Kirby Smart, Bulldogs preview 2026 Florida football game

Georgia football head coach Kirby Smart and two players, fifth-year offensive lineman Drew Bobo and junior defensive back Ellis Robinson IV, spoke with the media on Monday about their upcoming game against the Florida Gators in Atlanta.

No. 3 Georgia (6-1, 4-1 SEC) and No. 17 Florida (5-2, 3-2 SEC) will square off on Saturday, October 31 at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta, Ga. The game will be televised by ABC at 3:30pm ET (Buy Tickets).

Chris Fowler will call the play-by-play, Kirk Herbstreit will provide analysis, while Holly Rowe will report from the sidelines.

Below is a transcript of the Florida press conference which was provided by UGA.

Head Coach Kirby Smart

Opening Statement…
“All of our guys got back last night and had a good couple of days. Ready to get rolling on Florida. This is always a great tradition, a great game. Obviously, the venue has changed. I don’t think that matters much to the teams playing in it. For the fan base, it’s probably a unique experience to have the game in the ‘Benz’ in Atlanta. I have a lot of respect for this team. Coach [John] Sumrall has done a great job of putting a lot of energy into the program and a lot of physicality into the program. They play really hard. When you turn on the tape, you see the physicality they play with on both sides of the ball. I have a ton of respect for both coordinators. We have gone against both of them for multiple years. They have got great schemes and really good players. They’re playing in this tough conference that we’re in. A lot of respect for Buster [Faulkner], obviously, who was on our staff. I think he’s one of the best offensive minds in the country, and it’s really hard to defend. I’m so happy for his success and how well he’s done. He is a close friend, and I have a lot of respect for him.”

On talent from the Athens area succeeding in college…
“We have got guys playing all over our team from those same teams they were on, from North [Oconee] and even from Clarke Central. I don’t know if it is just this area as a whole. I think the state produces a lot of over-talented high school players. When you look across the college football landscape, every time I turn the games on, there’s a kid from the state of Georgia performing really well. That’s no different in the case of [Aaron] Philo, and Bailey [Stockton], and all of those guys doing well. I know Buster had a bird’s-eye view on those guys as his son played. He knows the caliber of players they are.”

On DL Jordan Hall’s energy…
“The on thing he is is consistently energetic, and he plays really hard. He does not want to be seen as a loafer or someone that does not play with high effort, and that carries over to the other guys. I don’t think that had anything to do with the injuries because he was the same way before he got injured. The injuries just made it harder for him to play the way he wanted to play, but he certainly played with a lot of energy and toughness and brings the ‘FPE’ [Fire, Passion, Energy] we want.”

On Florida RB Jadan Baugh…
“They have got a great run scheme, and they have got a great back to go it with. When you can run the ball and know that your back is going to make people miss in the open field or break tackles by running through them, over them, around them, it certainly gives you the confidence to give him touches. He has been incredible. He is in and out of breaks. We have shown our guys clips of him since the start of the year to kind of say, ‘Are you practicing to tackle him, or are you practicing to tackle who you’re playing against?’ We are driving the motivation that every day you’re trying to prepare for the best, and he’s certainly done that. He’s a talented young man.”

On DB KJ Bolden and WR Isiah Canion’s statuses and the bye week…
“I really don’t know on either one of them because we haven’t done anything since Thursday. We had good practices all week, last week, and then leading into this week. We’ll kind of find out more about where they are today and through the injury report information we have. Some of our players needed recovery more than they needed just to get better. We all need to get better, but we have some guys that need to get well and get healthy. Hopefully we’re able to do that some. I always worry because you spend so much time trying to get healthy, you better be ready to strike somebody in this game because it’s going to be physical.”

On preparing for a long season during the bye week…
“Not really anything different relative to years past. We went Tuesday and Thursday with Wednesday being a lot less. We scripted reps for certain guys more than others. That’s been the last two years, really. It’s not what everybody thinks it is. You’re trying to keep your team healthy, and we’ve got less depth than we’ve ever had. Certainly, we’re trying to develop our guys that will be playing if guys get injured or that might be playing next year. We’re trying to maintain the conditioning level and the physicality of the rest of them.”

