Kirby Smart on LSU; Impact of Transfers

Kirby Smart broke down the LSU Tigers ahead of Georgia football's matchup in the SEC Championship.

Georgia head football coach Kirby Smart spoke to the media via teleconference Thursday, ahead of his team's appearance in the SEC Championship Game. 

Smart fielded multiple questions about College Football Playoff expansion and the Transfer Portal, but was asked a few about LSU, his team's opponent in Atlanta. 

On what stands out about LSU on tape:

“They got a lot of talent. A lot of really fast, athletic players, when you look across the skill level on both sides of the ball, for them, they’ve got great size and great speed." Smart said.

"They’ve got one of the most physical offensive lines we’ve played. They’re really, really talented in the [red zone] defensive area, and the [red zone] offense, which we worked on hard yesterday. Third down, as well. They do a great job offensively on third down, because they don’t get into many third-and-long situations.”

What impresses him about LSU-freshman linebacker Harold Perkins Jr.:

“Extremely athletic. Very twitchy. We’ve had a crossover with them on several teams we’ve played this year. Whether that be Tennessee, Mississippi State, Florida, a couple others, Auburn, I think. I think they do a good job utilizing his skillset. Whether it’s an edge rusher, interior rusher, spy, zone coverage guy, man-to-man guy, he’s a force to be reckoned with. He’s very talented."

Kirby Smart's message to the team ahead of the SEC Championship:

“Preparation is the key to any game, and that this is no different than our other SEC games that we’ve had.. The difference is; we’re playing at a neutral site. It’s an opportunity to go out there and play, and nobody else is going to be playing in our conference but us. So, all of your peers get to watch this game. It’s one of the most watched games of any football season." said Smart.

 We’ve talked long and hard about being at our best when our best is needed. Those critical situations inside of games, they’ll decide this game… Whether that’s turnovers, red area, or third downs.”

How big of an impact transfers made in LSU winning the SEC West in Brian Kelly's first season at the school:

"A lot. When their staff got put in place, it’s hard to compare that to other programs across the board in the SEC, but I would argue they did the best job of filling holes and creating roster opportunities for guys coming in. You start with [Jayden Daniels]. The quarterback has played phenomenal for them. He’s a tremendous athlete and he’s been a tremendous asset for them, but they also filled some really big holes on defense with transfers. They hit on the right guys, and probably, if they don’t do as good a job, it’s hard to say where they would be right now, but they put together some really good defensive plays, as well as the quarterback.”

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