Todd Monken
Offensive Coordinator
Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
Q. Wanted to tap into a little bit of your past experience in college and the NFL. When you joined Georgia, is part of the allure being able to work with so many guys who are sort of the potential to be future NFL players? You’ve worked at many different levels. I’m wondering being drawn back to Georgia, part was, hey, this is where all the best and future NFL players go?
COACH MONKEN: I think you hit it on the head. You want to be at a place where you have no barriers to success. And that starts with being able to get great football players. Working with a great staff, an elite academic institution and being right down the road from Atlanta.
So when you’re recruiting players and their families, we check all the boxes. You want to be a place where you check all the boxes. And that was the University of Georgia.
Q. Doing a story on Brock Bowers. How soon before he got on campus did you realize that he was going to have such an impact on your offense? And how have you made him a better tight end, and how has he made you a better offensive coordinator?
COACH MONKEN: The first part of it is, first of all, you saw his work ethic. I spoke about that a week ago about how he’s wired. So we don’t have to touch on that anymore. He’s wired the right way. He works awfully hard at his craft. He only knows one speed.
So right away we knew he’d be able to contribute. Did we know to this extent? Of course not. But once we saw him work, his skill set, we knew we had a chance to have somebody that we could rely on. And as he’s continued to develop — Coach Hartley deserves a lot of credit, one for recruiting him; two, for developing him.
We’ve just tried to continually move him around, put him in position to make plays. He’s embraced that. He works awfully hard. He has a lot more to do with what we do in terms of how he works and how he prepares than I’ve had to do with his progression, and that’s just because of the way he’s wired.
Q. As great as Stetson was the other night, as really as good as he’s been, there’s obviously two games against Alabama that are kind of a blot on his resumé. Do you see anything kind of common in those games that is instructive about this one, or did you see those two games as just kind of separate from the rest of what Stetson does?
COACH MONKEN: Well, I mean, I don’t see it as those two games are going to predict the future. I don’t see it that way. I see it as he’s played, I don’t know how many games at starting quarterback, and like any player they’ve had their moments where they haven’t played up to what they believe their standard to be or we believe that standard to be. It just so happens to have come in the second half against the team we’re about to play.
But we just need to understand that the first two halves of each of those games was outstanding, and I’ve said that before. He has everything we need to be successful offensively. And our issues with turnovers aren’t his issue, particularly. That’s everybody in this country — if you turn the ball over you’re not going to win, no matter how you do it.
The first turnover a year ago was a batted ball that was out of his control. The second interception was a tipped pass on an end cut that went directly to them. The third one was a poor decision.
So the bottom line is I can do better as a coordinator to put him in better position to be successful. He understands that. Our team understands that. So I expect him to play well just like I did last week.
Q. In that vein, you have an extensive NFL background, playing another team in close proximity just a few weeks later. Tell me a little bit about the decisions on what to change, what to do different, what to keep the same. And maybe have that same thing seem different and that kind of stuff. Seems pretty complicated.
COACH MONKEN: Well, you’re right, it is a little bit different. You do get that in the NFL with your division teams where you play them twice. And sometimes you can play them relatively close together like this is.
And we played them last year. So we’ve got enough film on what they want to do and they’re not going to change. They’re successful for a reason for what they do and so are we.
If you’re constantly changing what you do and your identity, I don’t think you’re going to be very good at anything. So obviously we take from the things that we did well and build on that and the things we didn’t do as well. And obviously there’s calls that we had that in both games or other opportunities that we didn’t get called.
So we’re looking forward to the opportunity and the shot at it. And they’re going to get our best, I can promise you that.
Q. How do you best quantify the improvements when you’re talking about Stetson, that he’s made from last year to right now being starting quarterback?
COACH MONKEN: Obviously, second year in the system. Being around us as a coaching staff, what we do offensively is big. And just playing. I think we forgot at times that he really hadn’t played a lot of football here. And I think being around the same players.
I think the consistency that we’ve had at times that we’ve tried to get the ball to those guys have helped. But to me he’s matured in terms of understanding what we want to get done. And also just playing. There’s just the reps that you get in practice and then games that get into your memory bank, whether they’re scars or things you’ve solved or decision-making, I think all comes into that.
And the longer you play — a guy like Aaron Rodgers or Tom Brady or those guys or Ryan Fitzpatrick — some of the things they do now they didn’t do early on in their career. That develops over time. And they continued to improve their game and their understanding of what we want done.
Q. You were pretty emphatic of your support for Stetson last week when talking about JT. Stetson’s got 10 touchdowns in the last three games. I wondered if there was a point where, I don’t know what the word is, that you trusted him more to go downfield, to do more things, or is that overestimating it?
COACH MONKEN: Oh, I don’t know. I mean, I think the hardest part is the way our season has gone. Our season, we’ve had a tremendous season, and for a number of those games we put ourselves in position to where we didn’t need the quarterback to make plays in the second half of games. So people could look at that and say, well, why didn’t you take the opportunity to continue to get more reps or get other quarterbacks opportunities.
Not in my mind. My mind was to win that one game in particular and get off the field without injuries. And so that’s probably the hardest part when you try to look at throwing the ball down the field in terms of the opportunity. Our defense played so well.
And so I think that’s probably a little unfair that we didn’t trust him to throw it down the field. It was just a matter of opportunities, I think, is more than anything because the way the games went.
Q. You talk about Georgia checking all the boxes in terms of resources and recruiting area and facilities and everything else. Were you aware they hadn’t won a title since 1980 when you got there? How much have you heard about it and what would it mean to end it?
COACH MONKEN: I had not because I really, in a lot of ways, that didn’t factor into it because I knew what the place was like now.
And I knew the success that they had and were awfully close in previous years to that. And that’s what you can ask, is just an opportunity to put yourself in the tournament or in position, I guess, the best way to put it.
So I just knew that the opportunity to get really good players, a leading academic institution, Atlanta being right down the road, unbelievable support, and I think that’s where you want to be.
Q. I wanted to ask about your time with the Buccaneers. I’m sure you learned something every stop you’ve been at. What about your time with the Bucs has helped you become a better coach at this level?
COACH MONKEN: Well, first of all, I loved my time at Tampa, the three years I was there working for a close friend and mentor, Dirk Koetter, gave me an opportunity to come back to the NFL as an offensive coordinator. We still have a place down there.
But the organization was first class, the Glazers treated me with unbelievable respect. The front office was tremendous. What I remember is unfortunately we just didn’t get it done; we didn’t win enough games. But really enjoyed the players. We had a great nucleus of players.
I learned a lot in terms of how hard it is to win in the NFL. And I shouldn’t say I learned that. I knew that anyways. But it’s hard to win in the NFL.
But the bottom line is we didn’t win enough games, but the relationships that I had with everybody as part of the organization and the coaches and the players was unbelievable.
