Vanderbilt -- Georgia Postgame Quotes
September 12, 2015 | Football
Recap | Final Stats | Notes | Photo Gallery 
Vanderbilt -- Georgia Postgame Quotes
Sept. 3, 2015
Vanderbilt Stadium
UGA Coach Mark Richt
Opening statement:
"We're 1-0 in league play, which is great. I'm very thankful for that. Hard fought battle against a team that was really ready to play. I was very impressed with the job that Coach Mason did. There were so many things that went well and so many things that didn't go so well, a lot of things to learn from, but a lot of things to be thankful for. I felt like there were enough good things on offense, defense and special teams that we deserved to win. When bad things happened, we certainly could've lost it. To get out of a game like this with a victory and still being able to learn from it is going to be very valuable to us, and that'll be our goal."
On Jordan Jenkins' 5.5 tackles for loss:
"Jordan just played with such a great edge. Jordan decided to come back for his senior season, it was something that he felt strongly about. He felt like he just had to get better, there were some things he thought he could improve on. That's what I like about him. He's not a guy who thinks he hung the moon by any stretch, but he came back, he worked his tail off, and he's been playing excellent ball. He's been named a captain for game one and game two, and he'll probably get named captain for game three considering what he did this week."
On quarterback play and usage:
"We just didn't throw-and-catch well in the first half, a little bit of decision-making but we mostly just didn't hit our targets. One ball got tipped at the line of scrimmage. We didn't attempt many balls, period. We didn't move the chains, we didn't get any third down conversions in the first half. We have to be more balanced than we were today in order for our offense to really move well. We were gonna play Brice [Ramsey] in the first half, and we did, but even when we took a knee at the end of the first half Greyson [Lambert] was in there and we wanted to finish it that way. Greyson, I think completed 11-out-of-16 or something in the second half; much better performance in the second half which is good to see."
On success running the ball in the first half and the effect on the passing game:
"I look at that one drive way back inside the five where we tried to get big and they got big and put everybody in every gap, and then some. You're just so tempted to pick it up and launch one because it's single coverage and nobody deep, everybody's on the line of scrimmage. No matter how well you run the ball you won't be able to run the ball into that. Every once in a while you've got to pick it up and throw a pop pass or a slant or take a shot to back people off of you a little bit. Overall, we ran the ball well, but a lot of it was in big chunks, and a lot of it was grinding for that two or three yard gain, and that's how it goes sometimes. We did have some big runs, my guess is the receivers did a good job blocking downfield for those."
On Vanderbilt recovering a squibb kick at the Georgia 20-yard line in the fourth:
"That was aligned the way we wanted to, they took advantage of the alignment. There are a lot of guys who have a responsibility on that hands unit, and that is to block the defenders coming down the field. They've got to block and give that returner time to gather the ball in. I'm going to spend some time seeing just exactly what everybody else in the country does in that situation and find out if there' s a better way, but if everybody did what they were supposed to do, there'd have been a lot more time and opportunity for him to get on the ball safely without the drama. That's one of the things that could've cost us. We've got to make sure we're doing the right thing, first of all, then make sure we can execute it."
On if his team beat themselves at times:
"We're all perfectionists. We all want to do it just right. We know that, when we don't, it bothers us. I talked to the team after the game and said we've just all got to look within ourselves and say, `What did I do that I could've done better?' We're in a business of correction. We're in a business of watching the film and critiquing what we do and being gut-level honest about what we see to make it better, and that's what football is all about. We'll have a good hard look at the tape, a good hard look at our strategies, and make sure we're doing the right thing. Our players, I'm sure, will look within themselves too to see what they could do better. Obviously, there were some momentum shifts and things that looked ominous there for a minute. We could've folded, but we didn't, and that's a good sign too."
On his special teams in the win:
"We did some really good things on special teams. [Kicker Marshall Morgan], I've got a lot of faith in him. He's a very talented kid and he's kicking the ball well. It's hard to say when you miss kicks, but when you start duck-hooking them and when you start just pulling it, then you get nervous but, right now, he's striking the ball pretty good."
On his team's recent history playing at Vanderbilt:
"I don't know. I think Vanderbilt's a good football team. They're tough to play at home, and we just haven't been able to finish it very often. We've had one game out of the last five times we're here where we didn't have drama. We've had drama here just about every other time."
On new Offensive Coordinator Brian Schottenheimer's first time calling plays on the road:
"I think he called a game that was just fine, we've just got to execute a few things a bit better at times. Some of the things, like the decision to run the ball three times deep in our own territory and not throw, were my decision. I was trying to chew up as many timeouts as possible and hopefully knock it out of there. Some of those things had to do with me. Towards the end, when we were trying to use as much clock as possible and huddle instead of going no-huddle, a lot of those were my calls."
