Photo via the Atlanta Journal Constitution
Georgia football coach Kirby Smart spoke on Wednesday morning's weekly SEC football media conference call.
Here are five things Smart said about Texas.
1. Smart said this is Georgia’s third night game of the season. Georgia played Kentucky and Alabama in night games on the road this season. The Bulldogs narrowly defeated Kentucky, 13-12, and lost against Alabama, 41-34.
“A lot of respect for Texas [and] the job that Sark has done with this program entering the SEC," Smart said. "He has known it was coming for a while, and he's built his roster that way. He’s done an incredible job of recruiting and stockpiling talent, whether that was through the portal or high schools. They've got a very well-rounded [team]. There's not a weakness in their team, and they play really well. Here's a team that's been without their quarterback and has played really well. That’s usually a sign of great depth. But we're excited to get an opportunity to go play. Our job is to hopefully play one of our best games. That's what we'd like to do. Continue to get better and put things together and play a more complete game.”
2. Smart said he has a mutual friendship with Sarkisian through Nick Saban and Lane Kiffin. In addition, since both programs are Nike schools, the sneaker company arranges trips for college coaches to take together, and both coaches have spent time together during those getaways. Smart said that is a Nike tradition. He described Sarkisian as fun to be around, smart, and a competitor.
3. Here is Smart’s response when asked to explain why he recently said this Longhorn team reminds him of his national championship teams: “I think when you look at a team, you look for weaknesses. You look for areas that you can maybe take advantage of. And when you look across the board to the kicking game, the passing game, the run game, the fundamentally sound complimentary football, force turnovers, don't turn the ball over, the things that you can eliminate for beating yourself, they do a great job at all of that. That’s why they’re undefeated. That's why they were in the playoffs last year, and that's why they're ranked number one right now in the country. It's because they play very good complimentary football on both sides of the ball, and then three ways counting special teams.”
4. Smart on the most significant challenges Texas poses for its opponents: “The offensive and defensive lines are extremely big and physical. They have great skill. You might play three or four teams in the SEC that have great skill. You rarely see the combination of offensive and defensive lines with that depth and that size. They have great edge guys. They got great interior guys, they got really athletic linebackers, and they got offensive linemen that are big, and their scheme suits that with what they run. That doesn't mean they can't throw the ball and rush the passer. They do all those things well too, but it starts up front in our conference, and they are able to protect the quarterback, run the ball, stop the run, and rush the passer.”
5. @Travis Galey asked Smart about Quintrevion Wisner. I will not steal Galey’s thunder before his column runs this week. Instead, I will say Smart had positive things to say about the Longhorn running back room.
