A collection of answers from Day 3 of SEC Media Days in Atlanta on Wednesday that featured representatives from Georgia, Arkansas, Florida and Kentucky:
“Yeah, hungry. I talked about it earlier. There’s a hunger among this group. A lot of guys want to prove that they can replace the other guy. They don’t want to be the other guy, they want to be the next guy. You look across the board, we had some high-profile players on defense and offense when you count the backs and receivers that we have to replace those guys. The hunger comes from the opportunity the talented players behind them have.”
-Georgia coach Kirby Smart on team identity headed into the fall
“You’re not going to hide behind your quarterback and win a national championship. You got to go let him play.”
-Smart on quarterback Stetson Bennett
“I can beat a lot of dudes, (Ladd McConkey) got me, Ladd’s good. I might have Dan (Jackson) though. I don’t know we haven’t really raced. It’s usually just fun and games, racing. God, I remember running against Travon (Walker) last year though. That was embarrassing to think of. To be my size, I think I’m pretty quick, running. Looking to my right and seeing 6-foot-6-inches, 270 pounds keeping up with me and I think, ‘Good Lord man, who are you?’ There is a bunch of guys like that on the team, too. The sprints will make conditioning a little easier. We will point and be like, ‘I got you right here, let’s race,’ just to make it a little more competitive and fun.”
- Bennett on racing teammates
“Humility. That is one of the big things that we took last year to move a step forward. Connect with your brother and be humble. Don’t have an ego. That’s another thing here, the past is your ego. We can’t control last year. We can’t do anything on last year. We can only look forward. Be where our feet are at, and that’s now.”
- Georgia linebacker Nolan Smith on staying focused coming off national championship
“We love you, Texas and Oklahoma. Can’t wait for you to come over. We got a great place. I don’t know what to tell ‘em. OU, I was a kid, rooted for the Sooners till I moved over to eastern Oklahoma where I became a Razorback fan. Storied football program. We’re having recruiting battles with them right now, thank the Lord. Before we couldn’t get in the door. But we’re having recruiting battles. We are having recruiting battles with Texas. I’m not telling you we’re whipping them or anything like that. I’m telling you we’re in the conversation. It’s so close, you know?”
-Arkansas coach Sam Pittman on Texas and Oklahoma joining the SEC
“I think we’re all aware if you can win your division, the championship here, you can be a national championship contender. The path, it’s been proven. To go back to what you’re talking about, we’re consumed with Florida right now. We’ve got a lot of grass to mow, right? It’s our grass, not anybody else’s. We’ve got a lot of work to do. When you take over an organization, a team, you quickly get to work on what are the issues, what are the problems, coming up with really good solutions. It’s one day at a time, it’s one person at a time. I think that’s the approach we’re taking.”
-Florida coach Billy Napier on returning progra to past success
“At that point maybe the game was over as far as who was going to win and who was going to lose. However, our players need to continue to fight, they need to compete. We’re into no moral victories, but we’re into getting better. When you’re playing, what, the very best, probably the best defense in the nation last year, you’re competing and you’re moving the football, you’re trying to get better, you’re trying to improve, you’re trying to learn what it’s like to play the very best in the country. That’s what we did in that particular drive. But that was one drive.”
-Kentucky coach Mark Stoops on 22-play, 75-yard drive against Georgia last season
“How do you gain on Georgia? I can’t answer that. I just saw Kirby up there, I could maybe try to whack his knees out or something, knock him out for a minute.”
-Stoops, jokingly, on how to gain on Georgia in the East
More from SEC Media Days
- Photos: National champion Bulldogs take stage at SEC Media Days
- Kirby Smart not ready to slow his roll with Georgia Bulldogs
- Still doubting Stetson Bennett? That’s fine with him
- Nolan Smith focused on providing leadership for Bulldogs
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