ATHENS — While G-Day is the biggest of Georgia’s spring scrimmages, it is not the only one the Bulldogs will have this spring.
Georgia held its first scrimmage this past Saturday. The defense had a better day than the offense, with multiple defensive backs coming down with interceptions.
Having had time to review the tape, Georgia coach Kirby Smart provided an update on where things stand with his team. The Bulldogs will have their 10th practice of the spring on Tuesday.
Below are Smart’s full remarks from Tuesday’s news conference. Georgia will hold its final scrimmage of the spring on April 18.
What Kirby Smart had to say about first Georgia football scrimmage
Opening statement
“I would say congrats to Ayla Guzzardo, our new women’s basketball coach. So excited to have her. As always, our spring sports are kicking butt. We’ve been watching those guys and girls compete. So with that, we’ll open it up.”
On the status of WR Talyn Taylor after the scrimmage...
“Talyn’s great. Talyn had a good practice. Am I missing something? He’s fine. Talyn scrimmaged Saturday, caught punts, did a lot of good things.”
On how the WRs played in the scrimmage...
“Excited about all the wideouts. They’ve done a good job. We want to be more explosive. We had some explosive plays in the pass game. We had some in the run game. We had some turnovers. We had some penalties — holding penalties and things on DBs. But as a whole, I thought it was a good scrimmage."
On Sacovie White-Helton and how he’s grown...
“Competitor. He’s tough, hard-nosed. He works. Jst loves the game. He’s a joy to be around. He has a smile on his face every day. He’s just a great human being. A Christian young man that I enjoy being around. But excited to see what he can do.”
On Clemson transfer Khalil Barnes settling in...
“He’s done a good job. He’s very intelligent, been well coached. Came from a really good program, good coaching background. Played in multiple defenses, played multiple positions. Sharp, savvy. Good football player.”
On if his spring approach has changed since there is no longer a spring portal...
“I don’t know what difference it would be. I mean, we didn’t respond or react to it really last year. I mean, we had a spring game, right? We scrimmaged. There’s not anything we’re doing different. I don’t know. I guess you’re looking at it from a perspective of at least I know I’ve got everybody back per se. So we’re working on building depth, trying to get guys ready, but we’re doing the same thing last year. I don’t know how to answer the question other than I don’t see it as different.”
On Ryan Montgomery in the scrimmage and his entire spring...
“Ryan’s got that knee brace off. He came off a pretty serious knee injury, so his mobility’s been better. His decision-making’s been good. Ryan’s a very accurate passer. He understands the ins and outs of the offense, the check to where to go with the ball. He’s done a nice job of being accurate and making good decisions.”
On North Oconee players and if he pays closer attention to their program given their proximity...
“I didn’t get to follow — not early on. Obviously, Kamari was a guy — and Landon — that we recruited a lot. And then Dallas, at the end, we kind of fell into and had an opportunity to get a speed guy that’s really good. We missed out on KB [Khalil Barnes] on the front end when he went to Clemson.
“But all those guys, number one, they’re really high-character kids. They come from a really solid program. When you ask, do I get to follow them?”
The reporter clarifies because North Oconee is right down the road...
“I don’t follow them any more than I would Buford or McEachern or somebody else. I get to follow all high school football, and they’re a good program in our state that competes at a high level. They come to our 7-on-7, so you do get to see those kids more often.”
On the idea of six OTA-style practices...
“What are you — I don’t know what you’re referencing. Are we talking about fall camp? Are we talking about the potential spring?"
The reporter clarifies it coming to spring practice...
The potential changes? Yeah, we haven’t even looked at it. It basically makes it unmandated. Like you can do this window, that window, these days, those days. It’s trying to — what do you call it where you don’t have to have all the checks and balances of exactly this. So with it not affecting this spring, we didn’t even look at it. The thing was so complicated they proposed last year, it confused me. It was like, ‘You can do this, this, or this, or you can do this, you can do this. You can spread it all out.’ So you can have the non-contact days, you have the contact days. We have not even delved into it because it really won’t affect us until this time next year."
On if he likes the idea of the OTA-style practices...
“I like the idea of the freedom to do what you want to do. I like that idea. That gives freedom to guys that say, ‘Hey, do you want to’ — it was really a model that was brought about with the thought process of a second portal. Because people wanted to utilize post-second portal practice days. In that model, it gave you some opportunities for June.
