Kirby Smart said quarterback Gunner Stockton is preparing for the spring the same way he has the previous three seasons in the program.

“He’s a tremendous leader, but there's nothing I didn't already know. I mean, I would be remiss if I said, well, all that he's done this or that. He's done everything right since he's been here,” Smart said during Tuesday’s press conference to preview spring practice. “That's really kind of what he embodies. He's a tough kid who loves football and loves his teammates. You're not going to get a lot of rah-rah out of Gunner. He doesn't feel like that's his role. He earns people's respect by how he works and how he carries himself. He's got a tremendous amount of confidence in his ability.”

Although Stockton appears to be the favorite to win the starting job, redshirt freshman Ryan Puglisi will receive a long look.

However, Stockton’s tenure – and experience late last season after taking over for Carson Beck – could give him the edge.

“He's got a lot of knowledge of our system, and I think that kind of resonates with the other players,” Smart said. “They rally around Gunner because they have a lot of respect for him.

Smart was asked what defensive analysist Will Muschamp would be doing for the team this year and whether his duties would increase.

“We'll probably decide that at a later time,” was all Smart said.

Smart also confirmed the role of new defensive analyst Andrew Thacker.

“He's going to be working almost primarily with the secondaries, specifically the stars,” Smart said. “He'll be with those guys, the nickels, and help Coach (Travaris) Robinson.”

…Don’t look for Smart to follow the route of other schools and hire a general manager.

“We’ve got a lot of people in charge of roster management, including myself, including our football ops staff is involved. Our operations/player development, player personnel staff, everybody gets involved in that; it's a team effort,” Smart said. “We’ve reorganized and restructured some things in terms of what falls under whose duty and whose aspects. But at the end of the day, I'm not ready to run off and go hire somebody that's just going to make all the decisions for what goes on on the football field. I think I've got to stay involved in that heavily. We've got the capacity and the quality of people in the areas that I think we need. So I think we'll be fine in that world as it changes.”

…With some schools cancelling their spring games, Smart was asked if he ever considered going that route.

“Everybody wants to talk about that, and make it about the portal, and make it about this decision to not have spring games based on the fluidity of players. I don't know that that's every coach's reason,” Smart said. “There are a lot of coaches that didn't like the spring game before the portal ever came about. Everybody has different approaches. My approach has been I like to have spring football games.”

However, Smart acknowledged he could be open to changing his mind.

“We haven't even practiced yet. So, it would be remiss if I said 100 percent I'm dead set; we're having a spring game. I leave every option open. That's my 15th practice. So, we can do what we want to do,” Smart said. “We're planning to have a spring game. I've talked to Josh Brooks about it several times. We've had a conversation, but that doesn't mean it can't change. Last year, I think Kentucky didn't have any defensive linemen who were healthy. They weren't able to have a spring game. So we don't know. I can't forecast the future to know exactly what's going to happen 15 days from now.”

…Smart was asked if Dan Jackson and Chaz Chambliss were snubbed from receiving an opportunity at the recent NFL Combine.

“I can't really speak on that. I can only defend my players and the character that those two have. They're tremendous football players and even better people,” Smart said. “Do I think they were deserving? Absolutely. But do I know what goes into it to sit here and be critical of an organization that runs one of the biggest businesses in all the world, one of the most successful businesses in all the world? They have a limited number of spots."