Richt: ‘I don’t personally think the season is riding on this one game’

On the defense and the 3-4 going into a second season:

“I feel so much better about our defense than a year ago. I knew our guys weren’t sure what do a year ago 100-percent. You’re putting it in from scratch. Everybody’s trying to figure it out. Even the assistant coaches other than Coach Grantham were learning it as we went along. There’s absolutely nothing to draw from experience wise, but our guys understand it at a much greater depth. They are much better technicians than they were a year ago. Coaches have been able to spend more time emphasizing the technique on how to do your job well. There’s no doubt in my mind that we are better than we were a year ago. But we’re also playing one of the most prolific offenses in college football game one, so we’ll see how that translates but there’s no doubt that we are better than we were a year ago.”

On the wide receiver position:

“I love the camp that Rantavious Wooten had. I love the camp that Marlon (Brown) had. Tavarres King started out extremely well and got nicked up a little bit that slowed him down a little bit but he’s come on strong of late. Malcolm (Mitchell) has made some plays. Michael Bennett had a very good camp. Michael proved to be one of the toughest receivers that we got and showed up to work every day and he got better. (Israel) Troupe had a good camp. So we’ve got enough guys in my opinion to go out there and roll them around and let them all play and see who makes the most plays. At the tight end position, which we also consider receivers for us, I thought Aron White and Orson Charles had a great camp. I think Artie (Arthur) Lynch improved drastically. Of course we took Bruce (Figgins) and moved him from tight end to full back. Bruce got a whole lot better at fullback early on in camp especially. In the spring, we were still opitimistic about how Bruce would begin to perform as a fullback, but then as we got into camp and began to hit he really made a big, drastic jump from being a guy that maybe knows his assignment and get to and breakdown a little bit try to fit up on a guy to a guy that just started to run through people and really hit people on the run and do things that a fullback needs to do. Zander (Alexander Ogletree) is a pretty good fullback too. So we feel pretty good about skill.”

On the pass protecting abilities of the tailbacks:

“They’re getting there. Richard’s never had a problem with that, but everybody else after him is fairly inexperienced in that regard. Pass protection is a skill or an art or whatever you want to call it, and like everything else it takes time to learn it. It’s a matter of learning who to block and how to get it done properly. And you got to have an attitude. Those linebackers that are 220 to 250 pounds come barreling down on you and they’re looking to sack your quarterback and you got to get nasty some times. It just takes reps. I’m not disappointed in anybody’s progress, but I wouldn’t say they’re just totally polished at it right now.”

On being able to use both Richard Samuel and Isaiah Crowell provided Samuel is healthy enough to play:

“I don’t think there is any doubt that we would hope for them to split the time, to share the load. Most everybody in college and pro football would much prefer having two guys that could get it done. I think that Richard’s style and Isaiah’s style contrast enough to where that would be really good for us too. If no one got hurt all camp, I don’t think there’s much doubt Richard would start and Isaiah would be number two but with both of them getting playing time.”

GEORGIA PLAYERS

WR Tavarres King:

• On Isaiah Crowell — “I think he’s ready, he’s a confident kid. He’s been playing this game for a long time and he knows what’s expected of him. He’s been doing pretty well on the practice fields and I think it’s going to easily convert to the game fields.”
• On the build up of the Boise State game — “It’s a huge game. I mean, the first two games we have are huge, but we’re focusing on the first one and trying to get a win. It’s just like any other game, you want to win every game you play and that’s what we’re going to keep focusing on winning the ball game.”
• On pre-game excitement — “I’m pretty calm. You put in all the work out on the practice fields and everything you do in practice is going to translate to the game. There’s no need to be nervous, just ready.”
• On the receiving corps — “I love it. Marlon Brown is going to be a tremendous player for us, I think. Rantavious. Wooten has made some huge strides. I think he’s turned the corner and he’s going to be good for us. Malcom Mitchell, you’ve heard about him from day one, he’s going to be a real good guy for us. These guys are level headed and they are going come out there very calm and play well.”

QB Aaron Murray:

• On having a feel for the game — “I think the comfort level continues to develop and I think you’re born with certain traits, whether it’s leadership traits or the ability to throw the football, and I think Kellen Moore has those both of those traits. He can throw the football really well and he’s a tremendous leader. I think as a quarterback, you definitely need that leadership skill to have guys look up to you, offensive linemen that want to block for you and receivers that want to make plays for you. He has that great quality about him and I think that’s one of the reasons he’s been so successful.
• On Dogs’ running game — “If the hole is there and everyone is covered, I’m going to take off and run, but I’m going to be a little smarter. I think this year, with my increased knowledge about defenses and our playbook, there will be fewer times when I make a misread or hold the ball a little too long. Then I’ll be able to make the passes and I won’t be running as much. I’ll probably be running a little less, but I’m not going to be shy. If I have the chance to run, I’m going to use it and try to get as much as I can and get down.”
• On how the coaches and fans feel about him running — “The coaches don’t always love it when I run, but sometimes they do. If no one is open and your options are to get four or five yards or to throw the ball out of bounds, you might as well get something positive out of the play. The fans love it, besides me parents probably.”

DE Abry Jones:

• On Georgia’s pass rush ability — “The confidence of the defensive line has gone up a lot, especially when it comes to the pass rush ability. Everyone on the feels that we can put some pressure on the quarterback. We know that we all have to step up and make plays.”
• On the game against Boise State — “This is an exciting game for us. We want to show our fans that we aren’t going to let them down and want them to know that we want to put the Georgia football program back on top of the college football world.”
• On the quarterback matchup — “I think this is going be a really good quarterback matchup. Kellen Moore has been around for a few years and is putting his name in the books as being one of the great quarterbacks in college football. Aaron had a tremendous year last year and I expect him to go into the game and get the job done.”
• On Georgia Quarterback Aaron Murray — “I think Aaron has the chance to have a big year. He’s a great leader, a team player that doesn’t really think about himself. Everyone on the team believes in him and trusts that he will go out and have a good game.”
• On having size at nose guard — “Having one good big man is always good, but to have two that can rotate in and out if the first one gets tired is always a plus. I think that you’ll see that when Kwame [Geathers] gets tired and [Jonathan] Jenkins goes in that you won’t see much of a difference.”

FS Sanders Cummings:

• On Georgia’s improved defense — “I’m a lot more comfortable this year. It’s like second nature to me now. I think that this is one of the fastest defenses that we have had at Georgia in a long time. I think that will help us defend Boise State’s offense because they play fast and score a lot of points.”
• On playing safety versus cornerback — “There isn’t much of a difference between playing corner and safety, it’s just space between the receivers. I am just as comfortable playing safety as I am at playing corner.”
• On Boise State Quarterback Kellen Moore — “He’s a great passer, he can run when the pocket breaks down, he’s a Hesiman candidate and the film shows why. He doesn’t hold onto the ball for long. If we aren’t there in three seconds, he gets the ball off. One thing we have to do is put pressure him and get to him quickly.”