Kirby Smart Gives Thoughts On South Carolina
It's week three of the 2023 college football season, which means it's time for a battle between the hedges between the South Carolina Gamecocks and the Georgia Bulldogs. It'll be the third time that Shane Beamer and Kirby Smart have faced off against each other, with Smart having gotten the better of his former assistant on the previous two occasions, but that doesn't mean that Smart doesn't respect what Carolina possesses.
When speaking to the media in Athens on Monday afternoon, Smart was asked multiple questions about the Gamecocks, starting with his thoughts on star quarterback Spencer Rattler.
"He's got elite arm talent [with] the throws he's made. He can make the touch throws, deep, vertical, [and] back shoulder throws. He'll throw a couple of out [routes to the] field [side]," Smart explained. "He's very elusive, he's very accurate with the ball, [and] he's hard to [tackle]. There's a lot of people that miss tackles on him when they have an opportunity to try to take him down," Kirby continued. "He sees the whole field, and some of his best plays come off schedule, meaning [if] somebody misses somebody or he scrambles, he [can] hit you on a shot [pass]. He's very dangerous."
The 8th-year head coach was later asked what he's seen in terms of improvement from South Carolina over the first two weeks of the season, and instead of answering the question directly, he took it a different route, lauding the Gamecocks for their ability to not flinch internally despite the circumstances.
"I think when you look at the end of year last year with what they did with Tennessee and Clemson, it speaks for itself. Their kids don't listen to the outside noise; they go out and play like they're coached to play."
If the Gamecocks are going to pull off what would be widely viewed as an improbable upset on Saturday afternoon, one facet of the game they'll have to win is special teams, a phase of the game Beamer's team prides itself on immensely. It's a mentality that Smart knows very well about the long-time SEC coach.
"[Special teams is] something they do a really really good job of. I know [Shane's] very hands-on with that, he's passionate about it, [and] it creates an identity for his players, and you can see [that] they play that way on special teams."
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