Georgia's return to play in Sanford Stadium resulted in a thriller, relatively speaking.

The black team triumphed over the red team 26-23, thanks to a last-second field goal from Jared Zirkel. The down-to-the-wire nature of the annual spring scrimmage pleased head coach Kirby Smart.

"We want it to be as much action, close game coming down to the wire, not so much for you guys and the fans but for us," Smart said. "I don’t think you get better in games that are lopsided. You get better in competitive action. We tried to make that happen as much as possible."

But the final score doesn't matter as much today as do the plays and players that made it possible. Here's a look at some of the top storylines from G-Day 2022.

One of the most banged-up position groups on the team wound up stealing the show on Saturday.

Georgia's tight end group flexed its muscle all afternoon. Arik Gilbert went for three catches for 49 yards and two touchdowns, while early enrollee Oscar Delp led all players with seven receptions and 91 yards.

For Gilbert, G-Day came as another milestone in a long personal journey that saw him step away from the team last year due to personal reasons. He still has a ways to go. Smart mentioned a pair of missed assignments he had, along with his conditioning, but the head coach is proud of him nonetheless.

"I’m more proud of the practices he had leading up to today," Smart said. "Today was a little bit of the icing on the cake. He got some good breaks. He got a ball that I think Stetson was throwing away that I think he made a good play on, but he’s not where he needs to be, either."

Just like Gilbert, Delp has been thrown into the fire with the injuries the tight ends have faced this spring. With Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington out, Delp seized his chance to showcase his skills for the staff.

"I thought he had a decent scrimmage today," Smart said. "He caught the ball well. He ran after the catch well. We didn’t ask him to block and do some things, and those are things that he’s going to have to continue to work on to play in the SEC."

Smart made no mistake about it after the scrimmage. Stetson Bennett is the team's starting quarterback and will hold that position moving forward.

But the head coach also took some time to praise the other signal callers on the team, saying there's "so much promise in each one of them."

Carson Beck completed 13-of-21 passes for 246 yards. Brock Vandagriff hit on 12-of-26 attempts for 115 yards.

"Those other two guys have also done a tremendous job," Smart said. "I think if you ask them, they are really comfortable back there in the bullpen throwing the ball. I saw it today with both of them. They both had really good arm talent, and did a really good job."

Based on Saturday's scrimmage, it appears Beck has a hold on the backup job as of now.

Smart said that along with inside linebacker, defensive line is where the Bulldogs lose the most talent and production.

That makes sense when considering Devonte Wyatt, Travon Walker, and Jordan Davis all depart from last year's squad. But some new faces flashed their potential in front of the home fans on Saturday.

Jalen Carter played well, although he's a known commodity at this point. Zion Logue, Nazir Stackhouse, and Warren Brinson all had good days. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins also received plenty of work with the first-team unit.

Smart sees the promise there as well. But he knows the unit still isn't where it needs to be.

"I think Naz has done a lot to change his body. He’s lost 10 to 15 pounds. He’s changed his body fat percentage. Warren is a quick twitch guy that can make some plays when he moves inside. He’s gotten tougher, he’s gotten more physical," Smart said. "The depth we have there—those guys are going to have to play meaningful minutes and become very dependable for us to go where we want to go.”

At the beginning of the spring, Smart said these practices were about discovering the identity of this team.

Many off and on-field leaders of last year's team are gone. New faces will need to emerge to fill those shoes.

At least through 15 practices, Smart likes what he's seen on that front. The player-driven accountability has shocked him throughout the spring.

"For 14 of the 15 practices, man I was like, dude, they had a great attitude today, we made it tough and they did great," Smart said. "So we’re going to have a little different personality. We’re going to have to have some grit, some toughness. Because it won’t just be talent. We were really talented last year. Not that we’re not talented now. But we’re going to have to win in different ways.”

Smart said Javon Bullard, who repped at star with the first team defense, "dinged his shoulder" but should be fine. Defensive back Kamari Lassiter also missed the game with an illness.... Tramel Walthour, Warren Ericson, and Robert Beal will also be fine after missing the game with injuries... Smart called the offensive line play "off and on", although he noted it's tougher on them when the defense is expecting pass... Speaking of offensive linemen, Smart said Earnest Greene has dropped roughly 30 pounds since arriving on campus.