ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart is well aware that he went viral over the weekend.
In a clip that has circulated across social media, the Georgia coach can clearly be heard praising tight end Elyiss Williams for what he did to transfer Amaris Williams.
When asked at his press conference on Tuesday, Smart shared his reaction to the clip in addition to what actually happened.
“I saw it. Most people send it to me, but I mean, it’s not something we put out,” Smart said. “It’s something somebody else captured and put out, so I don’t worry about it.
“I’ll say this, that that play in particular, he actually slipped and stepped on somebody’s foot. So it’s probably not a fair assessment of him, because when you step on somebody else’s foot and slip, sometimes you get your a** whipped, and then sometimes you just slip. And you’re not allowed to slip, but it wasn’t as bad as it seemed, certainly.
Smart discussed more than just a single viral clip, as the Georgia coach touched on a number of different topics in the build-up to Georgia’s spring scrimmage. G-Day is set for April 18.
Below are Smart’s full remarks following practice.
Kirby Smart shares what really happened in viral Elyiss Williams clip
Opening Statement...“Just starting practice seven today, so I’m excited about where our group is. And I’ve been really pleased with the work we’ve had, and hoping we can stay away from the injury bug and just keep getting better.”
On Gunner Stockton and health of his knee....
“Yep, he’s great. He’s practicing. He had a little off-season injury in our workouts, but he’s fine now. He’s limited a little bit the first couple days, but he’s out there competing, doing a good job, focusing on the things he needs to improve on and compete with those other guys. So I’ve been really pleased with Gunner.”
On the offensive line...
“Well, it’s a great competition. I mean, you look across the board, we’re getting three groups, 15 guys, a lot of reps. Sometimes we rotate some other guys in there, and everybody’s in a different spot. We talk about it all the time. Your race here is not a sprint, it’s a marathon.And each group has things they gotta work on, each player does. And the guys are developing at those positions, they’re working hard. We’re changing up groups.“We got three, four guys rolling in at center, probably seven, eight guys rolling in at guard. And six or seven guys rolling in at tackle, all competing for time and reps. And I’m pleased with that group. I mean, nobody really sticks out.They’re all working hard, and they need to because that’s an area that we have to improve in and you gain depth through these practices. So I’m really pleased with the energy and effort they’ve done. They’ve done a good job.We’re challenging them to cover down a little better and run by and pursue the ball better, but they’ve had good energy at practice.”
Elijah Griffin and his development...
“Yeah, disruptive, twitchiness, giving him opportunities to move and beat guys with his quickness and make plays in the backfield. He’s very strong for his age. He’s very quick for his size, and just being unblockable is what we’d like to see, and playing with a high motor and a destructive attitude.“And those are the things that are gonna make us better up front, the harder he is to block. I mean, the one trait that I think I’ve always found in defensive linemen, and I tell the players this, is are you hard to block? And people that are hard to block, number one, they usually make a lot of money, but number two, they also cause a lot of disruption. So he’s growing into that.I wouldn’t say that he’s that yet, but the better he gets, he’s got the capabilities of being an elite player.”
On Kaiden Prothro...
“Yeah, he’s a guy that’s kind of half, semi-receiver, semi-tight end. Most of those guys coming in are. They weren’t asked to play a natural tight end position in high school.(Brayden) Fogle, those guys, Lincoln (Keyes), have all done a great job with Prothro. I think Coach Harley, Coach Lilly, Mark Johnson, they all coach those guys, push those guys, develop those guys. And he’s got a ways to go to be physical enough to play in our level, down in and down out.“He’s a talented pass catcher. He’s a large target. He has some twitchiness and quickness to get away from press and get off of press, and we’re gonna keep trying to figure out what it is all those guys do best, and where they are in their progression. And I’m just proud of their attitude and their work ethic right now.”
On the quarterback room, especially the young guys....
“All doing a great job. They’ve been able to get some reps.We’re doing a lot of work around practice to spot, to guarantee extra seven on seven time. I don’t think you get better at the quarterback position without reps. So we’ve been pouring into those guys, and we tell them to value every opportunity they get.“So many teams across the country can’t get the reps we can get from a volume standpoint because they don’t have the depth and the pieces. And all those guys are getting quality reps, quality work, growing in that room. In between practice days, they’re getting 20, 40 reps of walkthrough, position meetings, extra.“So when you talk about Buddha (Hezekiah Millender) , and the two Ryans (Ryan Puglisi and Ryan Montgomery), and Bryson (Beaver), all those guys. I’m pleased with where they are, and need them to keep growing, because they’re gonna get some loud looks and some scrimmage looks here coming up soon.”
