Kirby Smart addresses criticism of Georgia OL following win over Arkansas

But with Oklahoma on the horizon, it is an area to monitor.

“Gotta get better,” Smart said. “We gotta run the ball better, we gotta pass the ball better, and we gotta rush the passer better. That was what got me. We didn’t affect the quarterback enough defensively, in my opinion. He got to hold on to it. So again, we can all do better.”

Smart didn’t just discuss his team’s offensive line play in the 45-17 win.

Below is a full recap of what Smart had to say after the SEC road win.

Everything Kirby Smart said after Georgia defeats Arkansas

Opening statement:

“Really proud of our guys today. Hot environment, tough environment to come in and play. We talked all week about road games in the SEC. I am proud of this team; I am excited about this team. We got a lot we can get better at, but man, they buy into it. They are physical, they believe in who we are, and we continue to get better. We gotta improve, but that is always tough to go on the road when 50% of your team is in a first-time environment. And ... really the whole team was in a first-time (situation) here (because) we’ve never been here. So a lot of respect for the way their team fought, but really appreciate the way our team fought and the things we did in the game to control the game.”

On Gunner Stockton using his legs:

“If he needs to, I mean, it’s one of those deals. He’s a weapon, because a lot of those are drop-back passes that become explosive plays any time your quarterback can take off and run. It’s a value too, and he’s made really good decisions so far on when to run and when not to run, and also when to get down and when to take a hit.”

On Stockton’s 60-yard run:

“I just knew he was gonna run out of gas. I mean, he got tired there at the end. We had guys blocking for him, and he got ran down, but made some good cuts. And honestly, guys, he never got touched on that play. So it was very well blocked.”

On Nate Frazier and Isiah Canion injury updates:

“Yeah, I think both of them were fine. I don’t honestly know. Nate had a little ding, it’s bothering him. We’re gonna go check on it, and Isiah the same way. But I thought both of them could have played if they needed to.”

On RB Chauncey Bowens:

“I love Chauncey. Chauncey, one of the hardest workers on the team. I think he’s a violent runner. He likes contact, he seeks contact. He (was) the beneficiary of some good blocking on a couple of those. He had a couple runs that I thought could have been even bigger. But he also bounced out on some and made some plays.”

On the true freshmen on the OL:

“Gotta keep getting better. Had a stupid penalty, and just gotta keep getting better is what they gotta do. But they’re certainly talented young men that have to keep improving. We’re gonna need them to improve in areas if we’re gonna beat really good teams.”

On being run-heavy to start the game:

“Well, we had a lot of shot plays in there. A couple of the shot plays were no plays, meaning they didn’t count in the stats because of penalties and things. But I think Gunner does a good job making us right. Several of those were pass plays that became run plays. So it’s all relative to what they’re doing and what they’re giving us. There’s certain looks we don’t wanna throw into. There’s certain looks we wanna run into. So again, the defense dictates some of that. We’re gonna take what they give us.”

On WR Craig Dandridge:

“Yeah, he works really hard. Craig is very smart and very intelligent. He’s savvy. He plays fast. He catches the ball and he runs after the catch. He made a great catch on a bubble pass that (he) probably shouldn’t have caught. And then he caught the big over and broke a tackle. So we tell our guys all the time, ‘If you catch the ball well and you break tackles, you’re gonna get touches.’”

On the offensive line’s pass protection:

“Gotta get better. We gotta run the ball better, we gotta pass the ball better, and we gotta rush the passer better. That was what got me. We didn’t affect the quarterback enough defensively, in my opinion. He got to hold on to it. So again, we can all do better.”

On what Khalil Barnes adds to the secondary:

“Intelligence. He’s very savvy, experienced, good tackler, gets balls out. Awareness. He’s seen it all and played it all. So he’s very wise.”

On if he’s still able to learn a lot about his team in three blowouts:

“I don’t know that I would call it a blowout. I mean, y’all might say that, but I don’t look at SEC games that way. I mean, they’re trying to score the whole game, we’re trying to stop them the whole game. I don’t even know what the score says. I couldn’t tell you the score right now. I don’t look at the scoreboard. I look at how we play. You never look at the scoreboard. So when you look at the scoreboard, it affects things that are out of your control a lot of times. So obviously, situationally, we look at the scoreboard, but I’m not measuring our team based on the scores. I’m measuring our team based on execution.”

