Published Aug 4, 2022
Georgia football news and notes
Anthony Dasher  •  UGASports
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After months of waiting, the first day of Fall Camp for the defending national champion Georgia Bulldogs is finally here.

To kick it off, head coach Kirby Smart and four players spoke to the media covering almost every topic imaginable.

Below, we hit the highlights of what was said:

Injury updates

• DB Tykee Smith (ACL): Smart said the transfer from West Virginia is still not 100 percent but is “doing everything he’s been asked to do but may not be cleared for live tackling just yet.” Smith is doing all his drills without limitations, per Smart.

• OL Tate Ratledge (Lisfranc): Smart said Ratledge is in a “good spot” and has already been rotating with the first and second group at guard.

• LB E.J. Lightsey (knee): Smart said the freshman is dealing with a bit of a knee issue but is cleared for practice.

• TE Darnell Washington (foot): Washington told reporters he is 100 percent after missing spring practice with a foot injury. Washington also revealed he currently weighs 275 pounds.

Other highlights

• When asked to assess Georgia’s tight ends, Washington gave a one-word answer – “mismatch.”

• Sophomore linebacker Smael Mondon was offered props from Smart and teammates alike. “Smael Mondon is as good an athlete as I've seen,” Smart said. “He has to increase his physicality, his toughness. He missed spring because of a shoulder surgery. But he's put on some good, solid weight and played a lot of snaps on special teams.”

• Smart started Thursday’s presser on congratulating former teammate Richard Seymour on his induction into the NFL Hall of Fame. Smart added a contingent from Georgia will attend the ceremony in Canton, Ohio for the former Bulldogs.

• For those worried about replacing players from last year, Smart said: “We’ve got a lot of good players to replace, but we’ve got a lot of good players to replace them with.”

• Smart did not give specifics but said several players had changed their body types from last year.

• Freshman Malaki Starks is listed as an “athlete” on Georgia’s official roster, but when asked if the former Jefferson standout might see action on offense, Smart’s answer was succinct: “No.”

• Speaking of Starks, Smart said he and fellow freshman Jacory Thomas got “a lot” of work at safety, but both still have a long way to go.

• Young defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse and Jonathan Jefferson have put in a lot of time against the first team offense. “They’re not Jordan Davis or Devonte Wyatt, but we’re not asking them to be,” Smart said. “If they were those guys, they would have been out there a lot more last year than what they were. But we’re excited about where they are and optimistic that those guys will be very productive. We're asking, you know, Zion (Logue), Jalen (Carter), Naz, Warren Brinson, Bill Norton, Jonathan Jefferson, all those guys. The two young guys, Bear (Alexander) and Christen (Miller), they're going to get thrust up there and have to go out and compete and give us a depth and give us snaps.”

• Smart was also asked about Stetson Bennett’s new buzz-cut haircut. “I don't know what it's about. I certainly -- there's several guys more than Stetson that decided to get it. And that goes back to that lock in, lock out, lock into camp,” Smart said. “You got no distractions. Lock out all the noise and all the social media things and get really focused on being the best version of yourself. And there were several guys that, I guess, decided to do that through their hair.”

• Smart’s excited with what he sees with this year’s running back corps.

“We know enough about Kenny (McIntosh) and Kendall (Milton) to know their strengths. They're both talented guys and played featured roles within drives within their careers here. But never the featured guy. They're both talented and improved immensely. I think Dell's done a great job developing those guys as pass protectors, route runners,” Smart said. “I think the more unknown is Daijun (Edwards), who's been able to get in a lot of games, mop up. And has really done a good job. He's going to play a larger role this year. And then finding out about the two freshmen. Both Branson (Robinson) and Andrew (Paul) have got to help us from a depth standpoint. So, I'm excited to see what those guys can do.”

• Smart said he’s more concerned about his guards than tackle.

“If I had to pick one, I mean, we've got two guys (Broderick Jones and Warren McClendon) who have played winning football consistently. We've got two young guys we feel good about that we think can play good football, just haven't had as much experience,” Smart said. “We’ve got to figure out who the best guards are and what the depth is at guards. But I feel good about the tackles we have. And if anything, we got to generate some more power out of those positions.”

• When asked about his safeties, specifically who will play opposite Christopher Smith, Smart listed Dan Jackson, Tykee Smith, David Daniel and the two freshmen (Thomas and Starks).

“We're not looking to find the starter opposite him. We're looking to find the best four safeties we can find,” Smart said. “(Last year) We didn't have enough DBs. We don't know what that's going to look like this year in terms of, do we have six effective DBs or are we more talented at the linebacker position that we have to have more linebackers on the field?”