ATHENS — Georgia head coach Kirby Smart maintains there’s “a chance” that cornerback Malkom Parrish could play Saturday, while quarterback Jacob Eason “hasn’t lost any focus” as he continues to work back from his injury.

That was the update as of Thursday morning on Georgia’s two most notable injured players. Parrish, a two-year starter at cornerback, has missed Georgia’s first three games with a foot injury but returned to practice this week. Eason suffered a knee ligament injury in the first quarter of the season opener.

Eason is not expected to play this week, with freshman Jake Fromm starting his third consecutive game. But Eason, who has been in uniform and throwing during practice, has remained active in the gameplanning for the Mississippi State game.

“He wants to be around it. He’s stayed in all the meetings. He hasn’t lost any focus,” Smart said during an appearance on AM 680 on Thursday morning. “He’s been a part of the gameplan, he understands what we’re doing.”

Parrish appears closer to seeing the field. He still appeared limited during Wednesday’s media viewing of practice. When host Chuck Dowdle asked Smart if there was a chance to get Parrish back, Smart answered:

“Yeah, a chance to get him back. We think he’s done a good job this week. The biggest thing with him is conditioning. We’ve just got to make sure he can play the number of plays we ask him to.”

No. 11 Georgia (3-0) faces No. 17 Mississippi State (3-0) at 7 p.m. on Saturday night at Sanford Stadium.