This will be happening in Tampa later today.
I came up with 3 serious and 3 not-so-serious questions for Kirby if I were at SECMD.
Serious:
Q: Who would be the first 5 on the offensive line to run out for the first snap if you were playing a game today?
My thoughts (or hopes) on an answer would be Greene at LT, Glover at LG, Bobo at C (I’m assuming he’s fully healthy since he’s going to Tampa), Calhoun at RG (is that too much to ask), and Gaston at RT. I admit I’m not as sold on Jah Jackson as others appear to be. I want Gaston to be groomed to take over at LT in 2027. I also want Helton to get a bunch of snaps (just not the first one) this season.
Q: The narrative this off-season is all about going deeper in the playoff. Would you rather win the SEC and lose a quarterfinal or go deeper in the playoff without winning either the national title or an SEC title?
My answer (if I were Kirby) would be: A number on the wall should mean something. Winning the SEC title is an outstanding year regardless of how the season ends. Do we want to go deep in the playoff and win the whole thing? Absolutely. Should we discount the value of winning our league in the name of the playoff? Absolutely not.
Q: You made a big deal about being more explosive on offense and disruptive on defense throughout the spring and the offseason. Who are the players you expect to make that a reality?
After injecting Kirby with truth serum … here’s the answer as opposed to coachspeak:
On offense, that starts with the offensive line playing to their immense potential to give Gunner time to allow plays downfield to develop or holes for our backs to run through. Then, Gunner has to be willing to take calculated risks in the passing game with the intermediate and downfield routes. Don’t be stupid with it, and also don’t default to the check-down or the behind of line of scrimmage throw. Finally, make the first guy miss. Talyn Taylor, Nate Frazier and Elyiss Williams need to be those guys for us.
On defense, it starts again up front. Take away the run game and force teams into poor down and distance. Move the line of scrimmage back. We started doing that in games later in the season last year but didn’t do that consistently in New Orleans. Cover a second longer to give our front 6 a chance to get home and disrupt the QB. I would love to get more sacks, but taking the QB out of rhythm is the most important thing. Look at the 2 Alabama games. Game 1 we didn’t do that and they had their way in the first half. Game 2 we never let them truly get comfortable. Elijah Griffin, Chris Cole, Q Johnson, and Gabe Harris need to play to their potential.
Not-so-serious (with in some cases not-so-serious responses):
Q: Your son Andrew recently attended a Georgia Tech camp and seemed to come away with an offer. Is there any way your son plays for that good-for-nothing program where he has held up whiteboards with “We Run This State” written on it multiple times?
Andrew is Weston’s little brother, but no way will I allow him to play for a little brother program like Fech, Texas Tech, the Barn, the Handbags, or Texas AgCult. FTMF.
Q: It’s been reported you are a member of the new golf club, The Rose, right outside of Athens. You can take anyone to play. Who are you taking?
That guy, EE, who writes at GTP Refugees, seems like a guy I would enjoy a day on the course with. I know he would bring a couple of members of the best community in the Dawg interwebs with him.
Q: You and Mike (Bobo) are both SAE alumni. Do you think you two would have gotten in if you didn’t play football?
Hell, no. They would have sent both of us to sit in the TV room watching 1980 highlights on VHS with a paper cup of tepid water while they schmoozed their rich boy legacies.
Those are my questions.
Inquiring minds want to know what your questions and answers would be.
Refugees, assemble and discuss.
Lol…only Kirby was an SAE. I’m pretty sure Bobo wasn’t in a fraternity. Coach Boom was a KA though.
I’d really like to hear his assessment on recruiting in the NIL era, and what adjustments he’s made where he’s at peace – if he is – with not having a top five recruiting class.
I’d also like to hear how he’s feeling about the team’s offseason performance on the streets and alleyways of Athens. They’ve mostly kept their noses clean, that’s a win, if anything.
I think (hope) NIL is still shaking out. It’s certainly hurt us more than helped us so far, given how we seem to set the market for random 5-star and then Texas/Miami/whoever seems to come along and pay more to take the player.
The string of 3 star recruits we’re piling on may tell us Kirby’s approach. I’m guessing there aren’t any signing limits anymore, so he seems to be casting a wide net and then looking for the stand outs.
The only limit is the 105 under scholarship. The question is whether you take high school players that may be development projects (3 star) or transfers from other schools to fill out the bottom of the roster.
Kirby seems to have decided he’ll take his chances on scouting & evaluations of high schoolers over bringing in 15-20 transfers.
With NIL for high school players, you have to be ready to pay up for players expected to provide immediate help (Kemon Spell comes to mind) and spend judiciously for players who are blue chips who may not be immediate contributors given the expected depth chart.
Kirby said basically the same thing today that you just wrote. He believes in recruiting high schools and directing more NIL money to player retention. I like that personally for several reasons. With the lack of any rules nationally it could backfire, but over time I think it is the only sane thing to do.
Meanwhile, I hope you get to play golf with Kirby and report back.
I’m not holding my breath. 😉
I’m in for the Rose invite and will reciprocate here in COS!
Coach Smart, is there any chance that Gunner can hit a reciever on a post route this year or will it be business as usual with bubble screens on the perimeter? Thanks
He hit Talyn Taylor right in the hands on a post for a TD.
The stuff of nightmares right there. Hopefully the young man is done with those jitters.
It happens to the best of them … Terrence Edwards as a senior vs. Florida. Likely a sure TD just dropped.
I guess I should frame my question differently. “Is there any chance Bobo calls the post route more often this year?” I mean, we are nitpicking here, so I would like to see us stretch the field at bit more rather than push everything up the middle or on the perimeter.
That’s totally fair. I do think we ran a lot of RPO stuff where it was zone read (either TB or QB run) with the screen as the P option.
I’m curious if they’re working Gunner into more comfort in the pocket…provided there is one. Mateer was quoted yesterday as saying he either gets rid of the ball quickly or runs because SEC defenses are so fast. Gunner has some similar tendencies.
I’d be more interested in how Bobo is going to utilize the TEs more in the gameplanning. Prothro and Williams are unicorns and we know what Monken did with unicorns…gotta see these guys get the ball more. If they do, the receivers can blow the top off the secondary with ease and Gunner can find them.
Our OL should be solid and our RB’s experienced in pass pro.Gunner is going to have time.
Yeah, that’s a good question. I think Gunner will be more comfortable this year and I would hope we see more deep threats or more than just WR screens and slants. Without Branch, not sure how well those WR screens will work.
Sacovie White is going to get a shot at that.
Or any crossing routes?
2021 and 2022 we had the ability on defense to push the pocket back into the QB face. Without blitzing. That has not been the case the last couple years. To get to the promised land our d-front has got to get a lot tougher.
That answer to serious question #2 was so spot on, I actually read it Kirby’s press conference answer voice.
Count me in for the Rose. My handicap travels well. We might could win it. Go DAWGS!