The first question posed to Kirby Smart during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference did not come as a surprise.
It was bound to happen sooner or later.
How would Georgia’s offense - specifically quarterback Carson Beck - respond to the noise created by 101,000-plus at Neyland Stadium on Saturday afternoon against Tennessee?
“It’s a tough environment when you go on the road in the SEC, it’s never easy. Neyland presents one of the toughest ones there is in the country in terms of environment and noise,” Smart said. “But we emphasize that every week, we don’t do it week to week. We have to do it for our defense when we’re at home, so we do it the offense when we’re going against the defense.”
It's not like Beck hasn’t enjoyed success on the road.
A strong second half in the Bulldogs 27-20 victory at Auburn served as a springboard to what’s been a memorable season for the first-year starter.
Smart said preparing for road game environments like the Bulldogs will face in Knoxville has been ongoing.
“It's something that’s continuous for us, even in the offseason. That doesn’t mean that it’s easy. It’s hard, and you scheme things differently,” Smart said. “You do a little less of this, a little more of this, you carry a little more of these and little less of those when you’re on the home and road. You have to execute at a high level; there’s more pressure on your run game because you have to be able to run the ball, and the line of scrimmage is important anytime, but it’s really important on the road.”
Saturday’s game against Tennessee will be the last one for Georgia as East Division rivals.
With Oklahoma and Texas coming into the conference next season, the SEC is going to a single-division format instead of the East versus West format.
“It will be unique, a different experience. Sometimes progress is growth and progress, and change is good; I think we’re all comfortable with what we’ve done, but that doesn’t make it the best thing,” Smart said. “So, I trust in the leadership of our conference that has us headed in that direction.”
Smart does believe, however, that the one-division format will provide a better idea of who the top two teams to play in the SEC Championship are.
“I think the give and take is you’re supposed to get the best two teams in the championship. That’s the hope,” Smart said. “I don’t know if that 100 percent always happens, but it’s certainly got a better chance of happening than just doing it by divisions.”
• Smart talked about the improvements made by Smael Mondon during the course of his Bulldog career.
“Probably the most since he got here has been his toughness and his strength,” Smart said. “He’s improved his weight room numbers, and his weight since we signed him. His confidence has improved immensely in terms of learning the defense from the first year, to executing it last year to beating that this year, so he’s improved in a lot of ways.”
Mondon leads Georgia in tackles with 48, including three sacks for losses of 16 yards.
• Brock Bowers on his touchdown against Ole Miss: "The touchdown catch - we've repped that play every single day of every single week for like three years. That was like the first time we have actually run that in a game because of the right coverage to throw the 'Y' the ball,” Bowers said. “It came up, and I motioned out and I saw them and thought, 'Oh man, this might be good.' It felt really good just getting back and scoring, and then being able to celebrate on the sideline with all the dudes. It was fun."
• Zion Logue said he became emotional during last week’s final home game.
"Saturday night was very emotional. I dropped a couple of tears at different times of the day. The first one was during our religious service, then Sed (Van Pran) hit us with it, and then I saw my parents right after the game, and just dapping everybody up. Just embracing all of those guys. Having Nolan (Smith) and Jordan (Davis) back - it was huge,” Logue said. “Just to always see those guys, not even in a football setting, but when you see them when they come back to town and sit down to talk with them and ask how it's going at the next level to pick at their brains a little bit. But my favorite memory - probably just dabbing everybody up that last time, and just enjoying everybody pregame, during it, actually getting the younger guys playing and going out there to dominate. Just having fun, honestly."
• Logue regarding his relationship with Nazir Stackhouse:
"That's my dog, man. Just knowing Naz, knowing who he is, knowing what he's overcome over his time of his recruiting process in high school coming to Georgia,” Logue said. “A lot of people don't know that Naz has narcolepsy, so he's not allowed to drive. It's hard for him to stay active and awake. Just the daily grind that he goes through just to be a dominant player - I love him, and I tip my hat to him."
• Georgia’s offensive line was once again nominated for the Joe Moore Award.
"Well, they should be a three-time Joe Moore winner, so I'm just going to throw that out there. Those guys, they really pride themselves on that,” Logue said. “On being the best offensive line in the country, which I believe. Like I said, they're very competitive, a very tight-knit group. They're going to work their tails off every day. They're going to give you everything they have on Saturdays, and I wouldn't rather have a better group of guys on my side."
• Mondon had this to say about Tennessee’s strong running attack, which features a trio of outstanding backs.
"With three different players that can have an impact, you just got to condition. I feel like, you know. How do you prepare?” Mondon said. “Just making sure you tackle good all practice, striking blocks just playing physical throughout the week in practice, so it carries over to the game."
• Logue was asked to compare freshman linebacker C.J. Allen to Nakobe Dean.
"I don't really want to compare nobody to nobody because then it leaves real high expectations. Yeah, he does remind me of Nakobe, even like how he runs and stuff like that and like how he moves, that kind of reminds me of how Nakobe ran,” Logue said. “But yeah, C.J. is real smart. He takes it real serious, like his preparation.”
• Sophom*ore safety Malaki Starks has been named a 2023 Bronko Nagurski Trophy Finalist, given annually to the nation’s top defensive player by the Football Writers Association of America and the Charlotte Touchdown Club, it was announced Wednesday.
• Bowers has been named one of the four finalists for the Rotary Lombardi Award for the second straight year, according to an announcement from the Rotary Club of Houston and the Rotary Lombardi Award Committee Wednesday.
