UGA Football: Read What Kirby and Players Had to Say About Vandy
ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart, along with a pair of defensive players previewed Saturday’s first SEC road matchup against Vanderbilt. The Bulldogs and the Commodores kick off at noon p.m. ET in Nashville, TN.
On Tuesday, Coach Smart, and seniors Quay Walker and Jordan Davis offered the following comments
Head Coach Kirby Smart
On finding a way to develop young players…
“It’s a continuum… You always play the guy that gives you the best opportunity to win the game. That’s what you do, and every decision we make is based on our opportunity to win the game. We don’t, I don’t know that we look down the road and practice. We say ‘okay, this guy is really talented but he doesn’t know our system offense or defense or special teams, but he’s talented, so we might put him in a position to get reps and be a two and grow.’ And then ‘hey, we’re up in this game let’s get him in there and let’s get him some experience.’But we never put him in there before another guy gives a better chance to win, because one play can decide a game. You know the left tackle boxed the wrong guy and the quarterback is hit from the blindside and I would never, I would never put somebody in there before they were the best guy to play the game I guess I don’t know if I’m answering your question”
On Darnell Washington and Tykee Smith…
“They both were running and doing cardio yesterday. They did a good job and ran today. They did not do their position work, meaning they didn’t go and take reps. But that was just walking off the field and they both ran really good today, they both hit at really good speeds. I talked to both of them walking off the field, they felt really good about where they were and they felt really comfortable. They’re not in cleats yet, you know cleats aren’t the best thing to run in for that foot injury. But they are in the rubber turf shoes, and they’re running really well. They’ve built up their volume so we’ll increase that tomorrow and see where they are. They’re in a much, much better place, and I’m really pleased. I saw them running with black shirts on today and I thought, ‘who is that guy that looks fast?’ But it was Tykee and Darnell.”
