Transcript: Florida Gators Todd Grantham On Natural Positions, Richard LeCounte and UGA's Offense
Florida Gators Defensive Coordinator Todd Grantham met with local media on Tuesday to discuss the No. 8 Gators defense finally evolving into it's best self, how the return of Kyree Campbell slid guys into natural positions, his best wishes for Georgia's Richard LeCounte and the showdown with the Georgia Bulldogs offense.
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Defensive performance vs. Mizzou encouraging?
“I think the biggest thing is, and it goes back to what I said last week, you’ve got to establish your physical presence in the game by being able to limit their ability to run the ball. That does that. I really think that came about because of our ability to have certain guys available, and by having those guys available it gave us flexibility to play guys in some natural positions. Really the guys did a good job of playing physical and then executing the game plan, and that allowed them to make plays. The credit needs to go to the players and the ability to have some guys available that gave us the flexibility to play guys where they need to be playing.
When you talk about guys back in their natural position, is Kyree Campbell an example?
"(Kyree) was in there, and by having Kyree back it allowed Brenton to move back a little bit. It gave us the ability to play Brenton as a true outside ‘backer as opposed to a defensive end. We played with bigger-body guys and that physical presence allowed us to be pretty stout against the run.”
On Richard LeCounte:
“The first thing I’d like to do is offer my thoughts and prayers to Richard LeCounte, the safety. In his situation I certainly want to wish him a speedy recovery. Being a defensive coach, you watch teams in the offseason and you watch crossover games being in the SEC, and you kinda notice certain guys. And he’s a guy that you certainly notice when you watch tape. He plays the game the right way and he’s certainly an excellent player. You hate to see that happen to anyone. We want to wish him a speedy recovery and we look forward to watching him play soon and getting back to being able to be in the National Football League. I’m really appreciative of the way he plays.”
Run-stopping importance vs. Georgia:
“That is very true for a lot of the teams you play in the SEC. Sometimes the numbers may be a little different, but you have to have the ability to stop the run and make teams one-dimensional. And then as you do that you’re going to create third-down situations and you’ve got to win those. So we understand that we’ve got to be able to stop the run and find ways to win the situations that come up in the game — whether it’s red-zone, third downs, two-minute or whatever happens.”
Ever faced a team where stopping the run wasn't top priority?
“Sometimes if a team is a heavy-pass team you’ve got to give a little in the run game to take away the explosive plays. So then you work to minimize the run and kinda live with some 5- or 6-yarders, knowing that you’re giving that up to take away something else. I think the biggest thing is when you stop the run and you say that most teams that are heavy runs are going to have explosive shots down the field to the wideouts and therefore you’ve got to protect the middle of the field and make some plays outside one-on-one, so those will be some opportunities that we'll have to make also in the game."
Did something within the defense come together during the layoff?
"it always goes back to, who's available, and how do you get your best 11 players on the field. So you kind of take that and build your game plan around that. And, you know, we took the guys that were available in the last game and we're able to, you know, move some guys around to give us some physical presence and do those things. Now in saying that, now, I do believe that not having the ability to have spring practice and those things obviously you can evaluate some things that way. But at the end of the day, it really got back to having the availability of guys, to allow us to play our guys where they need, play."
How would you defend Kadarius Toney?
"That's a good question. Um, you know, he's a talented player, I mean he, you know, I would say double him but the problem is I've seen when he's gotten doubled, he's made plays too so that's a good question. Just, uh, maybe get to the quarterback or get to whoever's got the ball before they give it to him."
"It's a hard deal because, I mean, he, he demands double teams, you know, to try to you know to keep him at bay. But you say that when he gets, you know, the ball in his hands still made more than one guy miss so he's a problem and you know I'm certainly glad that I don't have to go execute that question."
How special is Kadarius Toney?
"I mean, he's elite as far as his cutting ability his ability to make guys miss. I think the biggest thing that I see is, is coach Gonzales has done a really good job of developing him as a complete wideout. I mean if you look at where he was say year one that we came here, and the things that he did to where the routes he can run now and the things he can do as a complete receiver, it changes how you can play the guy. Like sometimes when you have a guy like that there's only certain things he can do, which, you know you can kind of play with those routes, but as you expand that knowledge or expand his development, it creates a broader or harder issue in trying to cover the guy or double the guy. And I think that's the biggest thing that I see with him is his development as a wide receiver has been really good."
What changes did Todd Monken bring to Georgia's offense this year? "Yeah, well first of all, um, I think that the running game to a certain point, as they, as far as the style of ones that they run, you do see some more stacks and bunches, and some over routes and shots off the play-action passes that they can create issues for you. You know ways to get their playmakers the ball in space. When you start looking at four and 10 and seven, those guys. So, I think that when you look at game one until now, I think he’s done a really good job of trying to get their playmakers the ball in space, trying to create one-on-one matchups in the pass game while still being functional and physical in the run game with what they’re doing and they try to really work some of their motion in their run game to try to remove your edge player, your force player and those kind of things. I think that he’s tweaked it a little bit to where those guys can be really functional.”
Do you see ways that you can slow down Georgia’s rushing attack and make them one-dimensional?
