Chris Smith 10-8

DE-Chris Smith (on the loss of LB-Alonzo Highsmith) -"It is tough to lose one of our senior captains, for him to go out like that. But, he came back to the sidelines later in the third quarter. He was still being a vocal leader. It is tough to lose a guy like that. Other guys have to step up and I think Terrell Williams has done that. I think he is really trusting in himself because he has been out there making plays the last couple of games. We are looking up at Terrell Williams."

DE-Chris Smith (on the injuries all year to the team) -"It's tough. But, the opportunities for other guys to play is a lot like last year with me and Trey Flowers. We had no idea that Jake (Bequette) was going to go out in the second or third game. You have to be ready to play and step up on Saturday."

DE-Chris Smith (on the defense's performance at Auburn) -"It is good. It is a lift off of our shoulders. This was the best defensive performance since I've been here. I think it all starts up front. Guys like Alfred Davis and DeQuinta Jones and Byran Jones and Robert Thomas and Jared Green. We had to get out there out front and really challenge this week. I think it is the way we come out and practice too. Guys are taking practice more seriously and we are executing things. As far as the turnovers, I said earlier in the week we were making turnovers in practice. That is what we did and it showed up in the game."

DE-Chris Smith (on forcing five turnovers at Auburn) -"The one that I was surprised about was Will Hines. He saw the ball being tipped around and I said 'Get it, get it.' That is what happened at practice this week. It is the old saying, what you do in practice is what you do in the game. That is what happened. We are very happy when Ross (Rasner) picks one off in the end zone and Alan Turner does too. Or when Ross forces a fumble, we were happy to get that. We have to continue to build on this and look forward to Kentucky this week."

DE-Chris Smith (on the defensive line helping to get interceptions) -"I think we helped each other out. A couple times the quarterback was looking for somewhere to throw when he was running around. I think we had a lot of coverage sacks, and I think we helped our secondary out by getting pressure on the quarterback. We helped out end to end. That is the main thing. You have to build on this. It was a good win for us, beating anybody in the SEC is a good win for us. We just have to build on that and do the same thing this week."

DE-Chris Smith (on gang tackling) -"That is one thing that we always preach, running to the ball. That is one thing Coach (Paul) Haynes and Coach (Steve) Caldwell always say, 'Run to the ball and things happen.' You never know if the ball is going to pop out like it did on Saturday. That is one thing we have been preaching and that the coaches have been preaching. We have been staying hard on ourselves, as players, to run to the ball and good things will happen."

DE-Chris Smith (on DE-Trey Flowers being named SEC Defensive Lineman of the Week) -"That is great. I texted him this morning and told him. He played great. It didn't surprise me. He is a hard worker. Trey is also a very smart guy, a major in engineering. He does all of that together. Sometimes we are in the hotel and he is doing homework. He stepped up a lot. I am proud of him."

DE-Chris Smith (on the Sunday after the win) -"It was great. I didn't have that sick feeling waking up on Sunday morning. It was great. That is one thing that we have to build off of. We are going to do that and get ready for practice Tuesday and try to get ready to beat Kentucky."

DE-Chris Smith (on the atmosphere after the game) -"It was very exciting. I think this was a much-needed win. Like I said, it is great to beat anybody in the SEC. The SEC is a tough conference. These wins don't come easy. You have to come out and play every Saturday. Everybody had the attitude after the game. That is what you like to see."

DE-Chris Smith (on the possibility of a winning streak) -"We have got to take one game at a time. But, playing at home in the SEC, it helps a lot.  We have got to take one game at a time and focus on Kentucky. We are going to try and execute the game plan this week."

DE-Chris Smith (on it feeling easier to get a win this week after a win last week) -"Yes, it is always a level of confidence. That is one thing I look at too, they had that confidence not to mess up. Even though we did play good Saturday as a defense, we still had mistakes. Guys weren't afraid to mess up. When they messed up they went full speed. Coach says it is one thing to make a mistake, but don't not go full speed doing it. That is one thing that is confident. As an example, Terrell Williams has that confidence. He had that confidence when (Tenarius Wright) went down and when (Alonzo) Highsmith went down Saturday. As a team, we need to get that confidence. Everybody is going to come in this week and get more fired up for practice Tuesday. We are ready to get after it."