Oct. 15, 2001
FOOTBALL PRESS CONFERENCE
KENTUCKY VS. GEORGIA
OCTOBER 15, 2001
WILDCAT DEN, COMMONWEALTH STADIUM
Head Coach Guy Morriss
On defense…
“We’re going to keep coaching hard and keep working them. It’s a whole new philosophy and scheme that they’re working on and they’re working hard. I know that they believe in Coach (John) Goodner and what he’s trying to get done. They see what’s happening on film and learning from their mistakes. I talked to them yesterday and they’re in a good state of mind.”
On defensive performance on LSU’s game-winning drive…
There was some technical stuff that hurt us. Old habits die hard and when you’re in a pressure situation you need to stay focused on the way you’re being taught now – it’s just a little different with the things we are teaching them and when the pressure is on you have to go out and do it like you’re asked to do it and get the job done.”
On team reaction to LSU loss…
“Obviously we go into every game wanting to win. We came close and we played hard, that to me is a good sign. Their effort level has been really good and there has never been any question on part of the staff on their effort. They just have to go out and do it like they are coached and they’re already excited about playing Georgia.”
On decision at starting quarterback…
“We have not had a chance to talk to them about the upcoming week, we concentrated yesterday on going through the film and correcting mistakes. We’ll probably make some kind of announcement after practice tomorrow. I want the chance to talk to both of them before we get on the practice field tomorrow.”
On wanting QB Jared Lorenzen to play more…
“I’d like for him to play more. He’s stepped up, he’s seeing things better now, he’s growing and he came off the bench on Saturday and did a great job for us.”
On offensive line play…
“Actually our offensive line play was pretty good. I was proud of the young guys making their first start and Antonio Hall played and played well. It was good for the young players to get in, play well, and get experience. They’ll be called upon to do the job for us next fall so it’s a good sign.”
On Georgia…
“I’ve not seen their offense yet, I’ve spent the majority of the day looking at their defense. They’re very talented and have great athletes. Overall, I think they have great team speed defensively and I’m sure they have the same type of speed and athletes on the offensive side of the ball.”
On UGA’s defense…
“They play some cover two and they rotate into a three-deep man scheme so we’ll have to be prepared for both. They seem to be blitzing more, not quite as conservative approach up front. I think they’ll come after us and test us.”
On 3rd down play vs. LSU…
“It was a situation that when we came out and lined up to start the first play, LSU calls timeout. We go to the sideline and we didn’t want to come back out and repeat the same play and motion because we felt they had a pretty good idea of what was coming. So, we decided to change the play. The first thing we thought of was the sneak and we ran it previously on third down. We thought about giving the ball to Artose Pinner, but we used him on all the previous runs to that point and I think everyone was expecting us to give the ball to him, LSU included. Myself, Coach (Brent) Pease and Jared made the decision to run the quarterback draw. Jared liked it and we put the ball in his hands. It was designed to fake the ball to Pinner, and then he becomes a lead blocker for Jared. The play was designed very well, but we had two mental assignments blown on the play. Jared starts toward the hole, there was a guy free in the hole so he tried to reverse his field. Unfortunately another defender was coming on the backside so that put him in a scramble situation. The receivers are downfield trying to block and he got a lot of heat and tried to throw it. I don’t fault Jared, he is a competitor and was trying to make a play for us.”
On Running Backs…
“If Chad Scott is available we’ll get him back in a backup role and see how he does and go from there. Those guys are in the same situation as our QB’s. They’re all friends, competitors but who starts is not a concern for those guys.”
On the loss to LSU…
“We did more than let one get away (against LSU), we have let five get away this season. We need to win five more games to be doing something other than going home at Christmas.”
On the defense…
“We can play well at times, but we need to make plays when it counts. The advantage we have is that we have a lot of mistakes that can be rectified.”
Protecting a lead at the end of a game…
“Protecting a lead is almost harder than coming from behind because the other team is coming right at you and giving you everything they have.”
WR Aaron Boone
On the loss to LSU…
“A loss like this, I think you can bounce back from a lot faster because it was right there. We both made plays to win, they just made a few more.”
On the Georgia game…
“We definitely have the confidence now that we can move the ball. I’m anxious for the Georgia game to see if we can continue to improve.”
On being a team leader…
“I think I am a leader of this team. I think I can make some big plays at times that can spark the team.”
On the Georgia Game…
“It is going to be a tough test on the road. We are going to have to put everything together, get a good game plan and come out ready to play.”
On the loss to LSU…
“We are very disappointed. The defense had a chance to win the game and we didn’t make the plays to do that.”
TE Derek Smith
On the team’s spirits after the LSU game…
“After the game, we were down and mad about not winning. But it was a game where we brought ourselves back up into a position where we could have won the game. We went over the film and saw what we need to correct. Now we are all going to come back out Tuesday in practice ready to play and prepare for Georgia. You can’t sit around and worry about losing a game to a tough SEC team like LSU. All we can do is try to fix what we did wrong.”
On the importance of who starts at quarterback against Georgia…
“I don’t think it is important who starts at QB. What is important is that we get our offense rolling again and do what is necessary to beat Georgia.”
LB Jamal White
On the defense…
“We feel like we’re learning every week. We try to work together so that we can be successful as a team. It’s been kind of frustrating because of all the injuries and some mental mistakes that we’ve made, but we’re still going to go out there and try to get the victories.”
