G-Day Postgame News and Notes

Carson Beck’s G-Day effort saw the senior complete 25 of 46 passes for 301 yards and a pair of touchdowns with a pair of interceptions.

Although his completion percentage might raise some eyebrows, head coach Kirby Smart did not seem the least bit concerned during his post-game press conference.

“Carson has had a great spring to me. He’s had a quiet leadership, he’s had a lot of confidence. When things aren’t going well, the kids, the offensive linemen, they turn to him,” Smart said. “He had a really good moxie out there on the field. He never pressed or got frustrated. Even today, he drove the team down and made some really good throws at the end to give us a chance to tie the ball game.”

Beck’s touchdown throws came on tosses of 2 yards to Colbie Young and 11 to Dominic Lovett, who led all receivers with seven catches for 104 yards and a touchdown.

“I was mediocre. I made a few mistakes, which is fine, trying to do some extra things, maybe trying to force the ball to a few different guys and not make the right reads in a couple of situations,” Beck said. “But overall, I think offense, defense, and special teams had a really good spring, and we got a lot of work in.”

Smart agreed.

“I don’t even go off today. He had a good spring,” Smart said. “He knows how to navigate a pocket, he knows where to go with the ball, there’s nothing he hasn’t seen on defense. I’m happy with where he is. I just want him to continue to grow as a leader.”

Gunner Stockton also received extensive work, completing 19 of 32 passes for 232 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

Freshman Ryan Puglisi did not play due to an issue with his knee that caused him to miss some practice time this spring.

“The knee injury, it’s a stress, it’s a small stress fracture. It’s not a break or a significant injury. It’s a shutdown injury and let it rest,” Smart said of Puglisi. “We listened to what the doctor said and did that. But it’s not a long-term problem. But it did affect us in terms of reps. It probably gave Gunner more growth than ever because he took twos, and threes. Gunner just took a ton of reps.”

As he did in the Orange Bowl, Mykel Williams split time between outside linebacker and defensive end. The results were impressive.

Williams made six tackles, but that was not his biggest play.

That came in the first quarter when the junior tipped a pass from Beck and intercepted it on the same play.

“First and foremost, he’s been present. He’s been able to practice. He had spring practice last year, he missed some practices, he had fall camp last year and missed some practices,” Smart said. “I told him if you want to have a really good year, you need to have a really good camp and he’s bought into that.

Practicing good makes you better. It’s not his fault he’s been injured, but you can’t play well if you don’t practice.”

Williams finished with two breakups in the game.

“I thought he had a really good spring from the standpoint of leadership and toughness,” Smart said.

…Smart on G-Day: “I thought the defense played much better today than they played in previous scrimmages in terms of energy and enthusiasm, running to the ball We rushed the passer better today,” Smart said. “The offense probably didn’t have as good a day as maybe they’ve had in the two scrimmages, but some of that was dictated by the terms of which we scrimmaged with which was passing, loose plays, and they did a nice job handling that in the second half.

… Smart said the game operations went better than they did in Georgia’s previous two scrimmages. That included the use of radio headsets in the helmets of quarterbacks Beck and Stockton.

“It was better the second scrimmage than the first scrimmage and better today than the first two scrimmages. We had one delay of game which was not the offense’s vault, we had an injured player so we had to slow down, and the officials kept it coming,” Smart said. “But operations-wise, we got to use the new headset model. The quarterbacks had headsets in and could talk to the coordinators until 15 seconds. We had one on defense, so we were able to do three of those and feel comfortable with it.

We put so much stress on our practice operations where the game is traditionally easy.”

…Miami transfer Colbie Young finished with three catches for 27 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

“He’s shown up on special teams. When you show up on special teams, and you show a commitment to blocking and holding people up,” Smart said. “We sold him when we came here that he had to buy into those values and it’s made him tougher. He’s a big body. He’s a tough matchup for all teams, and I’m pleased with where he is.”

Smart said Young is further along than RaRa Thomas was at the same time last year after transferring from Mississippi State.

“I look at him like I did RaRa last year,” Smart said. “This time last year RaRa did not understand the offense. He couldn’t line up and execute all the time. Colbie is farther along. We haven’t had to give him as many reps.”

…Florida transfer Trevor Etienne rushed four times for 24 yards and caught three passes for an additional 33.

“He’s a good back. He’s explosive, he’s quick. He’s fast coming in and out of the hole. He’s different than what we’ve had,” Smart said. “I think the (D’Andre) Swift analogy is good. The (James) Cook analogy is good, and he’s taken a lot of personal pride in working on his protection. He’s learning the offense. But look, the guy’s been a good SEC player for two years. It’s not like he’s a freshman. He’s a really good player and a really good kid.”

…Smart had plenty to say on his inside linebackers.

"I really thought Raylen and CJ would be further along because of how much they played. I don't think you give them enough credit for: they really shouldn't have been out there last year and they had to go play. They didn't play bad, but they didn't play great. Well, I expected this spring to be this huge jump. They're still freshmen. CJ and Raylen got better. They're going to be really good leaders for us,” Smart said. “I think the fact Smael (Mondon) was out was good for them, and Jalon (Walker) missed a lot of time this spring with an ankle injury. Today was his first day back. It doesn't say enough about our team that kids are trying to get out of spring games all around the country. This guy was mad that we were thinking about not playing him. He wanted to play. He wanted to go out there and compete and get better. Really appreciate Jalon's leadership and the way he handles things."

…South Carolina transfer defensive lineman Xzavier McLeod also flashed with four tackles, including a pair of sacks.

“He's flashed. I wish he would play with more consistency. Meaning, like he did today, all the time. He had some good plays and some bad plays,” Smart said. “I look at it is if he's really still a freshman. He's worked hard. He's going against a really good offensive line. He's taking on some ferocious offensive lines. He's a really good athlete. If we continue to grow him and get him stronger and get him tougher, he's got a chance to really help us.”

…Smart was asked about the transfer portal set to open next week and said he has absolutely no concerns. Why should he?

"I'm not. Can I control it? I can't. If I concern myself with things I can't control, I won't live long. There's just too much out there. It's really one of those things of, 'do you want to be here? Or do you not?'” he said. “Because they know how we do things by now. They all know. That was the easiest practice we've had all spring. They enjoyed it thoroughly. Guys want to be somewhere else I have no control over that.”