Field Street Forum

ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart, along with several student-athletes, previewed the upcoming game against South Carolina with media on Monday. They offered the following comments.

Head Coach Kirby Smart

Opening statement

“”We’re turning the page to an SEC opponent at our stadium, 3:30 CBS game. Seems like most of the years, Georgia opens with South Carolina. And this game hasn’t always been that since I’ve been here, but it’s always been early in the schedule, as it is this year. I have a lot of respect for Shane and his staff, the staff he’s assembled. They do a tremendous job with their players. They play really hard — got a lot of respect for those guys. I know they tend to have players from our state and we tend to have players from their state. As always, a really important game when it comes to playing a school that’s this close geographically to you. I know both teams will be up for the game. It should be a great atmosphere, and I hope our fans can give us a home-field advantage for this game.”

On Kendall Milton’s pass protection…

“He had two really key pickups in the game. He did an unbelievable job. The key to doing it is experience. When he got here, he wasn’t the same player he was at picking it up now. He’s probably our most experienced. Him and Daijun both have a lot of reps of — you know, Dell does a good job of bringing those guys along in terms of freshman year, sophomore year, junior year. They get to pick up a lot of stunts and blitzes from us. There’s probably not a look they haven’t seen. But seeing it and knowing who to get is one thing. And then physically being able to do it is another. And he had — I know two key pickups. One of them wasn’t even his but he picked it up and did a nice job. He helped us out a lot in that regard.”

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