Georgia Football: Tuesday Press Conference
By Danny Bishop
Mark Richt, Photo by Danny Bishop
Georgia head coach Mark Richt and a delegation of players met with the media Tuesday during the Bulldogs’ weekly press luncheon. They offered the following comments:
Coach Mark Richt
Opening Statement…
“It’s Tennessee week. That’s a big game. Going to Knoxville is never easy. Coaching in this league for 13 years now, I’ve been there a few times and have probably run every gamut of emotion from elation to getting your tail kicked. We know it’s going to be a great atmosphere and there will be over 100,000 people screaming for the Vols. We know we have our work cut out not only to handle the noise and handle the communication aspect of it and the emotional aspect of it, but also we are playing a good football team. Coach (Butch) Jones has them going.”
On maintaining focus after last week’s win over LSU…
“You don’t ever want to let down, but we’re playing Tennessee so I don’t foresee a letdown. If we were playing somebody else, you might start talking that way, but not when you play Tennessee.”
On Tennessee wearing new uniforms this week…
“We’ve had it where when you win, (the new uniforms) are a great idea and when you lose, it’s a bad idea. When you win, everyone loves them and wants you to do it again. When you lose, they want to burn them. You can’t even give them away. That goes for helmets, too. When we first did it that night when we played Auburn (in 2007), it was electric. Of course, we sprang it on the team. They didn’t know. Our seniors knew, but no one else knew. There was that element of surprise, and there was a lot of steam in that locker room. Literally. I didn’t even say anything. If I said something, I would have messed it up. I do remember that year.”
On Tennessee head coach Butch Jones…
“He’s a tough, hard-nosed human being and a tough, hard-nosed coach. He’s very good at what he does. You don’t get to Tennessee without having some success along the way. Everywhere he’s been, he’s done a super job. I’ve been very impressed with what he’s been doing. When I first came to Georgia, I’m looking for a way to have our players buy in and have our fans buy in. You do everything you possibly can, and the best way to get people to buy in is to get a great signature victory against a top-10 or a ranked team. That’s what they’re banging away for right now.”
On former Georgia and current Tennessee assistants Willie Martinez and John Jancek…
“They’re both great guys and great coaches. I’m happy for their success and there ability to be at a place like Tennessee. It’s a great job, and they’re doing a great job.”
On head basketball coach Mark Fox wearing body paint and sitting in the student section during the LSU game…
“He told me he was thinking about doing it, and I told him that’s awesome but I hope he doesn’t expect me to do something like that. I’d have to start P90X right now and shave my body.”
On the team’s emotional level at this point in the season…
“I think our adrenaline is pumping right now. Certainly during the game you get a huge surge of it, but I think there’s still a little residue that stays without you throughout the week. Right now, I’m excited about how things have gone, especially as of late, and with what I’m seeing in this team. I’ve said it all along – they’re a great bunch of guys. They’re very, very coachable, and they’re very teachable. They try extremely hard to do it the Georgia way, and to do it the way that coaches ask them to do it. If you can have that kind of an atmosphere and culture on your team, and then you win, it’s exciting. We just have to keep it rolling.”
Offense On Wednesday, Defense On Thursday
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http://www.sonnykennedyphotography.com/