Everything Kirby Smart Said on College Gameday
Georgia Football head coach was on the set of ESPN's College Gameday Saturday morning and here's everything he had to say on the program.
On the stakes of Saturday night's matchup between Georgia and Clemson:
Well, the top five matchup stakes are high stakes are always on college football. We've talked about it before. I mean, so much goes into each game is different than the NFL. Because games mean so much more, because there's fewer, you know, but for us, it's also not a conference game. So it's a great chance to represent our conference against a powerhouse program has been one of the top quarterbacks in the country. We're excited for the opportunity.
On the excitement and anticipation for quarterback JT Daniels and this offense in 2021:
Well, we're most excited to have him back and some continuity. You know, he had a spring practice. We didn't have that before. Coach Monken has done a great job preparing those guys, the offensive staff has done a great job. We're excited to see what we can do. We also play a defense that has a lot of people coming back. Yeah, a lot of talented players. You don't play guys that have 25 and 30 starts across the board with 11 returning starters very often. So let's be smart about that as well. But a very talented group of defensive players. And we'll see what JT can do.
On what Clemson does defensively that impresses him
Well, their aggression, you know, they're very aggressive. They attack, attack, attack, and they come after you and they don't give you much opportunity to breathe. And they've got kids that fit their system. So their system's built to be really quick, athletic, fast, come after you and they play teams so well, because of the way he's (Brett Venables) so aggressive.
On the return of fans and the full stadium atmosphere:
Well you pace yourself. We've talked composure all week, I think the team that handles the other team's shot best. Is gonna come out ahead because someone's gonna make plays, right? We're gonna make plays, they're gonna make plays. It's gonna happen all night. But a lot of these kids have never had to respond to that kind of atmosphere of see the crowd go nuts over a big play because last year wasn't that way. Right. And I'm loving it. I'm happy for the fans. This is what college football is about. This is what we all want.
On JT Daniels speaking on mental health:
I was just proud of him for the fact he was able to address it and confront it and be open about it. And I think he's, he's made it a safe space for a lot of players. And a lot of kids in our country right now, especially, we talk about the pressures of college football, and they've got the pandemic going on over the last year. A lot of guys went through really tough times during that. And I thought he embraced that. He's overcome it through the help of Drew and many other people in our organization, Ron Courson to mention another. JT's confronted it and he's handled it and he's been very open about it, and I appreciate the way he's handled it.
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