Running back Trevor Etienne said his ribs “are a lot better” but said he’ll continue to take precautions during Georgia’s Sugar Bowl date on New Year’s night (8:45 p.m./ESPN) against Notre Dame.

That includes wearing a protective flack jacket to help prevent further damage to his injuries.

“I'll definitely be wearing it, but my ribs are a lot better,” Etienne said Saturday. “It's no pain in there whatsoever, but I'll definitely be wearing it.”

Etienne initially injured his ribs against Florida before tweaking them again in practice following the loss to Ole Miss. He missed the next three games before returning to play against Texas in the SEC Championship, rushing 16 times for 94 yards and two touchdowns.

Although Etienne did not offer specific details, he admitted the injury was a significant one.

“It was pretty bad, yeah, it was pretty bad,” Etienne said. “But like I said, healthy now, and just excited to be back out there with the guys.”

A native of Jennings, Louisiana, Etienne looks forward to going home, despite the fact the Superdome does not hold many fond memories.

“I actually don't have that good of a history with games in that stadium. I lost in the state championship; it was terrible. My brother (Travis) lost in college, I believe twice in that stadium,” Etienne said. “But his last game there, he won. So, I can't say we're on the upside of what we call it, the dome curse. So, man, it's gonna be a legend, I can't wait, I'm excited about it.”

…Right guard Tate Ratledge said Georgia’s offensive line continues to play through various ailments but does not expect any issues for the Sugar Bowl.

“I mean, I think it's football. You're going to get beat up, you're going to get hurt. So, I think we've done a great job of pushing through that and playing when we can play. And at this point in the season, everybody's going to be banged up,” Ratledge said. “Everybody's got injuries. But playing through it, I think, is a big thing. Right now, we're focused on getting healthy.”

Tight end Oscar Delp knows Gunner Stockton better than most. He also knows what makes him tick.

“He's old school. I think people are starting to find that out a little bit, but he's old school. He's not a materialistic kind of guy,” Delp said of Stockton, who drives a 1984 Ford F-150. “He doesn't care about all the NIL and all that stuff. He just likes being with his friends, his family, and his cows.”

Cows?

At Stockton’s Rabun County home, Delp said he has several on hand.

He’s seen them.

“I've been up there a couple of times,” Delp said. “I think when I was up there, he had, I think, three or four. I think he's got more now. But, you know, there's always been the running joke of he made an Instagram post a long time ago. He said It was always great to wake up to a new cow on game day or something like that. Everybody on the team loves him. I mean, that's just the guy he is. He just loves stuff like that. I mean, he's not about all the Instagram fame and all that. I mean, he'll take a picture of his cow and post it when he's happy.”

As Georgia learned in the SEC Championship, you’re only one hit away on your quarterback for your backup to come into the game.

While the Bulldogs hope that does not happen against the Fighting Irish, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said Ryan Puglisi and Jaden Rashada have ramped up their preparation, just in case.

“The quarterbacks, they've been what they've done all year. They come in with the expectation that we have to prepare like we're the starters. I know I'm not giving you the answer, but that's true, that’s what we do in our room,” Bobo said. “Now, they've got more opportunities because we're down a quarterback. So, and how we practice at the University of Georgia, Coach Smart’s going to continue to try to develop them.”

Bobo said both quarterbacks are focused in case their name happens to be called.

“You've one less quarterback repping, so those guys are getting more reps. So, they're obviously going to help their development, they're getting more reps. They've done a nice job,” Bobo said. “The job for those guys is to prepare to get ready to play. They're up there meeting with, I think one of them is meeting with Coach (Brandon) Streeter, and one of them has got a meeting with Coach (Montgomery) VanGorder here in the next couple minutes. That’s the expectation of how they got to approach every day, and they're rising to the standard that we set. They're doing a great job.”

Bobo said he wasn’t even watching the field when his son Drew flipped the ball to Arian Smith on a successful fake punt against Texas in the SEC Championship to pick up a key first down.

“It's funny, the fake punt, I was upset that we're punting again and looking down at my sheet, what we're gonna do next?” Bobo said. “I didn't even realize Coach had said, ‘Hey, we're gonna fake the punt.’ I really didn't even know Drew was the one that tossed it to him.”

Officially, Drew Bobo is now 1 for 1 as a passer to hold bragging rights over his former quarterback dad.

“(Todd Hartley) hit me and said, ‘Hey, we're on offense.’ It wasn't until after the game that somebody said, Drew was the one who had the pass,” Bobo said. “I really didn't know what they were talking about, so it was cool to find out that it was a pass that he threw on that fake punt, which was a huge play in the game, and glad he executed and didn't screw it up. Then we'd have two Bobos that you could yell at.”