Georgia wrapped up its third week of fall camp Saturday with its second scrimmage and remains on track for the Sept. 26 season opener at Arkansas.

It was certainly a newsworthy week for the Bulldogs, led of course by Jamie Newman’s decision to opt out for the season due to what he says were concerns over the pandemic and Covid-19.

New special teams coach Scott Cochran made is first visit with the Georgia media vias Zoom, before head coach Kirby Smart filled everyone in on the scrimmage on Saturday.

There was plenty to digest, but here are five things we learned:

Smart told the media Saturday that Newman only informed of his decision on Tuesday before going public Wednesday afternoon.

Did the decision upset the Bulldog head coach? Publicly, certainly not. Smart made it perfectly clear several months ago that any player deciding to opt out would be granted the opportunity, no questions asked and would remain in good standing. While nobody doubts that is indeed true, the timing for the decision could have been better being there’s just three weeks to go before the Sept. 26 season opener.

Although Smart has not ruled out anyone, the starting job figures to come down between JT Daniels and D’Wan Mathis. Although Daniels still has not been cleared for contact, Smart said Saturday it is his expectation that he will be before Sept. 26 but reminded the media that the final call still sits with head trainer Ron Courson.

Cochran made his first appearance before the media since getting to Georgia and was certainly impressive.

It was easy to see why the long-time Alabama strength and conditioning coach relates so well to players, as he patiently answered all question, injecting his own bit of personal humor along the way.

Of note was his response to a question about his 2008 comment when he suggested that Georgia was “coming to its own funeral” after announcing it was going to wear black jerseys for that year’s contest against the Crimson Tide.

Hearing Cochran talk about his desire to become an on-field coach the excitement he has for coaching the Bulldogs’ special teams should leave Georgia fans confident in the job he will do come fall.

Punter Jake Camarda is getting a chance to show what he can do at kicker as well as punt for the Bulldogs during camp.

Camarda, you will recall, was excellent, kicking four field goals of 50 yards plus his senior season at Norcross High.

During his Zoom interview, Cochran also mentioned freshman Jared Zirkel and redshirt sophomore Jack Podlesny with Brooks Buce and Noah Chumley among some of the other hopefuls.

We spoke to Jermaine Johnson for the first time since he has been a Bulldog and he shared a goal has for the upcoming fall.

The talented outside linebacker told reporters he needs to become a “more violent” player for the Bulldogs this fall.

Johnson also spoke of how he approached the quarantine back home in Minnesota more determined than ever to put his best effort on the field and help make Georgia’s outside linebacking corps one of the best in the country.

“I just try to ask my coaches what I can do better every single day in practice, and try to be whatever I can for my team, whether that is on special teams, or whatever,” Johnson said. “Everyone has attributes; it just comes down to technique and will, how much passion you have for the game, and how much will you want to give to the program.”

The Bulldogs now know what time of day four of their 10 games will be played.

These include the Sept. 26 opener at Arkansas, which will kick off at 4 p.m. and be televised on the SEC Network.

The league also announced that the anticipated game in Tuscaloosa on Oct. 17 is also set. Georgia and Alabama will kick off at 8 p.m. E.T. The SEC showdown will be televised on CBS.

Georgia and Florida will kick off their Nov. 7 game in Jacksonville at 3:30 p.m. The league also announced that the home opener Oct. 3 against Auburn will get underway at 7:30 p.m. on ESPN.