“I’m not real keen on going out there and practicing in June. Number one, it’s hot. Number two, I’m focused on high school camps and high school recruiting, and I think it’s important to give our guys some time off. But that lends itself more to an NFL model of, OK, you’ve got a little OTA day here, you’ve got a little OTA day here. You can do what you wanna do, and we would utilize that if those were the rules, but I don’t know exactly how we would spin ours to try to make it work. But with the model we have now, where our team is our team, I don’t know how significant that change is.”
On Tyrique Green in high school and how he’s adjusted to Georgia...
“What stood out about him? Well, anytime you can play at the highest level of football in Georgia high school football, which is the best football in the country, and play on both sides of the ball, it says you’ve got a pretty good coach, and it says you’re a pretty good football player. He was a good football player on both sides of the ball at a very high level. So the main thing that stood out to me is a two-way player that has size and speed. He grew up in the ranks of youth football across our state, you know, being a really good football player. He played up with a lot of kids and knew a lot of the older kids because he was playing with those guys.
“Hhe’s still got a ways to go for us in terms of learning what to do, learning to understand assignments, pace of practice, stamina. But we’ve had successful safeties come in in the spring and not have great springs. Like they just were like — like, KJ, Malaki, Dan Jackson, all those guys went through springs their first springs here and they struggled some. He’s been part of those struggles, too."
On the center position and specifically Cortez Smith...
“Yeah, so we’ve got one, two, three, four, five guys getting reps at center. I think you always have to have three. Obviously those five getting them or don’t include Drew, who’s not practicing. So those guys are really battling it out. We haven’t had perfect snaps, but we’ve had in the 90 percentile of accurate snaps. And that’s gotta be 100, so anything less than 100 is not acceptable.
“Cortez has done a good job as has Malachi as has Zykie. And Waltclaire works in there and then Peagler works in there. Cortez has doubled up, got some reps at guard as has Malachi and Zykie. Phil, Stacy, Warren, Evan, they do a good job of those guys getting them reps and ID-ing fronts and communicating. I think Cortez is doing a good job.”
On Chase Linton...
“We recruited Chase because of some redeeming qualities: Number one, character, effort, intelligence. And he’s exemplified those things and probably tougher than I expected in terms of the guy likes contact and he likes hard work. He’s been a high motor player for us. I mean, he runs the ball really hard. He plays with twitch, and he plays bigger than he is. I’ve been very pleased with Chase’s progress, and we need him to get better to give us some of the pass rush we need.”
On if Georgia is doing anything differently to prepare for an extra SEC game...
“We’re practicing. I mean, I don’t know what you want me to say. We’re lifting, we’re running, we’re practicing. We’re practicing ones, twos, threes. We’re very, very fortunate to have the ability to practice like we do. I’m very blessed with my administration and the support staff of Josh Brooks to have the staff members we have. Not to mention the scholarship numbers we have. So I don’t know that we have the best players or the most talented players or the highest paid players. But we will have the players that get the most reps and get the most improvement and the most coaching and most development. And that’s what we sell. So when you look out there and somebody’s like, well those schools don’t practice like y’all do. Well, we got 19 offensive linemen and not all of them can play. But we got guys out there getting reps. We have guys that are improving. That’s the only way to get better, is go out there and take your. When you’ve got that, you’ve got the ability to do multiple things in practice and get a bigger body of work.
On if there’s a moment Sacovie White-Helton has played with joy...
“I don’t know that I have one particular moment with Sacovie. I mean, the joy of the game comes from watching him on special teams. He’s come to me several times and requested to be more of a value, an asset on special teams. He wants to do other things besides just return the ball. He’s always got a question. He’s inquisitive about what do I do if this happens? Or coach, well, how did you see that? Should I have done this? I mean, he’s very intelligent and he loves the game and he’s just always smiling.”
On if he carves out time to watch The Masters...
“I don’t carve out time at all. I mean, when I have time, I love to watch, but I’m not gonna carve any out because it’s right smack dab during our busiest time. I mean, I would say Sunday, there would be a lot of time. They gotta grade the scrimmage. So outside of that, I would get to watch. I’ll have the little app or leaderboard thing on my phone, where I can check and see who’s leading it and stuff like that. But I don’t even know who’s playing in it from UGA, that’s how out of touch I am. So I don’t, it’s like all the guys my age are all too old, don’t play anymore. I have to track all these young guys to see who’s playing. But I’m excited for them. I always wish and hope that we get one like Bubba [Watson] did, twice.”
