Richt: ‘Can’t imagine the atmosphere being anything but electric’

THEY SAID IT

Following is a transcription of comments made Tuesday by Georgia head coach Mark Richt and various players during the the Bulldogs’ weekly media gathering at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall. . . .

COACH MARK RICHT

Opening statement:

“We have Georgia Tech coming up. Coach (Paul) Johnson and his staff have done a fantastic job during the time he’s been there. They are really an outstanding football team and one that we really have a lot of respect for and one that we know we have our work cut out for us. Anybody who has ever played Coach Johnson’s offense, they know it’s an awful lot of work to get done in a short amount of time. We’re thankful that we don’t have school this week. It helps us to get in a few more walkthroughs and a few more meetings.

“The toughest part for us it to get the scout team to try to vaguely resemble it. It’s hard to simulate what we are going to experience during the game. That will be one of the greatest challenges of the week as far as scout team to do a great job. They are number two in the nation in rushing and number six in the nation in pass efficiency. Third downs, which are so huge and we all understand how important it is to get an offensive team off the field, they are in the top five in the country in third down conversions. As we all know, Coach Johnson has a habit of going for it on fourth down too, and they make an awful lot of their fourth downs. That’s even more devastating, knowing that a lot of times if they don’t make it on third, they’ll make it on fourth, so they’ll continue the drive and put the pressure on your defense and your football team through that.

“I can’t imagine the atmosphere being anything but electric. I know that our players will be looking forward to the challenge. I’m sure they will too. We’re ready to prepare for that.”

On Georgia’s tailback rotation for Saturday:

“I don’t know the answer to that. We have to sort through it. It’s just not cut and dry. I don’t even know who is going to start. I don’t even know who’s going to play. We are working our way through it. We’ll know more by the end of the week. Right this second I do not know exactly how it’s going to come out. We have some guys who have to learn to hold on to the football. I just want to see them practice. I guess competition is the hold up, deciding through competition who deserves to start, who deserves to play.”

On TB Carlton Thomas’ status for Saturday:

“That’s a good question. I don’t know that answer right now.”

On importance running game versus Georgia Tech:

“It is for us offensively for sure. We always like to run the football, but you have to have backs who can do it and some backs who are willing to hang on to the football in the process. The thing about this game is every possession really is pretty crucial. Georgia Tech’s offense, because they run the ball so much and reduce yardage throughout and get to those third-and-shorts, that’s why they are one of the best third down percentage teams in America. If you keep converting third downs, you keep controlling the ball, you move the ball, you move the field position, you get more points. My guess is there are fewer possessions in a game that Georgia Tech plays than a lot of other games throughout the year. Every possession is very vital to them and to us. If we lose a possession for a turnover, or if they lose a possession from a turnover or for any reason and a possession is lost, it’s crucial. We’ve been fortunate to win or at least tie the turnover battle the last nine ballgames. I would say it’s more crucial this week than any week of the season.”

On whether the plan has been to control the ball the last couple of years against Georgia Tech:

“Not necessarily. The goal is to run the ball well. If you are able to run the ball well, I don’t have a problem with taking as many ticks off the clock as possible in any game. If you’ve seen us finish ballgames, some of the games have maybe been a little bit boring at the end to some people because we are trying to get first downs without throwing the ball because we know we can reduce the chance of a team that might be behind us to get back into the ballgame. The longer we have it, the better chance our defense has to rest.”

On TB Isaiah Crowell’s status for Saturday:

“It’s his left ankle. I think there is a chance he plays.”

On TB Richard Samuel’s status:

“Richard is coming along, but it won’t be this week. He’s not in the mix this week. We hope he’s in the mix next week.”

On play of CB Branden Smith this season:

“Most of the snaps he’s had for us have been defensively. He’s done a nice job with that. He’s been the kick returner and the punt returner at different times. He’s had a few offensive plays here and there that have been outstanding for us. Certainly defense is where he’s had the most impact for us.”

On drawing inspiration from Larry Munson’s death like Georgia did from Erk Russell’death in 2006:

“We are going to honor his memory at the ballgame with a decal on our helmet. We have a pretty good look at what it’s going to look like. It wasn’t quite what we were working on, but it will be something that will be very recognizable and obvious that we are honoring him. The thing that’s a little bit different with our guys in their relationship to Erk Russell is that we invited him to come my first year. He spoke to the team, but he also spoke to the defense. There was a time where not only that group got to hear him, but we kept the video of it. From time to time we would show it to the defense, more so than the offense, because he was really talking about what he did with the defense. Our guys knew who Erk Russell was. They might not have been sitting in the room when he was there in person, but just about every defensive player that has come through here has seen the video. I don’t remember the last time we have seen it, but it’s probably time to pull the thing out. I think they felt like they had some type of a relationship. Some of the guys knew a lot about Larry Munson, and some of the guys didn’t know a whole lot about Larry Muson just by virtue of the fact that they’re young and may not have been a Bulldog fan before they came to Georgia. Our players are very well aware of who he is now. We talked a little bit about him after practice yesterday just to make sure everybody knew who he was and what he meant to Georgia football.”

