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Video/Transcript: Coach Smart’s Tuesday Post-Practice Presser – November 07, 2023
On how practice has been this week…
“It’s been good. Had two good days. Intro to Ole Miss yesterday, then some regular down stuff today and do some more third down red area tomorrow. They’ve been locked in and it’s a tough prep because they do a lot of different things offensively and create a lot of problems on defense. I mean they create TFLs, and they create a lot of havoc. So, trying to stay ahead of the sticks and ahead of the chains. They do a good job, so it’s been good prep though.”
On making any defensive adjustments for Jaxson Dart’s running abilities…
“No. Once he is a runner, he’s no more protected than running back. I mean, we’re going to tackle him like we tackle backs. He’s physical. Their backs are physical. They’re all hard to tackle in terms of size and stature. You get over 210 to 215 pounds and they’re running 4.4s, 4.5s, it’s physical, and he lowers his shoulder and competes to play. I have a lot of respect for the way he runs, but in terms of us tackling him, he’s going to be you know, like we do a back.”
On Brock Bowers’ practice updates…
“He’s working hard. He’s doing all he can in terms of trying to get himself in shape and get better. I mean, he’s back running now on dry land and we’re hoping that he keeps getting better. That’s this kind of the MO on this injury, you know, every kid we’ve had so far that’s had it: week one they do this, week two they do this, week three they do that. He’s right on schedule for the things he’s been doing.”
On the pain tolerance of tightrope surgery…
“I never had it either Anthony so I can’t answer that. I don’t know. Some guys say it hurts worse than others. [Lawson] Luckie shared his experiences with Brock and Ja [Jamaal Jarrett] had two of them. Cash [Jones] had one. Now [Amarius] Mims obviously had won. So, from what I hear, it’s more painful in the beginning and it’s like a roller coaster ride. It has its ups and downs and moments, and you continue to push through it, and you get better as you go.”
On what Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint’s journey has been like…
“Yeah, when we recruited Marcus, we knew we were getting that kind of kid. He went to a great school down in South Florida, St. Thomas, and he’s a great kid. He comes from a great family. He’s very passionate about football. You know, I don’t know when you rank leaders at Georgia, there’s been some great ones since we’ve been here in terms of the command and respect that they’ve earned by what they’ve been through and what they’ve done. He would be right there at the top of those guys in terms of when he speaks, people listen. The way he competes and his toughness and his effort. He upholds our culture. He begs to be on special teams. I mean, he just embodies what you want a Georgia football player to be, and I have a lot of respect for him as a competitor.”
On any similarities between Lane Kiffin’s defense at Ole Miss and his defense at Alabama…
“Well, he doesn’t have the exact same players he had at Alabama. So, I think he’s done a good job making his scheme his scheme and there’s similarities, but you don’t just do the scheme. No defensive coordinator just goes ‘Oh, well I’m going to cookie cutter this, this is what I do, this what I believe in.’ You do what fits your system. He’s taken the players he has there, and he’s made them better on defense. They fly around and they attack the ball. They do a lot of really good things. They’re just not they’re not the exact same players that they have in Alabama in terms of just sheer size and numbers, but they are very talented in what they do.”
On impact Sedrick Van Pran has had as a cornerstone piece to the program…
“Character, leadership, charisma, heart. He’s not afraid to speak up. All the great leaders we have this year learned two years ago from a great leadership class. That leadership class learned from a really good [class]. You learn from those before you, and those that laid the foundation all the way back to Nick [Chubb] and Sony [Michel] have trickled down to everybody else. So, when you have good core people, you’re not going to win every game. I mean, it’s just not going to happen. You’re not going to do that. If you put good people in your program, you demand excellence, you hold them to a standard, and you pay attention to every little detail, eventually you get pretty good leadership out of people. We’ve been bearing the fruits of a lot of work that we put into these players really from COVID to home.”
On any indication that CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson would step in and contribute early in the year…
“I don’t know that I can sit here and say anything set them apart to make them able to. You don’t know if a guy’s going to be a place a freshman until they get here and see how they learn and process. They were both bright kids and they were both really talented kids. So physically, they had the gifts to be able to play but I mean, within our defense, there’s a mental rep count you got to get and luckily, they had all spring. They got it down in the spring, then they had all summer and they’ve had all fall camp. Raylen would be probably at least where CJ is or ahead if he had not had the injury in camp. That set him back, but he’s caught up really quickly and they’re both really good athletes.”
