When injuries–namely Nolan Smith’s torn pectoral–forced Georgia defensive coaches to move linebacker Jalon Walker from the inside to the outside, many figured that would be his position for this fall.

Not exactly.

Wednesday, Smart said the sophomore will be back at inside linebacker when the Bulldogs begin fall camp on Thursday.

“No, he'll start at inside. That's his natural position,” Smart said. “That's what he wants to grow at, and he'll be in that competition for guys that get an opportunity to play. He has a unique trait of being able to rush the passer well, which not all inside linebackers have. He has some outside linebacker characteristics, and he helped us a lot last year on 3rd down.”

Expectations are that Walker, who has recovered from offseason labrum surgery, will be just fine.

Walker was voted to the preseason All-SEC third team.

“Because of the injuries we had, we were like, okay, he's got a better chance of playing outside linebacker than inside linebacker,” Smart said. “This year and really the entire time he was out in the spring with a shoulder, he still was in the inside linebacker room, and he'll start in the inside linebacker room. But he'll be part of the third down package that allows him to rush the passer.”

… Smart was asked about the development of Austin Blaske, who will compete for the starting job at left tackle.

“He's extremely tough. He's extremely dedicated. He's very prideful in his work. He's one of the most versatile linemen we've had," Smart said. "He's played center, played tackle, he can play guard. He's smart. He strains so hard that he makes himself relevant in terms of the movement he gets in the run game, screen game."

Smart said Blaske is one of the most improved offensive linemen on the team.

"He can go out on the perimeter and block guys. He's a good athlete. He was a really good wrestler in high school," Smart said. "Just been really pleased with how much he's improved to put himself in a competition to where he can contribute and play.”

…Smart said it’s too early to tell where his defensive line is in regard to creating the kind of havoc it did last season.

“I don't know that I could measure by anything we see in the summer. Summer is built so much around conditioning, lifting weights, which are not pertinent to being train wreckers and havoc makers with football pads on,” Smart said. “It may be a measure of strength, may be a measure of stamina, but not necessarily disruptive nature. I don't know where we're at in terms of that.”

Smart’s more concerned about his team’s depth.

“I certainly concern myself with the depth at all positions, but that's a position, the defensive line, I would say end, tackle and nose, all in one, that concerns me in terms of depth. But a lot of positions worry me in depth,” Smart said. “Offensive tackle concerns me at depth. We've been spoiled at some positions, and every year it's different. It's a different issue each and every year. But that's one of the issues we have this year is, do we have enough players that can play winning football at each position group?”

… A question to Smart regarding Georgia’s schedule and the impact it may have on the College Football Playoff committee was met with a predictable response.

“All we can do is go out and try to schedule the best we can, and when we scheduled the game with Oklahoma, we were trying to do that. We were trying to create this identity that we wanted to play our conference schedule, we wanted to play Georgia Tech, and we wanted to play others,” Smart said. “We lost out on that because of a realignment, adding teams to the conference, and that just is what it is. I certainly don't concern myself with the thoughts of the College Football Playoff committee, because I don't have any control over it.”

… The start of fall camp never gets old for Smart.

“I get excited, yeah. Not so much for today, but for tomorrow I do, I think (Thursday) being the first day we can go out and practice. But the NCAA has allowed you to do so much more in the summer," Smart said. "I was just telling our players, it's so different. We didn't see our coaches when we were here in the summer. We had testing when we got back. It was the first day that freshmen reported for us today. Now we've got 19 kids here in the spring."

The remaining newcomers who showed up during the summer are also making strides.

"We had four or five show up in summer, but they've even done workouts. It's not like the buildup of an NFL training camp where you haven't seen guys. We've seen our guys. They're here. They work out every day," Smart said. "It's very important to separate summer from training camp. Sometimes as a kid, you can't see the separation because it's just constant. It's just all in a row. So, we try to make a clear delineation between this is the end of this, this is the start of this.”

… With Smael Mondon (foot) still not 100 percent, redshirt sophomore Xavian Sorey will continue to get a long look at inside linebacker.

Smart said progress is being made.

“Yeah, probably the most growth Xavian has had has been in the last five months, six months. Since Smael's injury, he has exponentially grown in terms of confidence, ability to execute,” Smart said. “He's been healthy, number one, and he's had a lot of opportunity of reps of being out there with the ones. I mean, he's a guy who has really picked it up in terms of leadership and growth, and he has a lot of athletic ability.”

… Smart said he’s excited to see his young group of outside linebackers grow.

“We have a lot of young, eager guys that need to grow, and we've got the oldest vet in the room in Chaz (Chambliss), and he sets the tempo and the tone of the room all the time,” he said. “I'm looking forward to seeing those guys grow.”

It’s certainly a young group.

With the exception of Chambliss, Georgia’s outside linebacker room is one of the youngest positions on the team, with Marvin Jones Jr., Darris Smith, and C.J. Madden each in just their second year. The rest include true freshmen Gabe Harris, Damon Wilson, and Samuel M’Pemba.

"We've got to find unique ways to use those guys, because some of them have really good athletic traits," Smart said. "And we've got to have times where we have two and three guys on the field at that position.”

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