Kirby Smart’s changes have Georgia fit for Arkansas, title run

ATHENS — Kirby Smart seemingly always has a plan for everything when it comes to his football team.

Indeed, it’s interesting to contrast Smart’s season prep from last season — when UGA had 54 freshmen and sophomores on its team — to this season’s group featuring older and more experienced players.

“There’s nothing like live game reps — lot of young guys have gotten a lot of reps,” former Georgia linebacker and DawgNation Daily analyst Davin Bellamy said.

“Georgia had two very good dress rehearsals and some scrimmages, so hopefully those two games were used to get some confidence.”

Snap Count Contrast

The snap counts for Georgia starters from the first two games of last season are vastly different from this season, just as Smart earlier explained how fall camp this year differed from last fall’s.

Georgia played Marshall (a 45-7 win) and Austin Peay (28-6) in the first two games of last season, while this season has seen the Bulldogs beat Tennessee State 63-3 and prevail over Western Kentucky 70-20.

After reviewing the snap counts, per PFF, it’s easy to conclude this season’s Georgia team is fresher than last year’s as it enters into SEC play at noon on Saturday against Arkansas.

Three of the Bulldogs’ starting offensive linemen had more than 100 snaps through the first two games last season, partly on account of injuries to starts Earnest Greene lll and Juan Gaston.

Contrast that to this season, where freshman guard Zykie Helton leads the starters with 73 snaps, and the most offensive line snaps have gone to rapidly developing freshman Ekene Ogboko (89).

Gunner Stockton’s snap count is also very different, as Smart looked to get his first-year starting QB ready last season with 133 plays through the first two games compared to just 50 plays this season.

Game Ready

Smart, when asked about the snap count management, made it clear he feels this season’s team is just as game ready, pointing out there’s plenty of practice time that goes into the equation.

“You’re not counting snaps in games, you’re counting conditioning reps and snaps in practice and what gives them the opportunity to be able to play a game,” Smart said this week. “You forget that we played 50, 60-play scrimmages that are almost a full game against an SEC opponent in fall camp.”

Furthermore, Smart is keenly aware of the SEC’s move from eight to nine games on the league schedule, and he knows that means more physical games are ahead than ever before.

“I don’t really get too into it and overthink it and say they gotta play more snaps, (it’s) the number of exposures you have,” Smart said of the live action on Saturdays. “Our kids have never had the exposure they’ve had because of a nine-game SEC schedule. It’ll be greater this year than it’s ever been before, playing a nine-game schedule.”

Defensive Depth

The decreased starter snap philosophy has carried over to defense as well as offense.

KJ Bolden, the leader of the secondary from his safety position had 71 snaps through the first two games last season compared with just 43 this season.

Ellis Robinson IV, who developed into the Football Writers Association of America Defensive Freshman of the Year, came off the bench to get 58 snaps last season through the first two games compared with just 37 as the starter this season.

Last year’s starting defensive tackle duo combined for 76 snaps through the first two games (Christen Miller/Jordan Hall), while this year’s starting pair (Hall/Elijah Griffin) has combined for 52.

Chris Cole leads Georgia starters with 45 snaps through the first two games, while last season’s younger, more unproven version of Cole had 62 coming off the bench.

Freshman Tyriq Green leads this year’s UGA defense in snaps through the first two games, with 68, in addition to 18 snaps on special teams.

USC junior transfer safety defensive back Braylon Conley also has more snaps (57 with 12 on special teams), per PFF metrics, than any UGA defensive starter. Freshman safety Blake Stewart has 55 defensive snaps and is among special teams leaders with 26 snaps.

Bottom to Top

Smart has referenced coaching up the bottom of the roster several times when explaining the need to build depth for championship runs.

Georgia fans will remember the Bulldogs had five starters missing when the clock hit zeros in the season-ending 39-34 CFP Sugar Bowl loss to Ole Miss.

“When you start looking at the 12 (-team playoff), and you’re like, two times we’ve lost the first (playoff) game, both times after winning the SEC championship,” Smart said during an offseason podcast with analyst Josh Pate, “you have to start saying, ‘Are you peaking too early? Are you complacent?’ You look intrinsically saying, what are we doing wrong, and what can we do better?”

Smart has taken the time to reflect with his staff and the circumstances of this season’s schedule and a more experienced roster and adjusted accordingly.