On his relationship with Lane Kiffin and if it brings any uniqueness…
“No. I have a lot of respect for Lane, I told you that. He and I shared seats next to each other at Alabama for two years, I guess it was, maybe three. I don’t ever know how long we were there together because it all runs together, but a lot of respect for him as a coach. He was a head coach at a really young age. He taught me a lot of things about what he believes in being a head coach and doing it your way. He’s certainly had a unique experience in terms of the places he’s been able to work as a head coach, and he draws on that. There are times we share ideas or GPS numbers or whatever, but there’s nothing outside of just a really good friendship and respect.”
On Branson Robinson’s rehab and if he will be ready by spring practice…
“You know, I don’t know the answer to that. The closest thing we had was Rian Davis went through this the one year, and it’s a long, arduous process. I can’t answer that. I think he’ll probably be cleared, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to go through live tackling and everything.”
On where he wants to see Carson Beck continue to improve during the season’s final stretch…
“His leadership to continue to improve and exert his confidence and put his touch on his personality with those guys is something. He’s into all the ball stuff. He could be cleaner on some things in the pocket. He could be cleaner on some protection things, but he’s going to make mistakes because we put him in a position to make three to four decisions every play. So he’s not going to be perfect, but I can accept that. I just want him to continue to grow as a leader and commanding of the offense.”
On if NIL and transfer rules have created more parity in college football in recent years…
“I think so. I don’t know. I don’t think we’ll know the totality of NIL and portal until we look back from a five to ten-year window. You can’t really have enough substance to judge that, but there seems to be more parity. I don’t know. Teams don’t have as deep of rosters as we used to.”
On if the fanbase can have an even bigger impact on the Ole Miss game through noise…
“Yeah, they can have a huge impact, and we need them to. I’m counting on them to have a huge impact. Look, Ole Miss has played in some tough stadiums, not only this year but last year. They’ve gone across the SEC West and seen all the tough places to play, and it’s not going to be foreign to them to play in a tough environment. We certainly need to create it for them, and we need to create problems for them on defense and make it hard for them to play against us, along with the crowd. The crowd needs to have an impact and pull in the same direction for our players.”
On Javon Bullard’s impact on the team…
“He’s a great leader. He has heart and soul. He and Kamari [Lassiter] have such passion for the game. They compete against each other every day in practice, and they’re both physically tough. They love football. They’re at the edge of their seat every meeting taking notes. They love nuggets. He’s just a great kid and a great leader who loves football.”
On Ernest Green, III’s progression throughout the season…
“He’s done a really good job. He’s come into a league it’s hard to play left tackle in. He’s played really well. He’s had his snafus, he’s had some mistakes, he’s had some jumpy moments. But I think the fact that he’s played through all that and playing with more and more confidence – we’ve really challenged him to get in shape to be able to play four quarters at full speed and give max effort, and I think he’s taking that on and really working hard at it. He’s very contentious about working that stuff.”
Video/Transcript: Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Malaki Starks, Kamari Lassiter, and Tate Ratledge Interviews – November 07, 2023
On the emotions he’ll be feeling on senior day…
“This weekend will be breathtaking, to just see how fast time flies, it’s been a journey. Seeing where how far I’ve come from my freshman year until now, I’m just excited for the moment and thankful for the opportunity. Emotions are going to be high, but at the end of the day we have a job to do.”
On his favorite moment in his time at Georgia…
“Probably my first touchdown ever in my freshman year, that is definitely my favorite moment. I don’t care if I got hurt on that play that one is still my favorite.”
On what stands out to him about the Ole Miss defense…
“They’re a really good defense, they try to disrupt the run, they’re number one in the SEC in causing turnovers, and they’re number two in recovering fumbles I think. So, they’re a really good defense all around especially against the run. We just have to go in with a plan of action to find a way to attack and neutralize their way of play, so the run game can be efficient for us. We just have to go out there on Saturday and do our job and do our 1/11th.”
On what stands out the most about Ole Miss’s passing game and how they’ll prepare to face the Rebel offense Saturday…
“Their depth and the pace that they go… they are a very fast temp offense. They’ve got guys that can go get it and guys that can move in and out of the slot. Just the depth that they have at the positions and the abilities that the guys have; we just have to be able to match up and be able to run with it.”
