Head Coach Kirby Smart
Opening statement…
“I, as I always try to do, thank the fans. I appreciate them coming out, and I thought we had great weather today. A little windy, but considering the weather we’ve practiced in, I thought the weather conditions were awesome. Our players handled it the right way. I wanted to handle it like a game – very game-like situations. The next time we put on those uniforms, it will be for real, and we’ll be playing in Atlanta against a really good opponent. So we want to find out where we are as a team and get a lot of guys reps. We’re kind of where we got guys that have got a lot of work and a lot of reps – fifth-year and fourth-year guys – and then we’ve got about 40 guys who are in their first year. So the discrepancy between old and young is really great. I thought the defense played much better today than they did in previous scrimmages in terms of energy, enthusiasm, and running to the ball. We rushed the passer better today. The offense probably didn’t have as good of a day as maybe they’ve had in the two scrimmages, but some of that was dictated by the terms of which we scrimmaged with which was passing and loose plays, and they did a nice job handling that in the second half. Overall, I don’t evaluate things on today.
I know you guys will ask questions and talk about today, but for me it was about the entire spring – 15 practices – I’m very pleased with our health coming out of it.”
On today’s performance …
“It was better in the second scrimmage than the first scrimmage, and then it was better today than the first two scrimmages. We had one delay of game, which wasn’t really the offense’s fault. We had an injured player on the field, so we slowed down and the officials kept going, but operation-wise I was very pleased. We got to use the new headset model. Both quarterbacks had headsets in and could talk to the coordinators up to 15 seconds. We had one on defense, so we were able to use three of those and get comfortable with it. Operation-wise, we put so much stress on our practice operation that the game is traditionally easy.”
#15 Carson Beck || QB || Sr.
On the come-from-behind drive to tie the game...
"Never give up. You know, that's one of the mottos that we have here at Georgia. Have that mental toughness to keep going, have composure to keep going. Obviously, it's a spring game so it's not, you know, there's no there's no pressure. You're just going out there, you're playing. But I mean, if you can go out there and you know, simulate and replicate that during a game. You know, it's good practice."
On reloading …
"I mean every year, you know, we're always going to produce, and you know put out that product that you know Georgia builds. We're always going to have guys go the draft and leave, but that's why, you know, we recruit so well. We have plenty of guys that are going to come in, be able to contribute immediately and I'm super excited about that. You know, we'll start to get to work more throughout the summer and then into fall."
#13 Mykel Williams || DL || Jr.
On his interception …
“It was awesome. I think that was my first time to tip one to myself. It was great to celebrate with the guys.”
On tackling RB Roderick Robinson II…
“You can’t think about it, you just have to go hit him. It’s nothing personal. He is really solid, he runs hard and tough. You just have to hit him low and keep going, keep on your feet.”
On being excited to see running backs like Roderick Robinson II and Andrew Paul this season…
“I’m extremely excited because I know that we have two very talented backs, really we have five talented backs. We just can’t wait to see those guys ball and get the rock in their hands.”
On linebackers CJ Allen and Raylen Wilson’s impact…
“We got some really good young guys at the linebacker position who are going to come in and step up
and show, like those guys are doing. Those guys are huge for the team and we appreciate everything they
do.”
#6 Dominic Lovett || WR || Sr.
On what spring practices mean to him...
"The spring for me, honestly, is about just getting better at something each day whether that's catching, blocking, getting more into the playbook, conditioning. Anywhere they need me to be, I'm trying to learn that position so I can be more versatile out there on the field at all times."
On the leap he has taken this spring...
"I don't really think about a personal leap. As long as we as a team win and make strides everyday, I'm good. It's a team sport, and it's not really about me. My personal goals - I don't really have any. I'm just hoping we as a team can keeping working and keep fighting. Just grow. That's all I care about."