Georgia Football: Tuesday Press Conference – Offense
By Danny Bishop
Georgia Bulldogs head coach Mark Richt, Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
Georgia head football coach Mark Richt and a delegation of players met with the media Tuesday during the Bulldogs’ weekly press luncheon. They offered the following comments:
Head Coach Mark Richt
On the offensive strategy against Clemson…
“We have the ability to play at whatever tempo we want, and I think the fact that we have a lot of confidence in our running game helps because that’s the part of the game that can chew up a lot of the clock. If you can run the ball well and use all of your 40-second play clock, you’re going to chew up time. If you wait until zero to snap it, you’ll take double the time than if you go fast, so I think the fact that we have the ability to go either way is an advantage for us. We’ll just decide what’s in our best interest as we play the game.”
On ways in which the offense can exploit Clemson’s defense…
“We’ve got to be balanced in what we do. We have confidence that we can run the ball as well as we can throw it and vice versa. When I say balance, I use it in terms of not necessarily 50-50 passes to runs, but balance to me is the ability to take advantage of a team that is trying to double-cover receivers and run the ball well enough to get them out of that or vice versa. If people are trying to pack the box and stop the run, can we throw well enough or are we balanced enough to take advantage of throwing the ball? I think we are that type of an offensive team. If we do a good job of mixing the plays like (offensive coordinator) Mike (Bobo) does and keeping them off balance, hopefully that will be a big key. If they can somehow get in the habit of getting us into certain passing downs or certain run downs, they’ll have a better chance of defending us.”
On the pressure on Aaron Murray entering the season…
“I don’t think he cares about records. I think he’s broken enough records, as far as he’s concerned. He wants to win, and I don’t see it as pressure. He’s comfortable with his teammates. He has faith in them. He has a great comfort level with our system and he has faith in our coaches. I think he’s in a good place.”
Tight end Arthur Lynch (88) celebrates with quarterback Aaron Murray (11) Credit: Brad Barr-USA TODAY Sports
Quarterback Aaron Murray
Is this more offensive weapons than you’ve ever had before?
“Oh yeah. The most dynamic our offense has ever been. A lot of receivers, tight ends, and running backs, but it all starts with the offensive line. Those guys have really gelled throughout last season and all spring and summer and camp, and have really been a great unit for us. I think it all starts with them and I think they are going to give me plenty of time to throw the ball and open up some great lanes for our running backs.”
On the Clemson defense…
“I think they are very talented defensively; very athletic, big guys, guys that can make plays, especially if you are not on top of your game. So we’ve got to be ready to go and execute our game plan.”
On whether or not he had enough on the Clemson defense…
“We had plenty, with a whole season to watch. They’re definitely going to throw some things at us that we haven’t seen on film but you just have to adjust during the game.”
Tight End Arthur Lynch
On being a captain and getting his guys ready for the game…
“I think I just have to keep the guys focused and keep everyone’s mind on the task at hand. Let’s not blow this out of proportion, let’s just realize it’s a football game. We’re on the road in a hostile, SEC-type environment against an SEC caliber team, we just need to make sure we have our priorities straight and not worry about the little things out there.”
On how hard it is to put the hype aside going into game day…
“I think it just depends who you are. As for me, I don’t get too emotionally invested in getting hyped up for games. I’m a pretty quiet guy when it comes to before the game. Some guys may approach it differently but we need to understand that College Gameday or not, it’s just another football game.”
Credit: Daniel Shirey-USA TODAY Sports
Flanker Malcolm Mitchell
On his perspective of the Georgia secondary and whether or not it crossed his mind that he might have to help out on defense…
“It didn’t come up in my mind because we got a lot of recruits in and a lot of them are young. But as the numbers kept dropping the thought popped up, but they’ll be alright. A lot of guys did drop out during camp but a majority of them are back now.”
On Brandon Langley earning a starting position at cornerback…
“You could see it coming. You could see it forming. Early on in camp you were like “man he’s going through some things,” but as we scrimmaged more and more you could see he was getting more and more comfortable. So I’m not surprised it happened.”
Defense on Thursday