ATHENS, Ga. --- Georgia head coach Mark Richt and several football players addressed the media Tuesday during the Bulldogs’ weekly press luncheon. They offered the following comments:

Head coach Mark Richt

Opening statement…
”It is Georgia-Georgia Tech week. It’s a big week for everybody in the state. We are playing a team that has just been outstanding, 10-1, won their division and playing for the ACC title, running up and down the field, just really playing fantastic right now. It’s the in-state rival. It’s the next ballgame. It’s Georgia Tech, so it’s a game we’re all going to be excited about coaching and playing in, and I’m sure our fans will be excited about watching it too.”

On the status of A.J. Green and Bacarri Rambo…
“Bacarri won’t go full speed today. We hope by tomorrow he will. A.J. is less likely than Bacarri right now. We are pretty confident Bacarri will. We are a little less confident that A.J. will. We’re not counting him out yet. (Director of Sports Medicine) Ron (Courson) has to feel like he can go. Right now we’re still working on the strength and getting the soreness out. He doesn’t have full range of motion right now, but sometimes those things can change quickly and sometimes they don’t.”

On Georgia’s receivers…
“They are starting to step up. Of course (Rantavious) Wooten had a couple of catches that were both touchdowns. Tavarres (King) is making some plays. We’ve had (Israel) Troupe get in there and make some plays when he’s had the opportunity to. Michael Moore over his career has played in big games and made plays. Even at tight end we are getting some good production from Aron (White) and Orson (Charles), so I think we have enough receivers that we could make the plays that we need to make. I don’t think anyone has made the plays like A.J. Green has made them, but they’ve been pretty solid in that regard.”

On whether the team is shell-shocked after losing to Kentucky…
“I don’t think so, I hope not. We had a couple of true freshmen fumble the ball, which hurt us, but I don’t think that really affected the entire football team. Joe (Cox) I think is a veteran enough player where he can shake off the dust and go back and play well, so I don’t think so.”

On whether the decision on A.J. Green will be made at game time…
“It will. We may know sooner that he’s out. If he couldn’t have a full range of motion and run full speed and feel comfortable and confident by Thursday, it would be very unlikely for him to play.”

On whether A.J. Green’s injury is a shoulder sprain or separation…
“I don’t know the difference, but it’s the AC joint. I always called it a separation back in my day, but other people may call it a sprain. It did separate to a certain degree, and there are different degrees of it, so that’s what it is.”

On whether he expects teams to imitate Georgia Tech’s offensive system…
“They might. It is without a doubt an offensive system that is very, very difficult to deal with, especially if you have 10 games and they are the only one doing it. I think it makes it tougher, not to say that if eight of the 10 were doing it, it wouldn’t be a tough system. It is, there is no doubt about it. I think if you played 10 out of 12 teams that ran that system, you’d be recruiting more towards the style. You’d be repping it more week after week after week so you would have a better chance of having some success, but I don’t think you are going to get to a point where you shut it down. You are not going to be able to do that.”

On why more teams don’t try to imitate Georgia Tech’s offensive system…
“I think time will tell now. People are always looking for who’s winning because winning is so crucial to every program. That’s what drives everything are the victories. Whether it is athletic directors or coaches or presidents, whatever it is, if they say we are going to do that and if someone else tries it and they have success, then you will have more and more people doing it I’m sure. It has certainly worked for coach (Paul) Johnson and Georgia Tech.”

On stopping Georgia Tech’s offense…
“I don’t know if anybody has just stoned that thing. LSU might have come the closest to that, but I don’t even know if I’d say that was true that entire ballgame. Teams that will grind it out on you and have the long possessions, when you run that offense I would guess they may be No. 1 in the country going for it on fourth down. I don’t know if that’s true, but I think it’s true of that system. I think that when you know you have four downs to get 10 yards it’s going to happen more times that not if you just methodically keep grinding away at it. When you do that you get those long, time-consuming drives and you usually end up with points on the back end of it. When we played Georgia Southern (in 2004) when they were running it, I think it was their first drive of the game that might have been a 10 or 12-minute drive. They might have gone for it on fourth down two of three times. I think they ended up scoring a touchdown on the end of it too, so it’s not like just all of a sudden that’s the deal. That’s what’s been happening for years in that thing.”

