Although there’s no official timetable for Brock Bowers to return, the All-American tight end is apparently making progress.

During Monday’s press conference to preview Saturday’s game against Ole Miss (7 p.m., ESPN), head coach Kirby Smart revealed the junior is already back running just three weeks removed from his tightrope surgery to repair a high-ankle sprain against Vanderbilt on Oct. 14.

“He’s been great. He’s done everything we’ve asked. He ran on Friday, and did a good workout,” Smart said. “He had Saturday off, obviously, and continues to work. He’s going to do all he can to try to get back as fast as he can.”

Smart did not say if Bowers has been cleared for any practice reps.

Bowers was not wearing his protective boot while watching last week’s game against Missouri.

…One player who is back is linebacker Xavian Sorey. Sorey missed last week’s game due to what Smart called “personal reasons,” but is back with the team this week.

Offensive lineman Xavier Truss said defensive lineman Nazir Stackhouse still hasn’t stopped smiling.

After Saturday’s interception against Missouri, one Stackhouse returned for 44 yards, who can blame him?

“So, Nazir’s locker is two over from mine. I got to see him (Sunday) during a workout, and as soon as I saw him, he had a big smile on his face,” Truss said. “I’m like man, you got to turn them afterburners on, it looked like you were stuck in wet cement out there. But no, I’m happy for Nazir. He can smile as much as he wants after that.”

The conference office in Birmingham was apparently paying attention, as it tabbed Stackhouse the Co-Defensive Player of the Week with Zxavian Harris of Ole Miss.

…On a related note, Bulldog kicker Peyton Woodring was named the SEC Freshman of the Week for the third consecutive week.

…Smart challenged fans to bring the noise for Saturday night’s game.

“We've got a hell of a challenge. We've got a great atmosphere. We need it to be as great an atmosphere in Sanford Stadium as it's ever been, to help take care of our home-field advantage that we need to have,” Smart said. “So, looking forward to that, looking forward to the preparation time. That starts today."

…When asked to talk about his senior class, Smart made a quip after a reporter mentioned Xavier Truss, noting he may shed a tear when hugging Smart during pregame ceremonies.

"Well, I hugged him last year, so ... It's gotten to be the norm of, you know, guys—especially with the COVID class—that have multiple years. It's a little confusing who's a senior anymore,” Smart said. “It's hard to go by that, but I'm certainly very appreciative for what all they've contributed, because it's not really one class. It's fifth-years, fourth-years, sometimes third-year and fourth-year redshirts, things like that. It gets confusing who's in a class.

“But this class has been great. This group of leaders has been very impactful. I think it speaks for itself what they've been able to accomplish thus far, and they still have goals ahead they want to achieve."

…Smart is a big fan of Ole Miss quarterback Jaxson Dart, who has completed 160 of 244 passes for 2,467 yards and 16 touchdowns. He’s also rushed for 334 yards and seven scores.

“Lane’s quarterbacks take on a personality from him. They have a lot of moxie. They have a lot of talent. They play really hard. They play with reckless abandon for their body. He runs like a running back. He's taken some hits this year and shown his toughness, so he's not going to shy away from contact and toughness. The extra element of running gives them a competitive advantage over a lot of teams you play,” Smart said. “They have great backs, but he runs the ball like a back. He throws the ball really well, too. That's what makes them really hard to defend when you've got a guy that can make all the throws but can also take off and run. He's proven the ability to do that."

…Kamari Lassiter received some looks at star, and Smart liked what he saw.

"If you remember, we talked about how he played that position as a freshman and played that position in spring practice. He plays that position when we go out and do reps against the offense,” Smart said. “It's something that we don't ever veer really far away from. He didn't learn it in three days. He didn't go out there never having played it.”

That preparation began back in the offseason.

“There are concepts in a meeting room that don't revolve around your position. We go do drill circuits all offseason and say, 'This is how you play this. It doesn't matter what position you play; you have to be able to play this.' He did those things,” Smart said. “He's very bright, very conscientious. He didn't learn to play it within a week. That wouldn't be realistic. He only had to do so many things, and he's done those things in walk-throughs and was able to execute them in the game."

…So, what did Smart think of the play of his offensive line against Missouri? What was his grade?

"I mean, what's a grade? I'm very happy with the result. They played hard. Could we have played better? Yes, 100 percent. I mean, it always goes back to the same thing on the offensive line. You play against different teams, and sometimes you get your butt whooped,” Smart said. “There were times Saturday we got our butt whooped. I think our guys would be the first to admit that.”

So, what about the future? With stakes mounting with every game, the Bulldogs will need their offensive line to be at its best.

“The goal moving forward is to not let that happen again. There were times we won and times we lost. You want to win them all. The expectation for our team is that you're going to win every play up front, and that's just not real in the SEC,” Smart said. “You're going to face really good defenses and really good people. We found ways to have success in the run game. We had a couple of really nice runs by Kendall and Daijun."

…Saturday’s announcers on ESPN will be Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit.

…Ole Miss running back Quinshon Judkins leads the SEC with 12 rushing touchdowns.

…The Bulldogs are one of only four teams in the country who are ranked in the top 10 in both scoring offense (39.3 points per game, 10th nationally) and scoring defense (15.4 points per game, 6th nationally).

…Georgia’s winning streak sits at 26 games. The Bulldogs have also won 25 straight SEC contests. A win over Ole Miss would give Georgia a school record 25 straight wins at home.