Q. Being a guy that grew up in the Midwest, what would it be like to coach this game in Indianapolis? Will you have family coming from that part of the country? And being a play caller in the national championship game, does that excite you as a guy who has been doing that for a long time?
COACH MONKEN: I don’t miss the cold. That part doesn’t excite me. Thank God the game is indoors, so that doesn’t factor in it. Sure, it’s always nice to see family come and see us play, but we obviously don’t control that.
But I’m excited for the game. I’m excited for our players. This is about our players and the opportunity that they have in front of them that they’ve earned. And they’ve earned this by the hard work they’ve put in starting at the end of last year. This is a year-long process. And our guys have been through it to get to this point and to have this opportunity.
And it’s everything that we do it for, everybody has this initial goal going into it. And our guys have worked incredibly hard to get to this point and have trusted in the message that we’ve sent and they’ve carried that out for the most part throughout the year. So I’m excited to see them play.
This doesn’t come around very often, this opportunity to win a championship. So I think our guys are excited. We’ve started off the week the right way and we’ll see.
Q. On Brock Bowers, how do you approach Alabama playing the second time now and trying to stay a step ahead of them presumably with them trying to stop him after the impact he had in the first game?
COACH MONKEN: Oh, I don’t know. I mean, we’d be guessing. We’d be guessing at certain things they would do to stop a particular player. We’ve got film from the last few years of them playing some really really good players. You go back to playing LSU a couple years ago with the receivers they had and Joe Burrow, and they did a couple of things to kind of change that up a little bit but the reality is they’re good because they do what thy do.
Sure, do they understand an opponent’s really good players and what you want to do schematically? Of course. But they knew that going into the last game. Obviously he had a number of catches, but they knew that going into the last game.
So we don’t anticipate a heck of a lot different. But maybe just in terms of where he’s located or different calls based on formation sets and what we do to get him the ball. But outside of that, to think that they’re going to line up two guys over him and double team him would be a stretch.
Q. Obviously we see you operating the 10,000-foot view from the press box. But on the sidelines we see JT engaging Stetson and we hear Kirby talking about the quarterback room. I think you mentioned it. How important is that and as far as the in-game adjustments for those quarterbacks to communicate?
COACH MONKEN: I think any communication can be positive or negative depending on how it’s presented and what you’re telling a player. It can be a positive or negative for me; it can be a positive or negative from any interaction you give a quarterback, from a confidence standpoint, an awareness standpoint, from what you’re expecting to see or what you’ve seen.
All of that is a plus. I think JT will do a great job in a very tough situation of embracing that part of it and doing everything he can to help Stetson and us in game prep and being ready should the opportunity arise. And Stetson has done the same even when he wasn’t playing.
So, I do think those guys staying involved in the game and the information that we give them is critically important throughout the game.
Q. From your years in the NFL and major college football, where would you rank Will Anderson’s ability to wreak havoc on opposing offenses and (indiscernible) preparation?
COACH MONKEN: Well, you certainly want to know where he is. It’s not just from pass-rush standpoint. He does a really good job, if you get into the zone read game, where he tries to hit you at the junction point and try to disrupt from the open side.
So — and he plays with relentless effort. I think he has a tremendous skill set. They do a good job moving him around and he plays with relentless effort. Those are all good signs of a player that you’ve always got to be aware of where he’s at and the matchups that you have.
And like any team, they’re no different, just like with him, just like last week, you gotta be careful about getting yourself in a drop-back passing game at any time and putting yourself at risk.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Dan Lanning
Defensive Coordinator
Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by Dan Lanning.
Q. I know you don’t care much about what outsiders say, but a lot of people were talking about your defense being historically good before the Alabama game. What have you got to do to kind of cement its reputation the second time around?
COACH LANNING: Just play the brand of football we’re able to play. Our guys take a tremendous amount of pride in the way we work and the work we’ve put into this season. But it doesn’t take anything exceptional or extraordinary, just do what we know how to do.
Q. You dealt with this some at the Orange Bowl, but obviously the no sacks against Alabama last time, and a lot of the narrative was that Georgia didn’t try to pressure the quarterback that much. But I certainly don’t look at it as educated as you do, but it looked like you guys were trying to do some stuff to get to him and just couldn’t get to him. How important is it to get pressure on Bryce Young this time? And what about just the whole factor of it’s just a month later; do you do a lot of different things or do you try to do the same things better?
COACH LANNING: Ultimately we want to create pressure. We want to be able to get after Bryce. As far as how to do it, I don’t want to give away our secrets yet, but wait until the game to figure that out. We want to generate pressure.
And certainly there’s a lot of different ways you can do that. And he’s really good at avoiding the rush. And they did unique things to protect him. We have to attack it a little bit differently, but how we do that, there’s a lot of different ways we can do it.
Q. When you’ve been at a fair amount of different places, small-school guy as far as football yourself. When you’re at Alabama for a year and now at Georgia, it’s going to sound silly, how much do you notice how much better the players are, but when you see, when you get to a place like Georgia and you’ve been at other places, what’s that moment of like, oh, my, this looks different from some of the other places I’ve been? Obviously you know that going in, but when you actually see it and are part of it, does it sort of hit you in a way that’s a little different when you get there?
COACH LANNING: Yeah, I mean there’s a big difference. There’s a big difference. Ultimately I think one of the biggest things that’s different, especially in our league and playing against a team like Alabama, is in the trenches, up front with the defensive line and offensive line, the speed on the field.
It’s all relative because every football field is 100 yards, right? But the size and the speed is a tremendous difference.
Q. Nolan Smith was on here earlier and shared how emotional he got losing to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Is that the player you know that pours a lot into what he does? And at the outside linebacker position, kind of a second question, what are you leaving behind when you go to Oregon, the guys coming up that can take the next step?
COACH LANNING: Nolan is an emotional guy, but that’s one of his greatest strengths. He takes so much pride in what. He does cares so much. That’s one of the things that’s made us unique this year is how many guys on our defense and our team that care. And obviously you want people on your team that care.
I’m excited about what that room will look like going forward. Probably not for the first game next year, but they’ve got some good guys in there — Chaz Chambliss, Nolan has a great opportunity to make a decision on what he wants to do going forward. MJ Sherman, and obviously there’s some young talent that’s getting brought in there as well.
Rob Beal has a decision to make as well. So some of these guys have tough decisions to make. I know that’s not their focus right now. And we signed some young talent in that room also. So it will be a good room.
Q. How do you go about preparing for Alabama’s wide receivers, the younger guys who don’t have a lot of film on them? And how do you adjust your defense when John Metchie was injured in that last game?
COACH LANNING: They have talent at wideout, even loading Metchie, those other guys have come in, have shown they’re obviously really capable and successful players. But it does change your plan. You’ll have to do some things differently.
I know we brought a lot of speed over from the offense at times. We’re able to use guys during certain periods to extend the field and push it down the field. And we’re getting a really good look from our look team because we’re able to use those guys.
