Everything Georgia Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said about the Texas Longhorns

AUSTIN – Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart met with the media Monday ahead of Saturday’s meeting against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and previewed the top-five matchup.

Here’s what he had to say about Texas:

On his relationship with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian:

“I have great respect for Sark. You know, I’ve gotten to know Sark very well over the last few years. We take a trip together every year and really enjoy getting to know him and have a lot of respect for the work he does.”

On Texas being a “complete team”:

“I mean, the most complete team we’ve seen or competed against this year and probably in several years. When you look at what they do, defensively, offensively and on special teams, they are clearly one of the best teams in the country.”

On the Texas offense:

“They are balanced and do an excellent job of putting you in conflict when it comes to running, passing, play-action and turning your back to the ball. I mean, they can make shots. “They have really good wideouts that can make shots.” You know, I think they lost a couple of defensemen, maybe in preseason camp. And I thought, ‘Okay, they won’t have that – (laughs), but those two defenders are really good.’ And I think I look at them against Mississippi State and then they got even better. physically, offensively, in defense and in attack. … They have really good players in the trenches, and they’re built like an SEC team, and it’s hard to prepare for (Sarkisian) because he knows what he’s doing. I mean, offensively he’s really different as far as getting used to it.”

About Texas QB Arch Manning:

“Look at the games Arch played, he played really well. He did some really good things (game) and played really well.”

What makes the Texas defense so great and how it reminds him of some former Georgia teams:

“Size, speed, two best frontmen. I mean, let’s, let’s start every defense with train wreckers, big guys, physical guys at the point of attack who are hard to move. You have them. They’ve got guys on.” They took an elite player out of the portal and got DB from Clemson (Andrew Mukuba). They patched up some gaps they had because they are really durable. They’re really good in the red. The consistency with which you watch them play reminds me Better teams here, our best teams here, I think, man, they’re good at D, they’re good at O, good at special teams and they play at a high level.

On former Georgia defensive tackle Bill Norton, now at Texas:

“What a great boy, man. This guy put in the effort here and worked really hard And he was a backup defensive tackle and played some snaps, but that was his role I want to say maybe the Ohio State game or one of the games where We lost someone and he had to go in and take over. He played a role in that. And he did it with great pride and was fun to be with. And now he’s probably been to two places, and he’s playing for them, and he’s doing a really good job.”

On Texas tight end Gunnar Helm:

“Well, first of all, he’s a great blocker. He’s not a one-sided tight end. He’s a great size. I mean, this guy is huge on film, but he’s a great pass catcher. And the plan that Sark has, they’re doing a great job. It’s not like they just say, “Hey, go out and go one-on-one and get going.” They sprint out and throw back, their play action, boot(leg) naked, throw off a screen, anything not honoring it because you’re thinking about another play makes you honor it. And I think the quarterbacks are really comfortable with him when there are zone elements, holes and zones, they trust him to be in that spot and catch the ball. But I didn’t know he was in the week because I hadn’t really heard from him yet. “This guy is a really good player and you’re right. He had a big game last week.”

About Texas QB Quinn Ewers:

“There’s nothing he sees that he hasn’t seen. They’re both better athletes than you think. They both have a feel for coverage, and they’re really good in the pocket, and this guy can tackle people when he has to, but he can also pass. I’m really impressed with him, but that was the case last year too, when I saw him play.