Georgia vs. South Carolina Post Game Quotes
November 19, 2016 | Football
Nov. 19, 2016
Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart
On the win...
"I thought we had good juice coming out. Isaiah (McKenzie) had the great run and the great punt return, and I thought the defense started off well. ... Early on, I saw kids playing tough, with effort, fast and aggressive. I loved the start and the energy. I did not love the way it finished. We elected to play the subs and they did not execute well and that was disappointing."
On Isaiah McKenzie...
"He does the right things. If we block it right and set him up, he gets positive runs. He's a tough kid and we've gotten a lot out of him."
On Nick Chubb...
"He runs hard and he's hard to tackle. I'd hate to be one of the guys trying to get him on the ground. You're going to feel it in the morning. Sony, too. They are great backs and I'm excited they were able to have a good game."
On Jacob Eason...
"Decision making is the big thing. A couple of times, he made the wrong read and got sloppy with his footwork. He had some good throws, too, like the touchdown to (Isaac) Nauta. He continues to do good things."
On Georgia Tech...
"We'll have good, spirited practices and get after it. They have a unique offense that's hard to simulate and hard to prepare for. We're excited about the opportunity. It's a great challenge and we need the players to totally buy into it. We have to prepare well and do a good job of tackling." #27 Junior TB Nick Chubb
On the win...
"It always feels good to get the running game going, but it feels better to get a win overall."
On response to physical matchup...
"I think (we responded the right way). We could have been more physical and done some things a little better but overall we got the win and that's all that matters. I'm looking forward to carrying the momentum on to next week."
On touchdowns...
"It felt good. It's good to score and I haven't scored in a while. I owe it to everyone on the offense."
#16 Junior WR Isaiah McKenzie
On fifth career punt return for touchdown...
"I've been thinking about that since I heard about me being close to breaking it. As of today, they told me ‘you broke the record.' But we've got to keep going and putting more numbers up."
#18 Sophomore CB Deandre Baker
On defense helping offense...
"It's very important to get them in good field position so Nick Chubb can do good things with the ball and stuff like that. We (want to) make it easy on them and every time they get the ball, put them in field goal position."
On interception on first defensive play...
"The stadium was rocking once I made the interception. I made a good play on the ball."
UL Lafayette Head Coach Mark Hudspeth
Opening Statement...
"I'm proud of the way our team kept battling all day long. We dug ourselves a hole early in the game. We sort of had to weather the storm early, I'll tell you, with the emotions in the game. We didn't handle the wind very well early in the game. We made some mistakes in the kicking game that gave them some momentum, but we settled down after that and played some really sound football. Defensively, I think at halftime we had only given up (21) points. Seven of those were on the punt return. I thought we did a pretty good job against a really, really good football team. I thought we did decent defensively against the run for the most part until late. We've got to tackle better. I thought we missed tackles tonight more than we had in the past. Offensively I thought (offensive coordinator) Jorge Munoz and the offensive staff once again had a really creative plan. We did some good things, offensively. I think we ended up with 465 yards of total offense, just not efficient enough trying to get into the end zone. The most critical things were the turnovers, which two of them ended up being better than punts. They were on third (down) and really long. We threw a couple deep balls, about 50 yards, and they intercepted them deep in their own territory so that went better than even a punt would've worked out. The fourth down, we were 0-for-3 on fourth-down conversions in the red zone to extend some drives that could've changed the game. We knew coming in that those guys were really good up front and it was going to create some problems. They did that right there in the short-yardage defense category on fourth-and-short. Those three plays were critical to extend some drives and maybe make the game a little bit different. Considering we dug ourselves a hole like we did, I thought our kids battled back and played awfully well. I thought Anthony Jennings played well. I thought he threw the ball well, ran the ball well, and had 100 yards rushing. Elijah McGuire, great game, 124 (yards), I think that puts him over 4,000 for his career. I was just proud of the way our guys battled. I wish we hadn't have dug ourselves a hole so much early. To come on the road like we did against a really good football team and battle, I'm proud of the kids and the effort."
On Georgia's hot start and its impact on the Louisiana game plan...