So, ultimately it doesn’t change everything you do when they have different people plug in and playing, but there’s an awareness on where certain guys line up and what they do when they line up there.
Q. Nakobe Dean told me you were the first-ever coach to see him when he was in high school and you were at Memphis. He said you told him you just wanted to put eyes on him, probably not gonna get you here but might get you down the road. What do you remember from that first meeting with Nakobe?
COACH LANNING: Ultimately, I was at Memphis at the time when I first learned about Nakobe Dean. He had a great head coach Brad Boyette, who I was a big fan of. That was my area, recruiting Mississippi when I was at Memphis. Got to go down there see him.
Everybody talked about what kind of player he was. That was evident on his film. He played the star position, outside linebacker as a freshman. Played really early. But what was impressive was all the things off the field for Nakobe. His academic standing, the leader he was in his community. This guy did homework nonstop. When you talked to him recruiting, he’d be, hey, coach, I appreciate it, but I’ve got to get off the phone. I’ve got to get back to homework.
And it’s just his work ethic. He’s a great example the way you do anything is the way you do everything. Nakobe really lives by that standard — the same way he gives off the field, the same way he is in the classroom is the same way he’s on the field.
I have a lot of fond memories of going, of recruiting Nakobe. And now having him as a player. And I was excited to get to Georgia where we had a chance to get him.
Q. You don’t have to worry about going against Brock Bowers for another nine months anyway. But as a defensive coordinator, when a team has a tight end as good as Brock Bowers, what does that do to your mindset and to your scheme heading into that game?
COACH LANNING: Brock’s a headache for the other team. I’m glad he’s on our team. In a lot of ways Brock is like having another wideout out there on the field, obviously. He’s extremely talented, does a great job catching the ball in tough situations.
I think he’s developed a great amount of trust with Stetson and in the offense. And he’s really done — Coach Monken has done a great job moving him around and using him in a lot of unique ways. You definitely have to treat him different. You can’t treat him like your standard tight end.
Q. We hear a lot about Kirby Smart and his ultimate competitive side. Any memories you have of him, anything behind the scenes that you can tell us what he’s like in practices or in games?
COACH LANNING: It doesn’t matter what it is for Coach Smart. I love his passion. And I’ve also said that I think your players take on the energy that you put out as a coach. And Coach Smart has tremendous passion, whether it be team run on a Tuesday in practice, or if it’s Saturday out there on game day, he brings it every single day. There’s never been a day I walked off the field, well, Coach really wasn’t really out there. No, that’s never happened.
And you see the same thing around his family. Whether he’s playing basketball with his son or whatever it is, the guy just likes to win. And that resonates through our program.
And he prepares to win. It’s not something where you roll the ball out think you’re going to show up. He’s willing to do the work it takes to be successful. So I think he realizes that when you compete it’s not just you compete on game day. You have to compete in the way you practice. You have to compete in the way you prepare, the way you analyze data and results.
And you see that constantly from Coach Smart. It’s something certainly I’ve learned being here, but he wears it on his sleeve every day and I appreciate that.
Q. Going back to Nakobe Dean for a second. We’ve seen him recognized for what he’s been able to do on the field this year. And it seems like every Saturday or Friday, for that matter, that he’s playing he shows up. What have you seen in the evolution of him as a player throughout this season?
COACH LANNING: I think he’s attacked a lot of things that we thought he could get better at. Coach Schumann does a phenomenal job with that linebacker room, not just Nakobe but Channing and Quay Walker. These guys have played at a high level all year.
Nakobe has improved in his coverage ability in my mind. He’s really taken pride in being an explosive blitzer. And he’s created a lot of havoc plays with that, the way he’s played. The physicality that he plays with, this guy tackles in practice and he works really hard to practice to be a good tackler. I think that’s something he’s improved on and you seen.
But he’s just a lot more efficient overall with his movements. And that comes with reps — the more you play the more successful you’re going to be. And I think you see that with him.
Q. Is there a position group that traditionally shows more leadership than others? And who are some of the best leaders you’ve had in your career on that side of the ball?
COACH LANNING: That’s a good question. Ultimately, I don’t. I don’t think there’s one. Leaders — a lot of times you can say you want to identify them as a coach. But the reality is it’s the players who identify them. It’s who they follow. It’s who they see do it each week, each day.
I’ve been here before where we were really led by guys in the back end like J.R. Reed. It’s been every position group that I’ve been around. We had it, last year I think, we had a little more leadership there at the corner position. Right now you’d say really, we have leaders there on the defensive front with linebackers and the D line.
But every year it’s a different group and the reality is the players follow the guys that lead. And I’ve been fortunate enough to be around a lot of good ones. This team has as good as any that I’ve ever been around.
I think Coach Smart mentioned it earlier this season, but it’s the first time I’ve ever been a part of a team where we came off after a big win and our players in the locker room talking about what do we have to do better literally right after the game. Call the entire team up and I think that’s unique. That’s certainly special.
Q. Not to relitigate the pass rush strategy too much, but it seems like you all had a choice of do what maybe what other teams have done against Alabama to success earlier or kind of stick with what had worked for you all the first 12 games. Is that too simplistic a way to sum it up or is that close to what you saw it as?
COACH LANNING: I don’t know. I think we watched film pretty close and tried to see what’s successful against a team. And I think they had good answers and played better than we played that day.
I think we’re always pretty multiple and have a variety of ways that we can attack teams. I think we’ve carried that into every game.
To go back and look at that game, we tried to attack in a lot of different ways and they were more successful than us. You’re going to have answers, and they had better answers that day than we did. But we’ll build off of that.
Q. Wanted to ask about Travon Walker and the defensive end position. It doesn’t seem to lend itself to the same sort of sack numbers. I know everybody kind of plays their spot. But could you share the importance and responsibility of that end position in Georgia’s scheme? And if you could elaborate on just Travon and what’s made him so special?
COACH LANNING: I mean, ultimately I think one of the things that makes our defense special is they’re willing to accept whatever role it is for that game for us to be successful. And Travon is a great example of that.
That being said, what makes Travon special is his athleticism. He’s got special talent. He’s very unique. I think we’ve all mentioned several times that he was a high school basketball player and really successful.
But his ability to move. I think you saw in that last Michigan game, he’s starting to play with another brand of physicality as well, and that’s starting to show up. And that ultimately, to me, was one of the pieces of his game he can improve on. And he’s done a great job of that, embracing that challenge to the physical of point of attack.
But he’s got speed. He’s got the ability to drop in coverage, he’s got the ability to rush the passer. And I think that production comes with that over time.
I’ll say this most team knows where he’s at. And there’s probably something to be said about that as well.
Q. With this being your last game at Georgia, what are you going to miss about coaching at this place? And specifically with this defensive group, what are you going to miss about coaching them?
COACH LANNING: Ultimately, for me, coaching is about relationships. And I love these players like I love my family. They’ve just been so good to me. I wouldn’t be near the coach I’ve been or had the success I’ve had in this profession if it wasn’t for these players. So I’ll miss that a lot. I’m going to miss the coaching staff. There’s a great bond on our staff.
