah, that’s who he is, right? He had a couple of chippies right there at the rim that went halfway down and came back at you. He could have had a prettier line, right? But he doesn’t take plays off. I’ve said it for a long time. I love coaching him man. He’s efficient. He’s about the right stuff. Had some physical wall-ups, was pretty good in transition defense compared to the rest of us. Yeah, he’s not a guy that makes a lot of mistakes offensively, defensively. He’s hard to block out. He’s a block-out guy defensively. When we were in switching late in the game, he kept those guards in front of him. He just did. He’s good at a lot of stuff.”

Stats

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