Nate Frazier and Chauncey Bowens, next stage of growth....
“Yeah, leadership, experience, third down. They don’t have a lot of experience, so catching the ball out of the backfield, being better receivers, blitz pick-up schemes, yards after contact, and breaking tackles.That’s essentially what a back’s measured by, is what do you get that the offensive line doesn’t get for you? And that’s how you become elite.”
On Khalil Barnes and Ja’Marley Riddle...
“Yeah, Khalil’s been great. He’s taken a lot of reps at both safety and STAR. He’s very wise, very knowledgeable, very instinctive. All the things that we heard about him have been true.Ja’Marley’s not been able to do much. He’s still coming off a significant injury. He’s doing our walk-throughs.He’s mentally in our reps. We’ve got him mic’d up and making calls, and basically playing the game without playing the game. But he hasn’t been able to physically do a lot.”
Zykie Helton and Jah Jackson....
“Yeah, and I’ll correct you like you did me. It’s Zaka. Z is a lot easier way of saying it.“Basically, sticking with him was easy because he was a high character, high effort, great program, high school program he played in. What he put on tape spoke volumes. So it was a concern of everybody when he was lower on his weight. I don’t think anybody would tell you, not truthfully, that they weren’t worried about it. But we’ve also seen kids be very successful here with Crohn’s (disease) and do things right and control their weight once they had a management plan. And he put that in place. And he also put a lot of really hard work on tape, and he came to camps. I mean, he’s a worker, he’s tough, he practices hard. He’s a bright kid to be around. He loves practice every day.“He’s always smiling, it’s a joy to be around. And just have a lot of respect for what he’s been through as a kid to grow and mature, and he’s seen some things people haven’t seen. And he’s hopefully gonna be able to help us when he’s fully developed and ready to go.“Jah has been working really hard this spring, playing both tackle spots. When he got here, he was a work in progress. He was a size/potential guy. But you don’t just go play tackle and walk out there and be natural at it, especially when you play for four years of high school. And so he’s had to condition himself. He’s had to callous himself in terms of contact toughness. It’s a very physical position and physical game. And then knowledge and understanding our scheme and where his help is. He’s gotten better at that. So he’s improving every day and needs to continue to improve to get us where we want to go.”
Isiah Canion, his health, and his familiarity with other Georgia players...
“Sure, I think it helps having teammates being from the state, played against a lot of kids on our roster. He’s a Georgia kid, so he’s been around it. He’s dealing with an ankle injury right now. He’s been out for a day or two. He sprained an ankle. It’s nothing real serious. But he’s dealing with an ankle injury, and we’ll get him back out there as soon as we can.”
Viral moment from practice with Elyiss Williams and Amarius Williams...
“Yeah, I don’t really worry about it much. I saw it. Most people send it to me, but I mean, it’s not something we put out. It’s something somebody else captured and put out, so I don’t worry about it. We don’t practice indoors.I don’t worry about what other people think about our practices and what they do. I mean, I’ll say this, that that play in particular, he actually slipped and stepped on somebody’s foot. So it’s probably not a fair assessment of him, because when you step on somebody else’s foot and slip, sometimes you get your ass whipped, and then sometimes you just slip.“And you’re not allowed to slip, but it wasn’t as bad as it seemed, certainly. But I don’t worry about it, because there’s a certain level of toughness it requires to play football. And that’s all for you guys to worry about. Y’all like to capture things and put them out, make them a big deal. We do this every day.”
On bringing in Robert Edwards and his excitement over it...“
Yeah, Robert’s a guy that I have a tremendous respect for. I think he embodies what resiliency he is. He is a tremendous person. He persevered so much in his career. Not only his career here, but his career post-college. And these young men, sometimes, they wanna emulate the guys that played here before them, the guys that played in the National Football League. They don’t realize that your career can be one injury away. And Robert’s living proof of that. And he overcame his and came back and had a successful career. He wants to pour into these young men just like we do as coaches. Who better to do that than somebody that has a track record of overcoming things, and he’s here for the players to assist them. I think that’s a big draw.”
Drew Bobo out, Malachi Toliver and Cortez Smith growth in his absence...
“Yeah, Malachi got a lot of reps last year, so did Cortez. Cortez dealt with some injuries, Malachi dealt with some injuries. They both battled back, they’re both doing a good job this spring. And Walclaire’s working in there, Zykie’s worked in there. We’ve got a lot of guys working.You can’t have enough centers in terms of being able to snap the ball, communicate. Peagler works in there. So we’re developing those guys. They also are repping at guard because you can’t be a one position guy, and they’re getting work at all positions.”
