Georgia's Kirby Smart Comments On Playing & Coaching In Tiger Stadium In His Past

Georiga head coach Kirby Smart addressed the media on Monday for his weekly press conference and previewed the upcoming game vs. LSU on Saturday night.

Smart was also asked about what he remembers from playing at Tiger Stadium as a Georgia defensive back in 1998 and his memories from coaching on the Tigers staff under Nick Saban back in 2004.

Opening comments…

“We move onto LSU, going to an extremely tough environment to play in, one that I've both experienced as a player and a lot of times as a coach. They have an incredible environment. Their fanbase is really second to none in their atmosphere they create from the time you pull in on the buses to play in the stadium. It's an awesome opportunity for our team to play on a national stage. It's an opportunity for a lot of our guys to play in a venue that a lot of Georgia players never got a chance to play in and some in the future won't get an opportunity to play in. So that part is good. They have a really good football team. I think Coach (Ed) Orgeron has instilled a lot of toughness in their program. They play extremely physical. The game, you know, Saturday with Florida was extremely physical, a lot of big hits, a lot of contact. It's just the way the SEC is. And you don't get weeks off in the SEC, and it's extremely tough place to play. I think you saw that last week with the teams that played on the road in our conference, and we're going on the road this week. So good thing is we've been on the road twice in our conference, but we're playing a really, really good football team this week in LSU.

On playing at LSU in 1998 and his experiences there…

“Atmosphere. Quincy and Champ both playing well and great atmosphere, incredible atmosphere. Of course, I got to coach there a year, so I got to experience that atmosphere there at home. And they have a great fanbase.”

On his memories of being an assistant coach at LSU in 2004…

“It was an incredible place to coach and recruit. I can remember going to my areas within the state and being very well received. You're really the only major university there in the state within the SEC. So when you go out recruiting, it's not really recruiting as much as it is figuring out who the best players are and go get them. The atmosphere, like I talked about, I think all their sports teams are incredible, and Baton Rouge is a great place. At the time when I was living there, it was a great place to be, enjoyed it a lot, and have really good memories of a great staff. Being a young coach on that staff was very influential on me to get to be around guys like Jimbo (Fisher) and Will (Muschamp) and obviously Coach Saban and Derek (Dooley). There were a lot of good coaches on that staff. So it was a good experience for me.”

On the emotions of coaching against a team you have previously coached for...

“I wouldn't say that there are extra emotions about it. I mean the emotions come from you want your team to play as well as they can for us. It's a game, and regardless of who it's against, that never factors in. For me, it doesn't. I'm personally trying to get our team ready to play. None of these kids care that I coached there. It has no effect on them, so I don't think that has a bearing on the game.”

On the Georgia fan base showing up at LSU and leveling out the atmosphere…

"I don't know if level out is the right word. I mean, they're not going to be giving away home tickets, I can promise you that. So our fanbase travels. They've been very passionate. I'm sure we'll have a lot of fans there that may not have tickets that are trying to go, and I think that shows the passion and energy we have within our fanbase, and that's incredible. But when you line up out there between the lines, at the end of the day, it's 11 on 11, and that's what we have to keep it about. They've got tremendous fans. It's one of the loudest places in the country to play. But I don't think our fans will be able to help us when we get inside those lines."