Georgia Tuesday news and notes

When Kamari Lassiter was flagged 15 yards for slamming Oregon wide receiver Noah Whittington to the ground, many wondered if the official who threw the penalty made the incorrect call.

Georgia head coach Kirby Smart was asked that very question following practice on Tuesday.

“I have no idea,” Smart said. “I literally haven’t thought about that call since the play happened. I’m not here to judge the officials. I have a lot of respect for officiating. They have a really hard job.”

Lassiter said he never got the chance to ask the official after the call was made.

“Oregon was going so fast, I didn’t have time to talk to the ref because we're going onto the next play,” he said. “We just moved on to the next play.”

Smart said other than a quick teaching moment, he’s also moved on.

“We just showed the play,” Smart said. “We showed (Lassiter) a better way to do it, way to go about it, and moved on.”

… After an excellent practice on Monday, Smart did not have much good to say about Tuesday’s effort. “I thought we had one of our best practices of the year yesterday and one of our worst practices of the year today,” Smart said. “I was really pleased with the way they approached yesterday, had a great practice and we got a lot of guys better. Today, it wasn’t to the standard of what we need, but we’ve got another day tomorrow to get better.”

… Smart was asked about the progress of freshman defensive lineman Bear Alexander, who he said still has plenty of work to do. “He’s got to continue to grow in terms of learning our defense. He had shoulder surgery, and he’s got to get more consistent in his day-to-day work,” Smart said. “You know he flashes, but then he has a play where he doesn't give great effort. He's very similar to every freshman. So every freshman is in a different situation because of our depth chart but they're all similar, they're very inconsistent. There's not a freshman out there who's just been a model of consistency; that's not to be expected. What is to be expected is to give great effort, great toughness, and that's what we're trying to get out of all our freshmen."

…Smart said star Tykee Smith continues to get in better physical shape since coming back from his torn ACL. “He hit his highest speed yesterday that he's hit since being back, and we really need him to come back and help push (Javon) Bullard and give us some relief there. We certainly have to play well at that position."

Smart confirmed our earlier report that cornerback Nyland Green will miss some time with a hamstring injury that he suffered against Oregon.

According to Smart, Green “struggled out there today.”

Also, sources confirm that freshman offensive lineman Drew Bobo will have surgery to repair a labrum issue that he had before arriving in Athens.

There was some good news. Smart said safety Christopher Smith who was seen by media earlier in the day practicing without issue is good to go for Saturday’s game against Samford.

"He's fine,” Smart said. “Chris Smith is perfectly fine. He practiced all today.”

Smart was also asked about freshman linebacker C.J. Washington, out for the year with a neck injury. "It's not an injury that you can really rehab. It's an injury that has to kind of heal itself. We do periodic checks with him,” Smart said. “He's been here with us. He was here today. It's good to see C.J. It's really been a struggle for him, because football meant so much for him and to him. We still haven't given up hope that he can come back, but we're certainly going to take all the precautions necessary before we do bring him back."

“He’s from the country of California. He came in knowing how to fish and hunt, so it wasn’t that much of an adjustment from him.” Linebacker Chaz Chambliss on tight end and good friend Brock Bowers.

…Offensive quality control coach Jes Sutherland was a backup quarterback for Samford the last time came on Sanford Stadium in 2018.

…Saturday’s win enabled the Bulldogs to jump to No. 2 in both the USA Today/Coaches and Associated Press Top 25 polls.

…In line with Georgia’s outside linebacker room calling itself “The Wolfpack,” Chambliss joked his nickname within the group is “White Wolf.”

…Nolan Smith led the Bulldogs with three quarterback pressures against Oregon.

…Christopher Smith’s interception was the fourth of his career.

…Ladd McConkey scored a receiving and rushing touchdown in the same game for the second time in his career.

…The 439 yards passing by Stetson Bennett and Carson Beck were the most in the Kirby Smart era.

…Stetson Bennett is now 15-3 as a starter at Georgia and has completed 63.2 percent of his passes (316-of-500) for 4,669 yards and 41 touchdowns. The 4,699 yards ranks ninth all time in the career annals at Georgia, and just 137 behind Zeke Bratkowski (4,836) for eighth place in Bulldog history.