Might Georgia be dealing with another injury to its running back room?
If so, head coach Kirby Smart isn’t saying.
Running back Cash Jones has been seen wearing a boot, but if there’s a problem, curious media and fans are going to have to wait.
“We'll see when the injury report comes out,” said Smart, referring to the weekly availably report that is posted on Wednesday night.
Georgia’s running back room has certainly seen its share of injuries.
Trevor Etienne continues to be bothered by sore ribs following a hit in the game against Florida. Roderick Robinson has missed the entire year with a turf toe injury, while Branson Robinson is back practicing, but per Smart on Tuesday, is not quite ready to get back on the field.
“We’re banged up as a whole. I'll be honest with you, it's not something that I bring up and talk about. But in the world we live in, maybe we should be talking about it,” Smart said. “But I don't know, I'm not into excuses.”
Running back hasn’t been the only injury-prone position for the Bulldogs.
Georgia’s offensive line has endured more than its share of injuries.
“We’ve got five offensive linemen who've missed time and missed an entire week of practice, and that's tough. So, it's been kind of by committee and just trying to get guys to the game and not able to practice,” Smart said. “Between Tate (Ratledge), Jared (Wilson), Micah (Morris), Dylan (Fairchild), and Earnest (Greene), they've all been dealing with injuries. It’s been tough on those guys, and they continue to push through and try, same thing at running back because we've had the guys out at running back and had a lot of guys injured at that position. It’s welcome to the SEC when you play the number of games we play. It's a physical, tough game.”
Smart will also have his eye on Wednesday night’s availability report.
The status of Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava is also in question.
During a podcast Tuesday in UGASports with Chris Fallica of Fox Sports, Fallica revealed that his sources were telling him that Iamaleava would not be playing Saturday due to a concussion.
Tennessee coach Josh Heupel wasn't in the mood to reveal anything more during his turn on the SEC teleconference.
"Nico has been good in there during the early part of the week," Heupel said. "I'll refer everybody to the availability report that will come out tonight."
During Wednesday’s teleconference, Smart was asked if he’d believe whatever the availability report had to say.
“It depends on the team. But honestly, I don't really pay much attention to it. I mean, I look at it and see it, but there's not a lot of control you have over that, right?” Smart said. “So, when it comes out, it doesn't matter if you're skeptical of it or not.”
