Kirby Smart says UGA-Clemson opener is ‘great for recruiting and exposure’

ATHENS — The next time Kirby Smart steps to a podium, it will be to recap Georgia’s first game of the season.

Smart held his final press conference of the preseason Tuesday, giving his final thoughts on where his team stands entering the season-opener.

Below is a full transcript of everything Smart and junior DB Malaki Starks said. Georgia’s game against Clemson is set for a noon kickoff on Saturday.

On the value of opening with a matchup like Georgia-Clemson...

“Strength of schedule, you play a quality opponent right from the get-go and when you get into conference play you’re battle tested probably better than a team that doesn’t play that kind of matchup. You find out more about your team. It’s great for the fans. That’s the advantage. It’s great for recruiting and exposure.”

On practice so far this week...

“It’s been good. It’s been spirited. Guys have been good.”

On the Clemson defense, recipe for success against them...

“Don’t get in situations that they’re going to attack you and play man in. The best thing to do is get first downs before third down. They do a tremendous job on third down, a tremendous job of disguising coverages. They’re very multiple in their fronts. They’re aggressive, they talk well. A lot of their defense reminds me of ours. They’re physical, well coached situationally in games and they know what they’re doing. You can’t say, ‘They’re going to do this,’ You can’t predict what they’re going to do a lot of times, and I think good defenses aren’t predictable.

How do you attack them? You need to be able to run the ball and control the line of scrimmage. A running game is a quarterback’s best friend for sure. You’ve got to keep them off balance and you’ve got to win one on one battles.”

On the advantage of analysts on the field this fall..

“I think you’re able to do a little more in terms of walk-thrus for us. We do multiple walk-thrus, try to coach our younger players at a younger pace if you’ve got someone that can be assigned to them. It probably was a bigger advantage during camp, practice 1-16 or 20, whatever it was, but when you get into game week it’s not as big of an advantage. You’re focused on the guys that will be playing. But we’re trying to bring the bottom half of our roster to the top half of our roster and I think having more analysts helps do that. That’s why the NCAA did it. It gives more guys opportunities to coach.”

On KJ Bolden ahead of the opener...

“Well he missed some time, and that probably set him back some. There was about a 4 or 5 day spel there during camp where he didn’t get to practice. He’s been back for 8 or 9 practices now. He’s a sharp, very intelligent, very coachable kid that’s a good athlete. He hasn’t played major College Football though. He’s played major level high school football, that’s why he’s at the highest level, but he’s an intelligent kid and that’s why I think he’ll respond well when his number is called - if it gets called on to be ready to play.”

On the helmet communications from the defensive side of the ball... “We’ve got about seven or eight guys that will probably have it available. Can’t but one guy have it on at a time. There will be multiple helmets and different people will have the ability to have it.

The benefit of having it is just communication up to 15 seconds. It’s probably not as big as people think it is.”

On what he needs to see from his secondary... “Tackle well. Do their job. Compete. They’re not going to win every battle. Not the positions you put guys in the secondary in. THey’ve got good wide outs, got a good quarterback. I want to see them be resilient. I want to see response time to positive and negative things that is really quick.

On what position is easy to play as a freshman... “Corner, running back. Those are spots that I think typically guys can get out there. Receiver, we’ve had a lot freshmen receivers play and contribute. We’ve had a few running backs play and contribute. We’ve had a few corners play and contribute. A specialty pass rusher can play and contribute. Some of those positions inside or in the interior line, it’s not that you can’t because of the mental. It’s you can’t because of the physical. They’re just stronger and have been in the weight program longer than you.

On the injury reporting system... “My only opinion on what it is is what I’ve been told. Which is the conference games will have it.”

“I’m great with it as long as we’re all doing it. I have no issue with it I don’t think. I know Ron (Courson) is going to be in charge of it for me. I think they’re going to tie fines to it and things to it. I just want to say if the guy can play or not. And if it’s a game time decision and he goes and works out and can’t, then he can’t. I think everybody is trying to make this big deal about deception or misleading. If I don’t know if the guy can play, then I have to find out before the game. If he can play, then he’s going to go out there and play. But we’ve had countless number of guys that have gone out before the game to work out to find out if they can play or not. We’ll abide by the rules they give us. It’s the same as the NFL’s. They’ve done it for years. It keeps the pressure off our kids for people reaching out to them trying to get information for betting sites. There is no gain if you have accurate information. If it protects our kids, I’m for it.”

On kickoff specialist, long snapper, returners, etc… ”Yeah, they’re competing for that day by day, right up until the end. Peyton’s done a great job, Ham kid’s done a great job kicking off and field goals, the transfer we got. Both those guys have done a tremendous job. Peyton will be doing our field goal kicking. Kick off is still probably to be determined. In terms of long snapper, we’ve got three really good long snappers who have all snapped. A couple of them have snapped in games. We’ll see how that plays out, whether it’s different for field goal and punt. Is that the only three you were talking about?… Yeah, we’ve got multiple guys back there, Malaki, Anthony, Sacovie, Mike Jackson, Cash has been back there on kickoff. Dillon Bell has been back there on kickoff. Etienne does kickoff. We’ve got a lot of guys that do the KOR. We’ll decide closer to the game based on scheme which guys we put back there.”