On Miami having possession of the ball in its game against Georgia Tech…
“If you watch that game, Miami didn’t just run the ball. They did run the ball well, but they passed the ball very well too. They made some big plays in the passing game. Miami did what they did. I think you have to do what you do best. I think any offense if you execute it properly and you don’t shoot yourself in the foot you have a chance to put it in the end zone and run some clock. We’re not a hurry-up offense, we’re not a no-huddle offense. I think if you were in a no-huddle system, you would have to think twice about how quickly you want your drives to go whether you score or not because the time of possession could become a very big issue. Time of possession is an important statistic, but I think if you really want to study what would be more important would be number of plays run because I know back when I was in a no-huddle system we would never win the time of possession, but there would be times when we ran more plays than they ran. I think if a team takes a lot of time between every play, if you run 10 plays and you use the full 40 (second play clock) and the other team runs 10 plays and only uses 25, that’s 15 seconds per play times 10. That’s 150 seconds, you have 2 ½ minutes of time of possession that was longer because of how methodical a team may be in between every play.”

On the defense being better prepared than last year…
“We’ve been playing very fast. We’ve been playing very hard. We’ve been getting a lot of hats to the ball. When you watch the film and you see five, six, seven guys get to the ball carrier, that’s a great sign of hustle and guys containing plays. Not to say that every time we contain, because we did have some issues where we did let them get outside of us in the Kentucky game more so in the second half. I think living through it one time around hopefully will help them understand some things maybe a little bit better and help them understand some of the things that they have to accomplish to slow the thing down.”

On Drew Butler and Blair Walsh…
“To have two guys in the top three in the country in these awards, the Lou Groza and the Ray Guy, is phenomenal and they deserve it. Both of them have a chance of wining it, legitimate shots. Walsh made every kick over 50 yards. He’s missed one and he’s never missed an extra point field goal. He’s been outstanding. Where Butler is in the distance that he has from him to the next guy in punt yardage, and we are leading the nation in net punt also, that’s another indicator. You might have a guy booming it, but he’s outkicking his coverage every time and your net punt is awful, basically you have a selfish guy. Not only is he getting the distance, but he’s getting the hang time to go along with it. Our punt team has done an outstanding job of protecting and covering.”

On how the rivalry has changed since Georgia Tech won in 2008…
“I thought it was a rivalry. I always thought it was. Even some of the games we were winning, there were a couple of games where we separated point-wise but a lot of them were very close games. They are all very hard-fought battles. I understand the emotion of young men playing the game because they know so many guys on the other team, it’s your home state, so the players care very much too. Sometimes I think the coaches and fans think that we understand the rivalry better. We probably do, but it is very meaningful to our players.”

On how he will prepare the team for the Georgia Tech game…
“Anything we can get our hands on to try to help the guys understand. Early in the week you spend a lot more time in preparation. I’m trying to prepare them to win the game by the fundamentals and what we teach in practice and the schemes we are putting in and the ability to teach it and learn it. The focus is much more on that right now. As you get closer to the game, you are going to give them little bits of pieces of something to try to motivate them for that day of practice, but the closer you get to the game, the more emotion you want to add to your preparation, so we’re still thinking about things that might could help.”

On Jonathan Dwyer…
“We tried like mad to get Jonathan Dwyer. We thought he was one of the finest backs in the state and in the country and a very fine young man. I didn’t know he was going to grow into such the big hoss that he is. I thought he was a good-sized back, but I didn’t think he’d get up to the 235-240 range and still keep his speed and power. We tried like mad to get him.”

On the outcome of the game not having an impact on recruiting in the state of Georgia…
“There are a couple of reasons for that. One is the shear number of prospects in the state, and if you get young men who want to stay in the state there is going to be enough for Georgia and there is going to be enough for Georgia Tech in my opinion just because there are so many. I think there are probably some men who grow up wanting to be a ‘Dog and some guys grow up wanting to be a Yellow Jacket. I think that’s part of it, then there are going to be guys on the fence. I do think most guys will look for opportunity. Even Jonathan Dwyer, even when we were recruiting him, that was coach (Chan) Gailey’s staff we were competing against, I think he felt like he had a better opportunity to play at Tech. I don’t want to put words in his mouth. I think that was part of it. That’s kind of what those kids are looking for. They are looking for where do I fit in and do I fit in more quickly here than I do over there. I think that’s part of it too.”

