“The second-team QB has got to stay ready because they never know when their opportunity will happen. He’s been practicing well for a long time, but he hasn’t had a lot of opportunities. For him to get playing time and to play well was good to see. … He’s a sharp kid, and he knows our system. We have a lot of faith in his abilities.”
— Georgia coach Mark Richt on Bulldogs backup quarterback Hutson Mason
“Our honorary captain did a good job. He spoke to the boys right before the Dawg Walk. I wish I could use him every week. He scared me. I would play hard, too.”
– Richt on the pregame speech given by former Bulldog and professional wrestler Bill Goldberg
“I didn’t really feel nervous. More excited. I think that it’s good to get out there in a game like this. I think this is good because it helps me get out my first-game jitters. … Every time I get to go out on the field and play I get excited. Every time I get to step on the field is a blessing.”
– Mason, on relieving injured starter Aaron Murray
“This was our best game (as a defense). We made a few mistakes, but we’ll correct them. We’re getting better every game. And this is a young defense. I’m excited to watch them next season. I see it on the film, and I see it on the field. They’re going to be special next season.”
– Georgia senior defensive end Garrison Smith
“I don’t think having them would have made much of a difference. I would hope we would have been more competitive and had some different packages. It hurt a little bit, but we were beaten from start to finish.”
– Kentucky coach Mark Stoops on missing much of his starting secondary to suspension and injury
“No one likes to go through nights like this. We have been competitive, and we have fought our way through games, but tonight is a game that I am not real proud of.”
– Stoops
“That’s like one of the worst feelings, your last home game and be injured like that. We just hope everything’s going to be all right. He’ll be all right. He’s a strong person.”
— Georgia tailback Todd Gurley on losing Aaron Murray
“The only difference is Hutson tends to run the plays a little faster. Sometimes we’ll be like, ‘Slow down, slow down, we need to catch our breath for a second!’ But for the most part they’re pretty similar quarterbacks.”
— Georgia guard Chris Burnette comparing Mason to Murray
“You know, it’s unfortunate, but that’s the way a lot of these weeks have gone for us. It was unfortunate that now it happened to Aaron. We’re praying that it’s not as bad as it looks and he can come back. If not, we don’t expect any drop off with Hutson. We’ve been taking reps with him all year.”
— Junior wide receiver Chris Conley on the injury trend of the season
“You never want to see that. He’s our quarterback, he’s our leader and one of my best friends. Obviously that’s a discouraging sight. But whatever his injury may be he’ll bounce back, because that’s who he is. He’s so resilient and handles everything so well. I have no doubt in my mind he’ll come back stronger from this.”
— Tight end Arthur Lynch on seeing Murray being carried off the field
“This seems like the worst one of all. The turnovers we had, just the dumb things we were doing. I couldn’t tell you why this was the worst, but it didn’t feel good at all.”
— Kentucky quarterback Maxwell Smith on whether it was worst loss of the season
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