The University of Alabama at Birmingham Athletics
Bill Clark Week 2 Press Conference Transcript vs. No. 2 Georgia
9/7/2021 3:02:00 PM | Football
BIRMINGHAM – With UAB football set to face No. 2 Georgia in Athens this Saturday, Sept. 11, at 2:30 p.m. CST on ESPN2, head coach Bill Clark held his weekly press conference on Tuesday at the Football Operations Center.
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
Opening Statement:
"Good Morning, seems like forever since our last game, last Wednesday. Obviously that was a big game for us. Getting the first game under our belt with national exposure for our program. We played a tough Jacksonville State team, give them credit they played us really hard and I think that they are going to have a good year. As always we looked back at the film and saw what we wanted to improve on. I thought we played really hard and played together.
"We have had a few days off. We were able to come in and watch the film on Thursday, and Friday was a lift day for us. We got to look at a little bit of Georgia. Obviously, we do not know anything other than what we saw in the summer and then we got to see them Saturday night. Those were two really good teams and I was very impressed with them. We know what we have in front of us. Going to a capacity crowd in one of the toughest places to play in the country. They have talent at every position and they are well coached. I've known Kirby for a very long time. They do a lot of things and they are very detail oriented obviously by their success since he has been there. So, we know we have our work cut out for us and we working on getting ourselves better."
On UGA's COVID-19 status…
"From a game standpoint, it really doesn't mean a lot to us. We do not know who that is, it could be non-starters. I think we will not know that until game time. It is kind of like an injury situation unless you know a guy is out, it does not affect what we do. Obviously we don't anything bad for them, but it does not really affect us until we know that somebody is out. Their depth is pretty strong so we will see what it means."
On UGA's defense…
"For one, I know how they are coached. When I think of people who are like us or maybe we are like them. These are those guys that there is no detail that goes unnoticed. You look at past success and past history. I always talk about defensive minded coaches and it doesn't mean that they don't want to score. They are very meticulous. Their teams are physical and tough, so obviously I am paying them a compliment. I just know how they are going to play. Defensively, they give you tons and tons of looks. They shift before the snap. They can play man coverage. They can play zone. They can pressure you with their front without having to blitz. You notice that a lot. They got a pick six and I am super impressed with their defense. I think maybe the last couple of years they have led the country in rushing defense. They are outstanding."
On QB Tyler Johnston III…
"That's the guy that we've always wanted to see and I think you've seen him, specifically the last two or three practices, he has looked like that. We can go back to the injury last year or some other things. Tyler is one of the ultimate competitors you will ever meet. I think Dylan Hopkins has really performed well and what does that have to with Tyler? I think he has really pushed Tyler to be better. I just think he is that kind of competitor and it makes him better. I think both of them have gotten better. We would have loved to have that first throw just a little bit underthrown. What a night he would've had. What a great night he had and I think that goes back to the preparation he's had since the spring. Of course it's game to game, so that one is behind us. It was a good performance."
Safety Dy'Jonn Turner:
On playing a different Safety position…
"It's not too much of a difference, but it's different kind of. I just tell the star what to do, tell the corner what to do. It's just more command on the field."
On defense's growth from first game…
"Just the little mistakes we have got to fix. Getting out of our gaps a few times. Just a little mistakes that we've got to clean up before we head to Georgia."
On preparing for hostile environment…
"Just keep practicing. You know practice makes perfect. Practice hard just to go out there and play hard on Saturday. Treat each day of this week as if it was a game. We will see what happens."
Quarterback Tyler Johnston lll:
On improving decision making…
"Just knowing the check downs and the flats. I mean they are mostly there all the time. I just have to be smarter with the ball. From 2019, I didn't have much time in the pocket. I mean there were just new starters and o-line. It made it a little bit harder for me, but they definitely have grown. They are veterans now. They worked their butts off this summer. Just from the first game it's all about trust. I am excited about playing Georgia this week."
On receivers improving..
"They had a really good game. Just from working this summer and the spring, the connection has gotten better and better. You probably haven't seen Flip [Samario Rudolph]. Flip started the last two games last year and he has always grinded from last year until now. You will definitely seem him sometime soon. Then you have RaJae [Johnson-Sanders]. RaJae' has really grown, he has matured, and has worked hard just to make something happen. I am proud of all them. With Ryan [Davis], he has grown to be leader in that wide receiver group. He just gives it everything he's got. When he catches it he goes. That's what I love about him. It's all about hard work and you see it from each receiver."
On the new offense…
"I like it. You add those things and you take what it gives. Coach Vincent comes up with these great game plans and you kind of just have to go with it. From this past Wednesday it just looked like we were just playing our plays and it was working out. You've got to trust the coaches. I mean they have all put it all together and we just have to play the game."
THREE THINGS TO KNOW:
- When UAB takes the field against Georgia, it will be tied for the highest ranked team the Blazers have faced off against. UAB has only played a team ranked No. 2 one other time, which was against Tennessee back in 1998. Saturday marks the 11th time UAB has played a top 10 opponent.
