Head Coach Mark Richt
Opening Statement…
“Oklahoma State is
a great football team. They are probably the toughest opener that we’ve had
since I’ve been at Georgia going into year nine. Of course we played at
Clemson, and they were a pretty good football team too. Oklahoma State is
ranked in the preseason top 10 for a good reason. This team has played in a lot
of big games and won a lot of big games. They’ve been right there neck-and-neck
with the best of the Big 12, especially last season. They have a great majority
of their playmakers back, not only on offense but also on defense.
“I think their preseason ranking is well-deserved. The fact
that they are favored in this game is also well-deserved.
We are going to have to play some very, very disciplined football. We need to
do a good job as far as our assignments. We need to do a good job as far as not
allowing penalties to bite us. We need to win the turnover battle, and we need
to play the Georgia way—play as hard as we can play and play together. I
know they are excited about opening up in their new stadium; I would be too
from what I’ve seen on video and heard about. It should be an exciting day for
them, then we kick it off and we’ll see what happens after that.”
On the importance of
putting pressure on OSU quarterback Zach Robinson…
“It’s very important to have pressure on Robinson. Any
quarterback, if you squeeze his pocket, quarterbacks love a nice, firm pocket. They
want to stand there where they have space and they can see well and throw
strikes. Most guys can, not all guys, but Zach certainly can if you give him a
bunch of time and space. Sometimes you may not sack a quarterback, but if you
can squeeze the pocket and he starts feeling it closing in him, it’s tougher to
make those throws and it’s tougher to see. The closer the big men are in is
face, the tougher it is to see. The farther away they are, you have throwing
lanes and you just feel comfortable to be able to step and follow through.
Yeah, we absolutely have to put pressure on him. In practice I’ve been very pleased
with our top two guys—(Rod) Battle and (Demarcus)
Dobbs. I’ve seen a lot of improvement there. We have a lot of young guys trying
to prove they can do it. Marcus Washington is a veteran, but he’s not a veteran
at the defensive end position. It’s going to be crucial that we are able to
squeeze that pocket and put some pressure off the edges. If you put pressure on
the edge and he steps up, it doesn’t do any good, and that’s where Geno (Atkins), Jeffrey (Owens), Kade
(Weston) and DeAngelo (Tyson) have to come in and
squeeze that pocket. Although they do try to break contain with him and free
him up out there with the run-pass options too. There are a lot of things that
have to be defended with this bunch. They run the ball so well that their
play-action is very viable. If Robinson does break contain, it’s going to be
tough to know that he can run or throw it accurately, so we have to find a way
to contain him.”
On whether the
atmosphere around the team is different opening with a top 10 team…
“I’ve always felt like our team has been excited to play the
first game of the year. I don’t know if we’ve ever gone into the first game of
the year and I didn’t feel the excitement and the energy with the team. I think
there is a little greater sense of urgency. I think our coaches were more
interested in starting the game plan for Oklahoma State a little bit sooner.
They were wanting to get into breaking into scout team
a little quicker to begin to plan. When you play a team that good it gets everybody’s
juices flowing pretty good.”
On having time to
prepare for an offensive system…
“It helps defense more than anybody else. The more familiar
a defense is with an offensive system, the better chance they have of knowing
what to do and being able to play fast. What we mean by playing fast is if a
kid understands what he’s dong we’ll enough, he won’t have that hesitation and
that uncertainty. The more uncertain a guy is the slower he will play. Even if
he runs a 4.4, he’s not going to play fast unless he really understands his
keys and he’s able to just go. The more you know about a team, the better
chance you have to play fast defensively. I don’t know if it’s a tremendous
advantage offensively to have more time. You’d like to have a little more time just
to see more blitzes versus more plays. You only have so much time in a normal
week to prepare. There are only so many reps, so you are going to try to get
their most common blitzes against the protections you think you’ll use. A lot of times if you really spend time with those blitzes versus
the run game, you might be able to break something big. It’s just hard
to get enough reps to get good at those things. When you do have more time it
helps you in that regard. I do think it helps the defense more than it helps the
offense to have time.”
On who he is anxious
to see play on Saturday…
“I’m curious to see the entire team and which guys may break
out, not even so much the true freshmen. I am anxious to see the true freshmen and
see how they’ll handle it. No matter what happens with some of these freshmen,
I’m not going to put a stamp on this game and say this is what this kid is all
about because first-game jitters are tough. A true freshman might struggle this
Saturday and five weeks from now really come on. I am anxious about some of
these other veterans, maybe not veterans in starting time but veterans in our
system and see how they are going to come through, and see the team as a whole
and what kind of energy can we create in this game and how much confidence can
we go into this game with. More than likely, with a team that can score as many
points as Oklahoma State over the years, there are probably going to be some
times we are behind. We may be behind two or three scores, and what’s going to
happen then? Are you going to give in or are you going to fight? It’s hard to
tell how a game is going to start out. I’m curious to see if our leadership is
as strong as I believe it is when the adversity hits.”