"We stayed with the script. We felt like we had some good things dialed up, and we stayed with it after that. It was a whirlwind start to the game, but we weathered the storm and really played competitively the rest of the way."
On the effect of Isaiah McKenzie's punt return touchdown...
"We just needed to settle down a little bit. You come into a hostile environment, great crowd, get behind early right there with the punt return and we just had to settle everybody down. I thought we did a good job. We just gave them a little too much too early. Our defense stiffened and kept us in there, and we just kept looking for answers. We had some things working for us. A couple of times we hurt ourselves with a couple of penalties. For the most part, I thought we moved the ball. Any time you have almost 500 yards against a SEC team you have to be proud of the way you moved the ball, we just didn't do a good job, and give them credit, of those guys doing a good job in red zone defense, short-yardage defense, and keeping us out of the end zone when it counted."
Junior DB #23 Tracy Walker
On starting out in an early deficit...
"Early in the game, we played a C+ game and against a SEC opponent like Georgia, we have to play an A game. We can't just come out here and play them like they are just like any other team. This is an SEC team. They are going to come out physical, they are going to play 100% and they aren't going to take us lightly. And I feel like we kind of took them lightly. We didn't come out early with momentum that we needed. As you can see that cost us."
On Georgia's offense and playmakers...
"Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Isaiah McKenzie; You know, Georgia has five-star athletes, that's what they are known for. They have a very good team. They definitely gained my respect after this game. I didn't expect Sony Michel and Nick Chubb to run as hard as they did. They definitely showed me that they are NFL talent. Isaiah McKenzie is extremely fast. He hit the sideline and he was gone. He took a punt return back on us, he is a good athlete. They have athletes just like we have athletes but at the end of the day, they played a better game than us."
Senior QB #11 Anthony Jennings
On facing the earlier deficit...
"We pretty much stuck with the script. We got in the hole early, trying to make a play by throwing it up to the receiver for them to go get it and it was just a poor decision on my part. But the coaches didn't lose confidence in me and they still were calling aggressive."
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Georgia Postgame Quotes
Georgia Head Coach Kirby Smart
On the win...
"I thought we had good juice coming out. Isaiah (McKenzie) had the great run and the great punt return, and I thought the defense started off well. ... Early on, I saw kids playing tough, with effort, fast and aggressive. I loved the start and the energy. I did not love the way it finished. We elected to play the subs and they did not execute well and that was disappointing."
On Isaiah McKenzie...
"He does the right things. If we block it right and set him up, he gets positive runs. He's a tough kid and we've gotten a lot out of him."
On Nick Chubb...
"He runs hard and he's hard to tackle. I'd hate to be one of the guys trying to get him on the ground. You're going to feel it in the morning. Sony, too. They are great backs and I'm excited they were able to have a good game."
On Jacob Eason...
"Decision making is the big thing. A couple of times, he made the wrong read and got sloppy with his footwork. He had some good throws, too, like the touchdown to (Isaac) Nauta. He continues to do good things."
On Georgia Tech...
"We'll have good, spirited practices and get after it. They have a unique offense that's hard to simulate and hard to prepare for. We're excited about the opportunity. It's a great challenge and we need the players to totally buy into it. We have to prepare well and do a good job of tackling." #27 Junior TB Nick Chubb
On the win...
"It always feels good to get the running game going, but it feels better to get a win overall."
On response to physical matchup...
"I think (we responded the right way). We could have been more physical and done some things a little better but overall we got the win and that's all that matters. I'm looking forward to carrying the momentum on to next week."
On touchdowns...
"It felt good. It's good to score and I haven't scored in a while. I owe it to everyone on the offense."
#16 Junior WR Isaiah McKenzie
On fifth career punt return for touchdown...
"I've been thinking about that since I heard about me being close to breaking it. As of today, they told me ‘you broke the record.' But we've got to keep going and putting more numbers up."
#18 Sophomore CB Deandre Baker
On defense helping offense...
"It's very important to get them in good field position so Nick Chubb can do good things with the ball and stuff like that. We (want to) make it easy on them and every time they get the ball, put them in field goal position."