On multiple dropped interceptions:
"We did drop a few picks, didn't we? It might've been less dramatic, but I'm glad we caught the ones we did, and we'll just have to work on the jugs machine a little more."
On his reaction after Vanderbilt recovered the muffed kickoff:
"Well, I didn't say anything out loud, but if anybody could record my thoughts, my pastor wouldn't have been happy with me."
QB Greyson Lambert
On offensive struggles throughout the first half:
"We just couldn't find our rhythm, especially in the passing game. We didn't get to go up tempo as much as we would have liked, some of that was us and some of that was them, which kind of kept us out of our rhythm a little bit. When it comes to passing and rushing that got going in the third quarter, which can't happen again if we want to be successful."
On QB Brice Ramsey's role in offense:
"I think it's going well. He and I roomed together on this trip and we talked about plays here and there. Our relationship is great, and when he comes in I'm his biggest fan."
Thoughts going into halftime:
"Just kind of calm down and realize that God has put me in this position to play football for a reason and I understood that we were up 14-6 and that I could have been a lot worse. Just come out in the second half and play football."
SS Dominick Sanders
Overall thoughts on the game:
"I feel like we played pretty hard. We made mistakes on both sides of the ball, but I felt like we kept our head in the game, we didn't let it bring us down and kept moving forward throughout the game."
On coming through when it mattered most:
"There were a couple of mistakes made, but we kept our heads in the game and kept playing hard."
What he takes away from the close victory:
"We got the 'W' and we're moving on to the next opponent. Learn how to learn from our mistakes, that's what I will take away from this game."
On his pick-six:
"You know I just told myself to keep running. I just trying to read my keys and understand what was going on. I got in coverage and just broke on the ball and made a big play."
OLB Jordan Jenkins
On his game today:
"After the second quarter I saw how many plays I was making and how it was affecting their quarterback so I wanted to keep that going and put everything on the line. This is my senior season and I feel like when people come back for their senior year they're always going to play different in critical situations."
On putting pressure on the quarterback position
"That's what going to fuel me into that next week, those two or three sacks that I didn't get when I made contact with the quarterback, but I didn't take him down. I just have to keep working and get those sacks added on."
CB Reggie Wilkerson
Getting his interception:
"It was just a blessing. It's a blessing that I can play and do what I have to do. We were playing zone, and I dropped into my zone, read the quarterback and he threw it right to me perfectly. I was too excited to take it all the way back, and I tripped up a little bit."
OLB Leonard Floyd
If he felt the need to step up after Carter's ejection:
"Yes sir. Plus we got multiple line backers that can play at a high level, we just put the next guy in and move on from there"
On when he Jordan Jenkins was going to have a great game:
"Probably pre-game, I've never seen Jordan act like that during pre-game. He was just on another level, a higher intensity all throughout pre-game. I'm proud of him for having a great game."
ILB Jake Ganus
Allowing Vanderbilt a late touchdown:
"I thought overall we did a good job. They (Vanderbilt) started tip-toeing up on us there at the end and we have got to be able to handle that better. But, overall I thought we did a good job. We have a lot to improve on and we have to keep getting better. We have a new game next week and I'm excited."
Vanderbilt Head Coach Derek Mason
Opening comments:
"I have to congratulate a very good Georgia team. They played hard. They made the plays they needed to make. We had a hard time stopping [Georgia running back Nick] Chubb. We had guys try, but you have to make plays. We had opportunities to win the ball game. These kids didn't give up on playing this game. They continued to play hard.
"Georgia brings a lot of pressure defensively and kept us off-balance. We finally got into a hurry-up offense and it gave us some momentum."
On getting turnovers:
"We have to finish. There were opportunities to be had... If Oren [Burks] comes down with that one, he probably runs it back because the only guy who can make a play on him is the quarterback... We have to keep working for opportunities and cash in."
On QB Johnny McCrary's red zone turnovers:
"He's trying to hard to make a play... We had a opportunity to get some points [and] kick a field goal if we had to.
"If we can fix our red zone problems, it will be good for us. We're racking up yards, but not points."
On Vanderbilt's issues running the football today:
"[Georgia] loaded boxes, eight- and nine-man boxes. It was hard to find running creases. [Georgia] did a good job of doing it."
On Georgia's punt return touchdown:
"We didn't get off blocks. There was a good block right where he made the cut. He did a nice job of running in open space. We have to get better at getting off blocks."
On Chubb's yards after contact:
"He did a lot today. It's hard to bring him down with just one guy... Any time you're trying to tackle a running back of his caliber with one person, it's tough."
