Head Coach Mark Richt
Opening statement…
“We have Florida this week. They are No. 1 in the nation,
17-game winning streak. No one’s had a lot of success versus Florida lately.
Coach (Urban) Meyer has done a great job with that program, no doubt.”
On changes on the
offensive line…
“We really don’t have a lot of choices, so I don’t see a lot
of change there. The guys that have been playing will continue to play. We may
move them around a little bit, but I’m not even sure of that. But the same guys
will play that are playing—the two Davises
(Josh and Chris), Cordy (Glenn), (Vince) Vance,
(Clint) Boling, Ben Jones and (Justin Anderson). They will all play.”
On Florida’s defensive
line…
“They are outstanding. It’s probably not a one-man job to
block those guys. We will do what we do against a lot of the great pass rushers
and try to get some help from backs, get some help from tight ends, get some
help by just sliding a protection toward a certain guy and know that if a
tackle gets beat inside there will be a guard there hopefully waiting to help
out. All those types of things will have to be considered. Then we just hope we
don’t get into too many situations where we just flat out have to throw the
ball. We hope to be in downs and distances that will afford us not to get into
that type of situation.”
On playing in the warm
weather on Saturday…
“The heat and humidity can certainly become a factor in the
game. We know early in the season it does become a factor, so we have to make
sure we are ready to substitute, no doubt.”
On the comparison of
Tim Tebow to Herschel Walker…
“I think they are both legends. One is still playing and the
other one of course hasn’t played in quite some time. There is no question that
Tim Tebow has made his mark on Florida football, on
Southeastern Conference football and on the entire nation. He’ll be one of
those guys who will be remembered as long as people care about college
football. Herschel is the same way.”
On Herschel Walker…
“He was the man. You’d see him running guys over and diving
over the top. He was just such a big, strong man to be able to do some of the
things that he could do physically. I do recall him getting interviewed some
where along the way and thinking that he was very, very humble and pretty
country. He just looked like a Georgia boy. He was something special.”
On whether there is
carryover from the 2007 and 2008 games into the game on Saturday…
“I don’t know. I think every season has its
own issues. We certainly have ours and they don’t have many. Any issues
they have, they’ve been able to solve with victories. I think we are most
concerned about what it’s going to take to win the ballgame more than anything
else.”
On whether the era of
big, fast tailbacks like Herschel Walker and Bo Jackson is ending…
“I just think one day another guy will come along that fits
that description and somebody will probably decide not to let him play
linebacker in high school and let him run the ball. I think Herschel was one of
a kind. Not to say Bo Jackson wasn’t special, because he was. They were a
little bit different in their type. I wouldn’t be surprised to see another big,
giant guy become the thing again. They just don’t come along that often period,
I don’t think.”
On whether Mike Bobo will coach from the field again…
“I didn’t even ask him, but I’m assuming yes.”
On whether the team
made strides against Vanderbilt…
“We did. We definitely got better. I thought we got better
as a team in general. We ran the ball better than we’ve been running it offensively.
We didn’t have the big turnover issues. Defensively I thought we played very
sound really all but one drive. I thought they played dominating football other
than the first drive of the second half. I thought our special teams overall
played very well that day. I think if you look and see what everyone has done
against Vanderbilt this season, we performed pretty well against them when you look at what other people have done.
Vanderbilt, I know their record isn’t all that great right now, but they’re in
just about every ballgame they play.”
On Joe being a
first-time starter in the Georgia-Florida game…
“The only thing that is really unique about it and it
doesn’t really affect the quarterback as much because he’s only in there half the time, but it is live the whole game. When you
have half-and-half as far as the fan base, you have enough people to create
enough noise to cause problems. When we have the ball we know Florida is making
all the noise they can, and when Florida has the ball we know Georgia fans are
making as much noise as they can. What’s different about it is the constant
volume of the noise throughout the entire ballgame, where if you were playing
at Alabama, they are going to be loud, LSU is going to be loud, but when they
have the ball they are going to be quiet. There is really no quiet time, maybe
on a punt or something or at the commercial breaks, but the fans will
definitely get a workout.”
On Georgia’s recent
practices…
“I thought we practiced real fast and with a good demeanor.
I mentioned the scout team the other day; they did a really good job, but the
harder and the faster they go, the better practice we have because maybe 50
percent of our practice is versus our scouts whether it’s kicking or offense
and defense. When the scout team, especially the offensive scout team has good
tempo, it allows the defense to play at a good tempo, you can probably only
play at about as fast as those guys go. I was real pleased at what they did.