On playing at Augusta National...
“I’ve been there a few times, but it’s humbling, I’ll say that.”
On Demello Jones...
“I’ve seen improvement in his maturity and his mental makeup. He’s a typical corner that gets upset or frustrated if he gives up a play or any kind of play. And his recovery from that has been quicker, and he’s really physical. He’s a really good tackler, like DeMello can play safety if you wanted to play him in safety, he plays the middle of the field really well. He’s a really good athlete. And he’s stronger than the other guys. He doesn’t sometimes look bigger, but he’s more physical in terms of getting on and off blocks and striking people.”
On Ellis Robinson IV...“He was really talented. I mean, from the time he got here, he’s got elite ball skills, elite coverability, toughness, competitor. The mental disposition and the stamina probably, well, two reasons he struggled as a freshman, because we had good players here. We had a couple guys that are gonna end up getting drafted and play in front of him, and he grew into that. He could cover probably as good as they could then. He didn’t always know exactly what to do. He got better at that. He got better at having a short memory. I think the Tennessee game and some of the games where he had some plays given up grew him up a lot. And there’s no good remedy to growing guys up other than go out there and play. He’s played a lot of football, and he’s playing well right now. He has to play within the system all the time, and that’s important, that he understands the technique we’re asking him to play with. And when he does that, he’s a really good football player.”
On QB Bryson Beaver...
“Yeah, he just got thrown in there. He just got picked him up, came in, started learning. He’s had some moments of really good throws, and he’s had some moments of some bonehead decisions. And I think he’d be the first to tell you that. He’s getting work, that’s the positive thing. I wish we could get he and Buddha (Hezekiah Millender) even more reps. But nobody in the country is able to get as many quarterback reps as we are. And we got four or five guys that are out there getting quality work. And my objective every day is to get him more reps, Buddha more reps, because they only get better with reps. So he’s a good player. He’s gotta continue to improve his mobility and move around the pocket. He’s a good athlete. But I think the speed of the game is in the information he’s processing right now. He’s doing a great job. But measuring himself against mid-year freshmen, he’s in a great position. Measuring himself against the room, he’s gotta continue to grow and system as well as those guys.”
On what G-Day will look like...
“Right now I would say we’re on course for a traditional [G-Day]. I mean, we haven’t changed G-Day that I know of since I’ve been here, in terms of format and the must-go two-minute at the end. You gotta throw the ball, try to keep it competitive, two teams. Right now I don’t see that changing.”
On the offensive line...
“Some good, some bad. Some young players coming along, progressing. A couple guys that didn’t play much last year, you see the progress, they’re getting better. Are they gonna get into the rotation? Is it gonna be four guys interior, three guys exterior, play seven to eight guys, so that you got guys in case guys get hurt? I mean, I don’t know if we’re there yet. I think we’ve got some really good battles going on. For the first time that I’ve been here, we’ve got guys that started last year most games, or a lot of games, that aregot somebody either beating them out or playing better than them in spurts. So, and that’s not just only on the O line. We got guys that are like, holy cow, man, that guy’s playing really good. He’s playing better than the guy that started every game in front of him. So, did we just have it wrong, or did he just get better and the other guy stayed the same? And I think that’s a really good thing, and it defeats complacency for a guy that says, I’m gonna sit back and start because I started last year, and now here this dude is playing better than you. Yeah, you may still have a role, you still may play, but your role may change because this guy’s playing more snaps than you.”
On someone getting unseated and if that’s unusual...
“I can’t sit back and think of a time somebody got unseated as a starter. I’m sure you guys could, I mean, it happens. It happens because of a guy comes in as a true freshman and just is better. You know, like it happens, but this is not all mid-years. This is guys that have been in the program, and just in year three, and other guys in year five, and the guy in year three passed the guy in year five.”
On Dontrell Glover and Juan Gaston...
“They’re both working hard. Juan’s done a good job with his weight of getting it down. I still would love to be a little bit further down. He’s bounced between guard and tackle, doing both. He’s a swing guy that can play both. Would love to have a little more consistency and stamina in Juan’s play. As he gets tired, his playability goes down. If he’s gonna play every snap of the game, he’s gotta get in better shape to do that. Dontrell’s worked really hard. He’s been fighting a little injury bug. He got dinged up, but he hasn’t missed a practice. And he’s not 100%, but he’s out there competing and getting better and getting reps and still knows he has growth to do.”