I really enjoy the guys I get to work with every day. I don’t feel like I go to work; I feel like I’m going to do something I love each day, which is a pleasure. But to me the people, ultimately I’ll miss the people.
Certainly excited about new adventures and really excited about the group of men and caliber of men that we have on our staff and the players.
These players are great kids and super talented. So excited about that situation, but you’ll always miss the people you work with and the people who helped get you where you’re at now.
Q. I know you can’t move the Atlanta Metro area to Eugene. But what can you bring with you from your time at Georgia, philosophy, strategy, maybe apparatus, that you can rebuild at your Oregon as far as recruiting, as far as recruiting is concerned?
COACH LANNING: One of the big benefits of Oregon is it’s a national brand. We can go anywhere in the nation and be able to sign players. But I think you can just bring that relentless pursuit that we operate with day in, day out here and the organization behind it. We can bring the mentality of how we play football to a certain level.
I’ve been fortunate to have high-quality experience in my team here, whether it be at Georgia or Memphis or Alabama or some of the other places I’ve been able to visit and coach. So taking all that out there I think will be really important. The biggest thing is just learning from that experience. Not any situation is the exact same. But recruiting ultimately, at the end of the day, comes down to work. And it’s going to take work to get great players at Oregon. And we have the ability to get great players there and great players should want to come there.
Q. It seems like in the past few years few people have been able to solve Alabama. LSU and Clemson had their chances to get one over Alabama. But does it feel like there’s almost this accumulated pressure on Georgia given how many swings this team has had against Alabama in consequential games, and also just the added pressure, it’s happening again in a national championship, and there’s that whole 41 years thing hanging over your head too?
COACH LANNING: None of that is hanging over our head. At the end of the day, we want to go perform to the best of our ability. We want to execute at a really high level. But ultimately it’s not about them. It’s about us. We want to go play our best game. If we play our best game, we feel confident that we can win that game.
That being said, they’re a really good team and they deserve all the credit in the world for everything they’ve done over time. But so are we. So we expect a good game. We expect a tough challenge, but there’s no more pressure outside the room than the pressure we put on ourselves to perform at a high level. I know that. I know how much our players care, how much our coaches care. We have a great plan, and we need to go out and execute, and I think we can do that.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
James Cook
Press Conference
Q. Wanted to ask, Stetson got a lot of criticism this year. He seems to have done a pretty good job kind of not listening to the noise and staying focused. Even heard he’s had a flip phone which might play into that a little bit. But wanted to ask you what you can say about your quarterback’s focus and poise in those situations where some people don’t believe in him.
JAMES COOK: I mean, he just kind of ignored it and blocked it out. Did a ton of work every day to lead us to a national championship. That’s what he’s been doing all year and all season long.
Q. If I’m not mistaken, you’ve played for three different offensive coordinators while you’ve been at Georgia. And I just wonder if you could sort of give us some perspective on what it’s like to play for Todd Monken. What’s maybe different about him?
JAMES COOK: I mean, what’s different about him? He want all the little details right. He doesn’t want no — he don’t want you running the route on air. He want it to be perfect. Like, in a game, if you get this look, he wants you to make it like you’re in the game. So that’s what’s kind of different about him because he was in the NFL, I guess, probably and they do things a little different. So it’s just about the little details and things like that.
Q. What was it like sitting out the bowl game last year and seeing your position coach with your jersey number? I’m sure that was emotional and very difficult. And then kind of part two of that is, as you’re getting ready for this game, how much is your father kind of on your mind?
JAMES COOK: I mean, I try not to think about that as much. But I mean him wearing my jersey last year, that was special. And I appreciate it from the whole Georgia staff, everybody around here who texted me and gave me encouraging words. I mean, just everybody around here just made me feel special.
Q. How much did that factor in deciding to come back to try to win a national championship? How big was that?
JAMES COOK: I mean that was big because I had something to work for. And why I came back is because I’ve never been to a national championship. And so I just wanted it to be different and come back.
Q. Working on a story on Brock Bowers. When I mention the name Brock Bowers to you, what comes to your mind?
JAMES COOK: Oh, he just put his head down and work. Don’t really say too much. Gives you all he got on the field. And I mean just a great brother, a great teammate.
Q. I don’t know if we asked you this the other night, I wasn’t in on that interview, but how many times did you all run that pass with — that trick play with Kenny, half back pass? And were any other running backs considered in that decision — you or Daijun or Zeus [phonetic]?
JAMES COOK: No, that’s just play. We worked on it all week leading up to the game. And we ran it in a game.
Q. What can you say about your relationship with your brother? And what type of conversation do you have going into a game like this with him obviously excelling at the running back craft as well?
JAMES COOK: I mean, he really just tells me to stay locked in all year and get what I deserve. And that’s where I’m at now. So he just tell me keep working and my time is going to come. And my team is here.
So I’ve got to make the most of it because you only get one of these opportunities. And you can say this is my last one. So I’ve got to make the most of it.
Q. We’ve seen at times Georgia backs maybe not get into a rhythm; there’s so much substituting. I know Zamir gets the bulk of the carries. You seem to have found a way to flip the switch when you get into a game. Is that something you have to learn as a running back? Because we hear so much about the need to get rhythm and yet they put you in there and you’re kind of like the microwave heating up fast.
JAMES COOK: I just try to make my opportunity when I get the ball. Like me, when I think about — when I get the ball, I think about going 80 every time. So it don’t make me no different who get the ball.
As long as I keep making my opportunities count when I get it, then that’s going to work. I don’t really need to get into the groove, really. As soon as I get the ball, I make all my opportunities count.
Q. Wanted to ask you about the SEC Championship loss. What were your emotions after that game? We’ve heard from some of the other guys. But can you take me back to how you were feeling immediately when that game was over?
JAMES COOK: I knew we had another shot myself and I knew we’d get another opportunity. When we came out of the practice there, everybody came to work, we got that bad taste out of our mouth on Friday.
Q. Talk about against Alabama’s running defense. They controlled Cincinnati so much on New Year’s Eve. What do you have to do to get that running game established? Because they were pretty decent up front.
JAMES COOK: Just stay focused on what we’ve been doing all year. We’ve got the guys up front, too. We’ve just got to stay physical like we’ve been doing all year and come and play.
Q. You’ve been making these sort of plays since your freshman year. What’s the difference between the James Cook we see now and the guy that all other teammates were talking about your freshman year?
JAMES COOK: I mean, I really kind of proved myself back then because I had a lot of guys in front of me. But now I think I let it loose because I’m older now and I know what to do. I’m experienced and I’m a vet. So I just kind of let it loose this year than working all season to get to this point now.
Q. You mentioned your brother. How much motivation is that, growing up to have an older brother doing everything he’s done and he’s obviously in the NFL doing everything you hope to do, how much has that been a motivational factor during your life?
