Kirby Smart, Carson Beck, and Jalon Walker Press Conference - Clemson vs. Georgia

coach you can start with a opening statement yeah I always open with um thanking our fans but I also want to thank um afflac um as a title sponsor for this event what an incredible venue atmosphere um anytime you play in Atlanta in this facility and it's part of a title sponsor game where you're playing another you know top 15 top 20 match up to me it it feels like a playoff game and it's a a great way to um try to assess where you are as a team no longer do you have to win every game but you do have to find out when you're going to be playing your best and you want to be playing your best towards the end of the year and one of the best barometers is to get uh quality wins and I got a lot of respect for Clemson Dabo um the way they play the way they coach but uh this event's special to me and every chance we get to play in it we want to play in it so Gary stoken and his staff do a tremendous job and so has afflac go ahead okay anding with the Atlanta voice coach Mala star a few years ago as a freshman in this game he made a big catch I mean interception made another huge interception this game today and then freshman KJ Bing he's a freshman had a pretty good game what do you attest the credit to a guy to starts growth in this game and being able to put freshman in games like this and they have a great performance yeah I think coach Schuman and his defensive staff have done a tremendous job of making our defense uh adjustable um complex without being comp complex and you can play more players that way so U you know we we we we tell freshman all the time we had Malachi play in this game two years ago KJ played the game today Michael played in the game two years ago you know if you're a talented freshman and you can learn then you can play and Malachi's growth is a credit to his humbleness or his humility and he is a great kid from a great family and um that's that's what makes Malachi special coach uh tell two half that first half looked a lot like that game in Charlotte a few years ago uh just what kind of adjustments or was there anything you saw at halftime or what would you owe that the offense getting a loose in the second half I think that uh Mike and his staff did a good job at halftime um looking at pictures seeing what was there um capitalizing on some explosive plays um we blocked well on the perimeter and that that drive of the second half kind of opened things up I think it loosened them up uh it allowed us to be more explosive and um we use some Tempo to help us and uh we think we're a really well- conditioned team and I thought that juice between you know Nate's quickness brought some energy and Aran and Dylan making some plays on the perimeter yeah Michael goes down in the third quarter and looks like Jaylen Walker comes in at outside linebacker he gets back-to-back tackles for loss on one drive next Drive gets backto back sacks what sort of allows him to come in and play both inside and outside and make an impact that like he did today yeah he wasn't really playing for Michael he he was playing outside linebacker before Michael went down that's I mean they both they don't really play the same position there's there's packages there where jayen plays inside there's packages where jayen plays outside um we've had to get uncomfortable as coaches to uh use his skill set and I think you know Schuman and the defensive staff have done a great job of um finding ways that he can be successful so Michel and him both are really good football players and they both need to be on the field they don't need to to share time coach I think during the game B tweeted that Malachi is the best DB in the country um do you think you Javon Bullard during the game do you feel that way about Malachi do you think he's the best DB in the country I don't know I can I judge I hadn't seen him it's easier for bull to say that because he's seen the things that Malachi's done in practice I do think the the play I saw him make today may be one of the best defensive football plays I've ever seen live in person I've seen a lot of them on TV but that one you know he twisted and contorted his body and and and how he could find the ability to go find that ball and get it is um it's pretty special hey coach over here um obviously the first half it was a little bit difficult to get the running game going uh how did Nate Fraser help you guys open up the offense a little bit and get um the offense going well I don't know that Nate opened up that I mean we we we we hit some perimeter runs to start the game you know and you try to uh mix and mingle and and and u try to catch people off balance um we thought that we could run it a little better uh inside than we did they have some uh some big defensive linemen they're big on their edges they're big up the middle they're they're going to give people you know problems defensively I have a lot of respect for them um I think uh Nate brought a little juice and a little energy there as cash did too and and Branson Branson hasn't played football in a year so uh Branson's going to be fine he's he's he's a really good back and um we're going to continue to get better and uh look forward to using all those guys skill sets we we've got a really good dynamic in that running back room in terms of the players we have Coach uh on that note Nate Frasier had a excellent debut and um I was just wondering how how would you assess his uh place on the de dep chart after today we don't we don't we don't do dep charts at running back I mean cash Jones had a great day too and uh I was really proud of all those guys stepping up but there's no depth chart I mean we we play the guys that have the best week of practice Kirby to your transfer receivers today you know made some big plays I mean Kobe down around a goal line made a great catch and London show how fast he is when he get the ball his hand in space yeah London I thought really stepped up I thought the play of the game was the play he caught over the middle um Dylan had gone down with some cramping London had to step up and go play he made a great catch I think it was a third down conversion I'm not sure but once we