ATHENS — One of the first remarks Kirby Smart made after the Georgia spring game was about how the Bulldogs seemed to avoid any serious injury.
While the game resulted in a 20-20 tie, that was a major win for the Bulldogs.
“Overall, I don’t evaluate things on today. I know you guys will ask questions and talk about today,” Smart said. “For me it was about the entire spring, 15 practices. Very pleased with our health coming out of it.”
Perhaps the most notable injury was to that of quarterback Ryan Puglisi. The freshman quarterback has been dealing with a knee injury most of this spring.
He was using a crutch to get around the field on Saturday.
“The knee injury, it’s a stress, it’s a small stress fracture. It’s not a break or a significant injury,” Smart said. “It’s a shut down injury and let it rest. We listened to what the doctor said and did that. But it’s not a long-term problem. But it did affect us in terms of reps.”
Cornerback Chris Peal was also a new name added to the injury list. Smart did not comment on Peal after the game but he had his arm in a heavy sling.
Peal was not the only defensive back dealing with an injury on Saturday.
“We’re thin,’ Smart said of his defensive backs. “David Daniel wasn’t able to go today, Malaki [Starks] was out, Justyn Rhett was out, Demello [Jones] was dealing with a little bit of a hamstring.”
It had been known that Starks was dealing with a shoulder injury. He was able to participate in drill work. The All-American safety wasn’t able to participate in contact drills.
He is still expected to be ready to go by the start of fall camp.
Starks was not the only Bulldog who came into the spring game with a pre-existing injury. Smael Mondon did not play as he recovered from a foot injury.
That absence gave some of the younger linebackers an opportunity to shine.
“CJ and Raylen got better,” Smart said. “They’re going to be really good leaders for us. I think the fact Smael was out was good for them, and Jalon missed a lot of time this spring with an ankle injury. Today was his first day back. It doesn’t say enough about our team that kids are trying to get out of spring games all around the country. This guy was mad that we were thinking about not playing him. He wanted to play. He wanted to go out there and compete and get better. Really appreciate Jalon’s leadership and the way he handles things.”
On the offensive line, neither Bo Hughley nor KJ Smith played. Smith was dealing with a foot injury while Hughley is still recovering from a shoulder injury.
At running back, Branson Robinson did not participate in the game as he continues to recover from a patella tendon injury he suffered last August. Georgia saw running back Andrew Paul transfer out earlier this week, potentially creating an opportunity for Robinson for when he becomes healthy again. When that might be is still unknown.
On the defensive line, Georgia was without Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins this spring as he recovers from a foot injury. Georgia did see Christen Miller take the field, as he missed part of spring practice while recovering from a meniscus injury.
As for what comes next for many of the injured players, they’ll use the summer months to continue to rehab and get healthier.
“You gotta go and get to work. We’re gonna work really hard on those guys,” Smart said. “We’re gonna keep meeting and talking to our players. Tell them the job’s not done. We’re not where we need to be. We just don’t get to practice anymore. You get to do other things.
Georgia football injury report following spring practice
- Quarterback Ryan Puglisi -- knee
- Running back Branson Robinson -- knee
- Offensive lineman Bo Hughley -- shoulder
- Offensive lineman KJ Smith -- shoulder
- Defensive lineman Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins -- foot
- Inside linebacker Smael Mondon -- foot
- Cornerback Chris Peal -- arm/upper body
- Cornerback DeMello Jones -- hamstring
- Safety Malaki Starks -- shoulder
- Safety David Daniel-Sisavanh -- undisclosed
- Safety Justyn Rhett -- undisclosed
