Dan Lanning spoke with reporters for the first time since the preseason during Monday's Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl press conference.
See what he had to say below:
As far as teams gunning for you, every team has a game plan, studies defenses. What you did last year, everybody had to have Georgia circled. How many different things did you see that it looked like it was schemed specifically for you?
Lanning: “I think every year, as the season goes on, you start to say, these teams are copycatting a game plan that you see, something you've given up. We know ultimately on defense anything we give up; we are going to see that again. Like you said, teams are looking for a way to attack us. I think that is certainly showed up. That is pretty consistent with each year. Teams have not had a lot of success running the ball on us this year. They have to find unique ways to run the ball. What has been successful, what is not? Same thing goes with the passing game.”
I am not sure that I can tell that you have seen a quarterback quite like Desmond Ridder during this season. I wonder about some of the unique aspects that he brings, trying to defend him.
Lanning: “Desmond is a player. What makes Desmond unique, I do not think he gets enough credit for, is his ability to run. I think he is the second winningest quarterback in Cincinnati's history. Has a really strong arm, is up for basically every award for the quarterback. I would put him in the top three quarterbacks we have played this season in my mind as far as execution, understanding of an offense. They ask him to do a lot. You can tell, he makes a lot of checks at the line. He is obviously a really savvy player from an intelligence standpoint. He can make all the throws, is a dynamic runner as well.”
Dan, when y'all start dealing with recruiting and the way y'all have recruited lately, do you and Kirby sit down, the defensive staff, look at the board and say, we need this particular player? Or do you say, we have this spot we have to fill? How do you manage those two things?
Lanning: “It's a combination of both. I mean, ultimately Coach Smart has a plan for everything. He is very detailed in everything that he does, whether it be recruiting, practice plan organization, the way we handle our players here. But, yeah, there is a certain roster number that you are looking for kind of at each position, then you have to assess need, position need, over what we utilize. This defense has changed over time based on the offenses we face as well. How many 300-pounders do you need on your roster as opposed to how many DBs? I think that is all a piece of it. We're trying to find the right guys that fit within the system we run defensively but enhance what we can do and build upon, if that answers your question.”
Coach, when you look at all of the different options, players that you could have that could decide to move on, not to play in this game, declare after the game, is it exciting to get them all back, the ones that are sticking around? Kirby said you guys are excited about the ones playing in this game. Seeing guys like Malik who is bound for the Senior Bowl, Jordan Davis, who probably could go to the NFL after this year if he wanted to, Devonte Wyatt, how exciting is that to see those guys come back and have a chance to coach them once again?
Lanning: “I'm thrilled about every single guy we have in our program. The guys you mentioned are guys we are really, really excited about. That certainly does not change. My ultimate goal as a coach is these guys can achieve at the highest level, they reach all their goals here at Georgia, then they have the opportunity to play long careers in the NFL if God is willing. That is exciting for me to have those guys have those opportunities. Ultimately, we talk about the opportunity to come get a first-class education at Georgia, play really elite defense against the best competition. I think that's really appealing for our players to have the opportunity to do that.”
You mentioned at the start this has been a different year. Do you think there is a direct relationship between COVID and scoring being up nationally?
Lanning: “I don't know that I'd say that. Maybe, probably. I do not know the answer to that. I know ultimately offenses are ahead of the curve right now. You could say it is related to COVID, but I know within our walls we have a standard of defense here we take a lot of pride in. That does not change based on situation. We take a lot of pride in our mental agility and our ability to adapt. If you sat here and said offenses are not scoring more points, you would be lying. That is obviously happening. We have to continue to adapt and build off of that. Is some of that related to COVID? Yeah, probably. Is all that? No. I do not think we will ever use that as an excuse in our program. I know that.”
Kirby said a couple nights ago that Monty Rice has not been full strength since the Alabama game. What adjustments has that resulted in for both of you?
Lanning: “The one thing that's been an adapting piece for us is the multiplicity of each week not knowing necessarily who you have. You probably ask guys to know more positions. In turn, that is going to create a little bit more simplicity on one side of the ball. If you have to learn multiple positions, be able to do multiple things, you need to shrink your package to be able to adapt to that.”
Azeez is speculating on whether he is going to play. How has he improved this year as a player and what does he bring to your defense?
Lanning: “Azeez is a lead-by-example guy. He does exactly what you ask him to do. From a player standpoint, I think he has become more refined each year. You talk about player improvement from where he has come from when he first got here to what he has become this year. His ceiling is really high. I think he is developed a lot of trust within our players. They trust that Azeez is going to do his job. You talk about players; everybody wants to work on what they are good at. Azeez is a guy that is attacked his weaknesses, and said, Hey, here is the things I want to improve. You see that show up on film. I think he can pass-rush on anybody in our league. I think he is really good at setting the edge and playing the run, which is something you have to be able to do both in the SEC. You can't be one or the other.”
In terms of your defense, how much did everything change when you did not have Richard after the Kentucky game? How important has he been to your defense, the potential of having him back, how much does that excite y'all?
Lanning: “Ultimately you look at Richard's career at Georgia. Richard has been a playmaker. It is exciting when that guy brings a certain level of energy and juice when he is on the field. He finds himself around the ball. That is really exciting. We don't just completely change our entire scheme because one guy is in or out. When you have experience, there is nothing that replaces experience on the football field. Richard has a lot of experience suiting up for the Georgia Dawgs. That is a big piece of it for Richard. Certainly, we’d be excited if we get an opportunity to see him on the field.”
Dan, was there a time in the season when you realized how bad the pandemic was and how difficult it was for y'all to deal with it?
Lanning: “The mental agility piece, really starting all the way back to this summer. I do not know if there is one moment that sticks out over the other. It is just every day you come into work. In the past you said, I have an expectation for what we are going to be able to attack today, what personnel groups we are going to be able to use, what people we have available. We have realized really quickly in2020 that is not a reality. You have to be ready to change, whether it be five minutes before a meeting, somebody gets dinged, or somebody goes out. I want to give credit to Ron Courson and Coach Smart for really having a plan. Every single day we have stepped in here, if this happens, here is our reaction. Our trainers have done a really good job, our coaches and players have all done a really good job adapting, whether it is us moving a guy for a position for the day. I do not know if anybody can script it and you anticipate what it is going to look like this season. Each day has just really taught you you better be able to adjust on the fly. That has been consistent. I do not know if there is one point. It's really been throughout the season we've had to be able to adapt to that.”