On seeing the physicality he wanted:

“Sometimes. I mean, physicality is an important trait, but it’s not the only trait, because I’ve seen explosive teams that aren’t physical.”

On the stamina he saw with his players:

“Well, we didn’t get to play the whole game, so we don’t really know, but it was hot. I think both teams — I thought both teams came out a little tired in the second half, and that was a big opening drive for us.”

On WR Thomas Blackshear stepping up in Isiah Canion’s place:

“Yeah, Thomas has gotten great reps for the last two weeks. He works really hard over there, and we’ve got a multiple offense where multiple people can play that position. Thomas has played it well. Will Taylor’s played it well. So I’m really proud of Thomas stepping up, getting an opportunity. I wish he had gotten to get some more throws because he (had) some great routes that didn’t get rewarded. And we’ll have to find a way to protect it to get him the ball.”

On if he anticipated Arkansas playing two QBs:

“Oh yeah.”

On AJ Hill:

“Yeah, we recruited him. We’ve known AJ. I’ve known AJ since he was about seven, eight years old, (he) and I go way back. Trey Hill, his uncle Derrick Hill, I coached him at Valdosta State. So I’ve known AJ since he came to my camp when he was eight, nine, ten years old. Great kid, great family.”

On DB Demello Jones playing better in the second half:

“Oh, we didn’t make any adjustments. I mean, at the end of the day, when you play corner at Georgia, you’re gonna be asked to play one-on-one. And you’re gonna win some, you’re gonna lose some, and that’s the way we play. We have ways to help them, we have ways to leave them alone. If the quarterback knows what we’re playing, they’re going to throw the ball over there one-on-one, and we gotta win some. And they got a good wideout, and I thought going into the week their quarterback really could throw the ball well. That’s what the difference in Utah was. Utah got more pressure (on Arkansas) and probably affected the quarterback more. They protected better today, they threw and caught the ball better today. But we play a lot of different defenses to try to change it up and help our corners as well. So I was proud of the way Demello bounced back.”

On the rebuilding job Arkansas coach Ryan Silverfield has:

“Yeah, that’s not my evaluation, I mean, I hate to say it. What (does) my opinion matter on that? I’m worried about my team, I’m focused on my team. I’d rather not comment on that. It’s not my place.”

On how he would rate the offense bouncing back from sacks:

“Yeah, I don’t know exactly how many of those we recovered from, but we had a penalty that backed us up, and then we overcame it. Ninety percent of the time, you don’t overcome a sack. I think we might have overcome one or two of those. We got really lucky on some (pass interference penalties) that kind of helped us get a cushion, because those could have been the other way. We’re going to get sacked; you’re going to get sacked. You throw the ball and you’re explosive, you’re going to give up sacks. It’s just, you don’t want to give up many of them. Probably the most disappointing thing was the first and goal at the two, where Gunner’s got to make a better decision. Back’s got to know what he’s doing. Get rid of the ball so we’re 2nd-and-2 at the two, we’re not going backwards.”

On what he likes about the team so far:

“Character, work ethic, the leaders holding people accountable for how we practice. Look, this team could burn out and fizzle out and wear out and not practice well, but they haven’t done that yet. So it’s still early, time will tell.”

On how valuable the fourth-quarter snaps were for reserves on defense:

“I don’t know, because we’ve had them for three straight games and it hasn’t helped. So, I mean, we did it in the last game, and they didn’t play good. We did it the game before that, and they didn’t play good. We did it this game, and they didn’t play good. So, (that) tells me we can’t play them. That’s the only bottom line. I mean, I’m not going to let it ruin my day like I did last time. I’m happy for the rest of the guys. But piss-poor performance by the guys that went in.”

On limiting Arkansas to 17 rushing yards:

“Because they threw it every down. They threw for 280 (yards), so that’s what you do, you know? And plus, rushing yards takes out sacks. So it’s misleading when you look at it that way. But teams are going to struggle to run the ball against us. They’re going to have to throw it, and they threw it well.”