converted that it kind of was a springboard to being explosive and scoring and and I thought that was a clutch catch you know he he London is is a great kid he's very levelheaded nothing really affects him uh it didn't surprise me in the moment that he didn't the moment wasn't too big for him because he's played in a lot of these SEC matchups Kirby you mentioned Michel earlier what was the injury for him and for Warren Brinson as well both uh one's a ankle and Warren's was more of a contusion of some kind I'm not sure I don't want to say high ankle but it was above the ankle it was more calf uh in there where he got stepped home he felt like and and Michel's x-rays they looked good but I've seen that before so we we we we got to go check it when we get home and and see coach obviously etn didn't play was that was that a suspension and will is it over now will it will it carry into next you know we don't talk about those things CH it's a good try though I'm focused on I'm focused on how our guys played today and that's the focus and energy I'm putting it towards I appreciate your question uh we all know that Carson is calm cool and Collective but we've heard you say that you want him to show a little bit more passion get his teammates fired up did you see that from him today yeah I thought he got a little passion and energy too there you know we struggled a little bit early and didn't have the third down conversions we Ed in the first half and I thought he responded well to that uh he came in sat down on the iPad and he told me when we came out the second half he said we're going go to score coach and sure enough uh we did and um I thought he he really handled that that well and look that was a good def defense guys y'all can say what you want that's a that's a really high quality defense he that kick from pton 55 Yard uh I mean pretty late in the half there how how big was that for y'all yeah it was big at the time but it just you know you can't play these games in three three three three you got to score touchdowns and uh that probably was a little out of my comfort zone but it looked to me like he had uh some room to spare on it you know and uh what was it was it 50 what 55 y didn't even realize I knew when we went to kick it it was out of the zone that I really wanted to but I didn't have a lot of options there and uh we were playing field position and I've seen him make them so indoors I think it makes it more significant yeah coach I believe Carson Beck extended some plays with his legs there a couple third down conversions just talk to that growth in the area of his game using his legs yeah tremendous I mean the first conversion was that it it didn't end up in points but what it did is flip the field position it made them play behind the the bad field position most of the game um he has the ability to do that and I tell people all the time they don't know the athlete he is and it's not the speed it's the body control um decision making uh he can hurt you when you go out there and match everything and then he takes off on you he's got really good pocket presence and um he he he made some plays with his feet yeah with Warren going out Jordan Hall Xavier McLoud out there not out there what do you see out of Christian Miller and Xavier and N stack house today middle of your defensive line just tough guys man I I can't say how they played you know I can't like I didn't watch it specifically but to play the plays they play the number of snaps the volume they've taken they have been extremely durable and uh extremely tough Trey's done a great job of bringing the young players along in that room and you know we're getting a uh a blessing in some ways of getting all these young guys ready while we're trying to get healthy and uh that could really pay dividends uh late in the year um if if we get everybody back hi coach um some of the talks surrounding Clemson has been that they have not been utilizing the transfer portal um as much as some other teams have can you talk about how the transer uh transfer portal guys have affected your roster and how they've um affected the way that you guys play this year yeah I that's that's you know that's hard for me to to speak on I'm not Judgment of someone else I guess you're not asking me me to judge their program you're saying how the transfer guys have helped our program we're very selective in in in the transfer department you know we take a tight end out of Stanford who's played in a similar offense two tight end sets uh we take a wide out who we play against and and and can run and we need white outs because we lost guys at white out uh we take Kobe who's a high quality kid I mean we talk to these kids we visit with these kids and you know if I if I I want my team to stay my team I've always said that if you could give me every kid I sign they stay at my program for four years and they can't leave I would take that every day of the week but if we're going to lose kids we've got to replace them with high quality kids that are that are um character kids that are looking to to to have an opportunity to win a championship that want to go somewhere and play because otherwise you don't you can't survive in the SEC without the depth you need so it's a it's it's a it's a forced situation you have to use it so we use it selectively because we actually like signing high school players that can develop and the guys that you see in our program most of the time are that yeah coach I think I saw you guys play seven offensive linemen today Micah and Monro getting in the mix what what does that say about the depth of your program and what kind of a benefit I guess does that provide to you well we we want to play a lot of linean all the time I mean Carson works with those guys all the time we we like to play eight and nine I think it's to get through the year you're going to have to do that we're we're thinner than we've ever been you know we've played seven eight guys we've always played three tackles and um we'll continue to do that if they're playing winning football coming out of halftime um you guys scored on the opening drive clinson comes back down the threaten in two score your defense HS them to a field goal um