Here is the July 21 edition of The Daily Recap presented by JFQ Lending.
Expectations for Gilbert
During his appearance at SEC Media Days, head coach Kirby Smart commented on the program’s expectations for tight end Arik Gilbert this season. Gilbert is set to play his first season since his freshman year at LSU. After transferring to Georgia a year ago, he ended up sitting out the season for personal reasons.
“I expect him to give us an A effort every day. When you give an A-grade effort, and you have the talent he has, it's a great combination. He's a tremendous athlete,” Smart said. “He's had to do some extra conditioning. He was a little heavy for the spring. He's worked really hard on bringing that down. He had a really good year academically, which was a big hurdle. He had to focus on his academics upon coming to us from LSU.”
Gilbert’s first look in a UGA uniform in front of fans came during the G-Day Game, where he caught two touchdowns. He was able to see an increase of reps with both Brock Bowers and Darnell Washington banged up.
“He got a great opportunity this spring. People forget Darnell and Brock were both out. The opportunity he got, he seized that opportunity to grow and develop,” Smart said. “He will have to continue to do that to be a major contributor for us. He's bought into doing that, being a team player. There's a lot more to being a tight end than just catching the ball. He's bought into that.”
Contract update
During his appearance at SEC Media Days, Smart said he’s comfortable with where things stand regarding the upcoming contract extension he is expected to sign with the Bulldogs.
“I’m not concerned at all about it. They have been tremendous with their communication and I’m completely comfortable with where everything is. Both sides have worked really hard at getting things done and things have been great,” Smart said. “I cannot say more with what they’ve been willing to do and the communication that we’ve had. It’s just not as easy as you think it is.”
The disrespected star
Quarterback Stetson Bennett has capitalized in some recent endeavors on being a national champion quarterback. One of which was to be able to attend the Manning Passing Academy for the first time.
Even after leading Georgia to a national title, Bennett hasn’t had his name mentioned among the top quarterbacks in the game today. For Bennett, that’s quite all right as he’ll keep preparing the same way.
"I care more about being good than people thinking that I’m good," Bennett said. "Am I competitive, do I want to be the best in the country? Yeah, but not because people say I’m not. Just because that’s who I am, that’s it."
Injury update
Smart said that Bowers (labrum) and Washington (foot) will be good to go for the start of fall camp. He also gave a full rundown on who’s injured and set to return, and who might need some extra time to fully recover.
NIL has been good to Georgia
Smart noted that NIL opportunities exploded for UGA players following the national championship. However, he wanted to make it clear that NIL shouldn’t be the No. 1 reason for a coach to recruit a player.
“It's not good for college football, what's out there,” Smart said. “NIL is a good thing, but to use it as inducement to get a young man to go to your school is not good for anybody or the game. I don't have the answer for how to guardrail that, but NIL has been good to Georgia, and it's been good to our players, and it will continue to be.”
UGASports Live
Jim Donnan, Radi Nabulsi, and Dayne Young reacted to what Smart, Bennett, Nolan Smith and Sedrick Van Pran discussed at SEC Media Days 2022. The guys also discussed the departure of Marlin Dean, the commitment of Jamaal Jarrett and the surprise spurn from Justice Haynes.
All eyes on the Dawgs
Battling complacency
Outside the Vent
Alabama locked up a commitment from a four-star tight end from Georgia.
A Texas A&M receiver was arrested on an array of charges.
The Buccaneers are replacing Rob Gronkowski with Kyle Rudolph.
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