On the success of Vanderbilt's hurry-up offense:
"Match-ups were in our favor. We were able to get a good balance with it. We had one or two good runs and then could decide between a run or a pass. Johnny [McCrary] is more comfortable in that position, so it's something we're going to have to look at."
On getting pressure on Georgia's quarterback:
"I thought we did a good job of putting a lot of pressure on their quarterback. He was 11-for-21 [passing]. We didn't force them into throwing more."
On the need to establish a lead early:
"Momentum is important. We have to be able to create momentum... In a game like today where we dominate time of possession, it doesn't matter because we aren't scoring."
WR Latevius Rayford
On speeding up the offense:
"I don't know if we're more comfortable, but we tend to get the defense off guard. We just need to make sure we find the right plays so we can capitalize and put us in a better position to score."
On why he received the ball today:
"I just tried to work my hardest to make sure I could get open and that my quarterback would be able to find me. I was trying to make sure to collaborate with the other receivers and work hard against a good Georgia team."
DT Tackle Jay Woods
On the team's hunger to make plays:
"With our team, everybody is hungry. We are always hungry to get a win in the books, and each and every week that's what we try to do. We practice and we dissect the tape and we always think we have the possibility of winning. Today we played a good game with UGA. UGA had a good team, and we just have to go into the next week."
On the team's improvement:
"Ultimately, nobody wants to go 0-2. But I see the improvement in our team, offense and defensively, so I feel like we're headed in the right direction."
S Andrew Williamson
On UGA RB Nick Chubb:
"He's a great running back, and we had some opportunities one-on-one. With a guy like that, you want to get two or three guys to the ball carrier to bring him down, just because he's a good ball carrier."
On missed opportunities:
"We had some missed opportunities. It comes down to setting up and making the play. We just have to do better and take advantage of those opportunities and continue forward."
On the team's belief level after the onside kick:
"The momentum was crazy. It was great to see. [Hayden] Lecakz made a great play, and it was good. We just need to take that momentum and keep going."
RB Ralph Webb
On if he feels the team has a better chance of winning by sticking with the run-game:
"We definitely need to establish the run to open up the passing game. The running game is crucial to our offense. So, we've got to get the ball moving in the ground game to open up the pass."
On how the team competed against Georgia all afternoon and never stopped:
"That's why I love my team because we have heart. We don't quit. We make sure we are going to play the game until the clock says zeroes in the 4th quarter. We were just trying to finish"
On Georgia being able to make it tough to run the ball all afternoon:
"They did a great job on run defense. We just got to get more push and open up some more holes, and get the run game going so we can open it up for the wide receivers."
QB Johnny McCrary
On if he was frustrated for having to settle for field goals instead of touchdowns early in the game:
"I wasn't frustrated. It was just more that those are still points. That's part of the game. It's more so making better decisions when you get down there. Like, those boneheaded mistakes that I had. Those have to stop so that we can win. It's more on my back"
On if he feels like he is trying too hard to make a play around the goal line:
"No, not at all. I think it's just immaturity. You know, it's one of those things you have to make sure you grow out of, and I think that we had a ton of positives out there today. I mean the O-line did really good, the defense did amazing and special teams had the onside kick and got it back to us. Unfortunately, another boneheaded mistake. So, my deal was it's more you have to learn from it. Bounce back from it. I mean progress is what we are looking for. I think we did really good out there against a good Georgia team."
On what he takes away from the game today:
"It was that I had three interceptions. That's the biggest thing - turnovers. That turnover game plays a huge part in winning. Most of those... all of them were my fault. So those are things that I can control, and as you said yes there are a lot of positives along with that. On paper we look really good, and I know each and every week we come at it like it's a new week and just learn from it and get better."
On what he saw on the interception in the end zone after the onside kick recovery:
"Forced the play. It's something that you didn't have to do. Just forced the play."
On what he should have done on the play:
"Tuck it and run. Get what you can get and get out of bounds, and you still have more shots. It was chances you just give away when you are just immature and throw the ball up. So, it's important to tuck it down, get what you can get and all else fails you get three points."
OLB Stephen Weatherly
On the adjustments they made to limit the big runs by Georgia in the second half:
"One of our main focuses coming out of halftime was gang tackling. We just stayed in our gaps and pressed the issue. I felt like we did a lot better in the second half, which is why we played a lot better."
On if the games outcome would have changed if the opportunities to get turnovers were converted for Vanderbilt today:
"Yes, momentum is a great thing. I felt like Georgia had a little too much of it. We could have had opportunities to flip it back in our favor when you take advantage of those."
On if it is more poor execution or poor game planning that has been the downfall early in the season:
"We as players we need to execute better. I feel like that's the key."
