Kirby Smart has always been partial to walk-ons.

We saw that with Stetson Bennett, as well as other Bulldogs in the program without scholarships but athletes vital to the program’s success.

Running back Cash Jones fits that description.

During Wednesday’s SEC teleconference, Smart was asked about the Texas native, who scored a touchdown in Saturday’s 34-3 over Clemson.

“It just shows you the value of walk-ons,” Smart said. “I think it's been discussed ad nauseum and for a long time about the value that walk-ons bring to your organization, the opportunity that it presents for kids to go out and overcome all obstacles and show everybody that they were wrong about them. (Jones) has done that in terms of the amount of recruiting he had coming out.”

A key member of Georgia’s special teams, don’t be surprised if Jones continues to see his share of backfield opportunities.

Last year, Jones rushed 22 times for 161 yards and one touchdown.

He’s already off to a good start.

Jones took 13 reps against the Tigers, catching two passes for 14 yards before adding a 15-yard touchdown run with just over six minutes remaining to cap Georgia’s scoring.

With the expectations that college football programs will have rosters capped at 105, players like Jones may become even more of a unicorn.

“It’s unfortunate that in this new model, we're going to be looking at the possibility of not having stories like that and that hurts me because there's so many great stories like him. That'll be hard to come by now,” Smart said. “But he is a tremendous kid, sets a great example, and has made himself into a really high-quality SEC football player. People don't see what he does without the ball. I mean, he had three of the best reps we've ever had on punt return in the game that nobody even talks about. He's really special.”

Smart also had the following to say:

• Regarding his team’s tackling against Clemson: “Could have been better. Could have been worse. I don't know that I would grade it,” Smart said. “It's really all about opportunities. Space tackles are much harder than in-line tackles, and we try to function and be at a really high rate of tackling. We've had good success with that here at Georgia. A lot of that has to do with really good players. Good players tackle well, poor players don’t, so I won’t say it was OK for a first game. We’ll try to improve this week.”

• On the proposal that could eliminate the spring portal window and limit it to one in December: “It's been discussion. It's been out there for a while. I think most people's initial reaction is, well, that's a good thing for the coaches,” Smart said. “That's awesome, but it's unfair to the players. I think it probably lies somewhere in the middle because there are a lot of people that think you won't know your entire roster in December and January, and when that portal closes in December, and January, you won't know what's coming in, meaning who are we signing, who's coming, who's leaving.”

Eliminating the second portal would make that more difficult.

"That second portal period allowed a lot of programs to try to get their numbers right in terms of who's on my team and who's not. That will now be tightened, and at the end of it, that happens. I mean, if it gets passed into one portal window," Smart said. "So, it's good and bad in both. I don't really have a preference. I've become accustomed to the current situation, and I think we'll adjust if it becomes one.”

• Smart if there’s been any difference with a two-minute timeout now being implemented before the end of each half: “Not really. There was not much difference,” Smart said. “Just like I said, an extra timeout probably means more snaps in the long run."

• Smart on the availability reports now being a thing in the SEC: “I think it will go well. I think it's equitable, at least across our conference, and takes the pressure off of the reporting really for the coaches and turns it over, at least in our world, to our training staff,” Smart said. “It takes the pressure off from a gambling perspective. Anything that puts our student-athletes at risk might be, what's the right word, they might be manipulated for information, they might be used to try to gather stuff. If it's open and it's out there, certainly makes it more equitable.”