Kirby Smart met with the media on September 30. Here's what Smart had to say in advance of this weekend's matchup with Auburn.

Smart said he's hopeful defensive lineman Jordan Hall and receivers London Humphreys and Sacovie White will play against Auburn. He added that defensive lineman Mykel Williams was sore after the Auburn game, but he will know more today.

Smart said he has a lot of respect for Auburn coach Hugh Freeze and Auburn's record doesn't indicate how good their team is. He feels that turnovers have been the biggest thing holding Auburn back from having an even better record, and Auburn's quarterbacks have been playing better and better.

As for Freeze's offense, Smart said he has "hung his hat" on RPOs, but his offense has also evolved to do other things. He has added wrinkles from the NFL and across college football in regards to motion and eye candy to create matchups.

Smart said he doesn't have a good answer for slow starts. He feels the team needs to play aggressive and loose early in games, but not "desperate." Smart said the coaches can put together plays that sequence and make sure that players understand what the plan is out of the gate.

Some of Georgia's third-down issues offensively are due to distance. Smart feels many of the problems stem from Georgia's lack of success on early downs and therefore having longer distances on third down.

Smart and the defensive coaches chart how the defenders are swarming to the ball. He feels the Bulldogs aren't "knock-back tackling" well, meaning ball carriers are falling forward more often. Smart said he feels tackling is down across college football, but he said the team needs to tackle better regardless of opponent.

Running back Nate Frazier is improving week to week. Smart said he's a hard worker and conscientious about getting better. Smart added that he's not sure when running back Roderick Robinson will be back from his turf toe injury.

Smart said he's not sure about Georgia's higher rate of penalties this year. He said the SEC said this offseason that there would be a higher awareness toward defensive holding, but he didn't recall that being called the other night. He doesn't have an explanation for it, but said they have to be better.

Smart feels the tight end room has made plays, but also left some plays on the field.

Georgia doesn't plan on changing anything this week after losing a regular season game for the first time since 2020. Smart said they have a process that doesn't change based on outcomes.

Auburn's young receivers are fast and athletic with great size. Smart feels they have special talent as all-around receivers. Smart noted that you want to catch them early in the schedule versus later when they're more experienced. Smart feels Auburn quarterback Payton Thorne is a really good football player who played well against Georgia last year.

The offensive line did some good things against Alabama. Smart felt the communication between that group was better and that allowed the running game to open up. But Smart said it was hard to evaluate them because of how the game turned out.

Smart said the edge contain issues on defense are shared between scheme and players executing. He added that it's not as simple as just staying outside for edge players. It changes each play based on calls.