LOS ANGELES – The news on the injury front for Georgia appears to be mostly positive heading into Monday’s National Championship (7:30 p.m., ESPN).

Although tight end Darnell Washington was rather closed-mouth about his situation when asked about his ankle by UGASports, a quartet of other Bulldogs banged up in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl indicated they’re good to go.

That list included outside linebackers Chaz Chambliss and Robert Beal Jr., along with defensive end Mykel Williams and offensive lineman Warren McClendon.

“I’m good,” said Chambliss, in a quick two-word response.

Ditto for Beal.

“I’m fine,” he said.

Williams and Beal each suffered cramps that ultimately knocked them out against the Buckeyes.

Chambliss declined to discuss what happened to him, but said he would certainly play.

When it comes to recruiting, heading coach Kirby Smart lauded the “footprint” his program has established as a big reason it’s had so much success with developing players.

“Well, nobody knew who AD Mitchell was, what AD Mitchell had to offer. AD Mitchell was more of a workout tape that he kept sending us,” Smart said. “He's a unique situation. He's very different than Brock (Bowers). Brock was recruited nationally, really high. But every situation is different.”

Other examples? Look no further than Georgia’s win over Ohio State in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl.

“Our footprint is really good. When you look at the MVPs of our last game, Stetson Bennett and Javon Bullard, neither were very highly recruited,” Smart said. “They're in-state players; really good high school players. Look at Ladd McConkey—he was an in-state kid. Wasn't highly recruited. Our footprint is what our footprint is. We go after the players we think fit our culture.”

If Smart has one lament about the National Championship being in Los Angeles, it’s that neither of his parents will be able to attend.

“My dad (Sonny Smart) is a really special man to me. Unfortunately, he's not going to be able to make it to the game. He's had some medical stuff. It hurts me that he and my mom won't be here. But I know it's the right decision for him,” Kirby Smart said. “He's been at almost every game, in terms of home games in Athens and playoff games. It's tough that he's not able to make it.

"There's nothing worse than watching your parents grow old. It's like taxes; it's inevitable. They're going to get old. And that's been tough.”

Sonny Smart did not attend the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, either, but was at the SEC Championship.

A longtime coach at Bainbridge High School, Smart naturally credits his dad for many of the lessons he tries to teach today.

“He’s taught me so much just about the way you handle things, the right way, the wrong way. Control the controllables,” he said. “The moment's never too big if you're prepared. And I always watched the way he prepared our teams and our staff in high school. He was a very wise man, a man of few words. I tried to follow his mantra as a coach. I've certainly evolved from going to coach for other people, but a lot of my core beliefs came from the way he ran our programs in high school.”

As one of the “old timers” on Georgia’s team, senior outside linebacker Robert Beal Jr. loves the energy he’s seen from his younger teammates.

Considering last year’s team was compiled mainly of veterans, the added juice provided by the young group has been key to Georgia’s success.

“There’s been a little more attitude (compared to last year),” Beal said. “We had a lot of younger guys, and we’ve had to hold a little more accountability from them. We kind of had to put our arm around them, coach them up.”

That’s especially true for the youngsters in his position group—players like Marvin Jones Jr. and Darris Smith.

“It’s been great showing them the ropes, showing them how practice goes, showing them what they need to do,” Beal said. “Everybody has been great.”

When Buffalo’s Damar Hamlin suffered a cardiac event on the field in Cincinnati, Smart and the Bulldogs took notice.

They also took action.

“When that happened to Damar, I immediately got on the phone. I started receiving texts. I called our athletic trainer. He reached out to me, as did the mental health specialist, and also our team chaplain,” Smart said. “Many of our kids are believers in Jesus Christ. So, they were concerned.”

To help alleviate fears, two meetings were held with the team.

“You start asking questions, if you play, could this happen to me? We did education the next morning. First thing in, we did it with two separate groups. We educated them exactly what happened,” Smart said. “The injury actually happens more often in baseball and hockey than football. It's rare in football. We had a mental health specialist if anybody wanted to meet with them. We said a prayer and explained to them what happened, and how fast they reacted to save his life.”

Smart said he believes the meeting was a success.

“They did a great job there, the Buffalo organization, to save his life,” Smart said. “We just want our kids to feel comfortable with it. I'm glad I had people on my staff who came to me to say we need to address it. It brought a lot of peace to the players.”

…Safety Dan Jackson’s right foot remains in a boot, but the Gainesville native said his foot rehab is going as scheduled and he’s feeling fine.

…Todd Monken on whether Brock Bowers' early success has surprised him: "There are certain things we didn't expect. We didn't expect him to be as mature as he was a year ago, to come in as a true freshman, and to play as he did and be as squared away as he is. I think that's probably the biggest thing is there are a lot of really good players that aren't really ready as freshmen. They're just not. It's just everything's different,” Monken said. “So, when you get a young player like Brock Bowers, who is mature beyond his years in a lot of ways, it allows him to play earlier and at a high level."

… Smart on which players stepped up the most: “There's no way I could name one. That's impossible to single out one guy. I think a lot of the guys that contributed last year improved, meaning they got better. So, they made themselves better. And a lot of guys who didn't contribute at all contributed this year. That guy over there (Christopher Smith) got better. He was a major factor last year,” Smart said. “Kenny McIntosh, to me, was a major factor last year, but he got better. There's a lot of guys that played last year that got better but there's even more that didn't play, that put themselves in the situation to be helpful for our program.”

… Smart was asked what the title would be if a movie was made about his team: “Grit,” Smart said.

… Smart was also asked if he was concerned that mascot Uga would not be at the game: “It's a scary thought. I realized that—I didn't know that until I read it last night or yesterday,” Smart said. “It will be different. I can't lie. I don't see Uga a lot. I'm usually tied up in some other things. I know that would be a big deal to a lot of fans. But it's a good decision by the Seiler family.”