On Jarvis Jones being named a finalist for the Butkus Award:

“I’m not surprised that he’s a finalist for any award. Of course with his performance, if you watch him, you would think he deserves to be in the mix. People around the country look at stats and compare. When you lead the SEC in sacks and tackles for loss, it draws attention to you, and also the fact that we’ve been winning lately I think helps, and what the defense has done as a whole. All those things help. I’m not surprised by that at all.”

On Georgia’s run defense facing Georgia Tech:

“I don’t think it matters what you are ranked against the rush when it comes to playing Georgia Tech’s offense. If you played Georgia Tech, Navy and Georgia Southern, you aren’t going to lead the nation in rush defense. That’s what they do and they do it so well. The teams that we’ve been playing are a little bit more common in what they are doing, you can call it conventional or whatever you want. The types of running game that we’ve seen we’ve stopped extremely well, but the type of running game we are about to see is not the same and the percentage of run-pass is very different. If you are going to average ‘X’ amount of yards per game, and historically 80 percent of your total is rushing, even on a bad day they are going to rush for 250. If you give up 250 rushing you think it’s horrible if you are trying to lead the world in rush defense. There is no correlation between that stat, in my opinion, to try to make some kind of prediction.”

On facing Georgia Tech’s offense for the second time under UGA defensive coordinator Todd Grantham:

“I think the second time through is very helpful for Coach Grantham, our players and this system itself. I think it should help, but you still have to slow it down.”

On play of freshman Quintavious Harrow:

“I’m really proud of him because he really has made a name for himself. When we looked at him we felt like at the very least he would be a great special teams player. He is what you’ve seen. He runs very fast and he’s fearless; he’s tough. He’s a football player, and that’s the greatest compliment you can give a guy. Right now, just like a lot of rookies in the NFL, they make the club because they are a special teamer. They make plays in the special teams which gives the position coaches confidence that they’re a tough football player, they’re reliable and we need to get this guy some reps. I’m sure in the spring he’ll be seen a little bit differently than just some redshirt freshmen who didn’t play a snap. He’s a guy who will be seen as a guy who has made big plays in big games and proved he’ll hit you and proved he’s a tough football player.

On the advantage of preparing for the SEC Championship with the Georgia Tech game being at noon:

“If we have a noon game, I probably should relax and enjoy it, but I watch the coaches’ copy of the offense, defense and kicking. I actually get a chance to even look a tad bit of the next opponent. That’s usually what you do on the next day. So I get to knock out a lot of that stuff personally, which allows me on Sunday to really dig in to the opponent, instead of spending Sunday trying to clean up what happened on Saturday. I think all the coaches would take advantage of that time. We aren’t worried at all about it because we don’t even know who the heck we are playing. We are truly digging in on this one.”

On Aaron Murray’s performance against Kentucky compared to the Auburn game:

“He was hot against Auburn. He made a lot of good throws, and guys made really good catches too. There were two in particular that if he would have it, (his passing effiency) would have jumped dramatically. There was a post early in the game where we had Tavarres King open, had good protection and could have been and probably should have been a touchdown. You get the completion, you get the yards and you get the touchdown, that jumps up the rating, which we’re not all that concerned about. There was another one where we faked a little flare screen and we were going to go deep, and he just underthrew it. If he had hit him on the run, I think (King) would have been 10 yards ahead of the defender because they bought the cheese on that one. That would have been at least 60 yards and a touchdown. Two completions, touchdowns, maybe another 80 yards, just those two throws would probably put him up there we he wants to be. Not as high as Auburn, but it would have jumped it up pretty good. It only takes a couple.”

On Georgia Tech’s Tevin Washington:

“He became the starter late in the season. I’m sure those games helped him go into this season and be more prepared. He kind of hit the ground running. If you remember those first two or three games were just phenomenal the amount of yards and the amount of points and the passing game that went along with the running game. It was very scary to see. He is a whole lot better now than he was a year ago just by virtue of the fact that he’s had that experience.”

On Thanksgiving plans for Georgia’s players:

“A lot of them go to (Rodney) Garner’s, but there are a lot of teammates who take teammates. Coach Garner’s family has been gracious to bring a bunch of the guys over there, whoever wants to come. All the coaches’ homes are open to the players. I think once that Garner meal got rolling, guys got excited about that, so a lot of them go there. I think it’s a tribute to Rodney and Kim Garner to open their home to those guys.”