what did you like from that series from your defense and how big was that in the moment uh I thought we responded I'm trying to remember that one I think they got to a short yardage situation we were able to stop them knock them back gave them a negative play I thought uh the defense executed well in the red area which is something we work on situationally a lot um coach Schuman called some really good calls and and and and jayen and those guys on defense executed them Kirby obviously you guys have new faces every year but I know you guys have some traits characteristics that you like to instill in your team did you see that when it's six nothing and and you guys take control in the second half like that I didn't understand what you asked in terms of some of the you know the resiliency not looking at the scoreboard being able to you know do what you guys practice to do I was proud the way a team played both halves I mean I really was I mean fo I think the narrative is out there you're going to roll the ball out and georg's just going to win they're going to win because they have a g and they're just going to roll over these teams in football's not that way that's a really good football team we just played and the the the fact that we played and pushed through that is indicative of the things you're talking about we buil into our program we said we had to out physical them I thought we did we had to out hustle them I think we did we'll watch the tape and you got to out discipline them um and and those are three areas that we thought we had to win to be Clemson and and our guys prove true in that got another question for Coach smart raise your hand we'll bring her mik around to you Alison coach Mark I know you said postgame that the interception from Malachi reminded you of Champ Bailey just what was it about it that reminded you of that and just Malachi's performance today yeah when chant was a freshman wearing 42 people don't remember he would he would play Middlefield safety and he had range that was UN heard of I mean he could go from sideline to sideline and he made some diving plays and extended his body and uh and Malachi's very similar to that in terms of his ability to play manto man his ability to play safety he could go out and play Corner if he had to he's just a a tremendous athlete but with all that accolades he's one of the most humble great kids I've ever been around but I saw champ before the game and told him that that that Malik has a lot of his same traits got a question in the back Kirby the past couple off Seasons there there were some incidents and and from the outside there were questions about the culture of Georgia football on the inside how would you describe the health of the culture of of Georgia football right now awesome I wish you could talk to our players I wish you could live in there and see our guys dayto day and see see Thomas settles and Bryant Gant and all the people that that stand up in front of our team and and talk about connection and share their experiences and I mean there's two of them sitting right there you can ask them they'll tell you the what you know in the inside is a lot more than than what people can paint pictures to be outside and people use it in negative recruiting and they throw it out there it comes back to bite them too coach right here you guys want 40 consecutive games in a regular season that means you got to be a very focused program what what do you think the secret is for you keeping these players Focus no matter you know players come and go but that focus seems to be pretty consistent I think it's a a process like we believe in what we do like the the the the leaders on our team that I meet with they believe in it they sell it they push it to the younger players I think somebody said the other day we had 38 or 42 um my my advisor brought to me we had 42 or 38 I can't remember what it was I had to sign something saying they were all eligible and they were all new we had 38 or 42 new people new and when you turn over that much you better have a nucleus around them that can keep them grounded and that's what we've been able to like sustain at Georgia is we're not going to change what we do based on who we play we're going to do what we do we're going to try to out execute you and and and and and just do it the right way and I think a lot of people that's hard to do I think it's hard hard to do it the hard way all the time because everybody wants to find an easier way and it's just it's no easy way to to to to win these games they're all hard coach over here on that um fade route to KOB young um it looked like Beck and young had been playing together for years so how how did how have they been able to build that connection so quickly yeah it's been tough cuz Kobe hasn't actually practiced a full practice week he was uh very selective we had him you know uh where he was not taking a full load of reps they had a really good connection early in Camp and then when his hamstring occurred they lost some of that Rhythm um and I think you know we we we've got to get uh more out of Kobe Kobe's a really good player and and we need him to step up if we're going to go where we need to go I'm sorry if you were asked this already but what can you say just about your freshman and Nate Frasier and the impact that he's had in this game especially you know it's not all the time that a freshman does make an impact like this it's awesome we we we we the players can tell you that I get on him all the time because he's out of control he is just foot fire moving going at the speed of light doesn't know he might run into a brick wall cutting back and uh he cut back a couple times in practice and I told him I said when you get in a real game you cut back like that they're going to light you up you know I might actually said some things I can't say in here uh but he uh he cut back and went all the way across the field for about 50 and I told him it okay now he uh he he could do that but he's a great kid he got an opportunity he sees the moment a lot of people blocked in front of him and and like I told you I John Bowens is a good back he's going to have an opportunity to grow and play so I'm looking forward to