JAMES COOK: That is a motivational factor just knowing that you’ve got an older brother in the NFL. And that’s someplace you want to be some day. So that just kind of make me wanted to work extra hard knowing that I had an older brother in the league and is a baller. That played a factor too.
Q. Nolan talks about leaving a legacy and potentially being a Georgia legend, is that something that the team is embracing heading into this game?
JAMES COOK: No doubt. We just wanted to do something and be special that nobody can take away from us and to be here for like we come back they can bring us up and not the 1980 team. That is just special just winning the national championship here at Georgia.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Kearis Jackson
Press Conference
Q. I know you weren’t necessarily around on that 2018 team that lost to Alabama in the championship, but I’m curious, does it seem like they sort of have your number in that every time that Georgia goes up against them, no matter if you’re leading in the half, that they’re still just this team you can’t quite overcome? Does it seem like — not everyone else — but a few other teams like LSU and Clemson have been able to get a win over Alabama, does it just feel that Georgia has not been able to measure up to that?
KEARIS JACKSON: This team hasn’t played Alabama in a national championship before other than the 2018 team. But just being able to get this opportunity to go play in a national championship, the biggest stage for all of our careers, we’re playing one of the biggest games of our lives, it’s awesome.
Just being able to go against a fantastic team like Alabama on a big stage like this, can’t take this opportunity for granted. Just gotta go out there and play our best game.
Q. On that note, as an elite athlete, all you guys are, both sides, both sidelines, how do you handle that, moments like this? Bright lights, cameras flying around, cameras in your face everywhere you turn around — and focus on playing as well as you can. Do you get anxious? Is there a routine that you have that helps you deal with all the expectations and pressure?
KEARIS JACKSON: I mean, gotta trust the technique and tunnel vision throughout the entire week. Made it this far. There have been ton of cameras and things on the sidelines for every game. But this game you’re playing for something bigger, that’s the national championship. Just can’t let it let us lose our focus, but keep our tunnel vision of what got us here.
Q. Describe the energy it’s given the rest of the wide receiver room to have George Pickens back? And what did you think of the pancake block against Michigan?
KEARIS JACKSON: George brings a lot of interest to the team and receiver room. And the block he put up against Michigan was kind of funny. I didn’t notice it until I seen the video going around. He does it all the time, did it last year, the year before it. That’s just the way that George plays, very physical and just love to do things to go viral, I guess.
Q. Being a kid from Georgia, a guy from Georgia, what would it mean to be part of the team that ended the 41-year drought for you personally?
KEARIS JACKSON: It means a lot, especially growing up in south Georgia, Fort Valley, Georgia. There’s a lot of border offense down that way.
Ever since I’ve been going to school here, when I committed here, the whole community just been showing love, even in Athens as well, just being able to know that all they want, for everyone, all they want is a Georgia championship.
So with me knowing that, with my team knowing as well, not only are we fighting for each other but we’re fighting for the ones in our community as well because they’re Georgia fans just like we are. And in order for them to get a championship we’ve got to go out there do our job so we can get one as well. It’s going to be a major win for us to go win one.
Q. How important is it to have guys like Ladd and Brock and some of these other guys who have helped especially when you guys have dealt with a lot of injuries at the receiver position this year?
KEARIS JACKSON: Those guys have stepped up tremendously. Like you say, we had guys down early in the season. Those guys stepped up — next player up mentality. And they always prepare for the moments. We practice hard every day, every game. Every practice is like a game.
They have prepared mentally and physically as well the things we do, Coach Smart put us through in practice, be well prepared for the game.
Q. At what point in the season did you realize maybe even before the season that Brock Bowers would have as big an impact on your offense as he has? And is there one specific play either in practice or in the game that really stands out to you about his play this season?
KEARIS JACKSON: I knew Brock Bowers was going to be a playmaker back in the fall. He was out there making plays. He reminded me of Travis Kelce just the way he was making plays. And having a tight end like him has been a huge addition to the team.
The play versus Bama in the SEC Championship game, he caught the ball, felt like, three, four times and ended up scoring. He’s a dog. But he’s been certified in my book and just the way he plays, he’s a dog, that’s all I can say.
Q. Could you describe briefly the walk-on culture at Georgia? Do they dress in a different place before practice? And what kind of confident does it take from a guy like Stetson Bennett, you weren’t there, but to step on campus and believe I can be the starting quarterback at Georgia?
KEARIS JACKSON: I don’t know where you get the dressing part from, we’re all a team. We all dress in the same locker room. We all treat each other the same. One has a scholarship, one doesn’t have one. But we don’t look at that as any — makes any one bigger or not.
But Stetson, he came in as a walk-on. He came back, was on scholarship. He worked his way up. He listened, didn’t listened to everyone who was down here. He just kept his head down and kept pushing and kept chopping. Everyone has the ability to be able to make plays. It’s all about the opportunity you’re given. He made every opportunity the best.
Q. Couple of historical type questions. One is as a Georgia receiver, how tuned in are you to the legend of Lindsay Scott?
KEARIS JACKSON: Just proud of what’s going on. And just, as a receiver, we just have to see what’s going on and that’s the most important thing for us to just focus on what’s going on.
Q. He was a member of the 1980 team. And how much does that team get brought up to you guys, even now?
KEARIS JACKSON: It gets brought up pretty often just knowing that that was the last national championship that was won at Georgia, which meant, like, 41 years from now. And just knowing that that’s the goal is just to win a championship here and just hearing those names and things like that going on just kind of motivates us that we have the team to do it.
And it’s the year now with the opportunity right in front of us, January 10th. We have to go make a statement so we can be the next ones that people are going to be talking about, the 2021 team.
Q. I think you were an early enrollee in 2018. So I’m not sure if you were there while the team was practicing for the national championship game. But if you were, what do you remember about that time and what do you remember about watching the game and maybe some of the disappointment in the result?
KEARIS JACKSON: Actually, I was here when we was practicing for the national championship. And just being a part of the team just for that short amount of period for a whole week, it felt like I was part of the team. Felt like I was getting ready to go play. But that wasn’t the story.
But just the work those guys put in — I was a scout team member — I felt like I was trying to give my best look to try to push myself that I’m going against one of the top defenses in the country and just knowing that they was going to get ready to go play a national championship game made me feel a part of the team as well.
Just going back home after all the practices, being able to watch the game on TV kind of fueled myself that, man, in the next few months I’m about to be in those same colors with those same guys, can be playing for something that’s bigger than I ever expected, the national championship.
And today it’s finally presented itself that I’ll be playing in my first national championship. It’s been like a dream come true and a journey as well.
Q. What kind of competitor is Kirby Smart, and do you have any memories, any stories about him in practice that kind of shows his competitive side?
