Wide receiver Terry Godwin (knee) has been back at practice for the better part of a week, but it appears there’s a chance he won’t be on the field for Saturday’s opener against Austin Peay (3:30, ESPN).

“Terry is still questionable,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “We don't know if Terry is going to be back. Hope to get him back, but we don't know that.”

Cornerback Tyrique McGhee is definitely out.

“Tyrique is running now. He's doing underwater running. He's doing some non-weight-bearing running stuff. We're hopeful to get him back for South Carolina, but we don't know,” Smart said. “He won't be able to play this game.”

Wide receivers Jayson Stanley (quad) and Kearis Jackson (hamstring) are hopeful they’ll see some action.

“We think both are going to be able to go a little bit today, a little more than they have been, but to say they're back for the game—I don't know that yet. Kearis is dealing with a hamstring that he's had a couple of days to recover from,” Smart said. “We think he'll be able to do a little bit today, but we don't know if he'll play in the game. We think Jayson is going to be able to play, but we don't know that for certain.”

Smart didn't offer any hints whether linebacker Natrez Patrick or Deangelo Gibbs would play or be suspended for the opening game after their last season’s issues

“You’ll know (Saturday),” Smart said.

With no Nick Chubb or Sony Michel and a proven quarterback returning in Jake Fromm, it’s only natural to assume the Bulldog might throw the ball a bit more, correct?

Wrong. At least, according to Smart.

“I don't know that you would assume we're going to throw the ball more. I don't know if you all realized, but the last scrimmage was really—that's kind of where we were,” Smart said. “We needed to defend the pass on defense, and we needed to pass the ball on offense. That had nothing to do with our offensive system. Our offensive system is built around getting the ball to the best play makers.

"I think any good offensive coach will tell you what your objective is: No. 1, score points. How do you score points? Get the ball to the play makers. If your play makers are backs, if your play makers are tight ends, you're trying to get touches to certain players, and sometimes defenses can dictate who you can get those touches to.”

Fromm attempted 291 passes last year for the SEC champs, completing 181 for 2,615 yards.

“The defense will dictate a lot of what we do. We're not going in this game saying we're throwing it a lot more. We're not going in this game saying we're running it a lot more,” Smart said. “I think that would be a crazy assumption either way. I think the key for us is, can we be balanced, can we get our best play makers, can we get those guys the most number of touches so that we can be successful. That's what we're focused on.”

Yes, Austin Peay is an FCS team. But Smart’s message to his Bulldogs has been the same as it would have been against a Power 5 team.

“The message is very consistent: that when we go out to practice, we're trying to be the best team in the country. So that when we get in the game, we can dominate people physically and not really worry about the scoreboard or who we're playing,” said Smart, who added he’s not a believer in using games as “teaching tools” to get his players prepared for larger battles down the road.

“We don't get into teaching tools from other games. I think sometimes you do that as a coach, you get into negativity,” Smart said. “What we try to emphasize is the truth. And we have a lot of respect for this team, as we did App State last year. I compare this team in a lot of ways to App State in that they're coming off a very strong winning streak from last year. And we show our guys the tape. They've got three or four transfers that are from major college programs. They've got good football players.”

With Smart, it’s all about playing to a standard.

“We tell our guys all the time we play to a standard. It doesn't matter whether we're playing Florida, Austin Peay, or South Carolina; we play to a standard, and our standard is to go out and dominate the opponent—physically, mentally—wear them down,” Smart said. “And that's what we try to do. That way, you're not changing the message every week.”

"I think it'll be different. It's more second nature to us, because we've practiced there more now, and we've had a couple practice sessions where we came out from that end. So it's more familiar for us than it will be for the fan base. It will definitely be unique. It'll be the first time I know of that it's happened that way, but I think we'll get used to it pretty quick."—Kirby Smart on the team running out of the end zone for the first time.

…Dawg Walk is set for 1:15 p.m.

…Georgia is expected to dress more than 100 players for Saturday’s game.

…Saturday’s game is the first meeting between the Bulldogs and the Governors.