On preparing for both Florida quarterbacks…
“Both very talented. One beat Ole Miss handily and one beat Texas on the road. They’re both completely capable, good players. I have known about both of them for a long time. In terms of their ability, they’re both plenty capable, especially in Buster’s offense. I think that it’s not like it’s quarterback driven, but it doesn’t require the quarterback to be perfect. He gives them so many options, and he can play to the strengths of each guy.”

On responding after the Auburn loss…
“I want to see us improve. Regardless of the outcome of a game, that really doesn’t matter. The results are what people focus on, but it’s the process that we try to focus on, which is like, ‘What can we do better? How do we not turn the ball over? How do we stay away from dumb penalties? How do we tackle better? How do we get more turnovers so that our turnovers are less glaring?’ If you get three and give three, you’re net zero, and you’re a lot better off. I’m a lot more interested in the improvement than I am just the results.”

On defensive backs behind Bolden getting reps…
“Since [KJ Bolden] has been out, which has been a while now. I guess it has been two or three weeks that those guys have all been repping him. I see those guys every day whether KJ is there or not, so we give those guys tons of reps and tons of development and give them opportunities. They get a lot of those. They were going to get those regardless last week because KJ was not going take a ton of the volume. I get to see those guys independent of KJ.”

On Florida offensive coordinator Buster Faulkner…
“He brought several guys with him. He brought some of the guys with him that were really good players, and he has always had a really good offensive mind. I think his journey has been very different. He has played in different styles of offense. He is not one style, and it has made him a better coach through doing that. He knows how to utilize the player skill sets he has on the team, and he does it while maintaining physicality and making sure that there is still toughness in the run game and how you do things.”

On S Ja’Marley Riddle and DB Kyron Jones…
“Ja’Marley is improving. He plays more strong safety than anything else. He is very intelligent. He has good instincts, and he communicates really well. He continues to improve coming off a very significant injury to end last year, similar to what Jordan [Hall] had. That is tough when you play a defensive back position, but he has improved with every week. He improves every day in our system understanding how to do things. He has good competition around him, including Dink [Rasean Dinkins], including Kyron, including Zion [Branch]. All of those guys, Todd [Robinson], they have all improved, and they continue to get better.”

On Florida defensive coordinator Brad White…
“He has some really good players. He has some twitchy, violent-size, length guys. They strike people. He has always had really good defenses. I think when you put him in the Florida system, and you get those kinds of athletes and pass rushers, it compounds his effect to affect the game. They are always long and always physical. They always have a great depth in their defense in terms of the way they play. I have a lot of respect for the job he does.”

On the Nike Football and OutKast collaboration…
“I think it is great. I think it shows some of the history and blend of Atlanta and what Atlanta is known for. That is what they are trying to highlight with Georgia-Florida being in Atlanta for the first time I know of. It is really a cool opportunity to do that. I think OutKast is certainly a representative of Atlanta.”

On DL Anthony Lonon, Jr…
“I have loved Anthony [Lonon Jr.] since high school. He is a really hard worker. I played with his dad here. He is a humble kid who just goes out and gives a full day’s work. He is a good athlete. He is more athletic for his size than most people. He has twitch. He has leverage. He is going to get better because he is going to stay humble and keep working, but I am really pleased with his progress.”

On increased game planning in a bye week…
“There is probably more time to make decisions; to flirt with things and look at things because of the time both teams have in terms of things you might carry or might not. At the end of the day, there is only going to be so many plays in the game. That does not usually change based on a bye week or not. You want your volume to represent your ability to get reps, and we’re always aware of that and not trying to overdo it.”

On DB Ellis Robinson IV…
“Ellis [Robinson IV] is a competitor. He is really driven to be good at what he does, and he works hard at it. It is important to him that he does things the right way and plays with the right technique. He likes the game. He likes to play. He likes to have chances to make plays on the ball and cover people. He has a good mindset about the position where, in giving up a play, he can erase it quickly and move on to the next. That is a good trait to have in his position. I have been really pleased with his effort and the things he has done.”

On attending Georgia-Florida as a fan…
“That was a long time ago. I was in the NFL, so it was in between games in the NFL. It was a game in Jacksonville. It reminded me of everything that I do as a coach. When you come over the bridge, you see the pageantry, and you see the split 50/50. It was not a lot different other than I was in the stands and not out on the sideline.”

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