KEARIS JACKSON: I’m pretty sure you can see his competitive side on the sideline when they flip the camera on him during the game. He’s always hyped up. Gotta (indiscernible) mindset. That’s why I like playing for Coach Smart. He’s always been a competitor. He lets us compete in practices as well by letting us going good on good and showing what we’ve got and what we’re capable of doing.
When you do that, competitor versus competitor, all you’re doing is sharpening the iron. And that’s what Coach Smart preaches every day, compete.
Q. Talk about your journey. I guess we’ve seen you go through just about everything, too — tailback reps, hamstring, wrist injury, go-to guy, nine catches, 147 yards, return guy, and now a blocking receiver playing a smaller role maybe with the ball in your hands. Talk about that perseverance and how have you maintained such consistency going through all those different things in your career?
KEARIS JACKSON: I pretty much say I started when I was a child. My mom was always hard on me, things like that. Everything is not going to go your way. Once you hit adversity just gotta know how to respond with it.
My mom always just taught me just keep your head down, don’t let one injury or one bad downfall define who you is as a person.
And I know my role is a little smaller this year, I still take it as a major key part of this team because I am. And just knowing what I’m doing for this team, I’m playing my role just being there for my teammates. That’s the best thing I can do right now. And I’m enjoying it, man.
So far, it’s just to play in the national championship. It’s not just what I can do as a person but what can we do as a team.
Q. Earlier on you mentioned practice being tougher than games. When did you first realize that was the case at Georgia, and how do you make that adjustment to where you’re practicing harder than you are playing in games?
KEARIS JACKSON: My first spring here, honestly, we had like 18 some peers. I was, like, I’m not used to this but at the same time, I’m not going to say I wasn’t used to it. I just wasn’t used to the volume of running we was doing.
Growing up at Peach County, going to Peach County High School, all our practices was physical. We could be playing on a Friday and be still tackling on Thursday. I’m pretty much built for like the physical part.
Just all the volume, all the running and things like that, had to get in shape, get adjusted to, like, the way of Georgia practicing. I just wasn’t too far behind when I got here, things like that as far as in terms of being physical. But I did have to learn like how to push myself a little bit harder, be able to sustain reps, sustain practice time, because everything gets a little bit longer once you get in college and things like that.
It’s just been like pretty much been an adjustment in the way I was prepared before I got to college as well.
Q. Can you take me back to the SEC Championship game and your emotions once that game was over, how did you feel?
KEARIS JACKSON: I was hurt. I was hurt. The SEC Championship game is always around my birthday. And, like, for the past three, four years I’ve been at Georgia, that’s all I wanted for my birthday was an SEC Championship win.
Obviously I haven’t won anything yet. But it’s always just a tough moment. Of course I want to win it for myself, but I want to win it for my teammates as well.
Just being able to lose those championship games really was hurtful. But now I’m just grateful and blessed that you see the thing behind me, 2022 national championship, I’m able to play in something that’s bigger than the SEC Championship.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Nolan Smith
Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by Nolan Smith.
Q. The last time you played Alabama you guys got zero sacks. It appeared from my review of the game, it’s not from a lack of trying. You guys were doing some stuff, trying to get to the quarterback. What has to happen different to generate pressure on the quarterback? And how important is generating pressure on the quarterback against Alabama in particular?
NOLAN SMITH: We say all the time here the best rush is the best coverage, and we’ve got to get to the quarterback. There’s nothing else about it. Last game, we did not do that. And I know a lot of people felt hurt after that one.
I hold myself and my room accountable and also the D line. It’s our job as pass rushers to get after the quarterback and we didn’t do that. The difference between this game and that game is we just have to do it. We have to find a way. I believe in our coaches. I trust in the plan that we now are talking over still to be able to do that.
Q. You’re a guy that grew up in the state of Georgia. What would it mean for you guys to get it done, end the 41-year drought?
NOLAN SMITH: I think it would mean everything. There’s a lot of kids born and raised in the state of Georgia and this is one you’ll never forget. I always talk about leaving a legacy to my kids, but this is the ultimate.
Kind of like a lot of people go to the program just because of their father and everything. I want that to be my son’s choice. But ultimately this is my goal and my dream, to point at my son, son, this is what we done here. We’re born and raised here, so why wouldn’t we want to do that?
Q. Heading into the SEC Championship, there are obviously many people who lauded your defense as historically good and then questioned that evaluation of it after the SEC Championship game. What do you say to those critics who kind of doubted how good you guys were because of how Alabama played? And what needs to happen the next time around to cement this defense’s place in history?
NOLAN SMITH: Obviously one of a couple of things is getting pressure on the Q and just being that relentless front that we always are.
Every year, inside the box, the front seven at Georgia has always been relentless, and we always do things right and we always play the run and it’s a privilege to rush the passer. That’s one of the things we say here.
We’ve just got to go do it this game. There’s nothing else need to be said and nothing need to be done other than trust the plan and go do it.
Q. With this being Dan Lanning’s last game here, what has he meant to your development and how has he helped the University of Georgia?
NOLAN SMITH: As far as helping the University of Georgia, man, it’s crazy the things he do and the scheme and the philosophy he brought to SEC and Georgia as far as us slanting, us moving gaps and just being relentless up front and doing a lot little with a lot more. We call it playing a couple of gaps, two-gapping and stuff like that.
We still do all those same things that the old Bama used to do. If you know anything about football they created the first generational defense. But we’re just doing it a little different, I’d say. And we move gaps and we try to have gap responsibility. And our backers know where everyone is supposed to fit. And it’s a little orthodox, but I mean it obviously is working and I love it.
Q. Getting back to that first game, I know Coach Martin [phonetic] mentioned how that game humbled everyone. That was his word. And perhaps let everybody know that maybe the team, defense, whatever, maybe not quite as good as everybody thought they would. What was practice like knowing that, leading up to Michigan, now moving forward to Alabama next Monday night?
NOLAN SMITH: You can only judge a man by what he does next and how hard he gets hit and gets back up. I think we got hit pretty hard. And I thought we got up pretty well because guys didn’t sweat it from day one. Guys said we know we need to work, we know we have an opportunity of life. And now that we’re here in the national championship, I think we bounced back pretty well. Now it’s time to go finish the job. That’s all it is that needs to be said and be done, go finish the job and finish what we started.
Q. Seven quarterback hurries against Michigan. Really since the Florida game you’ve been on fire. How much, did something click or are you just seeing the game? Has it all slowed down because the second half of the season you really turned it up a notch, it appears.
NOLAN SMITH: I’d say the game slowed down but also the plan. The plan that our coaches implement is just — it’s one thing that we can understand it but it’s another thing to execute the plan at a high level.
A lot of guys go in day in, day out and to understand the plan but can you execute the plan at a high level? That’s one thing we talk about being here, just being able to play fast and trust the plan and know what you’re doing, it helps a lot. It helps a lot.
Q. Could you take me back to freshman year, ECV, you, Nakobe and Travon, what was the room like that you guys shared? And did you dream about moments coming up? And what makes you guys so tight?
