Tuesday News and Notes

You don’t have to look far to find criticism of the Georgia football team.

Of course, most of it has to do with the offense, namely offensive coordinator James Coley or the recent struggles of quarterback Jake Fromm.

Such information certainly doesn’t qualify as news to head coach Kirby Smart, who was asked if some of the words from the outside were serving as motivation for his No. 4 ranked Bulldog squad.

“We have no consideration of anything outside of here. We really don’t. We don’t have any control over it,” Smart said after practice Tuesday. “The thought of those things never even crossed my mind. Because I don’t look at them as punches. I don’t look at them as jabs because I don’t really listen to them.”

Smart doesn’t deny that some of the criticism is warranted. It’s just not motivation. As the head coach, he knows what the current issues are.

“If I need that for motivation then I’m not going to go where we need to go. Our players are intrinsically motivated. You have to motivate because you want to be great. You motivate because you want to be better,” Smart said. “It’s not about what people are saying or criticizing. They have a right to do that and I understand it. We’re critical of ourselves. We have a lot that we need to improve on and some of the things they’re saying, they’re dead on.”

That includes all the concerns fans and media have expressed about the offense and Fromm, who has gone three straight games without completing 50 percent of his passes.

"Certainly, we have games of flashes [in the red zone], flashes of third down, flashes of being able to run the ball. But we haven’t put that collective product together,” Smart said. “But I will say this, our offensive staff has worked extremely hard on it. There’s no stone unturned and the players are working really hard on it. They push each other every day in practice, to get better and to do more.”

Smart said cornerback Eric Stokes (undisclosed injury) continues to practice after going out in the second quarter of last Saturday’s win over Texas A&M.

"Yeah he's practiced. He hasn't had a lot of contact. He's done everything in practice he's just been non-contact for a couple days,” Smart said. “He'll be back to contact tomorrow."

Georgia’s other injured players, offensive lineman Cade Mays (shoulder) and wide receiver Lawrence Cager (shoulder, ribs) continue to practice and hope to play Saturday against Georgia Tech.

Left tackle Andrew Thomas is typically a man of few words.

So, when the junior admitted he was a little ticked off that he wasn't named one of the three finalists for the Outland Trophy, which is awarded to the nation's best lineman, it caught some by surprise.

“I was upset about it,” Thomas said. “But it’s motivation to keep working. There are things I’ve got to improve on.”

Auburn defensive tackle Derrick Brown, Oregon offensive tackle Penei Sewell and Wisconsin center Tyler Biadasz were the three finalists.

Defensive coordinator Dan Lanning has been named one of 15 semifinalists for the 2019 Broyles Award, which is presented to college football’s assistant coach of the year.

Lanning is one of three coaches from the SEC on the list. Bulldog associate head coach/offensive line coach Sam Pittman was a 2018 Broyles semifinalist. Head coach Kirby Smart won the 2009 honor and was a finalist in 2015 while at Alabama.

From the list of 15, five finalists will be selected and invited to travel to Little Rock, Ark., where the 2019 Broyles Award winner will be announced on Dec. 10th.

“I think all of our defensive coaches do a tremendous job and he’d be the first to tell you that what he’s been No. 1, is due to the players, but also the defensive staff," Smart told reporters on Tuesday. "He just has to be the leader and guy in charge of it all. He’s done a really nice job of motivating the players, he relates well to the players, the players believe in him and he’s done a tremendous job."

In his first year as defensive coordinator, Lanning has helped Georgia's defense transform into one of the nation's best. The Bulldogs lead the SEC in Scoring Defense at 10.7 points/game (No. 2 nationally), Rushing Defense at 68.5 yards/game (No. 2 nationally) and in Total Defense at 267.8 yards/game (No. 5 nationally). The Bulldogs have allowed just 118 points in 2019 and only one rushing touchdown.

Smart on DJ Daniel:

"DJ has played well. DJ does a good job. We felt like DJ was one of our best corners all along. He came and worked with us in the bowl practice and he was covering Riley (Ridley) and Mecole (Hardman). We felt good about DJ and confident in DJ all along. We feel good about our three corners. They compete out there at practice. They compete for playing time and DJ has done a nice job."

Smart on if he ever gives thanks for being in the position he’s in:

“I do, when I run into people in the off-season, not much in season. It’s great to be home. It’s awesome to be here, but I don’t come into work thinking about that. I come into work thinking about what we can do to get better, what we can do to improve. That’s constant. It’s what you do. You don’t sit back and acknowledge where you are, because you’re always trying to go somewhere else and that’s what we’re trying to do. It’s where can we take this program, where can we go further; that’s what I’m trying to do – take us to a different spot.”