Everything Georgia Bulldogs Coach Kirby Smart Said About the Texas Longhorns

Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart shared his thoughts on the Texas Longhorns.

Aug 31, 2024; Atlanta, Georgia, USA; Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart on the field before a game against the Clemson Tigers at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-Imagn Images / Brett Davis-Imagn Images

AUSTIN -- Georgia Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart met with the media Monday ahead of Saturday's meeting against the No. 1 Texas Longhorns and previewed the top-five matchup.

Here's what he had to say about Texas:

On his relationship with Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian:

"Lot of respect for Sark. You know, I've gotten to know Sark really well over the last couple of years. We take a trip every year together, and really enjoy getting to know him and have a lot of respect for the job he does."

On Texas being a "complete team":

"I mean, the most complete team that we've seen or faced this year, and probably in multiple years. When you look at what they're doing, defensively, offensively and special teams, they are clearly one of the best teams in the country."

On the Texas offense:

"They're balanced and they do a great job of putting you in conflict in terms of run, pass, play action, turn your back to the ball. I mean, they can take shots. They have really good wideouts with which to take shots. I think they lost a couple of backs, maybe in preseason camp. And I thought like, 'Okay, well, they're not going to have -- (laughs), well these two backs they got are really good. And I'm watching them against Mississippi State. ... I was really impressed. And then against Oklahoma, they even got better. So it's not like, there are these weaknesses. They're big, physical, upfront, on defense and offense. ... In the trenches, they've got really good players, and they're built like an SEC team, and it's hard to prepare for (Sarkisian) because he knows what he's doing. I mean, offensively, he's really different in terms of what he makes you adjust to."

On Texas QB Arch Manning:

"You watch the games that Arch played, he played really well. He did some really good things. I mean, look at his numbers. He played and he came out first couple plays against Mississippi State ripping it and firing it in his first SEC (game) and played really good."

On what makes the Texas defense great and how it reminds him of some former Georgia teams:

"Size, speed, two best front guys. I mean, let's, let's every defense starts with train wreckers, big guys, physical guys at the point of attack that are hard to move. They got them. They've got guys on the edge that are elite rushers. They got an elite player out of the portal. They went and got DB from Clemson (Andrew Mukuba), who's playing really good. They patched up some holes they had, and they're the complete package because they're really consistent. They don't give up explosives. They're really good in the red area. They're hard to run the ball on. The consistency you watch them play with, it reminds me of some of our better teams here, our best teams here, I'm like, man, they're good on D, they're good on O good on special teams, and they're playing at a high level."

On former Georgia defensive tackle Bill Norton, now at Texas:

"What a great kid, man. This guy worked his tail off here and worked really hard. ... One of his key roles with special teams, and he played on our field goal protection Unit and was the best at doing it we had. And he was a backup defensive tackle and played some snaps, but that was his role that I want to say, maybe the Ohio State game, or one of the games we lost somebody, and he had to go in and take over and play a role at that. And he did it with great pride. He was always positive and enjoyed practice, and was fun to be around, funny guy. And now he's been, I guess, two places, you know, and he's playing for them, and he's doing a really good job."

On Texas tight end Gunnar Helm:

"Well, first of all, he's a tremendous blocker. He's not a one-way tight end. He's got great size. I mean, this guy's huge on film, but he's a great pass catcher. And the scheme that Sark has, they do a great job. It's not like they just say, hey, go out here and go one-on-one and get open. They're sprinting out throwing back, their play action, boot(leg) naked, throw a screen off of it. Everything that you don't honor because you're thinking about another play, they got a play off of it. That makes you honor him. And he's a tremendous blocker. I think the quarterbacks are really comfortable with him, so when you get zone elements and holes and zones, they trust him to go to be at that spot and catch the ball. But I wasn't aware of him going into the week because I had not really heard of him. And now watching tape, this guy's a really good player, and you're right. He had a big game last week."

On Texas QB Quinn Ewers:

"There's nothing he sees that he hasn't seen. ... He's a really good athlete. He's been in Sark's system. I mean, I think the comparisons between him and Carson (Beck) are so similar in terms of the kind of quarterbacks they are. They're both better athletes than people think. They both have awareness of coverage, and they're really good in the pocket, this guy's taken off and hurt people running when he needs to, but he also can stand in the pocket and make all the throws and change the protection. So I've really been impressed with him. But that was the case even last year when I saw him play."