On what Georgia’s football
program gains from out of region games…
“There is going to be a lot more attention on this game than
there would have been if we were playing someone who’s not ranked as high. If we played a non-BCS conference team,
there wouldn’t be as much national attention. There will be national attention
because people always want to compare leagues, and most people that I’ve heard
said that the Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 might be the two best as
of recent times, so they’re wanting to see which league is better. That will be
a big question across the country. People may watch it just for that reason.
More people will see and hear about Georgia because we are playing this game,
and that’s good for us. It’s certainly better for you if you win these kinds of
games as far as the perception of the voters and the perception of the recruits.
This game, win or lose, should prepare us for what we are about to face when we
get into league play. It’ll be good preparation for that.”
On what players have
made big improvements since last season…
“Our young safeties got a ton of work because of the
hamstring pulls with our veterans. I like what I see in those guys, and it’s
not just two; it’s three. You have Makiri Pugh and
Sanders Commings, all those guys got good, quality work. I think Vance Cuff
has improved tremendously from what I have observed. I’m excited about what
(Brandon) Boykin has done. Darryl Gamble has played and everybody remembers
LSU, but I think Darryl is a much-improved player. He is in tremendous
condition, and he is ready to play good ball for us. (Demarcus)
Dobbs seems to be in the best shape of his career and is practicing extremely
well. Offensively, just about all those guys have played for us
up front at one time or another. I don’t know if they have made
unbelievable jumps, but I think they are all good players. I hope Richard Samuel has improved greatly, not that he was poor a year ago, but he was a true
freshman and didn’t get a lot of playing time, but just how he has practiced
has given me confidence that he is ready to take his game to another level;
same with Carlton Thomas. Tavarres King has improved
greatly and Israel Troup has improved greatly. Aron
White has certainly made great improvement from a year ago. I didn’t mention
some of the guys who are obvious; I didn’t say Rennie
Curran. Rennie has been proven for quite some time.
Those are some of the names that crossed my mind. I see a lot different focus
from Blair (Walsh). I think the competition of (Brandon) Bogotay coming in has really
helped that situation. Both of those guys are really capable. (Drew) Butler has
improved tremendously if you just look at him punting in practice a year ago
and punting in practice now. What does that mean? We’ll see what that means
once we start playing, but he’s made great improvement.”
On Georgia’s offensive
line…
“I’m pretty confident that we will play more than five
linemen. I think Vince (Vance) will get to play, I think Justin Anderson will
get to play. I think that Josh Davis is getting close. He’s not going to play
this week, but in a week or two hopefully Josh will be where he can get in the
mix, which will be great for us.
“They are definitely better than a year ago and better than
two years ago. I don’t think there is much doubt about that from their
experience individually and playing together as a group. There is a little bit
more depth and really there is only one senior in the bunch, so that gives you
hope that we’ll have a couple of good years of play out of this bunch.
Hopefully we’ll be developing young guys so when they do leave, we’ll be ready
to hit the ground running with them, so I’m very hopeful that they will perform
with excellence. I think they are ready to do that.”
On Sanders Commings…
“If you just looked at him in the weight room, you would
think that he is a junior or senior. He has his body in tremendous condition.
He’s a big kid. He has good speed, he’s intelligent, he’s
very coachable. Now he just needs to play and make plays in games, which will
give him confidence for the future. His future is very bright in my opinion.”
On playing a top 10
team on the road…
“I don’t think we can play cautious. What I mean is I don’t
think we can hold anything back that I think could help us win the game. The
good news is Joe (Cox) knows the system. We don’t have to sugarcoat anything
for him. He can run anything that we do from a mental point of view. There
might be some things he does better physically than others. We won’t say we’ll
throw every route that Matthew (Stafford) threw; we are going to do what Joe
can do best. Systematically we won’t have to hold anything back for him. The same
thing is true for Richard. I don’t know what our run-pass ratio will be. We still
have to define that. We absolutely know we have to run the ball well to have a
chance to be a good offensive team. That’s not just Saturday; it’s all season
long. We are hoping for a great balance. If people decide to stop the pass we
have to run well. If they decide to overload the run we have to throw it well.
That’s what I mean by balance.”
On comparing Joe Cox
to Matthew Stafford…
“I’m not going to compare those guys. I don’t think it’s
fair to compare those guys. They are so different, and they are different
people. I will say Joe has done a fantastic job of rallying the troops because
of the fact that he has waited for this opportunity, knowing it may never come,
and has practiced with enthusiasm and has been a team guy all the way. He has
completely bought into the Georgia way. He has gained respect of the coaches
and the players. Because of that, when he says something it’s meaningful. I
think his experience at Charlotte Independence, being on teams that won and being
on teams that had camaraderie and togetherness, I think he’s used to that
feeling and you want him to recreate that type of feeling. He isn’t afraid to
say this is what we need to do to be successful. I don’t know how it’s going to
translate on the field, but he’s done as fine a job of getting everybody ready
to go since we’ve been at Georgia.”
