Georgia Football: Tuesday Press Conference – Offense
By Danny Bishop
Todd Gurley, photo by Sonny Kennedy, http://www.sonnykennedyphotography.com/
Georgia head coach Mark Richt and a delegation of players met with the media on Tuesday during the Bulldogs’ weekly press luncheon. They offered the following comments:
Coach Mark Richt
On the play of the offensive line…
“We didn’t get as much movement as we’d like to sometimes in some of the run game last game. We didn’t have many issues with penalties or pass protection. We actually pass protected pretty well, but there were some times where we didn’t get as much movement as we’d like in the run game. Coach Mike Bobo made a good point last night, saying that when you run the ball the way we try to run the ball, there’s going to be some ugly, tough two or three-yard gains here and there. Every once in a while when you hit the crease, you have to have the perimeter block, and you have to have the guy make the other guy miss. You have to hopefully be able to take it to the house or get a big gain here and there because if a team is averaging six yards per carry, there’s probably a couple of 80-yarders in there and a bunch of one, two, and three-yard runs along the way. You just want to make sure you reduce the yards the best you can and get your third down as manageable as possible to hopefully make those.”
On offensive linemen wearing “APU” on their wristbands against North Texas…
“I’m still trying to figure out the whole deal. I was probably like a lot of people seeing it on the ticker after the game. I just have to educate myself a little better with what it’s all about. We have the freedom of speech in our country, but the question is what’s the most appropriate way of doing it, so that’s the only thing. Based on what I read about what their concerns were seemed like pretty legitimate concerns. Whatever they are trying to accomplish is being done in a respectful way, so that’s all I really know. I don’t really know much about it, so I’ll just have to learn more as we go.”
On the running backs…
“Our running back position is overall pretty healthy right now. Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall and Brendan Douglas and J.J. Green are all healthy, and they’ve been practicing well. They’ve all had a shot at playing some ball, and I think they’ve done well overall. Our backs are in good shape.”
On special teams…
“First of all, we have to find out where we went wrong and correct it. The good news on all of it is that everything is very correctable. Our kickoff coverage team was having a tremendous season up until that play (against North Texas), and you don’t want to define your whole season on one play, but it was significant. That’s the thing about special teams – it’s a one-play series. One mistake can cost seven points, and seven points can obviously cost a game. We were fortunate to have the issues on special teams that didn’t cost us the game. If we can make decent corrections through us communicating better as coaches and also by making sure we have the right guys in the right spots, I think we can clean it up.”
On Nathan Theus and Trent Frix at long snapper…
“They’re both working right now. We’ll figure that out at the end.”
On the considerations of adding front line players to coverage units…
“We want to get the best guys that can cover, no doubt. We want to be careful about it, but you’ll probably see a little bit more of that.”
On any injuries…
“I think Keith Marshall will be fine, and Jay will probably give it a go today. Justin Scott-Wesley bruised his shoulder a little bit, but he’ll be fine. I’m not sure about James DeLoach. We have to have him go through the concussion testing and all of that, and I don’t think he’ll go today. I would say he’s out for right now.”
Michael Bennett,
photo by Sonny Kennedy,
http://www.sonnykennedyphotography.com/
Wide Receiver Michael Bennett
On playing in front of the home fans…
“It’s great to play in front of our home fans. I love it, and in the South Carolina game they were real loud. I love playing in front of our fans and I think the whole team does.”
Quarterback Aaron Murray
On LSU QB Zach Mettenberger’s homecoming…
“I’m sure he’s tired of talking about it. It’s just probably a distraction to him and their team, but as soon as everyone hits the field Saturday all that talk is going to be gone. It’s just going to be line up, play football, and have some fun.”
On Mettenberger and the LSU offense…
“Zach has gotten better and better every year. I think he feels very comfortable with their offense, their new scheme, their new coordinator. They look great as a whole offense. They’re really able to stay balanced. They’re very similar to us offensively in that they’re able to pound, pound, pound, get up there, throw the ball, move it through the air with some great receivers as well, so it’s going to be a huge challenge for us defensively. Zach is a big kid and can make all the throws, sideline to sideline, with a very big arm. He looked good when I was watching him the other day.”
On playing three top-10 teams in the first part of the season…
“It’s got to be some type of record to start off with three top ten teams in the first four games, but it’s been fun to play this type of game, in these atmospheres, against these teams. Everyone’s like ‘that must stink,’ but I think it’s fun. I think everyone on this team thinks it’s fun. It’s fun preparing for these big types of games, it’s fun playing in them, and it adds a lot more excitement to the week. I definitely think as a whole team we have grown over these past three weeks.”
Justin Scott-Wesley, photo by Sonny Kennedy, http://www.sonnykennedyphotography.com/
Wide Receiver Justin Scott-Wesley
On teammate Reggie Davis’ record-setting touchdown catch…
“I am happy for Reggie. His first catch was a 98-yard bomb, school record, so that’s a heck of a first catch.”
On LSU’s defensive backs…
“They like to go press-man a lot so that’s going to be a challenge. They’re basically going to line up in our face and dare us to beat them. We’ve just got to be up for that challenge, and I feel like we have a group of guys who are going to step up to the plate.”
Defense on Thursday
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http://www.sonnykennedyphotography.com/