Georgia preparing for the 'hottest quarterback' in the nation
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart did not hold back in his praise of Alabama quarterback Ty Simpson on Monday.
“I would say he’s probably the hottest quarterback right now in all of college football,” Smart said. “His two last outings, I don’t know that I’ve seen an incompletion — like, the ball does not hit the ground. He’s been accurate, he’s been quick with the ball. They’re really hard to defend because of their skill. They’ve got tremendous skill receivers, backs, tight ends, but you’ve got to have a trigger guy that can get those guys the ball and they do.”
Smart knows a thing or two about coaching against talented Crimson Tide signal callers.
In his time at Georgia, Smart has coached against Jalen Hurts, Tua Tagovailoa, Mac Jones, Bryce Young, and Jalen Milroe. Tagovailoa, Jones, and Young were all first-round picks, while Hurts won last year’s Super Bowl while quarterbacking the Philadelphia Eagles.
Milroe, meanwhile, torched Georgia’s defense last year in Alabama’s 41-34 victory. But Smart knows as well as anyone that Alabama’s offense is more than just a one-man show.
The Crimson Tide have a talented group of receivers led by sophomore Ryan Williams, who had six catches for 177 yards and a touchdown against the Bulldogs last year. Smart also praised Germie Bernard, who leads Alabama in catches (15), yards (275), and receiving touchdowns (3) so far this season.
“I feel like he’s been there forever, and he’s only been there — this is his second year,” Smart said. “He came with those guys, he is the catalyst to that offense because he does so much. He is similar to Dillon Bell. They use him as a back, they use him as a point of attack blocker, reverse guy, gadget guy, vertical guy, deep routes. I mean, he’s a complete player, and he’s really physical. And I have a lot of respect for the way he plays.”
Smart also sees similarities to Georgia in Alabama’s running back group, headlined by Jamarion Miller.
“I mean, they’ve got big, they’ve got small, they’ve got fast, they’ve got athletic, they’ve got it all covered,” Smart said. “They play them, they play their backs, and keep those guys fresh and healthy. Obviously, Jam has more experience, and he’s really physical, hard to tackle, point of attack, can get after it, really good pass protector. I mean, he’s just a veteran. It’s like looking at our group and saying, okay, is there one guy that’s played more than the other guys? They got a lot of guys that have played.”
Smart has coached against many different versions of Alabama’s offense during his time in Athens. Heading into his second matchup with a Kalen DeBoer squad, Smart is focused on the present rather than taking lessons from the past.
“I don’t see it like, OK, Coach DeBoer’s there, we’ve got to prepare this kind of way,” Smart said. “They’re a really good football team with really good players. They’ve changed. Yeah, they’ve changed defensively, and they’ve changed offensively. And you know what? They’ll change every year as their personnel changes. Milroe’s different than Ty, but they’re both tremendous athletes, and our preparation is what we’re trying to remain consistent.”