Wednesday News and Notes

Assuming Justin Shaffer does make his first career start at left guard in place of Solomon Kindley Saturday night at Tennessee (7 p.m., ESPN), left tackle Andrew Thomas said his fellow junior will most certainly be up for the task.

“Shaf reminds me of Solomon with how physical he plays in the run game,” Thomas said after practice on Wednesday. “He’s a big body who is very athletic, so he’s double-teaming next to me, and guys just move easily.”

It’s not like Shaffer hasn’t seen action before.

The former Cedar Grove standout played in eight games as a reserve in 2017. He saw action in 12 of Georgia’s 14 games in 2018, before getting in all four games thus far this fall.

Thomas said Shaffer accounted for himself well after replacing Kindley, who went down with a lower leg injury two weeks against Notre Dame.

His only real mistake: a personal foul call that cost the Bulldogs 15 yards.

“That’s just how he plays,” Thomas said. “He got the call, and we were mad at him at the time, but in practice, you see him run all the way down the field, like it doesn’t matter where the ball is. He just plays hard.”

If tight end Eli Wolf is feeling any sort of special buildup for Saturday night’s game at Tennessee, fellow tight end John FitzPatrick can’t tell.

“Eli takes every game the same,” FitzPatrick said. “He’s focused, he’s locked in, just like the rest of us.”

Wolf, who played with the Vols for three years since coming to Georgia as a grad transfer, wasn’t made available for interviews this week, but earlier this year, was asked about the prospects of playing his former team.

“I’m not happy at all. I grew up with those guys, and played four years there with them, and it doesn’t make me happy to see them lose and see their heart break like that,” he said. “It’s going to matter one game in the fall, and after it’s over, those guys are still going to be my buddies in life. So, I’m not happy to see them lose, I still wish them the best, all except that one week in the fall.”

FitzPatrick did concede his friend is probably not letting on just how excited he is.

“I think it’s a big deal, but at the same time it’s just another game,” FitzPatrick said. “I think he’s just really excited about the opportunity to play.”

Kirby Smart was asked a myriad of questions during the weekly SEC teleconference Wednesday morning.

Although the approximate 10-minute session was devoid of any actual news, Smart was quizzed on a number of different subjects by media from around the league.

Below, are highlights of what he had to say:

● On the wide receivers:

“It’s been by committee. We’ve had some injuries there and had some guys miss games and get banged up. I think they are starting to establish themselves. They have gotten more confidence. You only get confidence when you don’t have experience through experience. We’ve been able to play four games where a lot of these young guys have gotten more and more experience,” Smart said. “It’s good to have a little bit of a running game to help them. It’s good to have an experienced quarterback that they can rely on. That part I’m pleased with.”

● On how an outstanding line and quarterback like Jake Fromm helps play calling:

“The experience helps. The toughest thing about play-calling is you’re in the SEC and you’re facing athletic, big fronts week in and week out. The quality of the defensive lines. It’s really hard. A lot of times you have to help those guys by staying balanced. You got to not let them tee off on you on pass rush,” Smart said. “You’ve got to do a good job of keeping things balanced, and I think Coach (James) Coley has done that.”

● Most bizarre thing you’ve seen a strength coach do?

“I don’t know of anything that’s bizarre that they do anymore because they are bizarre as a whole. They operate under a different mindset than your typical coaches. I think that’s what you’re referring to,” Smart said. “I’ve been around some really good ones in Tommy Moffitt, Scott Cochran and now Scott Sinclair here. They are all recognized nationally as some of the top guys in their profession. Each one is different in their own right. Bizarre is the norm when it comes to those guys.”

● Where did the team get better in the bye week?

“I don’t know that we know that. We’ve got to wait and see in the game. We worked in a lot of areas. The proof is in the performance. We got to see where we got better. We have to go out and do it on a big stage and in front of an opposing team’s crowd. I want to reserve judgement until we actually go out there and do it.”

● Is Tennessee better than its record?

“Yeah, I think that’s always the case. We’re always judged, and Jeremy (Pruitt) be the first to tell you, by our record. It doesn’t necessarily indicate what kind of team we have,” Smart said “So many things control the outcome of games that are outside your control sometimes, and in their case, there’s several situations where it could be the other way very easily.”