On the Georgia Tech system…
“It’s a very good system. Paul calls a game without a sheet. He doesn’t have to reinvent it every week. He’s got it right in his mind and he’s done it so often that he knows how people will defend it; if they do this we are going to do that. It’s a matter of not only what they are doing, but how well they execute it and how well Paul understands it to be able to make any adjustment he needs to make.”

On the importance of the Georgia Tech game for the Georgia fans…
“I can’t say everywhere I went (during the summer Bulldog Club meetings) that’s all they talked about. I can’t say that was the first question out of every Bulldog Club, but it probably was asked somewhere throughout the night. That’s why they call it a rivalry.”

On whether different coaches share ideas on how to stop Georgia Tech…
“I think every defensive coach that has Georgia Tech on the schedule, they’re all talking. They probably ought to have a little convention in the offseason, just get everybody together and see what they can figure out. That’s a tribute to what they’ve done.”

#60 Clint Boling
On the outlook of the Ga. Tech game changing the season…
“This season really hasn’t gone the way that we planned. We have had some ups and downs, but getting a win against Tech would be huge. We can finish the season off right with a victory. We are just trying not to quit on the season after everything that’s happened, and I think if we can win against Tech that would be great for our team moral and emotions going into the bowl game.”

Feelings on the way the second half ended against Kentucky…
“It is tough to get past, but we are trying to get past it because going into the second half when we were up, a lot of us thought that we could put the game away with the way we’ve been playing. Defensively we have been playing great and our offense has been moving the ball really well, but a couple turnovers just really hurt. We are trying to move past it, look towards Tech and hopefully we will be able to do that.”

Other games that reminded him of the loss last week to Kentucky…
“Tech last year. We were up going into the second half and we actually fumbled the kickoff at the begiining of the second half. It kind of felt like that game a little bit. It is tough every time you go into a second half with a big lead and you come out and turn the ball over and give the other team a chance. It was a tough game.”

#49 Sean Chapas
On Ga. Tech’s season…
“They have had a real good season. They have done extremely well. This week we are paying a lot of attention to them because we are playing them, but throughout the season we are focused week-by-week on who we have more than anything else. But they are our next opponent, and they’ve had a phenomenal season and are playing very good football.”

Feelings since the loss against Ga. Tech at home last year…
“We have definitely heard a lot about it from Georgia fans and Ga. Tech fans. They don’t hesitate to remind us that we didn’t get the job done last year. It is definitely something that we notice we didn’t do last year.”

#13 Drew Butler
What getting a win over Ga. Tech can do…
“It would let us have a little more momentum going into the bowl game. Being able to beat a top-10 team is special for any team, but I think for our team and the kind of season we’ve had, it would give us something to hold our head high to.”

On being a finalist for the 2009 Ray Guy Award…
“It is an exciting time, and I know (Blair Walsh) and I are going to be down there at the same time so that is pretty cool. It is a high expectation you set for yourself and for this to actually come true is a testament to the hard work we put in this off-season and how we worked hard during the season to be consistent and help this team out. We both couldn’t be here without the team’s we’re on. The line blocks for Blair, and Ty snaps a good ball, and the core and the coverage team for me, and Ty snaps again for me. He doesn’t get enough recognition. I wish he could go down there with us. But our entire punt coverage team is just a part of this success as I am and to be able to lead the nation in gross punting is a good feeling, but to be able to lead the nation in net punting is a huge testament to our coverage team and I can’t thank those guys enough.”

Feelings on how the game ended against Kentucky…
“Last night we came out to prepare and get a game plan. I think guys are starting to put it behind them. I think today with our full-pad practice it will definitely be behind us. But as far as the locker room goes, I think a lot of guys were just upset with themselves. I think everybody was taking personal responsibility for what happened during the game and it really was a pretty crazy end. I think without a doubt that we are going to come back, and we are going to set our heads straight. We know what the goal is this week so today at practice I think we are going to finally put this game behind us and get to work on Ga. Tech.”

#14 Joe Cox
What getting a win over Ga. Tech can do…
“It can do a lot. To be able to finish up against a really good team with a win can change a lot of things. We know how important this game is and know what it can do for us if we do win.”

On the importance of time of possession in this game…
“It is real important. Any time, and especially if you are putting up points, one team has the ball a lot, keeps it and ends up having long drives for touchdowns or field goals, it kind of makes the other team’s offense a little antsy. It makes them want to score and get things back even. So it is a really important part of this game, especially against an offense like theirs that can score from anywhere on the field. We need to be able to control the ball and move the chains and put points up.”

