Kirby Smart on Georgia Tech: ‘I know the brand of football they play’

ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart didn’t have a ton to say about Charlotte.

The Bulldogs cruised to a 35-3 win over the visiting 49ers. After the game, attention quickly turned to Georgia Tech.

Georgia will face the rival Yellow Jackets on Friday in Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Last year’s game against Georgia Tech went to eight overtimes before Georgia finally pulled out a win.

It was a hard-fought game. Smart expects more of the same next week.

“I know the brand of football they play and they’re physical and they’re tough and they’ve got an elite quarterback,” Smart said.

Georgia Tech was not the only topic of discussion for Smart on Saturday.

Below is a full transcript of his remarks.

Kirby Smart shares his first thoughts on Georgia Tech: ‘I know the brand of football they play’

Opening statement

“I’m really proud of these seniors. I think they finished up with a 25-1 home record. That’s remarkable, considering the league they played in, the teams they played against. Proud of them. Proud that our guys got to come out and play a lot of players and play well early. Got to continue to grow, get more guys playing winning football, get guys healthy, and get ready for a big game next week. So, with that, I’ll open it up.”

On Bo Walker’s performance...

“Great, man. He’s been working his tail off every week. He’s starting on two special teams units. He never complains. He’s got a smile on his face every day. Just love the way he competes and works. He’s still got to grow and get better at some things, but he catches the ball out of the backfield well, he blocks well, and he’s got good vision. So, I thought they opened some things up, and he made some people miss.”

On if what Bo had to overcome makes this day any sweeter for him...

“Yeah, I mean, he got to play his senior year. That was the positive. I mean, he was staring down the possibility of not playing. So, I think he got blessed to play at a really good place for a really good program (Rabun Gap-Nacoochee School). Then he came here. He’s grown, and he’s competed. I wouldn’t say he’s waited his turn. He’s been battling to get an opportunity, and he took advantage of it.”

On what he saw from Ryan Puglisi...

“You know, I think Ryan did some good things. He had some plays that didn’t help him. He had a couple drops, and he continues to get better. I get a better view of Ryan every day at practice when he goes out and works and goes against our defensive group than sometimes you get in the game. But I was pleased with what he did today.”

On what he made of his team’s fast start…

“Yeah, the team (Charlotte) was probably overmatched, to be honest with you.”

On how he’d rate Gunner Stockton’s performance...

“I thought Gunner did a good job. I thought the first drive, we didn’t have a good rhythm, and that was a little disappointing. But then after that, we had good rhythm. We were able to run the ball, did some good things.”

On if Gunner was OK since reporters didn’t get to talk to him...

“They didn’t give me his name. We’re not hiding him.”

On the reasons why Earnest Greene and Drew Bobo didn’t play...

“Yeah, both those guys. Drew’s still dealing with a laceration in his hand that’s creating some problems for us that we’re trying to get him healthy from. Earnest should be back.”

On the job Malachi Toliver did replacing Bobo...

“Malachi and Cortez (Smith) did a good job.”

On Elijah Griffin’s biggest area of growth...

“Yeah, Elijah’s growing up, playing faster. I think confidence. I think he would tell you there was some anxiety there early in games, and he’s grown out of that. He’s getting more and more confident, and we need him to continue to grow and to get better and play like he’s capable of. He’s capable of being a dominant player. We need him to get better and grow up fast.”

On if some of that was the pressure put on a 5-star recruit...

“I don’t think so. I think it was just every freshman. Whether you’re highly-rated and thought of or not, you come in with anxiety. I haven’t been around a lot of kids that don’t have the anxiety. It’s not a matter of what your status is or what your ranking is. It’s just getting accustomed to the speed of the game.”

On Ryan Puglisi’s confidence growing...

“Yeah, he gets better. He gets reps. So does Ryan Montgomery. They both are growing and getting better. They get coached every day just like Gunner does. So that growth comes through reps and challenging them mentally.”

On CJ Wiley and Thomas Blackshear’s progress...

“Yeah, they get to grow up in practice, too. I get to see them. They get better every day in practice, and I love watching them practice. They actually do more in practice than they did in the game today. I think they’re still getting accustomed to playing in games, getting comfortable, getting over the jitters and being able to loosen up. It was good to get them rolling today.”

On Ellis Robinson’s progress down the back stretch of his redshirt freshman year...

“Yeah, he gets better. He understands things better. He talks and asks really smart questions now. He’s growing. That play in particular, he was beat, and they were throwing the ball to the other guy. So that’s one of those deals that you benefit from somebody else’s mistake and the rush that we had. But the quarterback was throwing the ball to the other player and he was beaten. His guy was behind him, and he was able to go up and make a good play.”

On Colbie Young being in a walking boot and if that’s an encouraging sign...

“Yeah, it’s very encouraging that he’s not on a scooter and he’s not on crutches. He’s improving.”

On balancing pulling a guy versus leaving him in like the two-minute drill at the end of the game...

“Yeah, the end of the game is not a two-minute drill.”

The reporter corrects and says end of the first half...

“OK, that’s not the end of the game. The balance in pulling people, we talk about it before the game and we go through every position, every player, and we try to talk about if we have an opportunity. And then sometimes it doesn’t provide itself the opportunity to get guys in and get guys out. So we try to do the best job we can.”

On if the experience of playing on Black Friday last year help given a shorter turnaround again...

“Yeah, it’s the same amount of time they have, we have. So I don’t know that it’s an advantage. The advantage, I guess you’re asking about, is you did it before, so repeating the process. But it’s a little different this time for us in terms of timing and everything because we’ve got to go on the road this time.”

On what he’s seen from Georgia Tech...

“I really haven’t had an opportunity to watch a lot of Georgia Tech. I mean, I’ve seen them on TV and I know the brand of football they play and they’re physical and they’re tough and they’ve got an elite quarterback.”

On what the Georgia Tech rivalry means...

“Well, for us it’s the next game on the schedule. If we want to continue to grow and get better then we’ve got to play well against them. They’ve got a really good football team. They’ve got a really physical football team. So it’s the next one up.”

On the Gunner Stockton interception...

“I don’t know. I gotta watch it. They were in a double buzzed safety look and (we) try to squeeze it in vertical in the seam and the guy makes a nice play.”

On seeing players celebrate with freshmen at the end of the game...

“Yeah, it’s great to see those guys get out there and play. I mean, so many of them practice all year and they don’t get an opportunity to play so getting an opportunity to play is really big.”

On this senior class...

“It’s such a mixed bag. I can’t figure out who the seniors are because you’ve got redshirt juniors out there. I mean, it’s just all over the place. I look at the seniors as the guys who are out of eligibility, who cannot play anymore. Those are the ones that I think about in the senior class. The Micah (Morris), the Colbie (Young), the Noah (Thomas), the guy Dillon Bell, the guys who played their hearts out, you know, Oscar Delp. I mean, there’s just so many, Daylen Everette and so many guys that have done that and given so much to this university that I’m happy for them.”

On Talyn Taylor...

“He’s making good progress. He’s been through this before and he’s progressing well.”

On injured guys staying engaged...