What South Carolina said about Georgia this week
DawgsHQ has been on top of things ahead of the SEC opener versus South Carolina from the Georgia perspective. That includes a pair of pressers with Kirby Smart, conversations with several players and more. Finally, we present you with comments that South Carolina head coach Shane Beamer made this week about the Bulldogs.
On Kirby Smart
“Kirby (Smart) has done an amazing job of elevating that program to an even higher level than what it already was when he got the job. (It’s) one of the premier programs in the country and certainly is led by a fantastic coaching staff. I’ve got tons of respect for him. He’s a great friend, somebody that made me a better coach in my two years working for him. A lot of the things we do here in this program I took from what we did at Georgia.”
On Georgia’s talent level
“He (Smart) may have, probably does have the most talented football team in the history of Georgia football. That’s not an embellishment, or coach speak and all of that. When you look at from top to bottom, the 11 that start on offense, the 11 that start on defense, all of their special teams units, the depth they have, the size, the physicality, the speed they have.”
“There’s a reason they were picked to win the SEC East. The talent just jumps off the tape at you. Obviously they’ve had some great players in the past … But when you just look at their starters on all three phases, and you look at the backups, I don’t know of a more talented team ever to play at Georgia.”
On Georgia’s defense
“I had read over the summer that defensive back and secondary was an area of concern. All I see are those guys playing everybody in man coverage and nobody can complete a pass. I watched their defense, I think they’ve forced 18 punts already in two games which, if my math is correct, that’s going to put them on pace for over 100. That’s an ungodly amount of defensive stops. Usually at the end of the season, a defense may force 70 or something punts. They’ve forced an average of nine the last two games.”
On Georgia’s depth
“I’m sitting there watching tape all day yesterday, got in at 5:30 in the morning and was all day watching tape like the rest of our coaches. Thought I had a good feel for the personnel and then here comes another guy at the end of the game against UAB that’s not even listed on their two deep that’s making plays and would start a lot of places in the SEC.”
On Georgia’s offense
“I know what their philosophy and mentality is at Georgia, and that’s to line up and run the ball down your throat. They’ve got play makers on the outside that are explosive. The running backs, they’re deep. The receivers, I know they’ve got some guys out, but they’ve got some fantastic ones that can run. The freshman tight end, Bowers, is a weapon with his skillset. So there’s a lot of explosiveness on that offense.”
