Fresh off a career day in Saturday’s 14-3 win over Kentucky, running back Zamir White said his confidence is as high as it has ever been.

After tearing the ACL in each of his knees, the former five-star recruit had his share of doubters. Yet as Georgia gets ready for Saturday’s game against arch-rival Florida, White said he’s feeling the best he has in a long time.

“I’m as fast, if not faster,” said White, who was asked how his speed compared before his initial tear during the playoffs of his senior campaign.

His effort against Kentucky certainly seemed to indicate that.

White rushed 26 times for 136 yards, numbers he would love to repeat against the Gators in a game which will probably determine who comes out on top of the SEC East.

Head coach Kirby Smart said he has noticed White’s confidence starting to grow.

“Opportunities would be the first thing. I felt like he has always been really effective, to me, in terms of toughness,” Smart said. “He's getting more comfortable with our run-game. We are probably doing a better job putting a hat on a hat. When you have the run-game you have, you get better at it as you do it.”

How can UGA improve? More explosive runs.

White’s longest run so far in his one-plus year as a contributing member of the Bulldogs has been for 29 yards. His 22-yard carry against Kentucky was certainly impressive, but so far, the long, 60- and 70-yard gallops that he became known for in high school have not happened.

“I don’t feel like anything has held me back,” White said. “We play in the SEC and it’s tough to get long runs. We’ve just to keep on pounding.”

“Teams get better at defending you as you do it as well, so you have to decorate it different ways. I think we have gotten better in the run-game because we’re running similar runs and carrying them over from week to week,” Smart said. "I thought last week was one of his (better performances). There were times that he had contacted in the backfield that he turned into a five-yard run. He turned three-yard runs into six-yard runs. He ran behind his pads and he kept his balance.”

Count left tackle Jamaree Salyer as being excited about seeing longtime friend Brenton Cox across the line of scrimmage Saturday against the Gators.

Cox, who transferred to Florida from Georgia following the 2019 G-Day game, was not granted a waiver and therefore did not play against Georgia in last year’s game. Saturday will be his first opportunity.

“Brent is a long-time friend of mine. We played park ball together,” Salyer said. “I’ve known Brent for years, and it will be very exciting to play against him. He is a great player for them, and he is a great player here. That matchup will be really fun for me and I’m sure it will be really fun for him.”

Cox comes into the game third on the Florida roster in tackles with 21, including one sack. It will be Salyer’s job to help keep him off of Bulldog quarterback Stetson Bennett.

It is a one-on-one battle Salyer said he cannot wait to have.

“We trained together before we got to Georgia, we worked out together so it will be fun to actually put that on a grand stage and go compete,” Salyer said. “I’m really excited about that.”

Smart knows the Bulldogs are about to have their hands full with Florida tight end Kyle Pitts.

After all, everybody else has.

Arguably the top tight end in college football, Pitts is tied with teammate Kadarius Toney as the Gators’ leading receiver with 22 catches. His 355 yards receiving and seven touchdowns also lead the team.

At 6-foot-6 and 246 pounds, Pitts runs routes like a wide receiver and is typically a complete mismatch for defensive personnel.

“He’s really a great player. Any time you play a great player you have got to have a good game plan,” Smart said. “Like you said, I don’t think anybody is stopping him. It is limiting explosives, matching up, winning some 50/50 balls—that is what he is best at. It is impossible. People think you can just double cover him. You can’t do that.”

Last year, Pitts caught four passes against the Bulldogs for 78 yards, including a long one of 29 yards, although he did not score.

“They put him in places where you can’t double him, and you’ve got to do other things to other people. They have got other good players besides just him and the quarterback knows where to throw the ball to give him a shot. There’s not an easy answer for that,” Smart said. “It is not like a textbook answer of this is how you stop him. You are not going to do that. What you do is contain him and hope that you don’t get hit on explosive and that the team understands where he is.”

…Georgia enters play third in the SEC in rushing offense with 175.2 yards per game.

…The Gators are 11th in total defense in the SEC, giving up 433.2 yards per game. Breaking it down further, Florida is 12th in passing defense (300.2 yards per game) and sixth in rushing defense (133 yards per game).

…The Bulldogs lead the SEC in sacks with 17. Azeez Ojulari tops the conference with 4.5 sacks, followed by his brother BJ Ojulari of LSU who has four.