Kirby Smart enjoys Tonka Hemingway's message to Georgia fans: 'Sounds like Tonka called them out'
Kirby Smart likes Sanford Stadium to be loud on Saturdays, and one of South Carolina’s top defenders may have given some motivation to Georgia fans ahead of Saturday’s game in Athens.
South Carolina defensive lineman Tonka Hemingway at SEC Media Days in July said that Texas A&M’s Kyle Field and Tennessee’s Neyland Stadium are the loudest in the SEC that he’s played in. That was just fine to hear for Smart, who believes it sent a message to the red and black faithful.
“People want to question whether our fans are elite, we’ll find out Saturday, right? Sounds like Tonka called them out,” Smart said at his Monday press conference. “Maybe we need to use Tonka for motivation and let him be the one that spurns our group to come out there at 3:30 and be really loud and fired up. So, I certainly hope our fan base will be, they’ve answered the bell every single time, I don’t know why they wouldn’t now.”
Georgia is a nearly 4-touchdown favorite in the game, which is set to kickoff at 3:30 p.m ET on CBS.