“I think the biggest thing when you talk about stopping the run is your ability to set the edge of the defense, build a wall inside, don’t give them seams, don’t create displacements and then make sure you’re always coming downhill and fitting your gaps. I think that’s the biggest thing that you’ve got to look for is your ability to set the edge of the defense because they do got some talented running backs. Their offensive line’s a veteran group. If you look, four out of the five guys were there last year. They can get you at the point of attack. So, we’ve got to understand formationally what’s happening and then be able to set the edge and build a wall inside, get the ‘backers to going downhill.”
What shifts will you have to make without Zachary Carter for the first half?
“We’ll just take the guys that are available and play with them. There won’t be any whole-sail changes or anything like that. We’ll continue to play the guys that played in the last game.”
Do you feel any added pressure having lost this game the first two years that you’ve been here?
“I kind of approach it like I approach every game. Obviously, it is a big game because it’s a conference game, it is Georgia. You understand that. We do a lot of preparation all season as well as this week to play to our best. I don’t have any more pressure on me this week than any other week because I’ve got a pretty high standard of myself and how I want us to play. From that standpoint, it’s all the same, but we do understand that it’s an important game.”
What have you learned about how to best use your players? “Well, I think I answered that earlier. No. 1, when you’re able to add a bigger guy that was available, so that gave us the flexibility to move some guys around. The game plan really didn’t change relative to week one to now for the most part, OK. Guys did a great job of understanding the game plan and executing the game plan. The guys that played up front played with an edge, played with a physical presence and were able to stop the run. Anytime you play with a physical presence, you have a chance to hold people to a low number in the run game.”
3-of-15 on third down, which young guys in the secondary contributed? "Yeah, I mean when you talk about it, first of all, I thought Brad Stewart was excellent. You know, he's a guy that has gotten better every week he's played. Rashad Torrence, it kind of goes back to now it was a good thing he played in the Ole Miss game, because he ended up having to play in this game, and he did an excellent job. Look at Tre'Vez [Johnson] came in as a true freshman, understood his leverages, where he needed to be, was really good. You know, when you look at Elam, Elam's a guy that's been a veteran guy for us, you see him taking ownership. And then Jaydon, you know, Jaydon has played for us. You know, he stepped up and executed. And I think the biggest thing there is, the guys did a really good job of understanding the game plan, understanding leverages, understanding exactly where they need to be, and went out and executed the call. And then when their opportunities came to make plays, they did a good job in the backend. And then the other thing with that was we were able to get some pressure with the pass rush, to maybe not necessarily say sack the quarterback, but force some quicker throws that made him a little more inaccurate, throw the ball behind or not where it quite needed to be. So it kind of all works hand in hand, your ability to get pressure on the quarterback and then your ability to have the tight coverage. So they kind of did a good job of working together to execute and get off the field." Who was bringing pressure primarily? "Yeah I think when you looked at that, I mean, obviously Brenton Cox was a guy that was pretty steady. Jeremiah Moon, Zach [Carter] inside, you know, TJ Slaton had a sack in the game which was good, you want to be able to push the pocket. So, those were probably the main guys but as a general rule, I thought our rush was good." You had an edge this time around, something you've been looking for. How did that play in terms of your pride and players being more inspired? "Number one, I'm probably more critical of myself and have more, you know, expectations out of myself than anyone here or anyone out there. So, I expect us to play a certain way. Our players put a lot of work into the performance that they play, and they expect us to have a certain standard. That standard wasn't being met the first few games for whatever reasons. The guys did a good job of taking coaching, understanding what we have to do, and buying into what we were doing. And they did that and we went out and executed, and were able to play to our ability."
What is it going to be like for Brenton Cox going back to play UGA with what he’s been through?
“You know we talked about that and at the end of the day he’s a guy we’re obviously very happy to have in our program. He’s doing well academically. He’s on track to be able to get his degree from here. He hasn’t played a lot of football and sat out last year basically and didn’t get a spring practice. So, he’s a guy that has developed every week as we went along. It’s a great opportunity for him to be here. What he and I talked about is, ‘you just got to understand that things always happen for a reason and this is the situation you are in. The most important thing is as you play with your effort and your intention and all of that, there’s a certain amount of focus. You have to be able to finish and do your job. You can’t be reckless in your approach. There’s a fine line in being aggressive and physical and not reckless.’ We’ve talked about that when he first got here and I certainly expect him to be a guy that plays to his ability and executes the things he needs to do to be successful.”
Back end was tight, what about the performance.
“Well, I think that any time you face a team where they play a few gadgets and shots in the game and there weren’t many explosive plays in the game from that standpoint. Anytime you can be hard to run on and not give up explosive plays you are going to have a chance to hold people to a low number and get off the field and do the things you gotta do to beat a good team. So, I thought we did that.”
When at full strength in the secondary, will some of the young guys play more or maybe push to start? “I think at the end of the day we’re going to play the best players depending on how they practice and perform. That won’t change. We’ve always been that way. When guys make plays and shown the ability to make plays I think they’ve earned the right to play and have that. So we’ll address that as we go and as we need to.”
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