** Mark Richt is at the podium to start the press conference. He congratulates Smart on a hard-fought win at Auburn and says it's hard to win down there. He points out Smart's 85% win clip, two national championships. Notes he's getting into the HOF this year at UGA but Smart's already in even if they haven't announced it yet. Richt, who has Parkinson's, is talking about finding a cure for both Parkinsons and Crohn's disease. He's going to have a bowling tournament with a celebrity bowler from the UGA team. Almost like a golf tournament. Smart notes his grandfather had Parkinson's disease so it's personal for him as well.
** Team will wear green decals on the helmet to call attention to mental health. It's become a huge issue and UGA deals with it day in and day out.
** Looks forward to playing a really physical Stoops team every time they play. "Kentucky-Georgia is just a physical, physical football game because they brand their football behind that and so do we." Once again expresses his respect and admiration for UK's football program.
** Zero pre-snap penalties on the road at wild Auburn crowd last week. They didn't let things spiral in that way. Bobo and offensive staff, with a QB who had never played on the road, with no procedural penalties -- good organization, good substitution patterns, good snap count variation, good change in tempos. That's not the issue now. He's worried about Kentucky and their really good defense.
** Ray Davis is as good a back as he's seen in a long time. Smooth, explosive, pass protects, aggressive in how he runs. Reminds him of Swift, but a little bigger. Same cuts. One cut runner. Do a tremendous job of blocking for him. It seems like Kentucky's always had a back. They had Benny who was unbelievable then C Rod. Their backs run physical but they are committed to running the ball and do a great job at the point of attack.
** Kentucky's defense has a lot of variation. It's very unique. Don't play a lot of teams like they. Have a lot of overhangs, people at the second level all over the place. Not a lot of free yards. They're massive up front. Big people. Play 3-4 and 4-3. Teams that play odd front do a good job of stopping the run game. They're really physical and have a really good scheme. It's not easy to mimic.
** Smart has known Carson Beck for a long time but he hadn't played in that environment. He had been around him for long enough to know him. The only thing he's learned is he does have natural composure but that's how he practices. He doesn't get flustered very easily.
** The offensive identity is "do what it takes" but that's what it always comes down to. You'd love to bully everybody every week but nobody does that. Kentucky did against Florida but not every single week. If you have one identity it's easier to stop. Kentucky's balanced. They're the only team with the same number of explosive runs as explosive passes. So they have balance. UGA has been up and down in red area. Been pretty dang good on 3rd down. Lots of things to work on. They don't cry over the injury situation at running back. You figure out what you've got and what you can do.
** QB run for Auburn was really big. Smart says they have to do a better job. Felt better after watching the tape. Was in a state of depression on the bus but they struck blockers well. They didn't fit some plays well and didn't work some of those plays enough out of the formations they ran out of it. Auburn schemed it well. But Smart says UGA has good run fitters.
** Smart did detect a sense of calm from UGA. Its not easy going into Auburn. It's not easy to explain. Smart has been there at LSU, at Bama, as a player, as an assistant coach. It's just hard. The composure remained throughout the team and that was part of the game plan.
** Defensive front-wise there aren't as many disruptors as there have been in the past, one reporter notes. Smart said they have a lot of the same DL this year that they had last year, except for Jalen Carter who didn't play most of the year. They have plenty of good defensive linemen but not disruptive, so you have to find other ways to create those plays.
** Health report: Monitoring guys, getting them in shape. Feel like the guys out are healthy. Can they get in shape without wearing down their legs? You don't get in shape in season. You're in shape or you're not.
** Asked about Deone Walker in the context of Jordan Davis comparison, they do more with him than UGA did with Davis. Dropped him, use him in a versatile way. Unique as 6'6, 350 gets. They mix it up, he's gotten better. UGA recruited him there. He's a wrecking ball who knocks people back.
** Some frustration with the run blocking by the offensive line. "You've got to help them." You can't point to an OL that's just moving people. Defensive linemen have leverage, you have to find ways to get to the perimeter. Running the ball in the SEC is hard to do. Hardest thing to do. Outside of what Kentucky did against Florida, it's not easy. Lots of things UGA has to do better. That's not just an offensive line job. It's perimeter blocking, tight end blocking, running back reads. Shared responsibility starting with Kirby.
** Reporter notes Ray Davis came out of the portal, did UGA ever look at Ray Davis or any other backs because of the situation? "Not really..." Doesn't remember anything on Ray, but Smart said somebody told him he may have expressed some interest in UGA. But UGA felt good about the guys they had coming back. You're always looking for a better player but they weren't actively pursuing anyone. Smart says most kids going into the portal probably have an idea of where they're going.
** Asked about UGA's guard play against Auburn, he said it depends on the fronts. Covered guard vs uncovered guard. Some mistakes in pass pro. Auburn's DL played extremely hard like every UGA opponent well. Played with good pad level and movement. The UGA OL and DL have to play better.
** On the big kicks UGA made, Smart has a lot of confidence in him. Wired the right way. He pitched as a baseball player. Has dealt with pressure in different environments. Had to sit on that mound and throw strikes. Kirby had to do that. He's kicking in front of 93,000 people as a true freshman. Went through his process, breathed, reminded him he's got a whole team that unconditionally loves him. Proud of how he handled that environment.
