Practices are already underway for Georgia as the Bulldogs begin preparations for their Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl date with Ohio State on New Year’s Eve in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

“We’ve been practicing,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “Not specifically for Ohio State, but to maintain staying in shape and make sure our guys are sharp physically.”

Smart, along with Bulldog athletic director Josh Brooks and Chick-fila-A Peach Bowl CEO Gary Stokan met with the media Wednesday for a ceremony to officially invite Georgia to the upcoming game.

The Bulldogs will practice in Athens for the next week-plus before arriving in Atlanta on Dec, 26. There, Georgia will hold what’s expected to be two practices at Mercedes-Benz Stadium ahead of the 8 p.m. kickoff on New Year’s Eve.

Although the focus will soon shift to the Buckeyes, at least the early part of practice will be dedicated to Georgia’s younger players.

“It’s always good to put them at the forefront where they’re getting quality reps and not on the scout team,” Smart said. “At the end of the day, this is almost like another set of spring practices. We get 15 practices for spring practices. We may not get that many in, but we get a lot of practice in once you include walk-throughs. I’ve seen these guys have exponential growth and really become good players before spring even starts.”

The first question posed to Smart Wednesday had nothing to do with his Bulldogs. It had to do with the legacy of Mississippi State coach Mike Leach, who passed away Tuesday.

“His impact is wide and broad. He went from way down in the right corner at Valdosta State to Washington State and coached all over the country,” Smart said. “His impact is really felt more in the high school level, I think because we see it with the vision he had as far as passing the ball, throwing the ball through his young years with Coach (Hal) Mumme, all the way through now.”

Smart said one of the big reasons you see so many high school teams now implementing aspects of the “air-raid” offense is due to Leach.

“What you don’t see is the trickle-down effect that he’s had where you’ll go watch a high school team play and the elements of his offensive system are pervasive. It’s all over the place,” Smart said. “He changed the game because years ago it was wishbone, triple-option. You couldn’t watch a game without veer option, triple-option to now where you actually see more air raid elements than you do those. He had a large part to do with that.

“He was a special man. My heartfelt feelings go out to his family, his wife, and his kids.”

When Smart breaks down the receiving corps of Ohio State, he sees a group that may be the best the Bulldogs have played.

Marvin Harrison Jr. leads the Buckeyes with 72 catches for 1,157 yards and 12 touchdowns, while Emeki Ekbuka has 66 grabs for 1,039 yards and nine scores.

“Across the board, they’re very talented, probably one of the most talented groups we’ve faced,” Smart said. “When you combine it with the talent of the quarterback (C.J. Stroud), it really grows because he has the ability to get the ball to them on all parts of the field, vertically, horizontally, side to side; he does a really good job.”

Smart knows his secondary will have to be ready, especially after giving up over 500 yards through the air to LSU in the SEC Championship.

“When you go to play Ohio State, you know they’re going to have very good wideouts,” he said. “You look across the NFL, they produce a lot of really good wideouts and that’s no different than what they have on their roster right now.”

… Smart on Stetson Bennett going to New York City as a Heisman finalist: “It was a great honor for his resiliency to be one of the four finalists. I don’t know if anybody could have written a script of what he’s done in terms of start to finish, with the trials, tribulations, ups and downs, highs, and lows, throughout his career. To have that be near the end of it is pretty special,” Smart said. “It’s special for Georgia, it’s special for our program, our university, and special for Stetson and his family because he earned it by the way he played on the field.”

… Stokan told the press that an additional 2,000 seats have been added to Mercedes-Benz Stadium.

… Safety Christopher Smith, junior defensive lineman Jalen Carter, and sophomore tight end Brock Bowers were named to the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) FBS Coaches’ All-America First Team while sophomore linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson was included on the Second Team, according to an announcement Wednesday.