Oct. 13, 2008
Video, audio and quotes from Coach Johnson’s Monday Press Conference
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T.J. Greenstone
R-Fr., Defensive Tackle
Lawrenceville, Ga./Collins Hill H.S.
On being from Georgia:
“I played high school at Collins Hill about 45 minutes away from Athens. I’m a Georgia boy, I guess you could say. I grew up north, but I know a lot about Georgia. I played with and against a lot of the (Georgia) guys. I know their right guard, Clint Boling – I trained with him before I came up here – and Rennie Curran, linebacker, he’s my year and a solid player. So I know a lot about their team, and it’s just exciting to get to go home and be back at home with a lot of family watching.”
Does this game carry any extra weight for you?
“Yeah, I have my teachers back home, and everyone who graduated with me in Georgia. It’s a big game. Personally, it means a lot for us to get a win, go out there and play hard. It adds a little incentive.”
What do you know about the Georgia teams and the players?
“They’re a great team with good coaches. They play good ball. They don’t make mistakes. They have a lot of playmakers between (tailback) Knowshon Moreno and (quarterback) Matthew Stafford, a good solid offensive line. They have the ability to just make plays. They were ranked preseason No. 1, and they’re that kind of team. So, we definitely have to bring our A game, and I think we will.”
Do you agree with Coach Bobby Johnson’s assessment that the reason Moreno is so good is because Stafford has other weapons too?
“I haven’t had a chance to look at them yet. I’m looking at film today, but I would agree that you have to focus on all of them. You can’t just concentrate on the run game. Our goal is to shut down the run first, and then we’ll play the pass from there.”
Bradley Vierling
R-Jr., center, co-captain
Warminster, Pa./Central Bucks East H.S.
On (quarterback) Mackenzi Adams:
“He always has a great attitude, especially during the games. He’s always fired up. Chris Nickson and Mackenzi are different people, and there is a little difference in their play. We’ll see how it goes. Mackenzi always has a very great attitude during the game.”
Does the team still have to keep an even keel now that it’s lost a game?
“I think we’re even higher than we’ve been to be honest with you, because I think this loss is going to help our team more so than anything. I think it would’ve been great to be 6-0. It would’ve been great to be 4-0 in the SEC, but that didn’t happen. So how are we going to respond…we have a loss, we’re 5-1 right now. We’re on the verge of being bowl eligible for the first time in over 20 years. I think that is a huge positive for us, and that’s what we’re focusing on right now. We’re focusing on Georgia. As soon as the (Mississippi State) game was over, that’s what we started talking about.
“We played bad. We realize it, but there’s nothing we can do about it now. The last whistle blew. The game’s over. Look to next week – what can we do? We can practice better, and we can play better. The offense can be better, the defense can be better and the special teams can be better. We can play smarter. We had way too many penalties. We were the least penalized team in the SEC, and we ended up having 10 penalties. It hurt us. We didn’t play as smart as we should, and we’re ready to go for Georgia. The last time we were down there we won, and we’re expecting to do that again.”
Are you mad about what happened on Saturday?
“Absolutely, I hate losing and everybody on this team hates losing. We expect to win every game we play. There’s no doubt in our minds, that’s why we started 5-0. We’re going to be back on track. I have no doubt in my mind. We’re going to practice better, and we’re going to play better.”
Reshard Langford
R-Sr., safety, defensive captain
Tanner, Ala./Tanner H.S.
On the impact of the Mississipppi State game:
“I think it’s going to have even more of an emotional impact on us in practice this week, because we know we let a game go that we had a chance to win at Mississippi State. They came out and played their game, and they came up with a win. We just know what we have to do, and we’re going to go out there and do that this week in practice.”
On the Georgia offense:
“They have a bunch of good guys. Their quarterback, Matthew Stafford, has been there and done that. He’s a good player. Knowshon Moreno is one of the top running backs in the league, and I know they have a freshman receiver who’s pretty good also. Those guys are going to be good for Georgia, but we have to go out and play our game. That’s how it is week in and week out…it’s about us and not about what everybody else does.”
On Moreno:
“I think he’s still the explosive player that he was last year, and experience comes with time. I think you get better in time with experience. I think he’s going to be just as good of a player as he was last year.”
On the mentality of the team with getting the sixth win:
“We want more than six wins. We want seven, eight, nine wins, as many as we can throughout the rest of this season. We’re just going to continue to work hard. We know that 5-1 is not a bad record. We’re doing well so far, and we only have six games left. So, we’re going to do whatever we can to get over that hump.”