TRANSCRIPT | Kirby Smart looks at Ole Miss vs. Georgia matchup

ATHENS — Georgia head coach Kirby Smart addressed the media on Monday to talk about his team’s upcoming game against Ole Miss and how the Bulldogs are preparing for their trip to Oxford.

Here’s what Coach Smart had to say:

Opening Statement

“Ole Miss has got a tremendous team. Lane has done an incredible job of getting some talented players… the improvement on defense for them is extremely noticeable. These guys are disruptive, powerful, and fast… tons of sacks and tackles for loss. I think Jaxson Dart is probably one of the best quarterbacks in the country in terms of explosive plays. Lot of respect for how he competes, the guy runs extremely physical like an SEC running back. He doesn’t try to avoid contact, he actually seeks it. You can tell he’s got a fiery, competitive attitude like Lane does, so they have a lot of the same personality traits. Tremendous team who probably should be defeated.”

Media: When looking at the receiving corps, does it remind you of Burrow and LSU when he had those targets?

Smart: “Different offense, very different offense, but the talents there. They have several draft-pick receivers, good tight ends, and a really good scheme. LSU had the same thing but different scheme. LSU could go the whole game without running the ball, Ole Miss will run the ball. They commit to the run, they create shots and RPOs off of their run.”

Media: What makes their run defense so successful?

Smart: “They’re big. I mean, they’re physical. The only remedy for stopping the run is having big people who are hard to move. Our history at Georgia, we’re traditionally pretty good at stopping the run… they have it now. They’re good at attacking and stopping the run.”

Media: Where have you seen Jaxson Dart grow?

Smart: “He’s more comfortable. He’s played more football, he’s got more experience. He’s playing at a really high level, he sees things well. I think he, Lane, and the offensive staff know what they’re looking for—he’s a proven winner and fierce competitor. He’s hard to stop.”

Media: Overall with this week, what are you focusing on for Ole Miss?

Smart: “Getting better. It’s not always about Ole Miss, we have a tough schedule remaining, and Ole Miss is who we’re focused on this week, and it’s about us looking inside and saying what we can improve on that’s going to help us in this game… I’ve been to Ole Miss a lot of years, and it’s a very tough place to play.”

Media: What stands out about the Ole Miss run game?

Smart: “They do a great job of spreading you out… at one point, Jaxson Dart was their second leading rusher… he’s a tremendous athlete… If you count the passing yards they get from their RPOs, they’d lead the country because they get a lot of yards off that as well.”

Media: I know you go way back with Lane Kiffin, what makes him such a well-respected playcaller?

Smart: “He knows scheme, Lane’s been around a lot of football, his dad’s one of the greatest defensive minds there ever was. When you start talking about Lane being around him talking ball, he knows how to attack defenses probably at a higher rate than most offensive coordinators’. Now that’s one thing to know it, it’s another thing to have players take advantage of it, and he has that, too. He has a quarterback who thinks like he does, his offensive coordinator Charlie Weis does a great job, they have Joe Cox over there, they have a really good offensive staff… at the end of the day, you can’t make it about scheme. You have to make it about do I play harder than the guy across from me. Do I play smarter than the other guy? More physical?  It still comes down to blocking and tackling, and both teams do that well.”

Media: What makes the pace of Ole Miss different from other teams?

Smart: “Ole Miss is super high pace. They get a ton of snaps, and Lane does a great job of doing that. They want to get you worn down and tired, but they do a little more than your traditional fastball teams. They’ll formation you, motion, have different splits… they’re creative within their tempo to not just do the same thing over and over. They do a good job mixing it up, and it helps them in the run game… it’s hard to simulate, and they’ve been very successful at it.”

Game info

Ole Miss vs Georgia will kickoff at 2:30 pm CT on ABC. Until then, be sure to stay tuned with The Rebel Walk for all of your Ole Miss sports needs.