UGA Football: Coach Smart, Bulldogs Prepare for Buccaneers

ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart, along with a pair of players previewed Saturday’s home matchup against Charleston Southern. The Bulldogs and the Buccaneers kick off at 12 p.m. ET in Athens, Ga.

On Wednesday, Coach Smart, Xavier Truss and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint offered the following comments.

Head Coach Kirby Smart
On how many seniors will be out there on Saturday…
“We’re going to have somewhere between 28 and 30, it’s gotten narrowed down to about that point in terms of guys who decided if they are going to walk or not. Yes, Stetson (Bennett) will be one of them. I think out of them there are about 16-17 that have remaining eligibility and are considering that eligibility. It wouldn’t be the first year of doing it had we not had the cancelation last year. Last year, we had it all set up for Devonte (Wyatt) and (Justin) Shaffer. A lot of those guys were walking last year, they came back and played and have been a major part of our success.”

On Stetson Bennett being a Burlsworth Trophy finalist…
“We’re all super proud for Stetson, what a great honor. I don’t know that people give that award the proper recognition. It’s probably one of the coolest and greatest awards to me, because it means I went here to school without a scholarship. I went to do something special and walk-on because they do it for free. Most of them by the time they get that award, they’re on scholarship, they’ve proved everybody wrong. It’s a special award to me because the back story for me is when I was with the Colts during the 1999 preseason, and (Brandon) Burlsworth was there. He was a crafted player, and we were with the Colts at the same time, then the tragic accident happened. I was quick to explain the back story behind the award to Stetson (Bennett), what it means and what he was like. I think Stetson feels honored to be one of the finalists for that.”

On takeaways from the Tennessee game…
“Experience. We played more man-to-man in that game than we had because we had to. It’s really complicated, I could spend 30 minutes watching tape with you, but there’s certain ways you have to play Tennessee’s offense and it forced us to play man-to-man more. That gave our guys some confidence. Getting beat in man doesn’t necessarily steer your confidence because there might have been 20 other snaps that you played properly. One time you get beat, sometimes it can be an explosive and a couple of those were explosives. We have to do a better job of no yards after contact and just tackles and playing the deep ball in the deep part of the field. It also makes it tough for them to get first downs if they don’t get completions and we were able to get some three and outs because of the way we played.”

On Mel Tucker leading some of the breakthrough for Georgia football…
“Mel was tremendous for our program; he was tremendous for me. Probably a bigger asset for me personally as a young first-time head coach. He was a great asset to the players, to the guys he played for, he’s a really good teacher. Probably not as emotional as I was early on, and it helped keep things at a level head. He’s got so much experience, so the fact he was part of our staff was a tremendous asset for me, for the players. I know if you ask Eric Stokes, he meant so much in Eric Stokes’ life because he helped recruit him, he helped teach him a position and develop him. Stokes didn’t finish under him, but he grew up under Mel’s tutelage, and it meant a lot to Stokes and his development. There’s countless times he helped with kids on the team, personality wise, he can handle any kid and so many kids just respect Mel’s maturity.”

Offensive lines development…
“It’s a production business that’s one of the first things you evaluate. The production is sometimes tied to competition level, who are you playing against? What are their strengths? Are they a pass rush team or a run stop team? And what are we trying to do. Our guys have played really hard, and we’ve gotten a little bit of continuity up until the last week. Then the flu bug hit Warren Ericson and Jamaree (Salyer) is a little banged up. Every team we play when we go through their starting lineup, they have multiple offensive line startups because it’s an injury prone position. You’re in the midst of a lot of ankles, and knees contact is on every play. Very few people survive the SEC without losing an offensive lineman for one or two games. I have been very pleased with how guys have played. I think we have to get better to get where we want to go because the level of competition goes up from here, so we need to play better. That’s what we’re working on every week so we can be explosive.”

#73 Xavier Truss | RS So. | OL
On individual game improvement… 
“I kind of credit that to everybody else on the whole line helping me out. They make sure I’m on top of my stuff. If it wasn’t for them; they helped build my confidence and make sure I’m ready to play. Obviously when my name is called, I’ve got to be ready.”

On the move from tackle to guard… 
“The transition to guard, it took some getting used to at first, I’ve got to be ready to play wherever I’m needed to play and I don’t think height is an excuse. Last year, we had Ben (Cleveland) who’s about my height and there was no excuse. Ben didn’t have an excuse so I can’t, I’ve got to just get in and play. If they need me at center, I would learn how to play to center.”

On the recruiting process in Rhode Island and how he got discovered… 
“I’m from a small-town, West Warwick, R.I. I went to a school called Bishop Hendricken High School. It was an all-boys, private high school. I didn’t really start getting recruited until my junior year. I was always a track guy, I threw track. I thought that’s what I was going to go to college for, throwing track. My sophomore year we had a senior by the name of Kwity Paye who committed to Michigan for defensive end. He just went first round in this past draft. I think all the college coaches coming to see him, coming to visit him and his motivation for me to see a big kid who had so much potential and him pushing me, helped mold my game. It helped me become a recruitable player. So, when all these coaches were coming to visit him, they stopped and said, ‘who’s this kid?’ And that’s when I started building relationships with college coaches, going on visits, and getting recruited.”

#81 Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint | So. | WR
On the status of George Pickens…
“As of right now, he’s getting back into the swing of things. He’s back running routes. He looks pretty fluid. I personally don’t know how far he is from being 100%, but he is definitely on his way.”

On his health throughout the season…
“As of right now, I’m feeling pretty good. I’ve had a couple of tweaks with my hamstring and my other ankle during the Vanderbilt game. Overall, I am pretty much 100%. I just have to get back into it. I feel like the offseason will give me a chance to really work and get back to my usual self.”

On the offense reaching a new level…
“I feel like, as more guys come back and get healthy, we will have more opportunities to make plays and just be more explosive. As of right now, I feel like, what we’ve been doing has been good, and we are just going to keep doing what we have been doing for the past 11 games. Keep our game scheme the same, just keep grinding, keep working.”