Kirby Smart reacts: Georgia coach talks QBs, Bulldogs’ early-season rout of UAB

After a big win Saturday, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart carried his usual demeanor.

He had a rather-short temper. He didn’t want to answer any questions about his quarterbacks, especially when reporters peppered him with similar questions with differing semantics.

Smart did, however, have a lot of positives to reflect on. Georgia (2-0) topped UAB in a 56-7 rout in its return to the hallowed hedges of Sanford Stadium. After not scoring an offensive touchdown against Clemson, the Bulldogs notched seven of them and had plenty of flashy highlights along the way.

Here’s a breakdown of how Smart reacted to his team’s latest win before SEC play begins on Sept. 18 vs. South Carolina.

The quarterbacks

▪ On JT Daniels’ health: “JT got better as the week went on. We didn’t really even know that anything was really wrong with him Monday because he took all of the reps. It was bothering him a bit. The week went on, and it bothered him a bit more on Tuesday. He was better (Saturday) than he did earlier in the week. It was the first time he got to throw some balls down the field in warmups. We hope he continues to improve.”

▪ On the decision to start Stetson Bennett, who tied a school record with five passing touchdowns: “We decided to go to Stetson because we’re really young offensively. We have a lot of guys who are injured or out — Kearis (Jackson), Darnell (Washington) or George (Pickens). We have a lot of young players who are trying to grow up and it gave us a calming effect to have him in with his experience and playing in a lot of games. He played very well and I’m proud of the way he handled it. We went 2-1, 2-1, 2-1 like we planned to in order to get (Bennett and Carson Beck) reps.”

The UGA offense

▪ On Georgia’s offensive explosiveness: “They gave us the ability to stretch the field. The second play of the game, they played quarters and bit on the run. Jermaine ran by the safety. It’s not about being willing or not willing to stretch the field, but what the defense does. If you don’t cover down the field, you throw it to them. We want to be explosive.”

▪ On Georgia’s lack of a rushing attack: “We didn’t move people up front. They contained the run game, but it was expensive for them to do that.”

▪ On Brock Bowers, the freshman tight end who had an 88-yard touchdown: “It started in the spring, and Brock is very bright and conscientious. We felt like we had a special player (when we recruited him). He came in and we realized it. We need tight ends like him if we’re going to be elite. He’s become a really good weapon.”

The game overall

▪ On Georgia avoiding complacency: “I was proud of the start. I have to see if it was what we did or what they did. They gave us two really big plays. There are a lot of things we can improve on and a lot of players who can get better, but we did start fast today. That’s what we challenged them to do. We haven’t been aggressive and explosive, and they did a good job of that today.”

The defense

▪ On the young players’ opportunity to play on defense, after freshmen Kelee Ringo and Jamon Dumas-Johnson had interceptions: “It’s tremendous. It gives them the opportunity to play and eventually in more-meaningful games. I don’t think enough people understand that these kids practice everyday. The opportunity to go out there and play the game has to mean something. There has to be enough pride to say ‘I don’t care what the scoreboard says. This is my opportunity to show my coach all of my hard work.’ They work hard, and believe it or not, they’re good football players.”