ATHENS — Sometimes, “it takes what it takes,” and that was the motto stamped on the gray shirts of the Georgia players after a recent leadership trip to the Gulf of Mexico.
The players posted photos on the Instagram and Snapchat accounts earlier this month of jet ski adventures near Pensacola Beach along with packed car rides.
Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart — an advocate of keeping the main thing the main thing, and pressure being a privilege — revealed last month there were plans to enhance Georgia’s team leadership training.
“We’ll take our leadership guys off location this summer and spend time together,” Smart said at the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla., “and try to do some things different to change it up.”
It was clear in the pictures and videos that quarterback Jake Fromm and tailback D’Andre Swift, two of the higher-profile skill position players, were growing closer to one another.
The Georgia football leaders were also prominent in the team’s annual visit to Camp Sunshine, where players volunteer their time to cancer-stricken youth.
LOOK: Georgia football photo gallery, Camp Sunshine
VIDEO: Kirby & brother Karl Smart make youth camp family affair
READ: Jake Fromm, D’Andre Swift brings rays of sunshine to camp
Smart said at the start of spring drills he felt good about the team’s leadership, but it has been tested during the offseason.
Most recently, junior receiver Jeremiah “J.J.” Holloman was dismissed from the team after an alleged assault that occurred after the 2018 G-Day Game but was only recently reported and disclosed.
RELATED: Georgia football title hopes take hit, but Bulldogs have talent to rebound
Details from a police report indicate it’s very unlikely Georgia coach Kirby Smart and his staff had any prior knowledge of the alleged incident.
Already, the Georgia football team has been addressed on the issue, and the leadership council activity and awareness has spiked, according to a UGA team source.
Now, more than ever, the Bulldogs’ players have tightened their circle with the support of the Georgia football coaches and staff.
Smart said it’s important to change things up to keep leadership fresh with ideas, but the Bulldogs have some methods that have proven effective over the years.
“I think when you look at the total picture, we’re trying to find something different to do as a staff with this group, and how can we make this group different,” Smart said.
“We don’t want to get bored with monotony but we also think some of the things we are doing works, and we want to stick with those things and that goes for us as coaches.”
Renowned “brain trainer” Trevor Moawad was on the leadership trip with the Georgia players, shown in the team’s beach photo below.
The Moawad Consulting Group works with “elite talents in sports, business, military, and life to maximize their potential.
Moawad’s techniques have been well documented, with Sports Illustrated college writer Andy Staples taking a deeper dive into the former Alabama, Georgia and Florida State employee.
Smart is hoping a Georgia leadership group will benefit once again.
“How we’ll play and how this team will perform together is going to be decided this summer,” Smart said. “Ultimately it’s going to boil down to what they choose to do this summer, and how they choose to take on leadership roles.”
