Oct. 14, 2008
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ATHENS, Ga. — Georgia head coach Mark Richt and several football players met with the media Tuesday to discuss this week’s matchup with No. 22 Vanderbilt. They offered the following comments:
Head Coach Mark Richt
Opening statement…
“It’s another exciting week. We are getting ready to play Vanderbilt. Vanderbilt is 5-1 just as we are. They are leading the SEC East right now. I think it’s the first time ever both of us have been ranked in the top 25. As far as homecoming games there aren’t many times where you are going against a ranked opponent. It’s a great tribute to coach (Bobby) Johnson. He has his team playing well. I think the one thing about Vanderbilt that you can say is they are extremely well coached and extremely well organized. They don’t beat themselves very often. They did last week for the first time.
“How can a team that is near the bottom of the league statistically be leading their division? They are No. 2 in turnover ratio. They are high in punting. They have the No. 1 punt return man in the league. They are No. 2 in red zone offense and red zone defense and No. 1 in sacks. They are not beating themselves with penalties and turnovers, and they are winning the field position battle because their punt and punt return teams are outstanding. When they get in the red zone they are scoring. There have been a lot of key sacks at the right time for them. They have done all those things extremely well, and that is why they are sitting where they are.
“Last week against Mississippi State they turned it over twice in the second half, which has been very uncharacteristic of them. It ended up getting them beat. That was the first game they didn’t tie or win the turnover ratio. If they had won the turnover ratio or at least broken even, they would be 6-0 right now and ranked as high as 11th or 12th in the country. That has been the thing that has defined their season to this point. Sometimes you will watch a team and you will just see that they believe. Vanderbilt believes. They have a spirit about them that not all teams have. I guess it is that chemistry people talk about. Those are the things people can’t define on paper, but they come out in wins and losses. I do have a high regard for what they are doing.
“There are 21 players on Vanderbilt from Georgia. That is tied for first with the state of Tennessee. A great majority of their players come from Tennessee and Georgia. There are a lot of kids who played together in high school and are playing against each other this week.
“They have played two quarterbacks. Chris Nickson started the season well. He got banged up a little bit, and Mackenzi Adams came in and won a game for them against Auburn and did a beautiful job. I guess they are going to start Mackenzi, but I’m sure we will see Chris in the game too.
“They are an outstanding team. We are excited. The head-to-head battles are the ones that count the most when it comes to deciding who is going to play for the Eastern Division championship. It’s one we absolutely need to win if we are going to keep pace. It should be exciting. It is homecoming and I know it is a special time for Georgia and the Georgia people to comeback and relive some old memories. I am looking forward to seeing how the fans enjoy this weekend. Hopefully we can give them a victory.”
On Vanderbilt’s blitzes…
“When they blitz it’s not an all-out offense. It’s usually one guy they will add to a four-man rush and still play cover two and man coverage behind. They are very diverse in their coverages behind their blitzing schemes. There is almost always one or two safeties behind their blitzes. They are good at it. They play a lot of three-deep type things especially on first and ten. Every once in a while they will blitz the sixth man.”
On Knowshon Moreno…
“Knowshon has done very well. He is going to make great runs every game. He is going to make people miss and break tackles. The question is where does he start making people miss and breaking tackles. I’ve seen him make some great three-yard runs. I’ve seen him behind the line of scrimmage have to dodge a guy and spin to get four yards. Other times, the line gets him through that initial group, and he starts making people miss five or six yards down the field. He has run ever bit as good as he has ever run. It’s just a matter of getting him to that certain point where he can get to that certain point where he has space. The line is maturing right now. They are growing up even though we have been banged up. Everyone in this league knows you better stop the run first regardless who us running. I don’t think you can do anymore than what people have already done for years and that is get a safety or a cornerback involved in stopping the run.”
On Clint Boling…
“Clint is very quiet. I guess you could call him one of those lunch pail guys who shows up to work everyday and works his tail off. He understands what coach is trying to teach and has a burning desire to do it the way Coach Searels teaches him. He is very athletic for a big man. He was a tight end and grew into a lineman. I don’t know if he feels like left tackle is his best place to be, but he is up to the challenge and he knows we need him. He is truly going to put the team first because he is truly a neat kid.”
On Richard Samuel…
“I’d like to get him the ball more than we have, and I probably need to help our coaches make a point of that. He deserves more carries, but any time you give him one you are taking one away from Knowson or Caleb (King). He runs pretty good too. We probably should give him a few more totes than we have. We’ve been working him more as a kick return man. We feel like he is going to do well. We do need to see more of him, I think.”