On London Humphreys and his blocked punt:

“Yeah, he cares so much. He’s the highest-character kid on the team. He’ll do whatever he can to help the team. He never complains about anything. He’s one of the best blockers. He’s got a deal with his NIL incentive: The more special teams he plays, the more money he gets. So he wants to be on special teams. He wants to play every snap on special teams. I keep trying to take him off to save money, and it’s not working.”

On if it’s unique for guys to have special teams incentives:

“I don’t know. We just put it in there for him, because he’s worth it.”

On how eager Zykie Helton has been to play fullback:

“He gets excited. He loves it. He thinks he’s a fullback by heart and by trade. The play didn’t actually work. It looks like we got in late, but I don’t know. We’ve got to do some things with him, because he’s a weapon. He’s talented, and he enjoys football.”

On his evaluation of OL Ekene Ogboko so far:

“Well, he’s got to improve his conditioning level to be able to play more snaps. He’s had some bonehead mistakes that are just uncharacteristic of him. I think getting those out of his system are going to be big. He’s obviously talented, but guys, this is a grown man’s league, and he’s growing into a good player. But just think of all the great tackles we’ve had here, and how many have played as freshmen. Not many, not many. He’s had to go out there and (was) called into action. He’s done a pretty good job doing it. He had a mistake today, can’t go down the field on a pass play.”

On DL doing drills during timeouts:

“That’s a question for (defensive line coach) Tray Scott. That’s a belief he has of we’re not getting enough work. They’re not running the ball, they’re not being physical enough. We need to get work. So he gets work between snaps and between huddle breaks to make sure we’re getting enough to earn their NIL every day.“

On RB Nick Peal:

“He’s sharp, he’s intelligent, he picks things up really quick. This guy’s a great blocker. I mean, what a great find he’s been. He’s tough, he plays on special teams. Out of Roswell, and nobody in the country was really recruiting him — no Power 4 (teams) were, and we got a great player in that kid. He loves Georgia, he loves Georgia, he’s gonna be a good player for us.”

On the team’s overall health:

“We’re about like we were coming into the season. I mean, I’m not gonna sit here and whine and complain about players. Everybody’s got problems, different position groups. That’s a very thin group for us, and Q (Quintavius Johnson) has been dealing with stuff. He hasn’t been able to practice much. Khamari (Brooks) missed 10 practices in the camp. Luckily, PJ (Dean has) been healthy, and we’re trying to move other guys to that position. We’re just not very deep there, so I’m not complaining. I’m proud of the ones that are working.”

On having the highest win percentage in the SEC:

“It says humility is a week away, Mike. Humility is a week away. Next week, humble pie is somewhere.”

On the offense after losing Frazier:

“Interchangeable parts. I mean, they all play, they all work, they all do the same practice habits. So I love those guys. I like all our backs. So I’m excited about (Chauncey Bowens) ... and (to) keep getting better.“

On what he’s looking for in leadership on the road:

“Well, it’s a really tough balancing act. I don’t think anybody has more experience dealing with SEC environments than I do. So I teach and educate, but don’t fear. You can’t go fearful. You gotta go in there and dominate, take over the place, run the people out of there. But you gotta be smart about the way you go about it. You can’t take uncalculated risks. You can’t — on the road, you can’t turn the ball over, and you gotta give your quarterback smoke breaks. You don’t live and die in these third-and-longs and expect to be able to pick everything up when you do. We got a very experienced quarterback. We’re fortunate that our guys — last year, we were dealing with the road anxiety. Now, we’re just trying to get the rest of them used to the road anxiety, and there is such a thing. People will say it’s not true, but these kids have anxiety when they’re going on the road. I thought our kids led and fought through that well.”

On WR Will Taylor carving out a role:

“Toughness. He’s one of the better wideouts. I mean, we don’t go out there and say, ‘What is your star rating?’ We go out there and say, ‘Who wins in one-on-one? Who blocks well? Who can execute their assignments?’ And this guy’s as talented a player as we got, and he’s under-recruited. He makes plays every day at practice. I love watching him. He’s a competitor, and he’s really been a great special teams player.”