On the Tennessee game last year and how fans and the environment affect the defense and their communication…
“That Tennessee game last year was different. We fed off their energy and we communicated very well. The whole point of defense if verbally or nonverbally, being able to communicate. That is something that when the noise does pick up, we have to be able to handle it. I think last year versus Tennessee we did that very well, so we have to be able to do it again because I know our fans are going to show up just like always.”
On how you prepare for your own home crowd noise…
“We really use the speakers in the indoor, the crowd noise that we use in the indoor to just make it more difficult to communicate. They get very loud, so it helps a lot. But just emphasizing the need to communicate. The speed that they go, and we practice with, you have to be able to nonverbal signal and verbal signal. So, just the way we practice is probably the best thing that helps us get ready.”
On moving into the star role against Missouri…
“I did kind of do a little bit of star when I first got here my freshman year when I first got here, and then I focused on corner for a long time. It was really Coach Fran [Brown], and he was like, ‘I want our three on their three.’ He asked Coach Smart, and the coaches felt good about it. They just taught me then game plan, worked with me all week, had some extra meetings, and just stuff like that. Going out into the game, I felt pretty confident to just go out there and fight for my brothers.”
On competing against high-level wide receivers…
“It’s just the level of competition. You come into a place like Georgia to play at a high level and play against the best players in the country. So, whenever you get the opportunity, you always want to make the most of it.”
On what he’s learned from watching film for Ole Miss…
“Ole Miss is a team that prides themselves on having really good skill players. They have a really good quarterback, really good running backs and really good guys on the outside. They can do a lot of tempo, so just being able to prepare for those weapons and a lot of tempo for their game. That’s something we have to work on.”
On handling Missouri’s defense. . .
“A lot of it has to do with remembering what’s happening during that play, so when you go on the sideline, you can make judgements and decide what they’re doing to give something away, so they can get it back up to the box. I think a lot of it involves just getting big. There’s a lot of times when you’ll be half on a half on a combo, half on a linebacker, so it kind of just depends, and having to deal with both at the same time. You’d like to get off a combo play and pick up a linebacker, but it doesn’t always work like that. I think a lot of it’s having a mindset that it’s going to happen and you know it’s coming, and dealing with it the best you can.”
On where the offensive line is in terms of run blocking. . .
“I think we’ve improved a lot over the year, and with that being said, there’s a lot more that we need to improve on. I think there’s some stuff that bothers us, and there’s some stuff that gives us trouble, and we work on it a lot in practice which really helps us. But yes, I have seen improvements from us as a whole group and individuals, so it’s been good to see.”
On Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint’s progress over the years following his freshman year injury. . .
“He’s really stepped into a leader role, and I think he did a really good job in that time of staying in during rehab and improving himself. He’s waited his turn, and now that it is his turn, he’s stepped into that leadership role and now he’s a big vocal voice of our offense and our team. I think he’s done a really good job.”
Dawgs in the NFL – Week Nine
Former Georgia football players continue to impress in the National Football League during week nine. Roquan Smith currently ranks fourth in the league in tackles with 87 after totaling five in Baltimore’s win against the Steelers, while D’Andre Swift earned 43 rushing yards in the Eagles’ win to bring his season total to 614, putting him at third in the league in the statistic.
Steelers 20, Titans 16
Broderick Jones, OT – Started for the second time this season, playing in 65 total snaps for the Steelers at right tackle. On 30 pass blocking snaps, Jones allowed zero sacks and just one quarterback pressure.
George Pickens, WR – Played 58 total snaps for the Pittsburgh offense, reeling in two passes.
Darnell Washington, TE – Played 32 snaps for the Steelers, catching one pass for seven yards in the win.
Monty Rice, ILB – Played exclusively on special teams for the Titans, racking up three total tackles.
Bengals 24, Bills 18
Trey Hill, C – Was inactive for Cincinnati due to a coach’s decision.
James Cook, RB – Played 55 percent of Buffalo’s offensive snaps while carrying the ball six times for 20 yards along with catching four passes for 19 yards.
Leonard Floyd, DE – Played 50 percent of snaps for the Bills defense, recording one tackle and half a sack in the loss.
Chiefs 21, Dolphins 14
Malik Herring, DE – Inactive for Kansas City due to a coach’s decision.
Mecole Hardman Jr., WR – Played 22 percent of offensive snaps for the Chiefs, catching three passes for 10 yards. Also saw special teams action as a punt returner for Kansas City, returning three punts for 14 yards.
