Cornerback Eric Stokes is expected to be okay: That was probably the biggest piece of information emanating from Kirby Smart’s press conference to preview Saturday’s game at Georgia Tech (Noon, ABC).

Stokes injured himself in the second quarter of the Bulldogs’ 19-13 win over Texas A&M and did not return. Fortunately, it appears he could be ready to play against the Yellow Jackets, but more importantly, next week’s SEC Championship against LSU.

“Stokes got dinged in the game. I think it was on the offensive pass interference play where he and the receiver kind of ran together,” Smart said. “He took a jolt. But we think he's going to be fine. I think he'll be fine to go today.”

The Bulldogs’ secondary was already getting healthier.

On Saturday, backup cornerback Tyrique McGhee played against Texas A&M, after missing the previous four games with a foot injury.

“He made a good play on special teams and got real involved with the special teams units. He helped provide depth in the secondary,” Smart said. “So it was great to get him back for his last game, because he's a kid who's had a lot of injuries and been in and out of the roster.”

Offensive lineman Cade Mays (shoulder), who did play on special teams, is expected to be fine.

“Just like we said last week, [he] was cleared to go. He was going to be able to go if we needed him to. We wanted to try to avoid it if we could,” Smart said. “We were able to get through the game without having to use him.”

Smart is also hopeful wide receiver Lawrence Cager (shoulder, ribs) is able to give it a go, after not playing last week.

“We talked about Cager after the game. He didn't feel that he was able to go [or that he] was going to be 100 percent,” Smart said. “But there's nothing new on those two as far as we're moving forward. They should be cleared to practice this week, and we're hopeful they'll play.”

With Georgia upgrading its non-conference schedule and the possibility that the SEC could eventually expand to nine conference games, Smart was asked how that might affect the Yellow Jackets staying on the Bulldogs’ yearly slate.

Apparently, not much.

“I think this is one of the most traditional rivalries in all of college football. I don't know that our scheduling is going to change that fact. It’s not going to move the proximity of their university and ours,” Smart said. “We're always going to have interstate rivals, whether it's through recruiting, whether it's through recruiting students, whether it's through anything. So, I think the history and tradition is there that this game is always going to be a big factor.”

In other words, don’t look for any changes.

“Georgia has so many rivalries that you can't say one's more important than the other. You don't think it's important, then lose it, and then it will be really important,” Smart said. “I know the importance of this game, and I know the significance it has to so many of our fans. Especially the crowd that may be older, that traditionally Georgia Tech was a national powerhouse year in, year out. It means so much to them.”

With the season winding down and some huge games in Georgia’s near future, Smart said he and his staff are doing what they can to make sure his players are getting plenty of time to recover.

“Yeah, we drive recovery home. Recovery is so critical to your soft tissue muscles, and part of recovery is rest,” he said. “So, we talk about sleep, making sure you're getting proper sleep, extra treatment. We've cut time out of practice, whether it's five minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, that you hate doing as a coach. But you're trying to get return on investment and say, okay, you've got to spend this time in the cold tub. You've got to spend this time in the training room.”

Some changes have already been made.

“Instead of walking through on Friday and going straight to dinner, we took 20 more minutes and got everybody some extra recovery. We think that can be the difference at the end of the year. If you're out-recovering a team, then you've got an opportunity to have a competitive advantage, and we're trying that.”

Linebacker Tae Crowder joked that he and the rest of his defensive counterparts may be the happiest players on the team.

“Oh, I love it,” said Crowder, who used to have to spend extra periods working on the cut-blocking scheme formerly used in Georgia Tech’s triple-option attack.

“The guys’ knees should feel a lot better,” quipped tight end Charlie Woerner.

Smart said staffers have worked long and hard to prepare for what the Yellow Jackets do.

“You try to plan based on that. We get to watch. We have a person that scouts ahead. It's advanced scouting. They watch teams that we're going to play,” Smart said. “We try to look down the road and say what's going to be really difficult, though they've got really good players. You look at teams and say, what is it based on that's so different they do that we can't handle.”

…Rodrigo Blankenship has earned his sixth Southeastern Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honor of the year, according to a league announcement. He connected on all four of his field goal attempts (41, 49, 37, 31 yards) and drilled his only PAT during the Bulldogs’ 19-13 win over No. 24 Texas A&M in the rain.

…Georgia has won 14 of its past 15 games at Georgia Tech. Take away the 51-48 loss in 1999 on the infamous Jasper Sanks "fumble," and the last Bulldog loss at Grant Field was 1989.

…Announcers for Saturday’s game on ABC are Bob Wischusen, Dan Orlovsky, and Allison Williams.