Georgia Bulldogs College Football Pregame Quote, 12/30/2024

Q. What was the message when you guys left? It seems like you were told something, and everybody is following it to a T.

SMAEL MONDON: Just that it’s a business trip and know why we were here.

Q. I was talking to Malaki [Starks] playing Notre Dame, if there was any similarities between a team like Georgia Tech and Notre Dame, and he told me it was completely different. When you see Notre Dame, what do you think the biggest challenges are going to be for you?

SMAEL MONDON: They are a physical team. They have good running backs and a good quarterback, and they throw and run the ball. They give you a lot of challenges, but I’m excited for the opportunity.

Q. Do you think the teams you played this year have prepared you for a team like them, or are they different? Is it a different kind of challenge?

SMAEL MONDON: Yeah, with a physical running team like that, yeah, there were a couple of teams that we played that tried to have the same identity. Every team is different at the end of the day. You can’t compare one game and paste it to another team. It’s different.

Q. Sure. And then, obviously, you had that little bit of time with the injury and everything. How are you kind of feeling, and did you come back with a little more fire? I know you had a couple of games where you were like, okay, Smael is back. How are you feeling? And what are you trying to do during this potential playoff run?

SMAEL MONDON: I was feeling good when I came back. I was excited to be back. I didn’t feel I missed that much time. Right now I feel good. I’m ready for playoffs, really.

Q. Any kind of specific challenges for yourself that you have set or anything like that?

SMAEL MONDON: Specific challenges? Not really. Just go out there and play the best. Nothing specifically.

Q. Smael, you have been through a few of these. What is different about this team than some of the other Georgia teams you have gone into the playoffs with?

SMAEL MONDON: What is different about this team? A lot really. It’s a different team every year.

As far as like a specific thing, I can’t pull one thing off the top of my head about it. I guess with the TCU team, when we went that year, everybody did it before, the year before. So it wasn’t nothing new. I guess with a lot of guys having transferred out and the new guys coming in and the younger guys coming in. It’s a lot of people s first time doing this. That’s the difference.

Q. Have you taken it upon yourself try to be a little bit more vocal? I know you have been the laid-back good cop in these kind of situations. Have you found yourself being a little bit more proactive with some of the guys around you?

SMAEL MONDON: I guess just getting older and rising up through the team ‚Äì I guess rising up through, I’m prepared to be more vocal. It wasn’t really a playoff thing where I try to be more vocal. I guess just since the season started, I tried to talk.

Q. I was talking with Notre Dame, and they were talking about your gap discipline and how this team can use your aggression against you. How do you maintain aggressive mindset, and yet still be careful not to give those cutback lanes.

SMAEL MONDON: They have to be disciplined and have gap discipline. You don’t try to do as much. That’s the main thing.

Q. When you have a back like [Jeremiyah] Love, though, is that hard? He looks as good as anyone. You tell me. Is he as good as anybody you guys have seen this year?

SMAEL MONDON: Yes, he’s a real good back. Him and [Jadarian] Price too. They have a couple of those good backs. We’re just trying to stay disciplined.

Q. What about Riley Leonard, about a dual threat quarterback? Is there anybody you can compare him to, I guess, Haynes King. Is that a comp you have been going off of?

SMAEL MONDON: They have some similarities. Yeah, they do have some similarities, being able to run and throw the ball.

Q. What do you take from the close wins that you have had? Having to come from behind against Tennessee or the overtime against Tech or overtime against Texas? It seems like there have been a lot of those white-knuckle wins.

SMAEL MONDON: I feel like it shows grit and resilience, being able to stay in it when everything is not going right. Just finishing the job. I feel it shows grittiness.

Q. I guess for you personally. We talked about the injury. It almost seems like it lasted more than one season. It seems like it was a season and a half. To get back to the elite level you are playing at, I guess, how much rehab did you have to do and how frustrating was it to know you really weren’t at full speed until, what, maybe the Tennessee game?

SMAEL MONDON: Yeah, I would say around then. It was frustrating at times, though. But I kind of kept a level head. I didn’t really trip too much. Talking about rehab, I did a lot of rehab since the injury first came up, like spring. Since the injury first came up, been doing a lot of rehab since then. Getting back to this point is a real blessing. All the hard work, I finally made it back where I was.

Q. Everyone has asked about Gunner Stockton. What can you tell me about Gunner that maybe I don’t know or that people need to know about him?

SMAEL MONDON: Gunner is laid back, like a simple dude. He don’t really do too much. He says hey, what’s up to everybody. Even if you don’t ‚Äì you ain’t in his position, he will come and talk to you. He’s a cool, friendly person on and off the field.