Channing Tindall, ILB – Served in a reserve linebacker role for the Dolphins, recording no statistics.
Vikings 31, Falcons 28
Lewis Cine, S – Inactive for Minnesota due to a coach’s decision.
Lorenzo Carter, OLB – Played 53 percent of snaps for the Falcons, recording three tackles, one fumble recovery and one tackle for loss.
John Fitzpatrick, TE – Served in a reserve tight end role for Atlanta, posting no statistics.
Browns 27, Cardinals 0
Jonathan Ledbetter, DT – Started at defensive tackle for Arizona, racking up five tackles and one tackle for loss.
Packers 20, Rams 3
Matthew Stafford, QB – Inactive for Los Angeles due to a thumb injury.
Warren McClendon Jr., OT – Served in a reserve offensive line role for the Rams, playing zero snaps.
Derion Kendrick, CB – Played three snaps on defense for Los Angeles, recording no statistics.
Quay Walker, ILB – Was inactive for the Packers on Sunday due to a groin injury.
Devonte Wyatt, DT – Played 59 percent of snaps on defense for Green Bay, posting two tackles in the win.
Commanders 20, Patriots 17
David Andrews, C – Started at center for New England as they gained 327 yards of offense.
Ravens 37, Seahawks 3
Roquan Smith, ILB – Started at linebacker for Baltimore posting five total tackles in the win. He currently ranks fourth in the NFL in tackles with 87.
Ben Cleveland, OG – Served in a reserve offensive line role for the Ravens in the win, playing 12 snaps on offense and seven snaps on special teams.
Texans 39, Buccaneers 3787
Jake Camarda, P – Punted four times for Tampa Bay in the loss. Averaged 50.5 yards per punt with a long of 53 yards, with two punts downed inside the 20-yard-line.
Colts 27, Panthers 13
Isaiah McKenzie, WR – Played 44 percent of snaps for the Colts offense, reeling in two passes for 12 yards. Also saw action on special teams for Indianapolis as a punt returner, returning three punts for 11 yards.
Raiders 30, Giants 6
Andrew Thomas, OT – Made his return from injury for New York this week playing all offensive snaps as the Giants offense gained 277 total yards.
Lawrence Cager, TE – Played 26 snaps on offense for the Giants and 13 snaps on special teams, recording no statistics.
John Jenkins, DT – Played 37 percent of snaps for Las Vegas, posting two tackles with one for loss.
Zamir White, RB – Served in a reserve running back role for the Raiders, carrying the ball four times for negative two yards. Also recorded a tackle on special teams in the win on Sunday.
Chris Smith II, S – Served in a reserve defensive back role for Las Vegas while playing 13 snaps on special teams, recording no statistics.
Eagles 28, Cowboys 23
D’Andre Swift, RB – Started at running back for Philadelphia, carrying the ball 18 times for 43 yards, along with two catches for 31 yards in the win. Currently ranks third in the NFL in rushing yards with 614 yards. With 74 yards from scrimmage in the win, Swift now has 50+ yards from scrimmage in his last eight games.
Nakobe Dean, ILB – Played 28 percent of snaps for the Eagles, recording three tackles and half a sack in the win.
Nolan Smith, OLB – Played nine snaps on defense for Philadelphia, recording one tackle.
Kelee Ringo, CB – Saw action on special teams for the Eagles, recording one tackle.
Jordan Davis, DT – Played 18 snaps on defense for the Eagles, recording two tackles in the win.
Jalen Carter, DT – Received the second most snaps of all defensive linemen for Philadelphia with 51, while recording two tackles and half a sack.
Chargers 27, Jets 6
Jamaree Salyer, OT/OG – Started at right tackle for the Chargers, playing 100 percent of their offensive snaps in the win.
Practice Squads
Falcons: Justin Shaffer, OL
Buccaneers: Richard Lecounte III, S
Commanders: Jake Fromm, QB
Chargers: Mark Webb, DB
49ers: Chris Conley, WR
Reserve Lists (IR, PUP, NFI)
Seahawks: Kenny McIntosh, RB
49ers: Robert Beal Jr., DE
Ravens: Nick Moore, LS
Rams: Stetson Bennett, QB
Titans: Kearis Jackson, WR/PR
Browns: Nick Chubb, RB
Giants: Azeez Ojulari, OLB
Packers: Eric Stokes, CB
Dolphins: Isaiah Wynn, OT/OG
Panthers: Justin Houston, OLB
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