Moving on after the loss to Kentucky…
“You have no choice but to move on. We have another game this weekend so there is no point to harpen on something that happened last Saturday. I think we shot ourselves in the foot in a lot of different areas and we pretty much just gave them the game. It is tough after games like that.”

Comparing the loss to Kentucky to the Ga. Tech loss last year…
“It actually was pretty similar. We were doing really well against Tech last year in the first half. We ended up having some turnovers and some penalties then they started making plays the second half, and we just couldn’t come back.”

On Tavarres King, Rantavious Wooten and Orson Charles…
“The good news for the future of the program, those are all freshman that you’re talking about. Tavarres is a redshirt freshman and Wooten and Orson are true freshman. Marlon hasn’t really gotten a chance to have balls thrown his way, but he can make a lot of plays too. There is a lot of youth contributing and it is something that people have to look forward to.”

Sense of the Ga. Tech rivalry…
“I know it is probably the biggest, considering who you talk to. You look at all the teams we play and this is the only team that is in the state of Georgia that we play, and they don’t like us. It is just one of those games that’s always pretty heated, and it’s probably the biggest game on our schedule so we know the importance of it, and we know the history of it, too.”

#57 Blair Walsh
On the rivalry with Ga. Tech…
“I didn’t really understand the rivalry when I first came here, but once I saw the reaction of these guys though and how much it hurts to lose, I know it’s huge for them to lose this game—it’s huge for us to win this game.”

The Ga. Tech rivalry compared to the Florida rivalry…
“I would say if you poll our team, Ga. Tech is definitely bigger, but in my opinion, in the grand scheme of things, Florida is a little more important because it’s your SEC game too. But believe me, this is probably the most important game we’ll play all year.”

On being a finalist for the Lou Groza Award…
“It means a lot. We have goals that we start out with at the beginning of the season, and top-3 for your position is just awesome. It’s nice to go down there, and its cool that you’re going to be in the same place with guys, unfortunately, like Tim Tebow and Colt McCoy and guys like that. To be down there with (Drew Butler) is even more special because you have somebody to relate to, and we will talk about it for years to come. Hopefully we can do it again next year too, that would be nice. It’s just a great honor.”

#35 Rennie Curran
On Georgia Tech’s triple option offense…
“The biggest thing is just taking what they do into account, which is to try to confuse you. There’s a lot more emphasis on the guys [this week] just to know their assignments. This is an offense where you can’t make mistakes against them. You have to be executing on every single play, be disciplined on every single play. The biggest thing for us is to keep our assignments and do it to perfection and remember all the things we were taught at the beginning of year.”

On not getting overly aggressive…
“I would say discipline is the biggest thing against this offense. You don’t want to be too aggressive, but at the same time you have to wrap up and make those hits and tackle them to get those losses. You have to get those blocks and get them to make mistakes themselves, too.”

On what the team took from last year’s game…
“Really the main thing we learned is to execute on every single play and wrap up. We saw how well we did in the first half and how we were shutting them down. Then we came out in the second half and made mistakes.”
 
On getting over the Kentucky game…
“It’s definitely disappointing, but we worked hard and played our hearts out, so we have no regrets. We’re hoping to get the bad taste out of our mouth this Saturday. We’ll get back on the field and try to win against Georgia Tech. We’ll just be competitive, get back out there – it’s another opportunity and we want to put that loss behind us.”

On quarterback Josh Nesbitt’s growth since last season…
“He’s obviously more experienced in that offense and that works to his advantage. Looking at him on film, he looks more experienced and more comfortable back there, throwing it off the run fake and everything.”

#91 Kade Weston
On preparing for the Georgia Tech offense…
“You have to have be disciplined. Everybody had to focus on their own assignment, don’t try to be a hero or anything. … The key is to have everybody responsible for his own assignment, whatever your matchup is. The coaches did a good job getting that in our head.”

On the differences in the defensive strategy this week…
“As a defense you have to go to the ball and make the tackle but against this offense you can’t do that. You have to have discipline. One little mistake [can hurt you]. The key is to be precise, have everybody handle their assignment and you’ll be OK.”
On Josh Nesbitt…

“He’ll be better at what he’s doing [than last year]. We’ve watched a lot of film and we’re preparing for him. You can’t take them lightly – this is a real good team.”