With Amarius Mims sidelined with what Kirby Smart described as a “bad” ankle injury, what will the Bulldogs do about their right tackle positions?

That’s currently up in the air.

After Mims hobbled off the field, the Bulldogs slid senior Xavier Truss from left guard to right tackle, with Dylan Fairchild taking over at left guard.

However, when asked if that is what’s apt to happen Saturday night against UAB (7:30 p.m. ESPN2), Smart is taking a wait-and-see approach.

“I don't know that. I mean, it's going to depend on the health of some of the other O-linemen, where is (Austin) Blaske's health, where do we get the best five from?” Smart said. “A lot of that will play itself out over the next three or four days. But I do think Truss gives us that flexibility, and he did a nice job on the run the other day to be able to go do that.”

If Blaske is able to play, he certainly becomes an option at right tackle. The junior missed last week’s game with a minor knee injury, and Smart certainly hopes he’s available should he be asked to take over for Mims, who underwent tightrope surgery to repair the injury.

Typically, players take between 4-6 weeks to heal from such a procedure.

Smart acknowledged in his post-game press conference following last Saturday’s win over South Carolina that he’d be re-evaluating his kickers after Peyton Woodring missed field goals of 28 and 43 yards.

Monday, Smart spoke about what that will entail.

“Yeah, you definitely talk to him. You try to find out the whys and how they're feeling, what's going on emotionally, especially when it's a freshman,” Smart said. “You try to talk to him, and we've got guys on our team that he's close to. We've got guys that work with the kickers within our organization that do a good job, and you just try to get information, and you try to help them every way you can. The first thing that'll help him is scoring touchdowns, because extra points are easier than field goals.”

A decision is expected later this week.

If the Bulldogs do move away from Woodring, Georgia would turn to junior Jared Zirkel, who has been handling kickoffs.

… The SEC announced that next week’s game at Auburn will kick off at 3:30 p.m. and be televised on CBS.

… Announcers for Saturday’s game against UAB will be Brian Custer, Rod Gillmore, and Lauren Sisler.

… Sedrick Van Pran was named the SEC Offensive Lineman of the Week.

…Kirby Smart on what he’s seen from UAB on film: “They have some good football players and really good athletes. I don't think the record indicates that, but they play and you watch them, and I'm like, man, defensively they do some four-down and some three-down. They've got really good backs, got good skill players, an athletic quarterback who extends plays,” Smart said. “They play really hard. They had a weird situation the other night with ULL. They had rain delay and different things in there, but they got a very talented football team, especially in their conference.”

…When asked what contributed to his team’s slow start against South Carolina, Smart attributed it to his team’s slow beginning on defense:

“Well, I thought really our first half issues revolved around our defense first possession would be the biggest thing. I think you got to start fast. I think historically, defensively, somebody can do the study, but we usually start pretty fast on defense,” Smart said. “The Georgia Tech game, I know, that was the first possession of a game that we gave up a touchdown, last year. And (Saturday) happened in the third game this year on a team that did a good job, came in, and got in rhythm. But there are still things we did, like are we talking about this if we tackle him on 3rd and 15? I don't know."

…Smart talked a lot about his team still finding its identity. So, what did he learn from Saturday’s win over South Carolina? “I learned more than I did the other two games, I can assure you of that, because the quality of the opponent went up, and we responded to some adverse situations. You learn more about the truth, too,” Smart said. “The truth is what you've done is who you are, and that's right now who we are is a 3 and 0 team that has played three imperfect games, and I'm still looking for the first perfect one.”

…Malaki Starks was asked what led to the defense shutting out the Gamecocks in the second half: “I’d say it goes back to all being on the same page. When we went to halftime, Coach Smart told us, ‘Take it one moment at a time.’ They have a very good offense, they have very good players, so we knew eventually they were going to hit a play. It’s just how we responded to them hitting the play,” Starks said. “At halftime, we all came in, settled down, got on the same page, and just realized who we are. We all just stuck together and that’s where connection comes in, being able to lean on each other and have confidence in each other.”