Georgia HC Kirby Smart Calls Clemson Defense One of Best He's Ever Seen
On the surface, it would appear that there are some similarities between the two teams set to face off in Charlotte on Saturday night.
Both Clemson and Georgia come in ranked inside the top-five, and both feature elite-level defenses, led by what many would call dominating defensive fronts.
However, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart doesn't see many similarities when comparing the two teams, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. According to the Bulldogs head coach, Brent Venables' defense has something he's never seen before.
"They are really talented," Smart told the media on Monday. "Probably one of the best defenses I have ever seen returning in terms of number of starts and number of games played. The volume of experience is unmatched anywhere and anytime, and I have been in college football a long time, just in terms of how much football those guys have played."
Smart thinks one of the more notable differences resides along the defensive front. The Bulldogs put more of an emphasis on stopping the run, while the Tigers focus more effort on getting after the quarterback.
"Their front is different than our front," Smart said. "We both do have experience in our front seven. Theirs is different than ours. Ours is a lot bigger, built to stop the run, and theirs is pushy, more athletic and built to rush the passer. They’ve done that, statistically, really well. They’ve affected every quarterback they play in terms of sacks and those numbers. We’ve been better in those categories, but not as good as what they’ve done."
And the differences do not stop there, according to Smart. The Bulldogs are having to replace a lot of production on the backend of their defense, while the Tigers are bringing almost everyone in the secondary back. Ironically, the only defensive back Clemson lost, Derion Kendrick, is now a starting corner for Georgia.
"They have more starters in their secondary returning than any secondary I’ve probably ever played," Smart said. "I’ve been watching the same guys play in their secondary it seems like forever. They’ve had them back there every single game. We have common opponents that we’ve both played and they’ve had those guys back there forever."
On the offensive side of the ball, both teams are starting the season with quarterbacks that don't have a ton of experience in JT Daniels and D.J. Uiagalelei. While Smart is extremely confident in Daniels and his ability to lead the Georgia offense, it's the task all of the players around his quarterback are faced with that causes him the most concern.
"The concern is who we have to block, the players around JT," Smart said. "Everybody puts everything on the shoulders of the quarterback but so much of the outcome of the quarterback is how the guys play around him. Who those guys are, the experience level, do those guys play well, do they play with physical toughness, do they strain, do they do all those things."