On Elyiss Williams and what he needs for a bigger role...
“I think I understand each play, it’s dynamic, what’s going on around him. Use his size and use his quickness to become a little more twitchy to be a receiving tight end as well as a physical and dominating blocking tight end. He’s a weapon on the perimeter because of his size, but he’s also a weapon on the interior because of his ability to strike and roll his hips, and really good athlete. So very pleased with that group, and they got a great competition going on in that room, like a lot of rooms, for playing time.
On being more explosive and meeting that goal, are you seeing that?...
“Sometimes, like when you have 100 play practice, there’s explosive plays and there’s not explosive plays. So I don’t know that I’ve ever been to a spring that we weren’t explosive, and I don’t think I’ve ever been to a spring that we were explosive enough. So we’re probably somewhere in the middle, Marc.”
Beyond Gunner, what do you do to be more explosive, what do you teach?
“What do you mean?”
Because you had brought up Gunner when someone had asked you in the first press conference about, it’s partly on him and obviously he’s only one player on the offense. What do you need to see from your wide outs, your running backs, your offensive line when you’re blocking downfield?
“Everything you just said. Blocking downfield, making holes, making plays. I don’t think being explosive is real complicated, right? You gotta throw the ball, you gotta catch the ball. You gotta protect the passer, you gotta block downfield. So we’re gonna get plenty of opportunities to be explosive. What we have to do to see it? We gotta execute it. You gotta go do it, right? You gotta beat somebody in some kind of way. And whether it’s physically, schematically, fastball, perimeter. I mean, there’s like a million ways to be explosive. We just, I think everybody in the country wants to be more explosive. That starts with us.”
On if someone needs to pop in the WR room this year...
“Sure, I mean, I think we need somebody to pop every year. I mean, who’s gonna be explosive if it’s not them, right? Like, when you look at explosive plays in college football, it’s your skill players, right? So, have you ever seen a team be explosive without explosive players? I doubt it, and our explosive players in the past have been Brocks, Ladds, Dillon Bells, Zach Branches. Like, those are explosive players, and you wanna get your explosive players touches. And sometimes that’s created through scheme, and sometimes it’s created through your personnel and your talent level.”
On Larry Knight...
“Still early, he’s still developing a rapport and relationship with him. I mean, I enjoy watching him work. He’s one of those guys that, throw their cleats on, he’ll go out there and compete with them and teach them. And very technical in his process of the way he teaches. Something he’s still getting comfortable with those guys, because that’s not a relationship that you just earn overnight. He’s still earning their trust, and they’re still earning his. So it’s a two-way street, and I’m very pleased with where it is.”
On if there was concern about Nate Frazier looking to go elsewhere...
“Yeah, almost every player re-signed, so that’s not a big deal. That’s a big deal to you guys and all that. It’s like, to get a player to stay, they typically do re-sign. So I’m very pleased with where Nate is. I’m happy with his progress. I’m happy with that room’s progress. We gotta break some more tackles in there, and we gotta find some guys that can play on third down.”
On Craig Dandridge and Dante Dowdell...
“Yeah, both guys, extremely hard workers. I thought they had really good off-seasons. Dante’s in a completely different spot than Craig. I mean, he’s older, he’s been, I think it’s fourth year, fifth year, he’s a senior. He’s extremely physical, tough, strong, really quick feet, can get in and out of the hole. He’s had some explosive runs where he burst through the hole. He’s had some times where he’s still figuring things out for us because he’s learning verbiage and things. But he’s a confident bet. He’s a very reliable guy, hoping to get some play out of him on special teams and also at running back.“Craig is going through what mid-year freshmen go through. He’s very intelligent, he picks things up really well. He’s physically, he’s not gonna be able to go out there and dominate defensive backs right now because that’s, he hasn’t been in the weight room long enough. He hasn’t been asked to go out there, and the kids that are three and four years older than him go over there and dominate them, but he’s made some plays in the passing game. And that’s typically where a freshman, you can find a skill set that a guy has that can run and catch. And he has that skill set, and he’s worked in the slot some, and he’s working outside some. He’s one of the few guys that can handle multiple positions.”
On Isaiah Gibson...
“Yeah, that room, I’m pleased with that outside linebacker room. They’re competing, they’re growing. Those guys are getting a lot of work and reps. He’s in that group. He’s a high effort, really tough, hard-nosed player. He’s bounced in between what we call the big end and the JACK, and he’s playing both those positions and helping us fill the role. And he’s flashed at times, especially in pass rush with quickness and suddenness. And I like his energy at practice. He loves the game, and he plays really hard. He’s continuing to improve.”
