Georgia Football News and Notes

Kirby Smart said he’s pleased with the way Florida transfer Trevor Etienne has adjusted to Georgia’s running back room.

“I think running back is one of the positions you can pick up really quick,” Smart said Tuesday. “There are some similarities between our offense and theirs, some of the same runs, a lot of the same words in some cases. He’s not struggled to transition that part.”

The Bulldogs are counting on Etienne providing a spark to their backfield.

In two years at Florida, Etienne appeared in 24 games with one start, rushing 249 times for 1,472 yards and 14 touchdowns. He also caught 30 passes for 238 yards and one score, while returning 28 kicks for 671 yards.

“He’s getting comfortable in the offenses,” Smart said. “There are parts where I’ve met with him about the way we do things that he’s picking up on.”

No problems have been detected there, either.

“He’s very bright. It’s not going to be a problem for him. There’s been some mistakes and things, but nothing that can’t be corrected. In terms of his work and practice habits, he seems to give great effort to run the ball past the last defender,” Smart said. “He’s a sponge. He’s absorbed that. He’s enjoyed being pushed. He’s enjoying the competition in that room. I’m very pleased with where he is and hope he will continue that trajectory that he’s on.”

Smart had some positive words regarding his freshmen offensive linemen.

“That group as a whole has been tremendous as weight loss,” said Smart, who noted in early press conference that getting the group at or near 330 pounds was going to be one of their spring-time goals.

Progress is being made. Smart said Nyier Daniels has lost “40 or 50 pounds” from the 396 he weighed upon reporting to campus.

He hasn’t been the only one.

“Daniel Calhoun has lost a tremendous amount, (Marques) Easley has lost a tremendous amount, (Michael) Uini has lost a tremendous amount, too,” said Smart, who also confirmed an earlier report by UGASports that fellow early enrollee Malachi Toliver was training at center.

“That group across the board is unique to have. Most of the time you have two or three mid-year linemen. Having five is very unique,” Smart said. “You really don’t want all five of them there at once, because it’s a recipe for a disaster, but you’ve got five players who are getting better a lot faster, and we’ve tried to integrate them into different parts of practice, just not all at once. It’s hard. It's the largest jump in all of sports, to go from a high school offensive lineman to a college offensive lineman.”

Smart doesn’t typically sound upbeat this early in spring practice. Tuesday was an exception.

“I’m excited about where this team is headed. I’m really excited about this group. We’ve had three practices, two in shorts and one in full pads on Saturday, and will be in pads today,” he said. “There’s a lot of competition out there. As a whole, the overall feel is a little younger than what I remember in the past. Maybe it’s the total number of new players in terms of midyears; I think we’re up a little bit. We’ve broken a record every year, and then the addition of the portal guys. There’s a lot of new faces out there, so that’s the biggest difference.”

The Bulldogs will hold their first scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium.

This is also the week for Smart’s annual high school coaches’ clinic with approximately 700-800 coaches from across the southeast attending.

Among the speakers later this week, are former Coastal Carolina and current Liberty head coach Jamey Chadwell and Houston head coach Willie Fritz, formerly at Tulane and Georgia Southern.

“I know Coach Chadwell really well. I think he’s a great guy, a great coach. I’m excited to get him in here,” Smart said. “More than us studying them, a lot of high school coaches that try to implement philosophies he has on offense. There’s a little bit of option carryover, a new-age offense in terms of the ability of the quarterback to run the ball, run option from the gun. They do a really good job of that, and he’s done it at Coastal and Liberty.”

…Smart had praise for redshirt freshman linebacker Troy Bowles: “He’s done a good job. He’s picking things up. He didn’t get the benefit of his high school letting him go mid-year, coming in with those guys, but he’s just as good an athlete as those guys,” Smart said. “He’s going to help the special teams a lot, he’s learning the defense, and the other three provide good depth, and they’re learning.”

…One of Carson Beck’s bigger challenges this spring is becoming comfortable with the wide receivers around him. With so many new faces, it’s taking some work.

“You ask any quarterback, they like receivers they trust and know, that they have an intuit to think the same way with,” Smart said. “There’s a lot of change in that room right now, so showing confidence in himself, showing confidence in those players to do their job is a big part of it. That trust is not given, it’s earned, and they're earning his trust. But it goes both ways.”

…Smart said safety transfer Jake Pope and defensive line transfer Xzavier McLeod are putting their previous SEC experience to good use.

“Those guys are coming from SEC programs, they’ve been in those programs, they’re more mature than our mid-years,” Smart said. “They’re intelligent, they’re familiar with our system, they’re both developing, working hard, and competing.”