Georgia Football Monday News and Notes

Kirby Smart was asked during his press conference on Saturday’s game against Kentucky (7 p.m., ESPN) what was his team’s offensive identity.

“The offensive identity is to do what it takes. That’s essentially what it always comes down to, right?” Smart said. “You’d love to have it defined that we’re just going to ball out and run it through you, but nobody really does that. I don’t know anybody who does it.”

If anybody has an identity, Smart said it’s Kentucky.

The Wildcats, with a running game led by Ray Davis and quarterback Devin Leary's passing attack, have given their team some welcomed balance. Smart said that could provide problems for his defense Saturday night.

“Kentucky did it last week (running) against Florida, but they haven’t done it every single game that way. They’ve done it in different ways. If you have one identity, I think that’s probably what they’re going to try and stop,” Smart said. “I think Kentucky’s balanced. When you look at the explosives right now in our league, they are the only team that has the exact same number of explosive runs as explosive passes. They have balance.”

As for his own team, Smart said the focus moving forward will be on what the team can best do to put the ball in the end zone as much as it can.

“Going back to us and our identity. We’ve been up and down in the red area; we’ve been really good on third down. We have a lot of things we can work on, but as far as whether it’s about the backs or not, we don’t cry over what we don’t have. You figure out what you got, then you figure out what you can do,” Smart said. “So, I’m not going to sit up here and complain with help for safety and how many backs we’ve got. That’s not what we do, complain about what we have and what we don’t.”

…Running back Roderick Robinson is still dealing with an ankle injury. Smart could not say if he’ll be available for Saturday. “We’ll see how he does this week,” Smart said.

...Smart said wide receiver Ladd McConkey (back) and running back Kendall Milton (knee) came out of Saturday's game feeling fine. But each still has work to do in regard to becoming completely healthy.

“Yeah, just that. I mean, we're really trying to get them in shape now. Because we feel like they're healthy. It's a matter of, Okay, can they get in shape without wearing down their legs? You don't really get in shape in season. You're in shape or you're not. And those guys haven't had a chance to have the stamina in practice," Smart said. "So we try and do it in other ways, non-weight-bearing, underwater running. You do all the things you can do. But we're trying to get them healthy and to the game and maybe get them some more snaps.”

Smart said fingers are crossed that McConkey will be fine the rest of the year.

"I just know the medical advice we got was to shut him down. We did that. He feels like he's recovered. He feels good," Smart said. "He had to progress last week to the point of full speed. It didn't bother him. So, I was pleased with that part of it. He wants to be out there. The biggest thing for him now is the conditioning level and all.”

… Smart had an interesting comparison when talking about Kentucky running back Ray Davis.

“He reminds me of (D’Andre) Swift, he’s just a little bigger,” Smart said. “But he has a lot of the same, one-cut runs and they do a tremendous job blocking for him. It’s not all him.”

Davis, who ran for 280 yards against Florida, not surprisingly leads the SEC in rushing with 594, averaging 7.8 yards every time he touches the ball.

“He’s an exceptional back. He’s as good a back as I’ve seen in a long time. He’s smooth, explosive, he pass protects really well, and he’s aggressive in the way he runs,” Smart said. “It seems like Kentucky has always had backs, right? Their backs always run physical, and they are committed to running the ball. They do a great job at the point of attack.”

…Smart was asked if he felt any Jordan Davis vibes when looking at Kentucky defensive lineman Deone Walker. At 6-foot-6, and 350 pounds, it’s a natural comparison.

“He’s extremely athletic for a large man. They do more with him than we did with Jordan. They don’t play him at the nose; they move him out to the five-technique, 4i, they dropped him against Florida in an interception play,” Smart said. “It’s as unique as you’ll see, a guy 6-6, 350 dropping. He’s a talented player. We recruited him here, and he’s gotten better. He’s a wrecking ball in there."

… With no pre-snap penalties at Auburn, Georgia’s offense proved it could keep its composure.

“I thought we’d have some, and we simulated having some and getting back up, and not letting it spiral. I thought Coach Bobo and his offensive staff did an incredible job,” Smart said. “You take a quarterback who has never played on the road, at Auburn, and not have procedural penalties. We had good organization, we had substitution patterns, we had good snap count recognition. Changing tempos, I thought they did a good job managing that. But that’s not the issue now. I’m worried about Kentucky, and they’ve got a really good defense.

… Georgia’s came at Vanderbilt will be televised at noon Eastern Time (11 a.m. Central) on CBS.

… Bulldog linebacker Smael Mondon was named the SEC Defensive Player of the Week and kicker Peyton Woodring the SEC Co-Freshman of the Week.

Mondon posted a game-high 11 tackles, including a sack and two tackles for loss during the Bulldogs’ 27-20 win at Auburn.

Woodring, meanwhile, kicked a pair of field goals and was a perfect 3-for-3 on extra-point attempts.

The team will be wearing helmet stickers calling attention to Mental Health Week.