On Georgia’s
leadership with respect to penalties…
“There is a lot of good leadership besides Joe. The players
definitely understood how detrimental the penalties were to our season last
year. As we were overhauling what happened in 2008 and how can we get better, that was certainly one of the things that came up. It
was one of the things they wanted to take some ownership in. They wanted to
take some ownership in off the field issues. They wanted to take ownership in
work ethic. As we were trying to define what went good and what went bad, the
penalty issue was one that certainly didn’t go well, and they want to do
something about it. The penalty situation hasn’t been just a coach-driven
issue; it’s a player-driven issue too, and the guys have responded really
well.”
On Georgia’s travel
squad…
“Tomorrow is when we post the travel list. I’d rather not
spew anything out right now on that. I don’t want a kid to read it in the paper
whether he’s on or off the list, so I’m just going to wait on that. There will
be numerous true freshmen on the trip.”
On whether Montez Robinson and Abry Jones will play Saturday…
“Before this season is over, yes. I’m not going to say that
they will or won’t in this first game, but we are still targeting them to play
this season.”
Senior QB, #14 Joe
Cox:
On what’s changed from
two years ago in preparing for Oklahoma State’s defense…
“They have a different coordinator, and they have some
different guys too. Every year when you prepare for somebody it is not going to
be the same. It’s a completely different game plan this year from what it was
back then.”
On how excited he is
to be starting the 2009 season…
“I’m real excited. It’s a great opportunity for me, and it’s
a great opportunity for our team. We are playing a great opponent in game one.
If we play it like how we need to play people will start to say some pretty
good things about us. We are excited about the opportunity, and we’ve been
looking forward to it for a long time. We are glad it’s finally here now.”
On getting his opportunity
to play…
“I’ve been waiting a long time, and it’s a fun time for me
right now. I’m ready to play. I haven’t played in such a long time that it’s
going to be a lot of fun.”
Senior FS, #3 Bryan Evans:
On trying to make
Oklahoma State’s offense one-dimensional…
“Anytime you can stop a team from doing what they are good
at I think that will slow them down a lot. It makes their playbook smaller than
what they are used to playing with. Hopefully, our defensive line can get us a
great push and make it tough for them to run the ball, and maybe if there’s a
great push it will cause some bad throws. We are harping on turnovers this
year. That’s something we really want to get accomplished as a secondary.”
On matching up
Oklahoma State’s Big 12 offense against Georgia’s Southeastern Conference
defense…
“It can be an advantage to either side. It’s just who wants
it more that day. The SEC really doesn’t have a lot of five-wide every play
offenses, but when we do get a chance to play them we just want to be physical
and see if we can slow them down and move it our type of game – hard
nosed football. On the defensive side of the football, the SEC is known for
having great defensives, so anytime we can go out and hold a team well under
their average that’s going to be a great win for the defense.
Junior WLB, #35 Rennie Curran:
On opening the season
this weekend at Oklahoma State…
“We’ve been working so hard in the weight room putting in so
many hours during the offseason, and now it’s finally time to start the season
up again. The fans are going to be there supporting
us, and we are just excited. We got a lot of new faces stepping in and taking
over for those guys that left last year, so it’s going to be exciting to see
what happens.”
On if he will be aware
of the SEC vs. Big 12 matchup of the game when he steps on the field…
“Definitely. There’s always going to be some of that because
you are not only representing your school but your conference. There’s a lot
riding on the line for the reputations of both conferences, so we got to make
sure we go out there and play are hearts out.”
On people asking about
last year’s defense compared to this year’s defense…
“People ask about last year, but last year is over. It’s
definitely a new team with new guys stepping in ready to make some plays. I’m
just ready to hit somebody.”
Redshirt Sophomore
TE, #81 Aron White:
On his expectations
for senior quarterback Joe Cox…
“I think Joe is going to come out and do something he’s been
doing his whole career, and that’s leading the team. It’s his fifth year here,
and he’s lived his whole career out here in the shadows waiting for his chance.
I think now that his chance is here he is going to come out and show people
exactly what it is that Georgia recruited him to do. He’s been doing it all
along in practice, but for whatever reasons the coaches decided to play someone
else. He’s not just going to pick up where he left off in high school because
he’s been doing it everyday since he got here in practice and in the weight
room. I think big things are going to come from Joe Cox.”
On his expectations
for sophomore tailback Richard Samuel…
“I think this is going to be a breakout year for him. He’s
got a year under his belt, and I feel like he knows the offense a lot better
this year as far as assignments and things like that. As far as I would put it
right now, I think he’s the starter, but you would have to Coach (Mark) Richt. He’s a tremendous presence on the field as far as
being physical. He’s one of the fastest guys on the team and one of the hardest
hitting. He’s a guy who could have easily played linebacker. He plays a bunch
of special teams, and he can pretty much do everything. I think it’s going to
be a breakout year for him.”
Sophomore TB, #22
Richard Samuel:
On how comfortable he
thinks senior quarterback Joe Cox and himself are for starting the season
opener this year…
“I would say I feel a little bit comfortable, but I’m still
a little anxious to get out there. It’s the first start of the season, it’s a
big game and it’s a new stadium. There’s a lot of expectations for us but we
still have a job to do.”