Ironing out the details will be important for Bulldogs, Smart
Assessing Georgia’s football team throughout the Covid pandemic has not been easy.
With no media viewing, only some school-generated post-practice videos, zoom sessions with players and head coach Kirby Smart, putting a finger on exactly where the Bulldogs stand heading into the 2021 campaign is a matter of educated guessing.
We THINK we have a general idea.
Based on what we saw during G-Day, there's a reason for excitement. Players appeared in excellent condition There’s obviously no shortage of athletes on both sides of the ball, although, as Smart told reporters afterwards, there’s still a ton of work to do.
“We've had a tough, physical spring, and 15 practices complete,” Smart said after G-Day. “We’ve got a long way to go to get where we need to go. We've got to find some depth at some positions, and we've got to get better at some other positions.”
With all Division I sports returning to their regular recruiting calendar for the first time in over a year, Smart and his assistants will be focusing primarily on getting recruits to campus and ultimately enticing the next wave of future Bulldogs to sign on the dotted line.
That will leave the team’s summer workout program to strength and conditioning coach Scott Sinclair who, come June, will begin the task of prepping the team for the start of fall camp, which begins in early August.
Until then, Smart’s to-do list as he approaches his sixth season as Georgia’s head coach includes:
• Using the transfer portal wisely. By the count in our scholarship distribution page, Georgia has 82 players currently on scholarship. Thus the Bulldog could add three more players by July 1 if they have room under the initial counters limit. That’s the deadline given student athletes by the NCAA to transfer to new teams and still be eligible for the upcoming campaign.
We know that Smart and his assistants are keeping a close eye on the transfer portal, and reportedly have their eye on at least one, perhaps two players, to shore up the depth in the secondary. An offensive transfer would not surprise us either.
• Continuing to develop the secondary. Lewis Cine and Christopher Smith, incoming transfer Tykee Smith, and the returning Latavious Brini give Georgia a solid nucleus at safety and star. Smart hopes players like returnee William Poole and freshman David Daniel will help with depth, but this is another position where it will not surprise anyone to see the Bulldogs dip into the transfer portal for some additional help.
Cornerback, however, is where most of Smart’s concern falls. It’s not for a lack of talent. Kelee Ringo, Nyland Green, Jalen Kimber, and Ameer Speed were recruited by basically every major program in the country. However, there’s not a single start between them, with only Speed and Kimber being able to claim they’ve played in a single college game. You can bet Georgia coaches will continue getting this group up to speed as quickly as they can, but finding some experience via the transfer portal is quite likely atop Smart’s to-do list.
“We’ll get to do that all summer in seven-on-seven. We’ve got to grow and get better, and we’ve got good players—we’ve got to coach them up and get them ready to play at a high level. They’ll get challenged, obviously, in our opener and in conference play,” Smart said. “The teams we play next year—there’s some teams that can sling the ball. This game's about skill. So, if you’ve got skill level out on the perimeter, it’s hard to stop people. I don’t care who your corners are, how good your corners are, you’re not shutting people down.”
• Making sure JT Daniels continues his development. Based on what we’ve learned about Daniels, this is probably the least of Smart’s concerns.
Nevertheless, Smart wants to see his quarterback continue to build on the work he put in during the spring.
"He's got command of the offense. He's got to be able to utilize the pocket. We work on that each and every day, and I know coach (Todd) Monken is always driving that home with him, his ability to move in the pocket, step up,” Smart said. “The key is his decision-making process. We know with the quarterback position, there's probably a decision that has to be made every single play, and he manages that really well for us."
• Settling on a starting offensive line. Smart and offensive line coach Matt Luke spent much of the spring evaluating exactly what they have. There’s no shortage of bodies, but one can bet the two will continue trying to figure out who the top five in the starting lineup are. The competition will continue through fall camp. Settling on a left tackle is expected to be Job 1, although all five positions will be thoroughly scrutinized before any final decisions are made.
• Making sure his players get healthy. With the exception George Pickens, the rest of Georgia’s recently injured players are expected to be ready for the start of fall drills.
Many will be cleared before that.
This includes wide receivers Dominick Blaylock (ACL), Arian Smith (wrist), Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (ankle), and linebacker Nakobe Dean (shoulder).
As for the aforementioned Pickens: Although he did undergo ACL surgery after suffering the injury during spring camp, it’s hoped he’ll still be able to have an impact at some point later in the year.
From a coaching standpoint, there has not been a lot of turnover.
In fact, the lone newcomer to Smart’s on-field staff has been new secondary coach Jahmile Addae. That stands as the fewest on-field assistants Smart has had to add since he took the Georgia job. Having that kind of continuity cannot hurt.
Behind the scenes will be an interesting place, due to the presence of former South Carolina and Florida head coach Will Muschamp, whose official title is Senior Analyst for Defense.
It’s obvious Smart already leans a lot on his close friend, not only for the knowledge he brings from a defensive perspective, but also his many years of experience in the SEC.