Kirby Smart met with the media on September 17 for his only press conference of Georgia's bye week. Here are the key points from what Smart said.

Smart said that offensive lineman Tate Ratledge has already had the tightrope surgery on his ankle and has begun the rehab process.

Defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins gave a talk to the team today about his mental space when he was a freshman. Ingram-Dawkins felt he should be playing more, but has matured a ton since then and now realizes he wasn't good enough.

Smart is "appreciative" of the NIL executive order signed by governor Brian Kemp today. Smart said they want to be as competitive in the NIL space as they can be, and he feels this action puts them on a level playing field. Smart said some schools are guilty of "unfulfilled promises" in NIL, but Georgia won't be one of those programs. Smart added that he wants people in his program that aren't all about NIL in their decision making.

When asked why reckless driving arrests continue to happen, Smart said, "Because we continue to have guys make poor decisions." Smart said he and his staff continue to drive home the dangers of reckless driving.

Smart said defensive linemen Mykel Williams, Warren Brinson, and Jordan Hall are all working towards returning. Brinson is doing stuff now and is "very close", while Williams and Hall are running.

Smart said he didn't see a big difference in the offensive line once Ratledge went down against Kentucky. He thought guards Micah Morris and Dylan Fairchild played well.

Bye weeks have always been about improvement for Smart. He said he's never had a bye week that isn't about improvement, it's just detailing that improvement and tailoring it to what the team needs.

Running back Trevor Etienne has brought toughness and leadership. Smart said he can't imagine what kind of leader he would be if he had always been at Georgia because he already isn't afraid to speak up and call his teammates out.

Smart said communication is a major area of improvement he wants to see on offense, especially along the offensive line.

Smart mentioned freshman Malachi Toliver is a serviceable depth center in practice as a third center. He added that other players have been working at snapping in practice as well.