On interception on first defensive play...
"The stadium was rocking once I made the interception. I made a good play on the ball."
UL Lafayette Postgame Quotes
UL Lafayette Head Coach Mark Hudspeth
Opening Statement...
"I'm proud of the way our team kept battling all day long. We dug ourselves a hole early in the game. We sort of had to weather the storm early, I'll tell you, with the emotions in the game. We didn't handle the wind very well early in the game. We made some mistakes in the kicking game that gave them some momentum, but we settled down after that and played some really sound football. Defensively, I think at halftime we had only given up (21) points. Seven of those were on the punt return. I thought we did a pretty good job against a really, really good football team. I thought we did decent defensively against the run for the most part until late. We've got to tackle better. I thought we missed tackles tonight more than we had in the past. Offensively I thought (offensive coordinator) Jorge Munoz and the offensive staff once again had a really creative plan. We did some good things, offensively. I think we ended up with 465 yards of total offense, just not efficient enough trying to get into the end zone. The most critical things were the turnovers, which two of them ended up being better than punts. They were on third (down) and really long. We threw a couple deep balls, about 50 yards, and they intercepted them deep in their own territory so that went better than even a punt would've worked out. The fourth down, we were 0-for-3 on fourth-down conversions in the red zone to extend some drives that could've changed the game. We knew coming in that those guys were really good up front and it was going to create some problems. They did that right there in the short-yardage defense category on fourth-and-short. Those three plays were critical to extend some drives and maybe make the game a little bit different. Considering we dug ourselves a hole like we did, I thought our kids battled back and played awfully well. I thought Anthony Jennings played well. I thought he threw the ball well, ran the ball well, and had 100 yards rushing. Elijah McGuire, great game, 124 (yards), I think that puts him over 4,000 for his career. I was just proud of the way our guys battled. I wish we hadn't have dug ourselves a hole so much early. To come on the road like we did against a really good football team and battle, I'm proud of the kids and the effort."
On Georgia's hot start and its impact on the Louisiana game plan...
"We stayed with the script. We felt like we had some good things dialed up, and we stayed with it after that. It was a whirlwind start to the game, but we weathered the storm and really played competitively the rest of the way."
On the effect of Isaiah McKenzie's punt return touchdown...
"We just needed to settle down a little bit. You come into a hostile environment, great crowd, get behind early right there with the punt return and we just had to settle everybody down. I thought we did a good job. We just gave them a little too much too early. Our defense stiffened and kept us in there, and we just kept looking for answers. We had some things working for us. A couple of times we hurt ourselves with a couple of penalties. For the most part, I thought we moved the ball. Any time you have almost 500 yards against a SEC team you have to be proud of the way you moved the ball, we just didn't do a good job, and give them credit, of those guys doing a good job in red zone defense, short-yardage defense, and keeping us out of the end zone when it counted."
Junior DB #23 Tracy Walker
On starting out in an early deficit...
"Early in the game, we played a C+ game and against a SEC opponent like Georgia, we have to play an A game. We can't just come out here and play them like they are just like any other team. This is an SEC team. They are going to come out physical, they are going to play 100% and they aren't going to take us lightly. And I feel like we kind of took them lightly. We didn't come out early with momentum that we needed. As you can see that cost us."
On Georgia's offense and playmakers...
"Nick Chubb, Sony Michel, Isaiah McKenzie; You know, Georgia has five-star athletes, that's what they are known for. They have a very good team. They definitely gained my respect after this game. I didn't expect Sony Michel and Nick Chubb to run as hard as they did. They definitely showed me that they are NFL talent. Isaiah McKenzie is extremely fast. He hit the sideline and he was gone. He took a punt return back on us, he is a good athlete. They have athletes just like we have athletes but at the end of the day, they played a better game than us."
Senior QB #11 Anthony Jennings
On facing the earlier deficit...
"We pretty much stuck with the script. We got in the hole early, trying to make a play by throwing it up to the receiver for them to go get it and it was just a poor decision on my part. But the coaches didn't lose confidence in me and they still were calling aggressive."
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