Just Inn: Kirby Smart, players discuss Georgia Tech, earning spot in SEC cha….Read More

November 26, 2024 admin Uncategorized 0

Kirby Smart, players discuss Georgia Tech, earning spot in SEC championship
Georgia football coach Kirby Smart criticizes UGA's tackling

Friday night football is returning to Sanford Stadium.

When Georgia and Georgia Tech take the gridiron on Friday at 7:30 p.m., it will mark the first time since the 1994 season that college football will be played on a non-Saturday in Athens.

Ahead of the matchup, Kirby Smart, Smael Mondon Jr. and Dylan Fairchild discussed the storied rivalry, familiarity within the two coaching staffs and why the Bulldogs are not focused on their SEC championship bid.

Clean, Old-Fashioned, Hate

Clean, Old-Fashioned, Hate

Georgia Tech head coach Brent Key did not hide his dislike for the Bulldogs when asked over the summer about the rivalry. The former Yellow Jacket letterwinner said that there’s nothing he “hates more in the world” than Georgia football.

“It’s probably the only thing I hate,” Key said to Sports Illustrated. “When I say hate, like, truly despise everything about it. I really do.”

Smart, who is also an alumnus of the program he now coaches, called the game “a huge matchup” but said he keeps his emotions out of it.

“I think you’re a lot better coach when you stay composed and you coach the players, and you teach your players what it’s going to take to win the game,” Smart said. “Which it will be an emotional game, but I don’t get emotional about it.”

For Mondon, playing against Georgia Tech means facing athletes he competed against in high school, as well as former teammate E.J. Lightsey. Mondon said that he is still close with the former Bulldog and is “real happy to see him getting a chance to play.”

Familiar faces in new places

There is crossover between the Bulldogs and Yellow Jackets. Georgia Tech offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner was on Smart’s staff as an offensive analyst for both of Georgia’s national championships.

Smart called Faulkner “loyal” and said that he never overstepped his boundary during his time as an assistant.

“When you’re in that role sometimes as an analyst, which he was here, you have to be careful because you’re trying to assert yourself and prove that you’re a good coach, but you don’t want to overstep the other coaches,” Smart said. “His rules while he was here was to coach the coaches and help us, and he did a tremendous job of that and made me a better coach.”

Faulkner leads a Georgia Tech offense that has seen success with both Haynes King and freshman Aaron Philo behind center. Philo, who played high school football down the road at Prince Avenue Christian School, is Georgia high school’s all-time leader in passing yards.

However, should he be healthy enough to play, it is King’s mobility that will likely give Georgia’s defense trouble, as the unit struggled against the run — including surrendering 226 yards rushing to UMass — this season.

“Regardless of the quarterback, the importance is to strike, play physical, understand what you’re getting yourself into in terms of what kind of game this is going to be,” Smart said.

The Bulldogs pulled Josh Crawford from Georgia Tech’s staff prior to the season to coach their running backs. Although Crawford led the Yellow Jackets’ wide receivers, Smart said he “does a good job demanding excellence” from the Bulldogs’ tailbacks.

“I don’t know many people that have had to go out and play with three true freshmen in a critical, pivotal game, which really happened against Tennessee,” Smart said. “And those kids didn’t flinch. He didn’t flinch.”

Only focused on Georgia Tech

While the rest of college football watched Auburn and Texas A&M play four overtimes on Saturday night, the Bulldogs were sleeping. Mondon said that he did not realize Georgia earned a spot in the SEC championship game until he woke up and checked his phone in the middle of the night.

“I knew it was a possibility,” Mondon said. “I just didn’t think it was going to happen.”

Fairchild, who also found out once he woke up, said that the Bulldogs are focused on what is in front of them, which is Friday night’s game against Georgia Tech.

“You can’t eat an elephant all at once. You’ve gotta eat it one bite at a time,” Fairchild said. “You can’t focus on that. You’ve just got to focus on what’s important, what’s in front of us.”

Smart kept his response simple and to the point when asked his thoughts about playing for another conference title.

“My thoughts are on Georgia Tech,” Smart said.

Doing it for each other

The Bulldogs are 11 games into what many consider to be the hardest schedule in college football. Georgia played five teams in the AP Top 25 with only one of the matchups occurring at Sanford Stadium.

The Bulldogs are battling their physical and mental ailments by taking care of themselves and taking advantage of their opportunities. In order to stay motivated, the team is playing for one another.

“Knowing that you really do it for each other,” Fairchild said. “For every single player, all 11 guys that are on the field, you never know when your last snap is going to be. Knowing that you can do what you can for your brothers is the motivation.”

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