Saturday Scrimmage News and Notes

It appears some of Georgia’s injured wide receivers are getting healthier.

That includes sophomore Jermaine Burton (hyper-extended knee). Head coach Kirby Smart said he was able to take part in individual drills during Saturday’s scrimmage.

“He's back running around doing some things,” Smart said. “He didn't scrimmage, but he's doing a lot more and getting more flexibility.”

Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (ankle) and Dominick Blaylock (knee) are also getting closer.

“He's (Rosemy) running around doing walkthroughs, doing conditioning. You see him on the side getting to run; you know he's close to being healthy,” Smart said. “Dom is running, so you know you have guys there that have experience and have done a good job. It's really a valuable time for the younger guys—the other guys get an opportunity.”

Smart also praised Kearis Jackson’s consistency, along with five others who have stepped up.

“J-Rob (Justin Robinson) has made some plays and continued to grow and get better. (Adonai) Mitchell has made some plays. Jaylen Johnson has made some plays. Ladd McConkey has made some plays today, and has continued to grow. D-Rob (Demetris Robertson) had some,” Smart said. “I'm fired up. I wish I had all of them, because I think that competition would be really good for seeing who the top guys and the starters are. But a lot of the young guys are catching up to the old guys now really fast with the work they've been able to get."

Smart took some time to take stock of his running backs following Saturday’s scrimmage.

Although the Bulldogs are not currently at full strength, due largely to junior Kenny McIntosh being sidelined with an elbow injury, Smart said he’s pleased with what he has seen.

Sophomore Kendall Milton apparently performed well.

“I think Kendall has done a really good job today with some physical runs,” Smart said. “That’s who he is. We had a couple of third and shorts that he was able to convert as a big back, so he did some good things.”

Smart described Zamir White, James Cook, and Daijun Edwards as being “steady, hard workers,” also stating he’s been pleased with the play of some of his walk-ons who have stepped up in the absence of McIntosh.

Smart also seemed especially pleased with the group’s pass protection, an area stressed annually.

“They’re all working really hard on their protections. That’s one of the areas we really targeted this spring in terms of pass protection and pick-ups,” Smart said. “A lot of people want to come after JT (Daniels); be aggressive, blitz, and do things. They’re going to be asked to really make people pay for that, and the way to make people pay is to block and pick it up. I’m pleased with what those guys have done.”

Heavy rain forced the Bulldogs from Sanford Stadium and inside the team’s indoor practice facility.

Nevertheless, Smart indicated the disruption did not keep his team from making the most of their time.

“I was pleased with the effort and enthusiasm of the scrimmage,” Smart said. “It probably wasn’t the best execution we had from an execution standpoint offensively and defensively, but I thought the enthusiasm was good.”

The fact his Bulldogs had the opportunity to work in the rain probably was not the worst thing.

“We did have some rain and some wet ball. It was really good to get to practice out. Every year we get one or two games with at least the threat of that. I thought the players handled it well,” Smart said. “We got a good number of snaps. We weren’t able to finish in the stadium, but we did get to finish back inside the indoor. The kids played hard.”

Of course, Smart also reminded reporters during the nearly 16-minute Zoom session that there’s much work yet to do.

That’s specifically true in regard to tackling.

“I don’t think we’re tackling well enough defensively right now, and it’s one of those things in this sport where you need to tackle every day to be good at tackling. If you can’t tackle very day—to be safe. It’s a fine line of trying to create good tacklers and stay safe, so that’s something we’re very cognizant of and try to handle.

But I thought the players played very hard and executed well.”

Weight control has always been at the top of the priority list for senior nose guard Jordan Davis.

According to Smart, that’s especially true in this era of pass-happy offenses, which can make it tough on players like Davis if they’re not in absolute peak condition.

“Jordan has done a good job. Jordan’s biggest issue is conditioning and weight control. He knows that, and we’ve got to get him to cut some more for him to be elite,” Smart said. “The game of football is played so differently now, and there are certain games where he’s a larger factor, and there are some games we try to make him a no-factor when they’re spreading the ball out, throwing the ball a lot, and playing loose plays. It’s harder for him to be a contributor when the ball game speeds up. So, it’s critical that he gets in the best shape of his life.”

Smart seems to think he will.

“Part of the reason he decided to come back was to get in great shape so he could create some more value,” Smart said. “That’s what he is working on.”

Various injuries have kept inside linebacker Rian Davis from making quite the impact he had hoped for, at this stage in his career.

However, now that he’s healthy, Smart is beginning to see some growth.

"I've been very pleased with Rian's growth. I tell you, his attitude, demeanor, understanding of the defense, and toughness have improved,” Smart said. “Last year I would have said, man, he might be a liability to put in the game. Now I'm not sure he's not very comfortable going into the game.”

Assuming he continues to show out, Smart said Davis could play an integral role come fall.

Nakobe Dean, Channing Tindall and Quay Walker are the top three in rotation at inside linebacker. Smart would love to see a fourth.

“You'd like to be able to play more than two inside backers. You'd love to have four guys who can come into the game and really function and play. We've rarely had that,” Smart said. “We've been very fortunate to have three, but not always four, and we're getting to that point.”

Davis apparently has a shot.

“He's a pleasure. He's so much more coachable. I think he's going to be an impact player on special teams. I thought he made a couple of plays out there today that were really special plays,” Smart said. “We've moved him around so it's tough on him. We've done some different things in third down, trying to develop some things on third down that he can do, similar to what Adam (Anderson) does, that bring so much value. But we need more people like that with some of the guys we lost last year."