On surprises and disappointments midway through the season…
“I’m surprised we are starting three freshman linemen and two sophomores up front. Not many surprises really. The penalties is the most disappointing thing to me at this point. We just need to get to the point where we don’t beat ourselves. I think I’m disappointed in the fact that we haven’t gotten more turnovers than we have at this point. We need to get better at gaining turnovers and we need to keep from helping the other team with some of these penalties.”
Senior split end, #1 Mohamed Massaquoi
On Vanderbilt…
“They play as a team, and they play as a unit. They believe in their coaching staff, and they believe in themselves. They make sure they don’t beat themselves. They are very smart group, and they play hard.”
On Vanderbilt’s development over the past couple of seasons…
“They have continued to make strides. They have continued to make sure they are getting better and that they are getting better recruits. They are believing in themselves and establishing a winning tradition over there.”
Senior fullback, #36 Brannan Southerland
On returning to full playing duties and seeing some plays at tight end against Tennessee…
“It was great to be back out there with the guys and to get a victory over Tennessee. As far as getting some reps at tight end, I enjoyed it and it was fun. It’s something that the team needs right now because of lack of depth and injury at that position. Anything that I can do to help the team, I’m going to do.”
On Vanderbilt…
“They like to blitz a lot, and they play hard. They find ways to win. We are studying them now to see if we can find out more about their players. We do know as far as their defensive scheme goes that they will bring some players and try to get us rattled.”
Junior quarterback, #7 Matthew Stafford
On how he would rate his season thus far…
“I think I’m doing well. Obviously, I think there is always room for improvement. As far as managing the game, getting our team in the right plays and keeping us out really tough situations, I think I’ve been doing a good job.”
On where he can improve…
“Everything really. With every little thing you can think of there’s always a way you can be better at it. I can’t put my finger on one thing that I really need to focus on. I think I need to focus on the total game. ”
On the versatility of the offensive linemen to play multiple positions…
“It’s a testament to those guys. They work really hard, and we do have some great athletes up front. Justin Anderson has played guard and tackle since he’s been here. Chris Davis had played center and guard. Clint (Boling) has played guard and tackle. I think everybody has played at least two positions since they’ve been here and it’s helping us out.”
Redshirt sophomore tailback, #24 Knowshon Moreno
On assessing the team’s performance to this point in the season…
“I feel like everyone is getting better. That’s what the weeks ahead of us are for – to just get better each and every week. I feel like the guys are doing that. I know we’ve had a couple changes up front, but at the same time, I think the guys are doing a good job of adjusting to that.”
Redshirt Sophomore Reshad Jones, #9, FS
On needing to create more turnovers, especially interceptions…
“I think we do; to make a difference in the game we need to take advantage of the balls in the air and the turnover ratio. There have been a couple of chances but not too many. We need to take advantage of every turnover we can get to and make a difference in the ball game.”
Redshirt Sophomore Darryl Gamble, #50, WLB
On containing the Vanderbilt offense…
“We have to stop them from running first and getting them in passing situations. We have to try to contain them first. We know they are going try designed quarterback runs and we just have to try to prevent them from running those plays by stopping them the first few times.”
On his overall thoughts of Vanderbilt…
“They are very similar to last year. It was a very close game. I believe this game will be pretty close, too. They are very athletic at a lot of key positions They are going to spread you around and then they have the option of running the quarterback so that adds another dimension to their outfit.”
On the overall progress of the team halfway through the season…
“We might be a little behind where we need to be because of all the stuff that’s holding us back, like penalties and injuries. We are close to where we need to be, but not right there at the moment.”
Junior Asher Allen, #2, SC
On needing to create more turnovers, especially interceptions…
“I think we’ve had a lot of opportunities this year to get picks. We’ve had a lot of opportunities; everybody in the secondary probably has had a chance to catch a ball. I think we are getting better every game and as a defense we are starting to get pressure. Anytime I get a chance I am going to try my best to make a play.”
On the loss to Vanderbilt in Athens two years ago…
“I think it was disappointing to lose a game first and foremost. Everyone across the SEC has the utmost respect for Vanderbilt, even two years ago. They are a high character team and obviously they got the talent. The quarterback has put them in great position. They are able to make plays both running and throwing the ball. It is going to be a challenge.”