ATHENS — Georgia football will be back on Woodruff Practice Fields on Tuesday for the fourth of its 15 spring workouts. Things will ramp up considerably this week as the Bulldogs prepare for scrimmages each of the next three Saturdays.
Every spring culminates with the G-Day game, which is set for April 16. Late last week, ESPN finally settled on a start time and television plan for this year’s game. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m., and the game will be carried on ESPN2. Greg McElroy, Joe Tessitore and Katie George will call the action.
Georgia is the only SEC team whose game is being carried on television. The others will be on the SEC Network-Plus streaming platform.
Expounding on Monday’s story about Georgia’s offensive line under new coach Stacy Searels, it’s becoming clear that Sedrick Van Pran quickly is developing into a leader and captain of that unit. Van Pran talked to reporters after practice, and it was interesting to watch him scoop up Georgia IMG’s microphone out of the mic stand and hold it like he was getting ready to sing a tune.
And Van Pran was not shy about sharing some of his insights on Searels or his fellow O-linemen. He sounded very much like coach Van Pran.
Of sophomore Amarius Mims, he said: “Great talent. Young guy. Has some game experience, so we’re looking forward to him taking the next step. … I’m looking forward to seeing how he develops because he is a generational talent, in my opinion.”
On freshman early enrollee Earnest Greene, Van Pran said: “I absolutely love E.G. He’s a truly talented guy. Of course, we all come in talented, but just seeing some things he’s doing, he’s a really talented guy and excited to see how he develops.”
How Georgia’s offensive line comes together is a big storyline this spring.
Some others are …
Injuries: Georgia came out of the first week of spring ball in pretty good shape. They lost one player Saturday to a season-ending injury.
Logan Johnson, the redshirt freshman walk-on receiver who followed quarterback Brock Vandagriff to Georgia from Prince Avenue Christian School last year, suffered a torn ACL during the Bulldogs’ practice, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. The 5-foot-6, 155-pound speedster was Vandagriff’s top target as the two led the Wolverines to the Class A private state championship in 2020.
Meanwhile, Georgia’s offense is having to operate without its top two tight ends. Sophomore Brock Bowers had offseason shoulder surgery, and Darnell Washington got hurt before even getting to spring practice.
As it turns out, Washington sustained a significant ankle injury while playing pickup basketball at UGA’s Ramsey Student Center the weekend before spring practice was to begin. As one might imagine, that was extremely disappointing to Georgia coaches, who hoped to get extensive work out of Washington this spring. The 6-7, 265-pound junior missed four games with a broken foot to start last season and got limited work in the next few.
Instead, the absence of Bowers and Washington has meant more opportunities for lettermen Ryland Goede and Brett Seither, as well as early enrollee Oscar Delp. And one thing is now certain: Georgia is going to get the ball to its tight ends under offensive coordinator Todd Monken.
New DBs coach: Georgia was fortunate that senior safety Christopher Smith chose to come back for a fifth college football season, otherwise the Bulldogs would have almost no experience in the back end of their secondary this season.
Smith, of course, is having to make some adjustments after UGA brought in a new secondary coach. Fran Brown, who came to Georgia from Rutgers, is Smith’s third position coach in the past three years.
“He’s really cool, a really down-to-earth guy,” said Smith, a 16-game starter for the Bulldogs. “He’s going to keep it real with you. He wants to see you win and succeed. He’s really ‘Up North’; I’m a ‘Down South’ kid. So it’s different, him being my coach. But he’s a good guy, and he’s been keeping it real since he got here.”
With Lewis Cine turning pro after his junior season, Smith and junior Dan Jackson, a former walk-on with two career starts, are the only safeties with any experience on Georgia’s roster. Smith was asked what other players are getting work with them in the back-third this spring.
“Some young guys, some old guys,” Smith said. “David Daniel, Dan Jackson. We’ve got Malaki Starks back there, JaCorey Thomas. That’s just some of the names. Basically everybody is working back there. That’s what spring is all about, moving people around and figuring out what you’re good at, what you’re bad at, things like that.”
Starks is a five-star signee from Jefferson. Smith said he sits beside Starks in team meetings to help teach him the defense.
“That’s one thing that sticks out to me; he’s always looking to learn,” Smith said. “He’s really athletic, really down-to-earth. He’s a good guy.”
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