that room because I think we got some juice in that room as they get more experience look guys Nate's a long way from a complete package he wasn't here in the spring so he missed 15 practices of intense work that he's trying to play catchup on got time for one more question yeah jonel I think banged up going to this football game you talk a lot about ma Malachai and you said he's your best corner could be your best corner what did it mean I he could play Corner could play Corner uh what did it mean for you to be able to slide him into the nickel today for you guys yeah that was huge that that was probably the thing and you bringing it up I forgot about that was one of the biggest things that got us in the week when jonell had a pull and it happened on Saturday and we didn't know he didn't go Monday he didn't go Tuesday he walked through Wednesday and we're all messed up because now we're having to not move one person in his spot we're having to move Malachi then Dan then KJ and it's like it was really scary because we we didn't have the volume of reps with that that that makeup so then we tried to go with jakori some but every time jakori was in Malachi had to play over here and Dan had to play over here then when Malachi went in Dan jumped over here and C went over here it was they did a tremendous job of knowing what to do from three different positions and we really need to get jonell healthy and and I thought jakori stepped up and and took advantage of his opportunity thank you coach we'll have Jaylen Walker and Carson Beck up next in here for Carson back uh coach said you you told him uh before the second half we're going to get a touchdown here coach uh right away just tell me uh what obviously besides confidence uh did you guys make some adjustments at the halftime that you felt very good about being able to execute in the second half yeah I think I think just coming out in the first quarter maybe there's a you know a little bit of nerves um maybe guys were just trying to you know get warmed into the game and I mean once we got in that second half you know looking at the iPad seeing what they were doing against us I mean it was it was everything that you know we saw on film that we watched from last year so you know we just kind of deciphered which ways that we wanted to attack them and maybe try to be a little bit more aggressive uh coming out at the half and I think we did a really good job of that you know we got on the perimeter had some good perimeter runs and then we able to throw the ball down the field a little bit and that ultimately you know ended up opening things up for us yeah this questions for Jaylen uh back toback tackles for loss in the third quarter then you get two sacks on the next Drive what allows you to make plays like that at both outside linebacker and an inside linebacker on this defense you know just honing in my preparation throughout the week you know like coach smart was saying I we do have various packages where I'm at inside back and in there packages where I'm at outside backer um I felt like I had a great week to practice um doing that you know F keying in on those details of what I really need to do and I felt those uh they paid off today Carson how did uh how did it feel having coach Smart in your uh ear all game with the uh new heads uh communication and the uh helmet yeah so actually coach Bobo is the one that's um communicating with me um so he I mean he's he's up in the box so he's down there calling the calling the whole entire game um it was definitely different I I liked it a lot personally um there's still some times where you know you look over to the sidelines and you know we're not going you know we're going slow we're not going fast you still look at the signal confirm everything but I definitely think it I definitely think it picks up the pace of the game um and allows us to play faster um on offense playto playay this is for both of you with kind of two different perspectives just what was your reaction and if you did see uh Malachi Stark's interception let me tell you about that um so I'm on the field and I'm just you know covering my guy and then I see uh Kate throw the ball and I'm like okay this is a 5050 ball with Malachi and the receiver and I looked and I seen him twist and catch that ball and I just took off in a Sprint that's probably like my fastest GPS time I probably on the game that was that was insane that was an incredible catch catch you know and I uh me and Malachi had a moment before then and we uh we told each other I said he's going to get one and I told him I'm going to get one and uh and we did so I'm appreciate and I'm proud of him you know much much love yeah I didn't I didn't even I didn't see it live I was over there um watching the last drive now I just hear the whole stadium go crazy so I'm like well someone did something you know crazy so I I see Malachi jump up I'm like oh he definitely he definitely just did something crazy so I'm running out there on the field I'm looking up at the um the what I don't even know what you call it yeah the Jumbo Tron the circle at the top and I'm looking up at it and Tate's right next to me he's looking up at it too and he jumps up he catches it me and Tate like look right at each other lock eyes we like oh my gosh like it's it's crazy what he's able to do you know um he's very talented so I'm very proud of him inter I say so I say so yeah it's crazy Emily Carson at the beginning of the week you were asked what you remember most about the last time you guys played each other and you said it was 10 to three and that the defenses played really well um there is a similarity even though these teams are very different now the fact that your defense didn't allow any touchdowns today so only three points again I love your smile what can you say about how they played today yeah well I I have to play against our defense every single day and I don't enjoy it very much either um so I mean they they're phenomenal the things that you know they're able to do and the multitude of defense that they're able to play I mean that's a credit to like their Intelligence on the defensive side of the ball and then not only that but going out there and