ATHENS — Drew Bobo and Ellis Robinson IV sent a message on Monday: Georgia is locked in.

Robinson surveyed the room like he would an offensive alignment when taking the podium, as focused in on the question-answer as Kirby Smart could ever hope he would be on game day.

“I’ve played in Mercedes-Benz Stadium two or three times now, so I’d say I’m comfortable playing in it,” Robinson said, asked about the unique venue shift for this season’s Georgia-Florida rivalry game at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday. “To me, it’s the same field.”

The Bulldogs, however, are not playing the same sort of tailback as they’ve seen in Gators’ tailback Jadan Baugh, whose 13 touchdowns are tied for the most among all of the tailbacks in the nation.

“We definitely study the backs a lot here,” Robinson said, confirming Kirby Smart has had the Bulldogs’ study Baugh’s tape throughout the season.

“I could say about him he’s a very good back, he’ll come downhill, he’ll run you over, run through your face, so it’s making sure we’re there and ready to tackle.”

Smart has said the team’s tackling has been an issue that needs to be addressed, and it’s clear Robinson got the memo.

“It’s very important when it comes to tackllig, getting the person on the ground,” Robinson said. “Throughout the bye week we’ve been working on it day-in and day-out, so I’m very confident with it.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H2dJzeUiQHk

Bobo, as stoic as ever, acknowledged that despite the so-called “24-hour rule” used to put a past game behind them, the embarrassing home loss to Auburn might still be a motivator when the Bulldogs take the field on Saturday.

“There’s a little bit of that, but we kind of try to put the game to bed on Sunday and Monday,” Bobo said. “But I think the way we practiced last week, we really got after it, that’s always what we try to do here preparation-wise, (but) it could still be a little bit in the back of guys’ minds.”

It has clearly been all business for the Bulldogs on the practice field, with players like Bobo trained to hold themselves accountable and improve during the bye week.

“You focus on yourself an how you can better and trust the coaches’ plan,” Bobo said, “because they have a good plan for us whether it’s recovery on a recovery day, or having a good practice on a practice day.”

Smart said the mission is clear.

“I want to see us improve,” Smart said. “Regardless of the outcome … it’s the process we try to focus on, which is what can we do better?”