For decades, the G-Day intra-squad game marked the end of spring practice for Georgia’s football team. But in recent years, Georgia has held its final practices of the spring in the week following G-Day.
So the Bulldogs were back on the practice fields Tuesday, three days after the G-Day game in Sanford Stadium. They’ll wrap up spring ball with the last of their NCAA-permitted 15 practices Thursday.
“It’s interesting,” offensive tackle John Theus said of practicing after G-Day. “It’s definitely a gut check as a man. You’ve got to find some motivation to get better every day, and the ones who want to get better you see it.
“Before G-Day, you’re working up to (that). And afterwards, you’ve definitely got to have some personal goals to work on and get better and don’t waste the time.”
Tight end Jay Rome said practicing after G-Day offers “an opportunity … to break down the film and fine-tune some of the things we did wrong.”
Defensive lineman Chris Mayes pointed out that the team has known throughout spring practice that G-Day wouldn’t mark the end.
“It’s not like it snuck up on us,” Mayes said. “If we found out at the last minute, probably you’d be, like, ‘Well, I thought it was over.’ But we knew we still had work to do after G-Day.”
Kublanow at center: As Georgia practiced for two hours in shorts Tuesday, offensive lineman Brandon Kublanow — the returning starter at left guard — worked exclusively at center. It was his most extensive work at the position.
“It was definitely a good learning day,” Kublanow said after practice.
Georgia is looking for a successor to three-year starting center David Andrews, who graduated. Isaiah Wynn started on G-Day, had some early difficulty with shotgun snaps (including one over the head of quarterback Brice Ramsey for an 18-yard loss), then settled down and played a solid game.
While Kublanow was at center Tuesday, Wynn was at left guard.
Kublanow said he doesn’t know the coaches’ ultimate plan at center.
Asked if he expects to play the position in the fall, he said: “It’s possible. We’ll see.
“I’m not sure at this point. I think they may move me and they may not,” he added. “I can play guard, and if I can play center, I think it’ll definitely help us out a lot. … I’ll probably work a lot over the summer on center.”
Kublanow, who started all 13 games at guard last season, didn’t play center in any of Georgia’s three spring scrimmages. His presence at the position is a bit of an adjustment for the quarterbacks because he is left-handed.
Seeking old form: Wide receiver Justin Scott-Wesley, a starter in four of Georgia's first five games in 2013 before knee surgery for a torn ACL ended his season, has struggled to pick up where he left off.
He returned to play in six games last season, but started none and caught just three passes. He hopes for a big senior season, but said Tuesday that his G-Day performance “could have been better.”
“I left a couple of plays out there on the field,” he said.
Scott-Wesley said he feels “confident” in the health of his knee.
“It’s just finding my role in the offense and then being comfortable with that … just knowing exactly what the offense demands from me, whether I’m the deep-ball guy or the third-down guy who runs routes or just coming in and blocking,” he said.
Scott-Wesley caught 16 passes for 311 yards and two touchdowns in the first 4 1/2 games of the 2013 season before the knee injury.
“I was coming into my own (then),” he said. “It was good for me. But now it’s time to learn, time to move on. You can’t dwell on the past.”
Injury report: Wide receiver Isaiah McKenzie didn't practice Tuesday after suffering a hamstring injury while scoring on a 72-yard G-Day pass. Receiver Malcolm Mitchell practiced on a limited basis because of an injured shoulder.
Tailback Keith Marshall, who didn’t play in the G-Day game as a precaution against aggravating a pulled hamstring suffered earlier this spring, practiced Tuesday, as he did on two days last week.
About the Author