On Cash Jones and his eye opening moment relating to him… ”I can’t remember it. I don’t know that it was the first year. I do remember Dell coming to me and telling me he had a kid from Texas that wanted to walk on. I had not met him. He came in and what an awesome kid he’s been in our program. The wow moments for me, or the first moments I remember, are the second spring when he was getting a lot of reps in spring practice and made a lot of plays. Got unbelievable toughness. His ability to run between the tackles has been really good. I think he’s hard to see back there. He’s tough. He runs our runs the exact way we want to in terms of who we read on inside, outside zone. He’s done a lot of really good things. I’m excited for the kind of buildup he’s had. He’s waited his turn. He’s helped us this, he’s done a dominant job on special teams. I love seeing him compete on special teams. He’ll continue to do that. But he also gets lots of opportunities at running back as well.”

On what he wants to see out of Malaki Starks starting on Saturday… ”Just leadership. Malaki is going to play like he practiced today, I hope, which is toughness, great eyes, really good athlete, playmaker on the ball. He’s a good football player. I don’t want to see anything necessarily out of him. I just want to see him do what he does every day at practice.”

On Anthony Evans as a punt returner… ”I think that was a little different circumstance than just a normal punt return (Alabama return). He’s done good things with the ball. He’s been a good decision maker. He’s caught a lot of punts. So has Sacovie, Malaki, Mike Jackson, Dom. They’ve all done a really good job back there in terms of getting reps. Anthony is explosive, quick, tough, will stick his nose in there, and does a good job. I’m excited to see him play the wide receiver position.”

On the defense at practice so far this week : “I think we put a big emphasis on just attacking the ball and being very aggressive during camp, and I think it’s just kind of carried over into this week. It’s just a big emphasis, and I think this is something that we’re getting better at day by day.”

On his advice to his freshmen teammates going into their first game: “It’s crazy ‘cause, like, you never really know if you’re ready until you’re in the moment. You put in the preparation. You have trust and faith in the work that you put in to prepare for the moment. Everybody seems to be doing good. I’ve just been telling them the same thing that people were telling me: just take it day by day, play by play, see a little but don’t see too much and enjoy it. You only get one shot. Just enjoy it while you’ve got it and just be calm. You’re not out there by yourself. You’ve got plenty of other guys with you so you’re not on an island.”

On what was going through his mind the morning of the Oregon game: “Really I just wanted to get in. That was really about it. I just wanted to go out there and play. I didn’t want to let down the team when I had the chance to get in. Just tried to enjoy it. I talked to my mom that morning, and she told me, ‘You only get one chance to be a freshman so enjoy it while you’ve got it.’ I remember waking up that morning and sitting at the table with Chris and Dan and everybody eating. Really just being in the moment and being where my feet were and not getting too far ahead of myself. It’s kind of the same message that I’ve been relaying to them.”

On what he’s seen out of KJ Bolden: “He’s definitely grown since he’s been here, and I say that for all the freshmen, you know? They’ve definitely taken a step in their game. This class is very talented with a bunch of talented guys. Just to see him, he’s like a sponge, you know? He just wants to learn, grow. Just to see the strides that he’s taken and everybody else in his class as well, it’s just amazing to watch.”

On his confidence in the secondary: “I’m very confident, you know? Like I said earlier, you put in the work and the preparation to prepare you for the moment. That’s what you’ve got to fall back on. We like to say bleed in training until you don’t bleed in battle. We’ve worked through ups and downs and stuff like that, but I feel very confident.”

On if folks at Jefferson are rooting for Georgia or Clemson and if he’s talked to Sammy Brown: “I think it’s both. I think you’ve got a few both sides. They want both of us to do very well. Yeah, I talked to him about two weeks ago. I’ve got a close relationship with his dad. Great family, great kid. I’m excited to see what he’s going to do and what he’s going to put on. I’m very excited for him.”

On Carson saying this defense can be special: “Yeah. I mean, I really do. Like I said, we’ve got a bunch of talent, a bunch of guys who want to be here, who want to buy into the process, who want to do the right thing. You know, when you have a group of guys like that, I think the sky’s the limit. I think we know that and we’ve just got to keep our head down and keep working.”

On the differences with the in-helmet communication and if he’s one of the guys with the coaches in his ear: “Yeah, I mean, I think it’s huge. I didn’t even know it was a thing, like, until I was at practice one day and I just kind of heard it. It kind of threw me off. I mean, like I said, I think it’s huge. I’ve had it a couple days. We kind of rotate to see who’s going to have it and whatever. You know, it’s been a huge help just having that voice in your ear and just trying to figure out do I say this or do I say that? What’s too much to talk about? When do I stop talking so you can go play or whatever. How much do I need to listen to? It’s been a process for sure, but I think it’s a good thing for everybody, especially the offense.”

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