NOLAN SMITH: We all didn’t graduate early. And I know one thing, that was Travon. So it was me, him, Trezmen, and I mean we’re so close we almost did everything together as far as all our classes were the same.
That’s when things went COVID freak out, you couldn’t have so many people on the buses. We used to get on the bus, We were packed like sardines riding to class. We did almost everything together. It built a connection just alone by itself.
When we came in our junior year, Coach started doing the skull sessions and we started even talking to each other more, hanging out more and doing things more and it just built the connection even more.
I still remember all three of my roommates. We drove to see one of Travon’s basketball games in high school in Thomson. I know that’s one thing we did our freshman year because on the weekends we was, like, wow, we don’t have mom and dad to tell us what to do. Most of the weekends we just laid in bed because we were so tired from workouts. After that we started doing things together and it became really fun.
Q. You said a second ago about Alabama kind of laying the blueprint kind of for your success, but in a little bit different way. How do you think that this group right now that’s on the field is laying the blueprint for some of these freshmen and sophomores and the recruits coming in kind of moving forward?
NOLAN SMITH: I’d say 100 percent thing that we’re doing now and that’s as the leadership group is showing them how to work. We say hard work works at Georgia, but some kids just get here and think it’s all hard and they won’t — they’re just doing this for no reason. And there’s a reason. It’s a reason that we run the gasses after practices, and there’s reasons we do 20s, certain things that we do. And it’s a reason to do that.
And I think guys are starting to buy into that. And you see the effect when guys, when a lot of guys buy into the strength team program and we all say one plus one equals three, when you have that mindset as guys that most unselfish guys and the best defense ever and we’re still unselfish, I think that’s just the best thing ever. And that lays the blueprint by itself and just things on how it needs to be done.
Q. Could you take me back to kind of the end of that SEC Championship game. And I know you guys have talked about it being a wakeup call and being humbled, but what was the emotion after that game? What were you feeling once the clock hit four 0s and that one was in the books?
NOLAN SMITH: Want the honest to God truth? I cried. I’m 20 now. I’ve been playing football since I was 4 — 16 years, haven’t won anything. Haven’t won a championship. I won a couple of bowl games but anything big, any championship I never won yet.
And that’s one thing that keeps me going. That’s just something in the back of my head that I know that keeps me driving and I just want to win. I could care less how it gets done, how pretty it looks; I just want to win and play ball.
Q. Obviously you weren’t around on that 2017-2018 team that last played Alabama in the championship. But seems like they’ve been a thorn in Georgia’s side, maybe not one of the team’s typical rivals, but one of circumstance in the last few years you always end up playing Alabama in these big consequential games. Do you think there’s a mental block or do you think there’s just this, I don’t know, different way of viewing Alabama compared to different opponents based on their history against you?
NOLAN SMITH: I’ll say this, I said it when I was a freshman: Every man wakes up puts his pants on one leg at a time. There’s no such thing as a mental block. The key word is in your head. That’s mental. You’ve got to go out and do it, get it out of your head.
I don’t think it’s a mental block, I think the first time we played them we gave up a couple big plays. You change three plays in the game the game could be different. One of those plays were on myself. I should be more aware to jump on the ball instead of pick it up and run. You can’t have small mistakes in those big games because it’s a game of inches.
As we watched the film over and over again with our coach’s comments we learned it’s a game of just small inches.
Q. For someone your age, 1980 may seem like the middle ages. But I don’t know, how much do kids at that program hear about that team and that season, what it did, and is that any motivation at all to drive you to build that kind of legacy?
NOLAN SMITH: 100 percent. To be the first since the drought, I tell people, you’ll be a Georgia legend no matter if you’re from inside the state of Georgia or outside of Georgia, you’re going to be Georgia legend. We came in to be legendary, be special, leave your mark.
Like I say, I want to bring my kid back and tell him this is what I did. I want to leave my mark. I don’t just want to be another University of Georgia player.
Q. As a follow-up to that, I’m wondering if you watched the national championship game between these two teams a few years ago as a Georgia kid and top prospect. And if you did, where you were and what you remember about watching it?
NOLAN SMITH: Oh, man, I remember the first time I watched the Rose Bowl, I was just sitting on my couch, just me and my mom. We had it on TV. I was just watching it.
If we block this kick, this could be crazy. And I actually played football, so I know about blocking kicks at the end of the game. That stuff can really happen. When Lorenzo did it, the outside linebacker, wolf pack, I was absolutely jumping and screaming and I was so excited.
And when Sony ran it in, I said, oh, that’s a rout. We’ll see you in Atlanta. For the Atlanta game I stayed up there — I didn’t go because it was too much for me. I don’t like all those people and all that stuff. But I watched it. And I was tuned in from the first quarter all the way to fourth quarter.
And just the thing I remember about that game is just the people, the atmosphere, through the TV you can feel it. And especially during this game, you can feel it, too.
Q. Wanted to ask you about coming to — you’re a Georgia guy, so I’m sure you had some ties to want to come to Georgia. You come to Georgia as a huge recruit. You don’t play a massive amount early on. I’m wondering how much benefit did you feel you would get from just being surrounded by so many good players? I think so many players look for that early playing time but that clearly wasn’t you. How much benefit do you get from practicing with those guys and just being surrounded by so many good players, even though it might limit your playing time?
NOLAN SMITH: For number one to start is Azeez. Azeez, I feel like he took me under his wing even though he wasn’t always like a big guy when he came in. Azeez, Adam, they took me under their wing. They showed me how to work and they showed me you just trust the process, this and that. And I never thought about leaving because I knew this is where my mom wanted me to be. This is where I wanted to be. I came in just made the best of every day and tried to work and get better.
I mean, I’m a Georgia boy, I love the state of Georgia. As far as going anywhere else other than being here, I don’t know, I wouldn’t think. But seeing those guys work and how they did things day in, day out and being Georgia kids, it just helped me a lot and it kept me centered to say guys still want to be here and guys still want to do this, why should I think about leaving and be selfish. I just think that’s selfish.
I understand guys leaving programs to go do bigger and better things and more playing time, but crazy now that guys are considering leaving programs just because the NIL deals. And that’s just not about football. Football is a team sport. And I say it all the time it’s the ultimate team sport, you’ve just got to sacrifice a lot.
I get that a lot playing defense, I’m not an offensive player. I don’t want the ball in my hand a lot of times, I just want to do my job for my team.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
Quay Walker
Press Conference
THE MODERATOR: We’re joined by Quay Walker.
Q. What do you have to do to control the Alabama offense? Seems like when they went against Cincinnati they learned how to control them a little bit, but the experience helped them at the end. What do you have to do to make that not happen at the end of the game on Monday?
QUAY WALKER: We’ve just gotta do what we’re capable of doing, executing on a high level, communicating to one another and just doing things that we need to do on the back end and the front end as well.