On Georgia’s defensive improvement from a year ago:

“One of the biggest statistics was third down defensive efficiency, getting people off the field on third down. If you remember a year ago we were not very good at all at that. I can’t tell you how many times we got people in third and long, then they made it. We’ve gotten those third down stops and that changes everything. You look at our time of possession, part of it is the offense being proficient and doing well, but part of it is the defense getting off the field, a lot more three and outs. If you get a first down and go again, maybe the second time you are out of there on third down where before people had some fairly long, sustained drives on us because we just couldn’t get off the field on third down. By far that’s the one stat that has made the biggest difference along with the turnover ratio, the amount of takeaways. Those are the two that hit me the most. Todd spent a year in college again. In college you defend so many offenses compared to what you defend in the NFL. In the NFL everybody is a lot alike. There are a few differences here and there, but they are a lot more common than not, and in college it’s just vast the different types of offenses you have to defend and gain experience with your players and your system against it. I think a lot of guys got bigger, stronger, faster. I think a lot of guys grew up. We got a lot of people in the right spots. Even the coaches besides Coach Grantham understand what we are doing, because Todd was teaching everybody.”

GEORGIA PLAYERS

FS Bacarri Rambo:

• On defending the triple option – “We have to play assignment football. If one person misses an assignment, then Georgia Tech will have the chance to make big plays. Everyone needs to do their job, stay focused, run to the ball and play full speed.”
• On playing Georgia Tech – “We always get excited when we play Georgia Tech. We have to go out and handle business. Everyone is really excited this week.”
• On being from Georgia and playing in this rivalry — It means a lot to play an in-state rival being from Georgia. I got recruited by Georgia Tech so that adds something to do. I’m just glad to be around these guys. We’re going to go out there and take care of business on Saturday.
• On winning for the seniors – “We want our seniors to have the chance to have the Governor’s Cup for their senior year. We’re going to go out and have fun with the seniors on the team and hopefully come back with a win.”

LB Christian Robinson

• On the rivalry – “It’s a big in-state rivalry. It’s a good week to play football at Georgia. There is a lot riding on this game and the team is ready.”
• On being from Georgia and playing in this rivalry — “This rivalry means everything to me, being from Georgia. If we lose, then I know that I will be hearing about it from the Tech fans that I go to church with. That’s a big reason that we’re so motivated to win this game. I know for me personally, that’s adds to the excitement.”
• On preparing for Georgia Tech’s offense – “We’ve been focusing on the fundamentals of football, cut blocks and things like that. Georgia Tech’s offense is nothing like any other team we play this year. It’s going to be physical game and we have to be physical with them.”
• On playing in the last regular-season game — “This is the last chance for our seniors to play in the game and we want to send them out with the Governor’s Cup. That is a big thing for us. We want the seniors to remember that they were able to beat a lot of teams that people said we couldn’t beat.”

QB Aaron Murray

• On the Georgia Tech game — “It’s going to be fun; it’s a big rivalry game, one of our biggest games of the season. I know everyone on this team is looking forward to it, it’s the last regular season game of the year. It’s just another way to continue our momentum that we’ve built over the last nine games.”
• On the Georgia Tech defense – “They run a very similar defense to our defense; bringing blitzes from different angles, having guys stand up and walk around, not really knowing where they’re going. We’ve just got to do some extra film study this week; figure out their tendencies a little bit more and figure out where they’re going to be coming from in different circumstances. They like to bring some pressure, so we are going to have to protect and open up some big lanes.”

C Ben Jones

• On being emotional after games — “I play with a lot of emotion and I think that’s why I play well in the games. You have to have a little edge about yourself when you are playing football, especially as an offensive lineman; you’re not scoring touchdowns, you’re not making tackles, you’re doing the dirty work so the other guys get the glory and we take pride in that. If your backs are doing great, if (Aaron) Murray has a great game, we feel like we’ve had a great game. This year, we’ve had a lot of those games. Once we win and get that W, just being able release that and show how happy I am to get the W and get this programback on track means all the world to me.”
• On the Georgia Tech rivalry — “Coming in, Auburn was the biggest rivalry game for me since I am from Alabama, but after that first year, Tech is definitely the biggest rivalry game I’ve ever played in. Once you lose a rivalry, that’s when you figure out, ‘Hey, this is a rivalry game,’ and you never want to lose to those guys again. That’s my goal, I definitely want to end my senior year with beating Tech.”
• On the Georgia Tech game — “We have to come out as the offensive line and play well; we want to try to dominate up front to give (Aaron) Murray time to open up the passing game and also open up some holes for our backs. Just control the ball and get ahead. Tech’s got a great offense and they really take a lot of clock away if they’re having a good game. You don’t want to put stress on your defense. If we get up, I think we’ll have a great game. I think we have one of the top defenses in the country, we rely on them and I’m glad they’re on our side.