Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart spoke with the media ahead of the Bulldogs’ season opener against the Clemson Tigers on Aug. 31 at noon ET. Georgia is the preseason No. 1 but faces a stiff challenge from No. 14 Clemson in the Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Georgia.
On when Georgia started preparing for Clemson
“Our guys got work in on Thursday, Friday, a little bit Saturday and then starting back today after Sunday off on Clemson. Our guys are excited for a great matchup,” said Smart. Georgia had been primarily focusing on itself until the Bulldogs began preparing for Clemson on Thursday.
On Dabo Swinney and Clemson’s program
“Just a lot of respect for their program, what Dabo (Swinney) has done, he’s done an incredible job,” said Smart. “He’s got a great culture there, a great environment. You think about their coaching staff, how intact it’s been able to stay, how many coaches he’s had go on to be head coaches and they do a tremendous job recruiting our state and we go head-to-head with them quite a bit. When you look across their roster, there’s a lot of kids that we were really close to, and I’m sure it’s the same way with him.”
Clemson is a unique college football program. The Tigers seldom use the transfer portal and have much better roster continuity than other schools.
On Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik
“It seems like he’s (Cade Klubnik) been there forever, and this is really his third year, but he’s a great, really good athlete,” said Smart. “He’s played a lot of football for a guy that age, has the ability to scramble, make plays on his feet, has more weapons around him. I think he’s a lot more comfortable now in their offense. You could see that throughout the year last year as you watched the season go on, how much more comfortable he got. … Cade has been a great asset for them, and I know he’ll be very experienced.”
On a similarity he has with Dabo Swinney
“I mean, I’m like Dabo. If I could keep my entire roster, my roster, I’d be all for keeping my roster. Because I believe in the kids we sign, I believe in the kids we recruit, and I want to grow them to get better,” said Smart. “It’s not realistic to think that you’re going to keep all your players right now.”
Georgia uses the transfer portal less than most other programs. The Bulldogs signed 11 players via the portal this offseason, while Clemson brought in zero transfers.
On Clemson’s roster continuity helping their system
“One thing you know is they’re going to know their system because they’ve been in it,” said Smart. “They’re not new to it. They’re ingrained in it. They know their culture. They know who they are. They know how they play. They know what their standard is. And that, to me, is you can be envious of that, the fact that they have the guys that have been in their program.”
On Clemson’s defensive line
“Two of the best players and statistically their best players they had last year, are back,” said Smart. “Those guys were dominant players, (T.J.) Parker and Peter Woods both were really good players, but we knew those guys in recruiting, and they’re tremendous athletes, and both very productive with other guys coming back.”
“They’ve got experienced guys coming back. So, when you look across the defensive front, Clemson is never going to be short there. They have twitchy, fast, hard-playing guys.”
On Clemson linebacker Barrett Carter
“He’s become a really good player, a dominant player, you can see on tape his instincts and his athleticism. He’s a playmaker, and they’ve got a good one in Barrett (Carter),” noted Smart. Georgia was also heavily involved in his recruitment.
On Clemson running back Phil Mafah
“Physicality. He’s got a downhill way about him,” said Smart. “The more carries he gets, the harder he is to tackle. I think he enjoys it the more he gets it. They hung their hat on him there towards the later part of last season, he was really physical, and a really good runner. I think with that offensive line tying the experience they have and size they have to him, it makes any offense work better when you can run the ball.”