executing the plan and Coach Schuman calling the plays and the players actually going out there and doing it and Performing um like I said I I absolutely hate playing against our defense every day but you know I think that's what makes our um offense get better and better um but to watch them go out there you know it it makes our job a little bit easier you know we have good field position um and we're really not too worried about the other team scoring Carlson two of your transfer receivers make make some big touchdowns catches forward today what's been like working with those guys fall camp and just the contributions today yeah absolutely I think I think that wide receiver room has so much depth and I've been saying this um but you know everyone wants to say that guys left and there's no talent in there but there there's so much talent um and we have so much confidence in every single guy that goes out there and steps out there on the field from you look back to Spring ball to Summer to fall Camp all the countless reps I mean they're we we do a lot and I mean really there there's a lot of accumulated reps with those guys and a lot of confidence that I have in them so for them to come out you know first game and be able to make some plays um that instills more confidence for me into them and obviously it's it's a good moment for them so super proud of them let's go to Mark Weiser and then Conor Riley up here Carson you talked this offseason about kind of your motivation to come back to Georgia after the last game you played here wondering what it was like to walk off the field with a you know big win for Georgia today and you know do you think that you saw things from this team that thinks you know you might be able to come back here a couple more times yeah no um definitely a different feeling watch walking off the field uh this time compared to the last time we were in the stadium um I mean I'm just super proud of this team I think I think the preparation that went into this game you could see from I mean we started last Thursday prep for Clemson you could see the sense of urgency pickup you could see the attention to detail um of guys you know locked in focused on the plan and what they needed to do and uh just flying around during practice and we had some really good practices leading up to that so I think for us if we can just be consistent in that and each week have that same exact approach then you know we'll have the success that we need to have to get back here Conor yeah the first third down conversion you had to London where it's third and 10 you guys are up uh in the third quarter 13 to three I think you just walk me through what you saw on that play and firing that pass in there uh yeah so they I mean um they played a very similar coverage on a couple third Downs in the game um so coach Bubba went to a play that um you know he's on an in-breaking route um I mean he did a great job of breaking the corner off coming back negative um underneath the linebacker which I mean that first and foremost I I have to have a lot of trust in him that he's going to run the route right that he's going to win to where I can let it go on time um and that that comes with reps and uh continuously you know doing it over and over again but no I think that was a huge play for us in the game and really catapulted us um as an offense especially a third and long you know it definitely changes the momentum Terence yeah this is for both players to win 40 straight Reg reg season games that means you guys have got to be very focused you have a lot of different situations but the results has been the same for each of you guys what do you attribute that to why you guys been able to kind of just keep that Focus um our culture being our culture what they instilling us at the University of Georgia um being moment Le doing Moment by moment um you know we focus on each game uh individually like we we don't skip ahead in the season we don't backtrack we don't do anything we be where our feet is planted and I feel like we do a great job of keeping that the main thing the main thing and uh you know next week we go into our next game and we'll we'll do so again for that game game let's go toward the back right here and then uh Carson what do you think of Nate Fraser's performance today uh obviously big game from him yeah I think um I think he did a great job you know I think it's super cool opportunity for him obviously he he came here in the summer so he's only he's only been in Athens for two three months which is crazy to me but we have a lot of confidence in him him um you know we were we were able to see what he could do in practice and um obviously he translated that to the game and that's usually how it works um that that running back room had a huge day you know him you know cash is someone that you haven't seen much of in the past that you know really stepped up for us um today as well so you know those guys being able to step into their roles um you know I'm excited to see what they're able to do as the season goes on time for just a couple more let's go to Brooks Austin yeah Carson with you talk about Nate right there next to you with having a young player that hasn't been there very long next to you what was the communication like between you and him pretty much all day I would imagine yeah I mean there was a couple guys that were out there for the first time um starting or I mean I mean you could say starting not starting but there's a couple guys out there um playing for the first time in a in a Georgia uniform so for me uh you know being being a starter last year coming back and being my second year just communicating those guys like lean on me like if if you know there's there's issue or problem out on the field if you don't know something if you need help like come to me you know I um I have confidence in and uh understanding our game plan what we need to do um so I'm going to handle what I need to handle and that's going to get done but if you need help like come to me I can I can manage that and I think that's something that I've really been trying to do as you know I've I've stepped into my second year okay thank you everyone and happy Labor Day thank you