This question to Kirby Smart during Wednesday’s SEC teleconference seemed innocent.

What area of his team’s play did Georgia’s head coach want to see improve the most during Saturday’s game against Samford (4 p.m., SEC Network)?

Smart tinged his response with just a bit of sarcasm.

“Why wouldn’t I want them to improve in everything? I mean, you go into every game with the assumption that you need to get better,” Smart said. “There’s always things you can improve. Will there be something in the team room where I go in and say, ‘OK, right here, guys, we’re fine here and we’re not going to improve this'? I just don’t see it that way. You can say, is there some more than others? There’s really not. If we’re really good at something, I want to be really better.”

In other words, don’t waste Smart’s time asking where he wants to see his Bulldogs improve.

“If we’re not good enough at that, I want to improve that,” Smart said. “Incrementally, I want everything to go up and get better at it. I want us to execute at a higher level. I want us to have more players playing winning football; making less mistakes is my goal.”

Smart isn't going to telegraph his team's weaknesses.

Tight end Darnell Washington certainly qualifies as a physical specimen. At 6-foot-7 and 275 pounds, few are heftier.

But for one of the first times in his career, Washington is finally healthy. With better health has come better stamina, and according to Smart, that has the junior at a level he'd never reached earlier in his career.

“He works really hard. He’s a much better practice player,” Smart said. “His stamina has improved since his freshman year, and he’s done a really good job of managing his weight.”

Thus, Smart said, Washington is able to go longer, as he did Saturday against Oregon. His 35 snaps were just two shy of the 37 by Brock Bowers.

“I thought he was in the best shape he’s ever been in, [better] than what he was the spring of last year when he actually had a foot injury that kept him out for spring,” Smart said. “He had to climb that hill again over the summer to put himself in shape. He’s done a good job this offseason to put himself in position to play harder, longer, and that’s important for him. When he plays harder, longer, he shows his talent.”

…Wide receiver Adonai Mitchell was asked what he thought about Washington’s hurdle of an Oregon player last Saturday.

“That’s a big dude,” Mitchell said. “I was fired up.”

Mitchell was asked if he’d seen Washington do that before.

“I don’t think I’ve seen that one in practice yet,” he said. “I remember seeing it against Kentucky last year; I remember that.”

Smart offered praise for former Bulldog and current Arkansas safety Latavious Brini, when asked about him by a Razorback beat writer.

“Brini’s a great kid. He was one of the funnest I’ve been around,” Smart said. “He absorbs information, he takes in coaching, and he loves the game of football. He’s always appreciative of coaching, getting better, getting developed, and he's come a long way in the time he was here. We certainly wish him nothing but the best.”

…Mitchell said Stetson Bennett’s performance against Oregon did not surprise him. “I kind of expected it. This is his third year with Coach (Todd) Monken),” Mitchell said. “He looked extremely comfortable. It felt like he was in complete control.”

…A funny moment Wednesday occurred when Mitchell was asked how high the ceiling was for Georgia’s offense. He glanced up at the ceiling at the Butts-Mehre Building and said, “It’s up there.”

…Running back Kendall Milton said his hamstring injury is 100 percent, and he never worried about missing last week’s opener. “I wasn’t really concerned, because me and Ron (head trainer Ron Courson) talked about it a lot,” Milton said. “I stayed in the training room all day basically, and kept doing what I needed to do to get back. We had a plan, and it was my job to do what I needed to do to get back on the field.”