Georgia head coach Kirby Smart met with the media on August 13. Here's what the head Bulldog had to say.
Smart said camp, in his mind, continues through Saturday's scrimmage. Progress has been good, although the first scrimmage was not up to his expectations. He felt the team didn't have as much enthusiasm and didn't play to the level they needed to.
Smart also said he feels the team has less depth than it has in the past. He referred to this as the "deterioration of football," which is also something he's heard from other coaches around the country. Smart said there's no one certain cause for this. He feels teams lose some continuity with guys leaving in the transfer portal, which means less guys that know and execute the system. It's not as much "quality depth" as he's used to, but he still feels more than other teams.
Smart said the team has a lot to fix and is not where it needs to be in terms of having enough guys to play winning football.
Center Jared Wilson has been dealing with Achilles tendinitis but has been doing well and doing some things. He's ramping up his reps. Outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss has a soft tissue hamstring injury but has been able to do some things. He'll do more today.
Defensive lineman Jordan Hall was beginning to come back from his tibia stress fracture, but he is dealing with the same thing in his other leg. But Smart said he's on a good timeline and it's not a long-term thing, plus Hall knows what to expect from rehab. He's in great spirits and will be back, although Smart isn't sure when.
Running back Roderick Robinson has been dealing with a toe injury on his right foot, but Smart didn't seem too concerned.
On freshman running back Nate Frazier, Smart said he is trying hard to learn and understand the offense, but there are levels of detail in Georgia's offense that he's never seen before. Smart added that he didn't go through spring practice and is going through all that learning now. Smart also called him "a little ball of energy" who has good speed and explosiveness.
Smart said the running backs as a whole have been doing well in fall. He called out Cash Jones for doing a good job. Trevor Etienne is the leader of the room and is setting the standard.
The defensive backs have a long way to go. They have to prove they are playmakers by how they play. Smart thought the group didn't tackle very well in the first scrimmage. Smart emphasized he has confidence in the unit, but they also have to prove it on the field.
Smart said the team has been using helmet communications in practice every day and it's going great. But he is interested to see how players will be able to hear it in game settings with crowds going crazy.
Smart said inside linebackers Raylen Wilson and CJ Allen are more comfortable. He feels they grew up a lot after being thrown into the fire last year. Sometimes it feels like they're the veterans in terms of both playing time and overall time on campus.
Outside linebacker Damon Wilson has been more of a factor on first and second downs. Last year he just went and played with reckless abandon on third downs. Now he knows what to do on early downs, understands how to strike, and can hold up against tackles in the run game. He's doing a good job with the opporutnity he's given.
Smart said Daniel Calhoun, Jamal Meriweather, and Jahzare Jackson have all worked with the second and third-team offensive lines. They're all considered young in the program, and that's probably the hardest place other than quarterback for young players to play. Calhoun has probably worked a little more with the twos given some shuffling with Jared Wilson banged up.
Smart said defensive tackle Jamaal Jarrett has been good, but his weight has been up and down. He has moments and flashes of being able to help at a position where the Bulldogs need him. Smart said he has more stamina and is more dependable, but he needs to continue growing in terms of being able to play more consecutive snaps.
