After Georgia dismantled in-state rival Georgia Tech 38-7 on Saturday afternoon in Atlanta at Bobby Dodd Stadium, Head Coach Kirby Smart said he was “Proud as hell” of the Bulldogs’ defensive performance against the Yellow Jackets.

 

Coach Smart gave credit to his defensive coordinator, Mel Tucker, for Georgia’s staunch defense. Tucker’s defense held Tech to just 188 yards rushing on the ground, 226 yards of total offense, and one lone touchdown. The Yellow Jackets had been averaging just over 319 yards per game running the ball, 408 yards of total offense, and 30.2 points per game.

“Proud as hell. I’m going to be honest with you,” said Kirby. “It’s hard to keep them from rushing for 200 yards. You said it best. And I’m not taking any of that credit. Give that credit to Mel Tucker, Glenn Schumann, Tray Scott, Kevin Sherrer and them kids out there who have been getting whacked in the knees all week. And they embraced it.”

And inside linebacker Roquan Smith was a big part of that Dog D. The junior was all the field, sideline to sideline, making play after play. Roquan finished with a team-leading 9 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, and 1 quarterback sack for the game. Kirby called Roquan a “tackling machine.”

“Machine. Tackling Machine. What he did today… I haven’t watched the tape, obviously,” Kirby said. “But what I feel like is what I saw in practice all week: Sideline-to-sideline, relentless, athletic, tough, competitive, leads, talks when people need talking to, quiet when he needs to be. He has impeccable character. I’m just proud of how hard he works and he buys into what we believe.”

 
 
Here is the full audio of Kirby’s post-game press conference:
 
 

 
 
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