Kirby Smart knows a thing or two about the way Nick Saban does things at Alabama.

Smart was a Saban assistant for nine years in Tuscaloosa before earning the head coaching job at Georgia in 2016, and the pupil nearly surpassed the master in last year’s national championship game. Now that the Bulldogs and Crimson Tide are set for another clash in the SEC title game, Smart was naturally asked about his familiarity with Saban and if that could give his team an extra edge Saturday.

“There’s going to be similar thinking,” Smart said during his Monday press conference. “If you argue that there could be a benefit of knowing what he might be thinking in a similar situation, you could say the same for him. … I don’t think anybody strategically gain something because you worked with somebody for 10 years or 12 years.”

But would it be gratifying for Smart to best his mentor after coming so close a year ago?

“I really don’t look at it that way at all,” he said. “It’s not personal for me. It would be gratifying to our players. It would be the next step toward going to the Playoff. Those are the objectives that we want. It’s not about him, it’s not about me, it’s not about the fact that we worked together. I see a good football team on the other side that we’ve earned the right to go play against. That’s all it is to me.”

Smart touched on many other topics during his press conference as he prepares No. 5 Georgia (11-1, 7-1 SEC) to take on top-ranked Alabama (12-0, 8-0) at 4 p.m. ET on Saturday in Atlanta. He discussed how his team handles last year’s 26-23 overtime title game loss, injuries to a few key players and much more.

You can read his comments below.

On improving kick return coverage:

  • We’ve got to do a better job. At the end of the day, we’ve got a coverage unit, it’s our responsibility to keep them from falling asleep because we’ve  got a guy who kicks a high rate of touchbacks. … We just haven’t done a good job of our coverage unit.

On QB Jake Fromm having experience playing against Alabama:

  • I don’t think it hurts anything, but this year is a different year. … The fact that he’s played and gotten experience, gone against our defense all spring and fall, then he’s played all these games this season, that’s more valuable than just playing Alabama.

On if preparing for last year’s CFP games helps as Georgia gets ready for the SEC title game:

  • Not really. That postseason schedule was so different because it was a long way off, get your team better and prepare your team. You’re really preparing for three teams — the one you’re playing and the two you could play. … This one is more like last year when we played Auburn. It’s more like a normal game week.

Does playing against Alabama QB Tua Tagovailoa for one half last year help preparation for him this year:

  • He has improved tremendously. He was good that half, but you’ve got to remember that they had two young linemen in the game, they had a few young receivers playing at that point in the game that have grown up. They have a receiving corps that is very talented … and he has them at his disposal to put the ball in the right guy’s hands. His precision and touch and accuracy is off-the-charts. Now he’s more experienced. … I don’t think playing him last year has anything to do with it. I think it has to do with these teams this year. Our team is different, especially defensively.

On the injuries to Monty Rice, Cade Mays, Ben Cleveland and Trey Hill:

  • Trey is good to go. He was out and about yesterday, moving around, so we expect Trey to be fine. Really, all those guys. Ben is in the same boat he’s been in. Ben is fighting to get back. Ben’s not 100 percent, but he’s closer than he was yesterday. … Nothing changed on Cade and Monty from last night. I don’t know anything else.

What do you like the most about Fromm and the receivers this year?

  • Timing, balance. Done a good job in the PRO game, done a good job in the vertical passing game. Done a good job on connecting, whether it’s off-man routes or press-man routes. I think Jake has a trust with that group, and they trust him that the ball will get there in time. … None of this happens without protection. No. 1 is keeping the quarterback upright.

Did teams see Alabama and get psyched out, and does knowing you could’ve beaten them last year help your team now?

  • I don’t know that it helps at all. I think the biggest thing is preparing your team for the right way to play and not getting overwhelmed by the moment. If anything, I’ve seen more teams lose it in the warmup, trying to get amped up and all that. You have to go play your best game and try to be your best you. You can’t worry about all the rest. … They have an extremely talented team, and we respect that, but so do we. We had a lot of pride in performance. … The teams are different. Their team is different too. The good thing is we both get to go on the field and play.

Are you still friends with Alabama coaches?

  • I’ve got a lot of the good friends on their support staff, and on the rest of their staff there are still some guys I see in the offseason. Maybe not as much now, but I think that’s the case with every team. Pretty much every team we play, I’ve probably worked with somebody before on that staff.

Are you fatigued by all the Alabama talk?

  • I’m more worried about how to stop those wideouts and that quarterback than I am fatigued by this. … That’s you guys and that’s y’all’s questions. I get it.”

On the importance of pressuring Tagovailoa:

  • It’d be great to do that. It’d be awesome to do that. If you can disrupt the pocket and manage to do that, you’ve got to take a lot of chances. But there are a lot of good players back there behind those chances you’re taking. … Getting pressure, affecting the quarterback, absolutely that’s critical. But not giving up big plays is, too.

Do you have an extra edge this week?

  • I really think it’s to each his own. That’s not a motivation factor for me. That’s not driving me. What’s driving me in the room is the young men who will be in this room, trying to put them in the best situation possible. … That’s all we’re concerned with because when you let all the outside motivation stuff control, sometimes you don’t do your best. … That’s motivation for the media people and that’s a lot of talk. What it is for us is, “How do I play my best game?”