![Georgia offensive lineman Justin Shaffer (54), Georgia offensive lineman Trey Hill (55)], Georgia offensive lineman Ben Cleveland (74), and Georgia offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer (69) during the Bulldogs' game with Kentucky in Lexington, Ky., on Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020. (Photo by Michael Clubb/Kentucky Kernel)](https://www.ajc.com/resizer/v2/MLR3AHG7JZHMJEYQQIVSMBYKX4.jpg?auth=e488abfe986f08d9a19a00f40b8b0d55bf2e83c0a4ed0b05b3cfd6b47cefa853&width=1600&height=900&smart=true)
The NCAA’s new mandate for all athletic activities to cease on National Election Day has made for some interesting dynamics this week as the Georgia prepares for Saturday’s Top 10 matchup against Florida in Jacksonville.
Most of the players have already voted. In fact, all but nine of 130 Bulldogs, on scholarship and walk-on, already had cast their ballot as of Monday, according to coach Kirby Smart. Those that haven’t already either plan to on Tuesday in Athens or back in their respective hometowns. Georgia’s goal was for 100% of the football team to vote in the 2020 election.
So now the Bulldogs have the whole day off. And sitting at 93% of that goal, that means are a lot of players who suddenly themselves with a bunch of time on their hands on the day of their week that is usually their busiest and most intense during football season.
“I don’t know, try to catch up on some school work and stay in the loop, I guess,” junior tackle Jamaree Salyer said when asked what he was going to do with his time Tuesday. “I mean, I know it’s going to be all over the news all day. I know four years ago I wasn’t as in the loop as I am now. So, I’ll stay in the loop, stay updated on everything and take some time to recover my body, catch up schoolwork and watch film.”
A summer of protests and social activism led to a grassroots movement among college athletes to take the day off from sports on Election Day. The NCAA agreed with the idea and, under a mandate approved in September, passed a rule that requires organized athletics to cease all team activities on Election Day.
UGA was all for it. The athletic association started an initiative earlier in the summer to get every athlete to register to vote. The Bulldogs' cause was further enhanced earlier this fall when the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections approved Stegeman Coliseum as an early-voting site. The 10,000-seat facility that host men’s and women’s basketball, gymnastics and volleyball is located on South Campus right next to all the sports facilities and the Rankin Smith Academic Achievement Center.
That made it extremely convenient for every athlete to swing by. Most of them did during the three days early voting last week.
“Coach Smart has made it an emphasis and let the guys know we can go right over there and vote early,” said senior tight end Tre McKitty, wearing an “I Voted” sticker on his shirt last week.
Said sophomore running back Zamir White: “Coach Smart and our staff here take it very seriously. They made sure that we all voted and that we take it seriously.”
That’s all good. But it just so happened that this year’s election fell in the middle of Georgia’s most important week of the season football-wise. The winner of Saturday’s game between the No. 5 Bulldogs (4-1) and the eighth-ranked Gators (3-1) will most likely go on to win the SEC East and represent the division in the SEC Championship game on Dec. 19 in Atlanta. Understandably, Saturday’s contest has both teams otherwise occupied.
And Tuesday is traditionally the most intense day of work during game weeks. At Georgia, it is known as “Bloody Tuesday” because it’s one day of the week that they conduct full-speed, full-contact practices. It’s a necessary part of weekly preparation during the season.
Florida coach Dan Mullen spoke out against the NCAA’s decision to shut down Election Day practices this year.
“It’s actually unfortunate to me the NCAA did this,” Mullen said last week. “… It throws you completely off your game-week routine, which obviously to me is very dangerous because you’re out for the health of the kids, the buildup of the game. You kind of have a set routine, a set schedule, you practice certain ways building up to Saturday. And now you can’t do it.”
Georgia’s Smart acknowledged that it does create complications. But the Bulldogs have tried to concentrate on finding work-arounds.
And they have, for the most part. The Bulldogs held a rare, late-Sunday-afternoon practice less than 24 hours after returning from their previous game in Lexington, Ky. Then, Smart said they did “a little more” on Monday afternoon and will do more again on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, the team will get together briefly to listen to a speaker, which Smart said is permitted. However, there can be no discussions about or game-planning for the Gators.
“It was such a point of emphasis for our athletic department and they did a great job of getting 100 percent of our student-athletes to vote,” Smart said. “We’ve almost done that. So Tuesday will be more of an opportunity for them to work on other things: academics, to clear their mind, for whatever they want to do. But … it’s not whether I’m for it or against it; that’s not important. What’s important is getting our kids an opportunity to vote and that’s what most of them have done.”
The effort will not have been wasted, Georgia players insist.
“It was very important,” junior center Trey Hill said. “I mean, we just wanted to make a difference in the world, so we chose to vote.”
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