QB Quotes Part II: The Empire Strikes Back

Here's Part II of Zach Mettenberger, Aaron Murray and Joe Cox's quotes from their Tuesday media session. I'll have the final installment Thursday morning.

Murray on knowing he would have competition from another high-level recruit when he chose to come to UGA...
"Before I committed to Georgia, Coach Bobo told me straight up, 'I'm taking two guys.' He named me the guys and all of them were great quarterbacks, so I knew if I was going to commit here, I'd be going up against a top guy in my class. But no matter where you want to go in the country, unless you want to go to a small school, if you want to go to a D-I, you're going to have to compete, and I think neither of us have shied away from that. It's going to make us better, make the team better, and hopefully in the end it's going to win a national championship."

Murray on Joe Cox's influence so far...
"Joe's been great. He's worked with us in film breaking down defenses, learning the playbook which is huge because we have no idea anything about it. You just look at it and you're like, 'Oh my gosh, how am I going to learn all of this?' And he's been great with us, breaking it down day by day, learning specific things each day. He's been a huge help to us, and that's why I came here because I knew those older quarterbacks were going to sit me down and walk me through the steps and get me ready."

Murray on his height (6-foot-1) potentially being an issue...
"My dad's like six-two-and-a-half, my brother is six-two, so hopefully I'll get another inch out of it. I'm praying."

Murray on how comfortable he has felt so far with the playbook...
"I'm still struggling. It's a pretty big playbook, lots of different plays, protections, and just learning defenses, too. In high school you have cover one, cover two, maybe a couple blitzes, but there's about a hundred different kinds of defenses a team can throw at you, especially in the SEC. But they're gradually working me into the system, and hopefully by spring I should pretty much know the whole playbook probably not perfectly, but I should pretty much know it, and by summer I'll know all the protections and plays and feel more comfortable."

Cox on bringing in more WR talent...
"It would be great to get somebody else in, but like this past week when Cameron Kenney was in, I had watched film on him and seen what he can do, but obviously he had already known where he wanted to go. I'm not going to be the guy that tries to be all in someone's ear and say you should come here because, and I told him that. We did the meet and greet and all that, and once it got down to it and we started talking about the whole recruiting process, I told him, if this place doesn't sell itself to you, obviously it's not the place you want to be. I shouldn't have to sit here and beg you to come here or say it's so much fun here because the players do this. I said, if it doesn't sell itself to you with the coaches and everything around you, if you don't just get that feel, you should probably be somewhere else. We're looking for guys that want to play for Georgia, that want to be Bulldogs, that love it here as soon as they set foot on campus. That's the type of guys we want, and hopefully we can get a few more to come through the door."

Cox on who might break out among the WRs next year...
"I've always said Tavarres King has the ability to be a great receiver and obviously we're going to expect big things out of him. Durham's going to get the ball a lot more this year than he has, and I think he's proven himself in a lot of situations, but I think he should be expecting more balls. Really everybody except for A.J. really has to step up this spring, and even A.J. has to get better, too, just like everybody else. I think all our guys are working hard, and a lot of guys who haven't gotten the ball a lot in the past are going to get it a lot more this year."

Cox on employing the tight ends more in 2009...
"That's a whole other dimension that defenses have to get ready for, and we've got two good ones and another one coming in. If they keep working hard like they have been, they're going to get some plays called their way, too. As long as they prove themselves this spring, I'm sure we'll start having more plays to the tight ends, too."

Mettenberger on receiving the scholarship offer from UGA...
"I grew up being a Georgia fan. I got offers from other schools and I was always waiting for that Georgia offer. Once it came, I really couldn't think of a better place to be. He called me on the phone and I was actually at Wal-Mart buying a TV with a friend. I was in Wal-Mart jumping around and people were just looking at me like, what is that kid's problem? But I knew that if anybody was going to make me the best, it would be him."

Mettenberger on having other students from his high school in his classes...
"I have classes with kids who graduated a year ahead of me, and I have classes with them because they're still freshmen and they're like, 'What are you doing here?' I've seen probably about 70 kids from my school, and they just congratulate me."

Mettenberger on strengths he possess that others might not know about...
"I would think me and Aaron both are extremely smart. People don't really put that, because they're usually looking for the physical parts at all these camps. But both of us are picking up the playbook really well. People say my feet aren't the best, but I'm working on it. It's really more about quickness in your drops, and I'd say right now I'm doing pretty good with that."