Georgia head coach Kirby Smart had plenty of praise for Ole Miss during his Monday morning press conference.
Smart called the Rebels a “really good football team” and crediting head coach Pete Golding for the job he’s done with the program. He was especially complimentary of quarterback Trinidad Chambliss, going as far as to call him “probably the best quarterback in the country.”
Throughout the session, Smart pointed to Chambliss’ accuracy, decision-making and ability to extend plays as some of the biggest challenges Georgia will face this week, while emphasizing that slowing down Ole Miss will require disciplined, fundamentally sound football.
Here’s everything Smart said about Ole Miss.
Kirby Smart, Georgia head coach
Opening statement
Smart: Really good football team. Pete has done a tremendous job since taking over. Obviously, we know the two games last year with them were both really hard-fought battles. Hard games, a lot of ebb and flow in both games. They’ve done a tremendous job this year. Obviously, they’ve got probably the best quarterback in the country, who plays at a high level. He is extremely hard to defend and a great player. A lot of respect for their staff. I know a lot of those guys. Their team, the way they compete and play, they’re playing really well right now. At home, they’ve been exceptionally good. Our guys will be excited for the challenge. Another opportunity, another week in the SEC, as it always is. It’ll be a great atmosphere.
On what makes Trinidad Chambliss difficult to defend
Smart: How long have you got? Because we could talk for an hour about it. I watched every game and wrote down the wild plays, but it’s not the wild plays. The wild plays are what you guys love and what America loves. He had some wild plays against us last year, really in both games, but especially the second. But it’s the down-in, down-out decision-making that he’s really elite at. The accuracy that he’s elite at. The release, the decisions. He’s just pinpoint accurate. He has an anticipation of windows that’s probably unmatched. I don’t know if that was God-given or the fact that he played a lot of football before he got to Ole Miss. He has played a lot of football, and experience helps. Now, you throw all that in, and you’ve got a tremendous athlete. He goes forward, backward and sideways. He can back up and go forward. He’s just a great athlete and a great quarterback.
On Chambliss’ pre-snap and post-snap decision-making
Smart: I don’t know if I can answer that, Zach. Pre-snap is post-snap. You have to process what’s going on in terms of looks both ways. I can’t get inside his head and say what he’s doing pre-snap or post-snap. He’s elite at both, in my opinion. He surveys the field. He knows what he’s going to do. He’s been in this offense long enough that he knows what he’s basing his decisions on. Then, after the play is snapped, he goes through his progressions and does a great job. He knows how to navigate a pocket. I think his pocket presence, people don’t give him enough credit for it because this guy’s not just a take-off-and-run guy. He steps up in the pocket. He goes through the pocket. He’s made some of his best wild plays working through the pocket.
On defending Ole Miss’ red zone offense
Smart: You’ve got to play well in the red zone. A lot of that has to do with the quarterback extending plays and the running game. The quarterback run game in the red area really shows up with every team, but he’s a tremendous decision-maker in terms of what he wants to do with the ball. There are two or three plays in the red area this year where you would say he’s never even supposed to pull that ball, and he does it and makes huge plays. You’re not doing that against the Sisters of the Poor. He’s doing that against SEC teams, and that makes him hard to defend in the red area. They’ve got really good skill players, and he’s got really good touch and accuracy to make throws. All those things combine to make him a good red zone player. It’s hard to say, “What do you do in the red zone?” You’ve got to play well. You’ve got to play disciplined football, and you’ve got to make it hard to run it in on you. That’s what most people who are good in the red zone can do.
On the keys to containing Chambliss
Smart: You’ve got to be successful at a lot of things. You’ve got to be able to pitch and catch, not just do one thing. There’s nothing we’re going to do that he hasn’t seen, so you’re not tricking the guy. I think that’s what people get infatuated with. “Well, how can I trick him and do that?” You can’t do that. You’ve got to go play good, sound football. You’ve got to tackle the man who catches it. No yards after catch. You’ve got to create some turnovers. You’ve got to bat some balls. You’ve got to make plays and get off the field when you have a chance on third down. There’s not a perfect remedy. If there was, somebody would have done it.