We just pretty much can’t give up no plays like we did in the SEC Championship. We gave up a lot of plays by a few busts, you know what I’m saying? Things like that. In order for us to do what we have to do manage the quarterback pretty good, rushing, and set the quarterback as well and finish where it’s supposed to be.
Q. What made it so difficult to get to Bryce Young in that first game?
QUAY WALKER: To be honest, I really can’t say. It was pretty much just the way we rush. And we got really, really close a couple times. But at the end of the day you’ve just got to finish getting close. Pretty much the main thing at that.
Q. With this being Dan Lanning’s last game at Georgia, what kind of impact do you think he’s had on this program in the four years that he’s been here?
QUAY WALKER: Pretty much we enjoy Coach Lanning, all of us have enjoyed Coach Lanning since he came in. I remember like yesterday, he just got onto the staff, the day he came in my house — it was actually during recruiting time, I think I want to say around late December, November, whenever. Probably January or something like that. He played a huge impact as well as all of our other coaches as well. Going to miss him. So I hope that answered your question.
Q. A question on the pressure. It looked like watching the game it wasn’t for lack of trying. You guys put some of your pressure packages on and just didn’t get there. How much of it was them thwarting what you were trying to do and how much of it was sometimes it seemed like you guys dropped a lot of guys in coverage?
QUAY WALKER: I pretty much say pretty much it just fell back on us. I think we had everything dialed up pretty good, but sometimes it works and sometimes it don’t. But more than likely I think in that game it worked, but like I said earlier we just couldn’t really get home.
We were there, what not. May be a little smaller (indiscernible) that we had to do to get better in order for us to do what we had to do to get a sack or get him down or whatever the case may be.
The whole game, the game plan was pretty much pretty good for us in what we did by dropping the coverage and showing all types much things and stuff like that. But at the end of the day he’s a pretty smart guy, so just gotta play football.
Q. What do you remember — obviously you weren’t on the team then — but of the 2018 national championship game, did you watch it and what did you remember? And also have you guys heard a lot about that at all now that there’s a rematch?
QUAY WALKER: Only thing I remember watching, watched the whole game. It was a pretty good game. I know we came out with the lead at first. Things started to change later towards the game. But other than that, no, we haven’t talked about that or even in the past game or whatnot.
Besides us talking about our mistake that we made in that game and things that we gave up, but other than that, no, nobody hasn’t talked about that game.
Q. You hear and read a lot that, schematically, Georgia has to do this differently, defensively it’s got to do that defensively. Is it really that simplistic or is it just a matter again of just executing — no missed tackles, no busts, et cetera?
QUAY WALKER: That’s it. That’s the only thing we have to do, is worry about us, tackle well, rally to the ball, communicate, what not, so we won’t have these type of busts that we had in our past game. Something we have to do is just play our game and everything else should take care of itself and play out fine.
Q. For 12 games your defense was lauded as historically good. And then the SEC Championship game took some luster off of that. How much does your defense still have to prove in your mind?
QUAY WALKER: At the end of the day, we just have to prove to ourselves, me proving to those other ten guys that I’m out there on the field with and the offense as well as a whole team. We have nothing to be worried about about proving to anybody else outside of this building, outside of this team.
At the end of the day, we’re the only ones that matter and what it come down to. So other than that, our main focus just needs to be on worrying about us and how we can get better as a team and be able to do what we need to do in order for us to get a win on Monday.
Q. Working on a story on Brock Bowers. Wondering how soon did you realize he was going to make as big an impact as he has. And is there one play either in practice or in game that really stands out for you as Brock leaving his mark on the 2021 Georgia Bulldogs?
QUAY WALKER: Pretty much as soon as he came in, as we started doing conditioning, summer conditioning and doing those type of things. The way he pushes himself, the way he stood out, probably wouldn’t be able to tell he was a freshman just coming in, the way he worked.
But, yeah, I think he pretty much is wired different in the way that he’s built and the way that he came in and started working. He’s made a ton of plays. The plays you see him making in the game are the same plays he makes in practice.
Q. What is it about the linebacker position that drew you to it? I don’t know what age, I don’t know when you started there, but that seems to be the center of most defenses.
QUAY WALKER: Are you saying what made me start playing linebacker?
Q. What drew you to it to play that position?
QUAY WALKER: Actually, it started in high school. One of my coaches, Coach Shelton Felton, I was playing offense at the time. And the next thing you know I think I was real physical on the offensive side. He mentioned I’m going to switch you to defense. By the time I switched to defense, before I even want to say played a down of defense, it was already out that certain colleges what not just because of my size and everything like that.
That’s what pretty much started me playing defense, linebacker, I think to answer your question, about me being real physical on the offensive side of the ball.
Q. The hit that Chaz Chambliss had the other night, obviously he was ejected from the game. What was the reaction in the locker room when he took down that back and just kind of showed his skill, and how important is he for the future of this program, especially with some of the younger guys?
QUAY WALKER: I can’t say in the locker room, but I know on the sideline we were pretty hyped about it. Great hit. Chaz is a person who works really hard and has a bright future as well. A lot of those guys come in, work each every day just seeing the older guys, the leaders. Seeing the way we work, it pretty much affects them and drawing them in, coming in getting better each and every day and forward on towards the future.
Q. How did you process the SEC loss to Alabama, what were your emotions immediately after that game?
QUAY WALKER: I felt pretty bad. Since being here I’m 0-3 against them. So that felt pretty bad. But knowing that we didn’t have any sacks, knowing we didn’t have any sacks on defense, any turnovers, more than likely you’re not going to win that game if you don’t do those types of things.
So at the end of the day I pretty much already knew. They were pretty much the team that day we didn’t execute on those types of things. As bad as I want to say it hurt, it did I kind of pretty much already knew why we didn’t win the game. I knew the mistakes we already made that led up to that.
Q. We’ve overheard how Kirby Smart is the ultimate competitor. Do you have any stories, any memories behind the scenes about him and his ultra competitive side?
QUAY WALKER: No, I don’t know pretty much have any memories about it. But I know I have a lot — there’s a lot I can say I just can’t tell you one off my head. I think everybody knows how Coach Smart is without me telling you. I think you can see it from the outside.
Q. Quay, we heard that Stetson uses a flip phone. He’s gotten a lot of criticism this season. Seems like he actually bounces back pretty well. Is he somebody that is not really involved with what people are saying about him and he just likes to stay focused, and is having a flip phone part of that?
QUAY WALKER: Stetson had a flip phone before that, before we started the season, I want to say. But Stetson don’t really pay too much attention to what’s being said of him. We don’t either. So like I said earlier, I think for the question, the main thing is for us to worry about all the guys that’s there because nobody else matter and their opinion. At the end of the day whether you’re doing good or bad somebody is going to have something bad to say about you anyway regardless. I think it’s the main focus, the way he approach that just cancel out the outside noise, major props to him for that.
But yes, having a flip phone — I don’t think you really care too much about the outside noise and social media.
FastScripts Transcript by ASAP Sports
