As it turns out, Georgia has long been prepared to be without defensive tackle Xzavier McLeod.

Georgia coach Kirby Smart told reporters on the SEC coaches teleconference that McLeod has not been with the team since Georgia’s second practice of the fall back in early August.

McLeod was no longer listed on Georgia’s roster that was handed out this week. The defensive lineman, who started six games for the Bulldogs last season, announced on a TikTok last week that he had retired from the game of football.

“Xzavier hasn’t been with us since the second practice, so all the news with Xzavier, everybody’s acting like it’s something newly released or something,” Smart said. “I think he practiced once or twice before he decided to give it up and just didn’t want to play football anymore. Certainly respect that.”

McLeod transferred in from South Carolina ahead of the 2024 season. He had two years of eligibility remaining, but it now seems he will not be using those. Smart did say that McLeod will graduate this fall.

McLeod was photographed at Georgia’s practice on Aug. 7 per a photo put out by the school, which would have been Georgia’s third practice of the fall.

He had 17 tackles, 6 quarterback pressures and 2 pass breakups for Georgia last season.

As for who might replace McLeod, Smart said it will be a group effort.

“For us, our kids have been practicing really hard at defensive line, and we’ve got a really good group that is exciting to watch and have been doing an exceptional job,” Smart said. “Tray (Scott) really pushes that group, and they’ve been doing a great job in practice and probably got as much depth as we’ve had there. I don’t know that we have one dominant player, but we’ve got a lot of depth at that position, and I’m excited to watch those guys go play.”

Georgia defensive lineman Elijah Griffin added on Tuesday that he found out that McLeod was no longer on the team like everyone else.

“I didn’t really know,” Griffin said. “Obviously, me and Xzavier were close, but we didn’t really talk about those off-the-field issues or so. But no, that’s just up to Coach (Tray) Scott and Coach (Kirby) Smart, I have no idea.”

Griffin, Joshua Horton and Nnamdi Ogboko all figure to see an uptick in snaps, along with Jordan Hall. Hall is recovering from a knee injury he suffered against Florida last season but he is expected to be good to go ahead of Georgia’s first game.

“I feel good about that room and all those guys are going to be ready to play,” Smart said.

The Bulldogs open the season on Saturday against Tennessee State.