- It will be a defensive battle on Saturday featuring two of the top units in the nation. The Blazers, who have finished top 10 nationally in total defense each of the last three years, yielded just 156 total yards against Jacksonville State and had nine pass breakups. Georgia tallied seven sacks in its 10-3 victory over Clemson and allowed just two rushing yards in the contest.
- In three starts since returning from injury (at Rice, at Marshall, vs. Jacksonville State), senior quarterback Tyler Johnston III has completed 62.2 percent of his passes for 788 yards, six touchdowns and zero interceptions. Last Wednesday vs. JSU, he moved into a tie for third place on UAB's career touchdown passes list (37) with Joe Webb, and took sole possession of fourth place on the career passing yards list (4,748).
Opening Statement:
"Good Morning, seems like forever since our last game, last Wednesday. Obviously that was a big game for us. Getting the first game under our belt with national exposure for our program. We played a tough Jacksonville State team, give them credit they played us really hard and I think that they are going to have a good year. As always we looked back at the film and saw what we wanted to improve on. I thought we played really hard and played together.
"We have had a few days off. We were able to come in and watch the film on Thursday, and Friday was a lift day for us. We got to look at a little bit of Georgia. Obviously, we do not know anything other than what we saw in the summer and then we got to see them Saturday night. Those were two really good teams and I was very impressed with them. We know what we have in front of us. Going to a capacity crowd in one of the toughest places to play in the country. They have talent at every position and they are well coached. I've known Kirby for a very long time. They do a lot of things and they are very detail oriented obviously by their success since he has been there. So, we know we have our work cut out for us and we working on getting ourselves better."
On UGA's COVID-19 status…
"From a game standpoint, it really doesn't mean a lot to us. We do not know who that is, it could be non-starters. I think we will not know that until game time. It is kind of like an injury situation unless you know a guy is out, it does not affect what we do. Obviously we don't anything bad for them, but it does not really affect us until we know that somebody is out. Their depth is pretty strong so we will see what it means."
On UGA's defense…
"For one, I know how they are coached. When I think of people who are like us or maybe we are like them. These are those guys that there is no detail that goes unnoticed. You look at past success and past history. I always talk about defensive minded coaches and it doesn't mean that they don't want to score. They are very meticulous. Their teams are physical and tough, so obviously I am paying them a compliment. I just know how they are going to play. Defensively, they give you tons and tons of looks. They shift before the snap. They can play man coverage. They can play zone. They can pressure you with their front without having to blitz. You notice that a lot. They got a pick six and I am super impressed with their defense. I think maybe the last couple of years they have led the country in rushing defense. They are outstanding."
On QB Tyler Johnston III…
"That's the guy that we've always wanted to see and I think you've seen him, specifically the last two or three practices, he has looked like that. We can go back to the injury last year or some other things. Tyler is one of the ultimate competitors you will ever meet. I think Dylan Hopkins has really performed well and what does that have to with Tyler? I think he has really pushed Tyler to be better. I just think he is that kind of competitor and it makes him better. I think both of them have gotten better. We would have loved to have that first throw just a little bit underthrown. What a night he would've had. What a great night he had and I think that goes back to the preparation he's had since the spring. Of course it's game to game, so that one is behind us. It was a good performance."
Safety Dy'Jonn Turner:
On playing a different Safety position…
"It's not too much of a difference, but it's different kind of. I just tell the star what to do, tell the corner what to do. It's just more command on the field."
On defense's growth from first game…
"Just the little mistakes we have got to fix. Getting out of our gaps a few times. Just a little mistakes that we've got to clean up before we head to Georgia."
On preparing for hostile environment…
"Just keep practicing. You know practice makes perfect. Practice hard just to go out there and play hard on Saturday. Treat each day of this week as if it was a game. We will see what happens."
Quarterback Tyler Johnston lll:
On improving decision making…
"Just knowing the check downs and the flats. I mean they are mostly there all the time. I just have to be smarter with the ball. From 2019, I didn't have much time in the pocket. I mean there were just new starters and o-line. It made it a little bit harder for me, but they definitely have grown. They are veterans now. They worked their butts off this summer. Just from the first game it's all about trust. I am excited about playing Georgia this week."
On receivers improving..
"They had a really good game. Just from working this summer and the spring, the connection has gotten better and better. You probably haven't seen Flip [Samario Rudolph]. Flip started the last two games last year and he has always grinded from last year until now. You will definitely seem him sometime soon. Then you have RaJae [Johnson-Sanders]. RaJae' has really grown, he has matured, and has worked hard just to make something happen. I am proud of all them. With Ryan [Davis], he has grown to be leader in that wide receiver group. He just gives it everything he's got. When he catches it he goes. That's what I love about him. It's all about hard work and you see it from each receiver."
On the new offense…
"I like it. You add those things and you take what it gives. Coach Vincent comes up with these great game plans and you kind of just have to go with it. From this past Wednesday it just looked like we were just playing our plays and it was working out. You've got to trust the coaches. I mean they have all put it all together and we just have to play the game."
Players Mentioned
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