There weren’t many surprises to the starting offensive and defensive lineups that Georgia trotted on the field for G-Day on Saturday.

As expected, the Bulldogs’ first-team offensive line was the one reporters saw through most of spring practice, with Andrew Thomas at left tackle, Kendall Baker at left guard, Lamont Gaillard at center, Ben Cleveland at right guard, and Isaiah Wilson at right tackle.

Terry Godwin, Mecole Hardman, and Riley Ridley were the top receivers, no surprise there.

D’Andre Swift (groin) did not play, allowing Elijah Holyfield to open as the top running back. Isaac Nauta was the tight end, and of course, Jake Fromm at quarterback.

On defense, the only real surprises were DaQuan Hawkins-Muckle opening as a starter on the defensive line, and Tae Crowder at Sam linebacker ahead of Natrez Patrick, who played on the Red Team.

The rest of the starting defense consisted of Tyrique McGhee (corner), J.R. Reed (safety), Richard LeCounte (safety), Julian Rochester (defensive line), D’Andre Walker (outside linebacker), Jonathan Ledbetter (defensive end), Juwan Taylor (Will linebacker), Walter Grant (outside linebacker) and Deandre Baker (cornerback).

“I do think our No. 1 defense is way ahead of our No. 2 defense,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “We’ve got better players out there. Today was the first time I thought we had a little bit of continuity on the No. 1 defense with some rhythm. We really haven’t had this this spring from a continuity standpoint.”

Stats were almost identical with the Red Team (first team) posting 287 yards of offense compared to 286 for the Black. The two teams combined for 11 sacks (seven by the Red, four by the Black) and four interceptions, two against Fromm, once against Fields, and one against Mecole Hardman on a pass out of the Wildcat.

Kirby Smart said linebacker Monty Rice pulled a hamstring late in the game.

Before he was injured, Rice collected 14 tackles, most on either team.

“I’d have to watch the tape but I thought the same thing you thought. Monty showed up. He was sideline to sideline,” Smart said. “Of course, he pulled his hamstring there late in the game. He’s a great kid, man. He’s one of those when the lights come on, and he gets a chance to play in front of somebody, he flashes more. He just loves the game. He loves contact. He loves to hit.”

Wide receiver Riley Ridley was jarred during his attempt at what would have been a 46-yard touchdown pass from Fromm, but returned, and after the game said he was just fine.

Smart said freshman running back Zamir White is on track as he continues to recover from the ACL he tore in high school.

“He’s on schedule. Ron (head trainer Ron Courson) has been really pleased with him. He works very similar to Chubb in rehab,” Smart said. “It’s very important to him. He’s there every day. He enjoys it. He wants the next challenge. Every time you take one step, he’s ready to take another. He embraces that role. As far as a player, we haven’t really seen him do it.”

Smart has yet to give an exact date as to when White will be cleared to practice, but the hope is it will be sometime during fall camp.

Smart wants more players to start showing they’re ready to lead.

“The biggest thing we had to do this spring was find out who we are and who are our leaders. I’m not sure we know exactly who our leaders are yet,” Smart said. “We know who they are supposed to be, but are they willing to assume the role? Because it’s going to be forced on them.”

However, there is apparently hope.

“I’ll say there are guys – Jonathan Ledbetter’s a guy who is pushing for that. Terry Godwin is trying to be vocal when he gets an opportunity. We need more guys to step up,” Smart said. “They’re just not comfortable right now in that role. We’ve got to manufacture it. Lamont (Gaillard) has tried to do some things, I think Andrew Thomas (too). We have a lot of guys on offense who are close to what we want than we do on defense.”

An announced crowd of 82,184 attended G-Day Saturday.

During his press conference, Smart made sure to thank the fans who showed up.

“What an awesome atmosphere. I think we say that every year, but I certainly think that was an incredible atmosphere. I think the new pathway that we had to go (through) for the Dawg Walk was really neat. It was in a lot more shaded area. We thought there were tons of people there lining it,” he said. “I know our players really enjoyed it. I really just want to thank our fans for being out there that early. It probably was a little warmer than I anticipated, but I thought they were awesome. A great crowd to see Sony (Michel) and Nick (Chubb) walk out before it. To see the seniors honored for the season they had, I thought that was really cool and neat.”

Smart chuckled when asked why so many fans showed up.

“I just think people like Georgia football. Why, when you have an opportunity on this nice spring day to come to Athens, I know I’d be dying to come if I lived anywhere in the state or within a five-hour radius. Get out of the house, get the kids out of the house, come watch a game. See the new guys out there, see who the new faces are. I think some of it is recruiting but I think people enjoy football in Georgia,” Smart said. “They want to come watch it. I’m glad they do. The impact it has on recruiting, I can’t tell you how many recruits are going, ‘Oh, my God, I can’t believe this. I just can’t get over it.’ It’s the norm here. It’s the way it should be. We’ve had a great fan base. They turn out for it. We try to put a good product out there for them and make it a good, entertaining game. Sometimes it is, sometimes it isn’t.”