Smart said offensive lineman Austin Blaske (knee) is pushing to get back and is not being ruled out of Saturday’s game against South Carolina.

“Blaske is working his way back. He might be available,” Smart said. “He's one of the toughest guys I've been around, so he's trying to speed up that recovery and make himself available for this game.”

Safety Javon Bullard’s status, meanwhile, remains up in the air.

Bullard injured his ankle early in the game last week against Ball State.

“Javon is still in non-contact right now,” Smart said. “He's out there at practice, but he wasn't able to do a lot.”

Smart was also asked about running back Andrew Paul, who is returning after suffering an ACL injury prior to last season.

“He’s continuing to make his way back. He’s feeling his way through it. He has not, probably, cut loose. I think he would tell you he’s feeling his way through contact, trying to feel his way through it,” Smart said. “He hasn’t had a lot of opportunities. He’s had a few, but with Kendall (Milton) coming back, he’s been a little more limited. I think he’s a young back who’s still getting his confidence back. He’s flashed, had some really good runs in camp, and I’m hoping we get to see more of him, so we get to see that.”

Paul has played in each of Georgia’s first two games but has only taken a few snaps.

…As for wide receiver Ladd McConkey, whose back injury has kept him off the field for the first two games: "We have guys that have similar skill sets, we just don't have the experience. We have guys capable of filling the void left by Ladd, but we don't have guys with the experience in this offense,” Smart said. “Two years, 15 games a year, 30 games of experience is immense. That's the part we miss. As far as his availability, he hasn't been available. He's been injured. He's trying to come back, and we're trying to figure out all we can do to speed that process up."

In light of Georgia’s injuries at running back, many have wondered if wide receiver Dillon Bell could receive more looks at running back, particularly with his ability to catch the football out of the backfield.

Smart was asked that question Tuesday.

“We’ll always have that element, whether it’s he or (Mekhi) Mews or the other guys who can line up in the backfield. That’s always going to be there. We have backs capable of doing that, too, when we are 100 percent healthy,” Smart said. “So, I don’t know if I can answer that. But we’ll probably keep it there. It probably depends on what wideouts are healthy, what we have week to week, and what the game plan is.”

… Smart said Kamari Lassiter is turning into quite the leader now that he’s recovered from the foot injury he suffered during fall camp. “Really good. Leader. Solid, tough, physical tackler. Confident. He’s playing really well right now, playing hard,” Smart said. “I just like the way he goes about his business. He practices like a pro, does walk throughs like a pro, takes notes like a pro, he’s very driven and focused.”

… Smart is also pleased with freshman running back Roderick Robinson. "He got the spring ball to learn and figure some things out. He caught up to speed, and he's gotten an opportunity. We've had some injured backs, he's been healthy. I've seen him mature. He's very bright. He has good vision. He continues to improve picking up pass pro,” Smart said. “He should be a weapon doing that because he's big and physical, so he should be able to do that. It's something that all freshmen go through where they have to learn that, they have to get comfortable. Picking up blitzing backers at our level is not something they do at their level. He continues to improve, and I'm proud of the work he's done."

… Linebacker Smael Mondon said he’s “feeling really good” now that he’s recovered from the foot injury that limited him in fall camp.

… Smart said former Clemson offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter has been a help scouting South Carolina’s personnel for Saturday’s game. “He helped with the offensive staff in terms of coaching the coaches and gave input he knew about the kids, maybe the ones he recruited,” Smart said. “I wasn’t in that meeting, but I know he did do that earlier.

… Smart was asked by a reporter what it would take to “be a smarter football observer.” The question puzzled the Bulldog head coach. “Join a staff of an SEC program? I don't understand what you're asking. If you want to be a better football coach, go be around football coaches, right? If you want to understand football better, get in the tunnels and the dark spots and the organizations and watch it and learn it I guess. Is that what you're asking?” Smart said. “Football in general, I don't think you can learn it on Twitter and I don't think you can learn it on TV because it's scary what people think they know.”

… Smart has a new Regions commercial out. So, how did the taping go?

“It was shorter than I thought it would be, but it was more difficult than I thought it would be in terms of trying to keep my composure and not laugh,” Smart said.

… Smart said the kicking competition between Jared Zirkel and Peyton Woodring will continue, but right now it does not seem a change is being considered: “"There's competition for everything. It's hard within a week,” Smart said. “We get maybe 10 to 12 kicks a week. I'm talking about 11-on-11, not off on their own. We chart it. We keep up with it, we monitor it. We put weight on preseason camp. I got a lot of confidence in our kicker, I’ve got a lot of confidence in both our kickers. Both our kickers are a weapon.”