Today was supposed to be a Wednesday-type practice, a shells practice with the
same kind of tempo and energy, and it may be that we have to go inside today
and treat tomorrow, Wednesday, as a true Wednesday practice. Thursday we will
get into the stadium and get as much noise as we can.”
On Florida’s success…
“Any time success is happening close to home, it’s certainly
right in front of you all the time. You know if you have to compete against
that team every year and you have to beat that team to get where you want to
go, it drives you. There are a lot of other teams in this league that drive us
too. It’s just such a competitive league. But Florida, as of late, has set the
bar.”
On whether last year’s
game is a factor in preparing for the game on Saturday…
“I don’t know about the guys individually. There may be some
guys who are more worried about that. I’m more concerned about this game, this
plan, this team. I’ve been focusing on the preparation
for this game. I will say motivation, I don’t think this game needs anything
extra from that past to get anybody excited to play. I just don’t think we need
that.”
On who is playing Tim Tebow on Georgia’s scout team in practice…
“We’ve had about three guys. I don’t think one guy could
beat Tebow all by himself.”
On this being his last
time preparing for Tim Tebow…
“He’s a very unique guy. He’s special.”
#14 Joe Cox:
On what Georgia needs
to do in order to be successful against Florida…
“Execute in every phase of the game. We know they are a
great team all the way across the board and that’s why they are number one in
the country. We know that there is really small room for error in this game,
and we have to know our plan better than any plan we’ve had all this year to be
successful and have no mental errors or turnovers. We know what we are up
against, and we know that we are going to have to play a great game.”
On what Georgia’s
offense facing Florida’s defense…
“I think we definitely need to lean on the run game. That
helps us out in every other aspect of our offense. We have to get something
going there and keep it going the whole game to keep them off balance and not
know that we are just going to throw ball every down.”
On the 50-50 crowd
split at the Georgia-Florida game…
“I think it’s the best part about the game. I know that
there are people who say this game needs to come to Atlanta sometimes, but it
doesn’t matter because wherever you are it’s going to be a 50-50 crowd. It’s
always really cool to see it like that. Two teams that are big rivals get to
share the stadium. It’s one of the best games in college football, and it’s
always a fun game to be a part of.”
#81 Aron White:
On making his
first-career touchdown reception against Florida last year…
“It’s definitely bittersweet to score a touchdown like
that. I hadn’t got a whole lot of
playing time up to that point in the season, and to get put in with about two
minutes left you want to go in there and play hard. At the same time, it’s hard
to come in and have a lot of fire and fight when you already feel the game is
beyond your control and you can’t do a whole lot. Luckily, I got a chance to
get in there. Joe (Cox) put a great ball up and I made a play. To catch that
ball meant a lot to me.”
#3 Bryan Evans
On playing Florida
after Urban Meyer called two timeouts with one minute to go last year…
“It is a big motivating factor. We have it hanging up in the
locker room and every time we see his hands in that time out position it
reminds us of what happened last year and hopefully that can drive us as a
team. We will never forget that image and that is something that we don’t want
to experience again.”
On the game being in
Jacksonville, Evans hometown…
“I do like it. I wouldn’t say it’s a neutral site on both
sides just because of the distance, but I think it’s a good atmosphere for the
game and it’s big down there.”
On the constant
stadium noise…
“It is never quiet at this game. It is a game that just has
so much emotion in the crowd and on the field at the same time. It is just a
different atmosphere and it is something that we cant
experience at any other game but this one.”
#35 Rennie Curran
On Tebow’s
potential to break Herschel Walker’s rushing touchdown record this game…
“Just knowing the type of player that Herschel was and the
type of guy that he is now, we just want to represent for the guys who played
before us. That would be huge for us to hold their offense and Tebow and not let them score. We know they like to put the
ball in his hands on the goal line so that is going to be our main goal. Not
just because it is going to be a record but because as a defense we just want
to play our best game.”
On being motivated
after Urban Meyer called two timeouts with one minute to go last year…
“It’s huge. In 2007, they used our celebration as motivation
for them. We just have to go out and play our best game without worrying about
the past. We use our motivation from what’s happened this season as a means to
play well.”
On the game in
general…
“It is a game we look forward to playing each year. It’s a
game you want to play in on a national stage against the top athletes. There is
no bigger stage than this on college game day, especially with the fans. It is
a game I love to play in and a game I love to make big plays in.”