ATHENS -- Georgia running back James Cook took a handoff from quarterback Jamie Newman on the first play from scrimmage and went straight up the middle of the field for a long, scintillating touchdown. Then, things went downhill from there.
So was the report from Sanford Stadium on Saturday as the Bulldogs conducted their first controlled scrimmage of the preseason.
“Overall impressions? We’re behind,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said in a half-hour conference call with reporters afterward. “I don’t know that I’ve ever come out of a first scrimmage and felt good. I’m happy we got to scrimmage, to be honest with you. Between the injuries, COVID going on with different teams and different programs, the social-injustice issues that we’re dealing with in our country and our players are dealing with, I’m really proud and happy we were able to go out and scrimmage.
“But looking at the scrimmage as a whole, we have a long way to go.”
That’s not surprising because none of the participants involved had gotten any similar live-scrimmage work since, well, 2019. Spring practices and traditional summer voluntary workouts were eliminated because of the coronavirus precautions. Now the Bulldogs are less than a month away from their scheduled season opener against Arkansas, but with fewer practices remaining than they normally would have before an opener.
It was a bit of a shock for Smart and the coaching staff, who have had more access to the players than usual over the past several months, but less time actually playing football on the field. And it showed.
“We looked like a team that is young at a lot of positions,” Smart said. “We were really sloppy, to be honest with you. The thing I was most proud of was it was pretty hot, and they pushed really hard through it. We’ve been harping on mental toughness and practice effort, and we really haven’t had that. I thought today these guys really had that. They were tired and pushed through.”
The Bulldogs spent more than three hours trying to work out the kinks as parents and players’ family and friends watched from socially distanced perches around the stadium. Everybody’s focus was primarily on offense, where Georgia is having to replace nine starters and having to choose a quarterback between two first-year transfers and three others with a total of five late-game appearances between them.
Newman, a graduate transfer from Wake Forest, was the first player under center with the first-team offense, followed by sophomore J.T. Daniels, a transfer from USC. Redshirt freshman D’wan Mathis and freshman Carson Beck also got snaps with the No. 1 offense. Junior Stetson Bennett did not.
“The reps came out pretty balanced other than Stetson had fewer,” Smart said. “But we’ve seen Stetson. We know a lot more about Stetson in terms of his time spent with us last year.”
Smart said too much can’t be read into the QB rotation. While Daniels got a lot of work Saturday, Smart said he is still not cleared for contact and couldn’t play in a game at this point.
The quarterbacks didn’t throw the ball downfield as much as they hope to this season. More often, they targeted check-downs on pass plays.
“I don’t think anybody’s separated,” Smart assessed. “As far as a timetable for that, I don’t have one.”
Likewise, Smart said “nobody stood out” among the wide receivers. Sophomore George Pickens, junior Matt Landers and sophomore Kearis Jackson were the first three on the field for the Bulldogs, with Jackson fielding the slot position. That’s where Georgia lost Dominick Blaylock to a season-ending ACL injury Wednesday.
Jamaree Salyer, Justin Shaffer, Trey Hill, Ben Cleveland and Owen Condon lined up left to right with the No. 1 offensive line. Smart said right tackle is where the most intense competition is at the moment, with Condon, the 6-7, 310-pound sophomore holding off redshirt freshman Warren McClendon (6-4, 320) and freshman Tate Ratledge (6-6, 317) at the moment.
Cook wasn’t the only player to break a long run Saturday. So did sophomore Zamir White and a few others. But most of those highlights came as the No. 1 offense went against the No. 2 defense. The 1s-vs-1s was much more of a stalemate.
Accordingly, the No. 1 defense dominated most of the day.
“For every one of those highlights, there’s a lowlight on the other side,” Smart said. “For every sack, somebody got beat. … On the long runs, somebody made a mistake; a guy misfitted. So it wasn’t like they went out there and broke 18 tackles. They went untouched for 50 or 60 yards.”
Some other notes and observations from the Bulldogs’ scrimmage Saturday:
- Smart said Georgia’s special-teams play was “behind where it needs to be.” His issue primarily is not with the specialists as much as the players who will field the rest of the units. He said four players kicked field goals Saturday, led by freshman Jared Zirkel. But he said punter Jake Camarda performed well on punts and is also place-kicking and said it was “going to be a heated competition for that job.”
- Smart said that former Bulldogs Thomas Davis and Malcom Mitchell have reached out to Blaylock about having to recover from a knee injury for a second consecutive year. Both Davis and Mitchell had multiple knee injuries yet recovered each time and were able to perform in the NFL.
- “It’s very unfortunate. Dom worked as hard as anybody I’ve ever seen,” Smart said. “Ron Courson has probably had 50-something ACLs since he’s been here, and he said he’s never had anybody work harder, kind of like what Nick Chubb went through. … But he’s special. He said, ‘Coach, I’m going to be back. I’m going to be fine. I’m going to push through this.’ He’s such a fiery competitor and I’m excited to see him get back.”
- Smart addressed the recent departure and return of freshman Daran Branch. A 6-foot-2, 178-pound defensive back from Amite, La., Branch left camp and returned home two weeks ago, only to return to Athens this week. “He’s back with the team,” Smart said. “He was with us today. He wasn’t allowed to practice yet because he’s going through an acclimation period. But he was working out, and we’re excited to have him back. He had some personal things he had to go home and take care of, and he did and came back, and I’m glad he’s with us and taking another shot at it.”
- Smart admitted to a having a “duh” moment when he asked why players were calling freshman Darnell Washington “The Big O.” The 6-7, 260-pound signee out of Las Vegas is wearing the No. 0 for the Bulldogs. This is the first year the SEC has allowed the number to be worn. “I realized it was a pretty slip on my part, but I was wondering why they were calling him that because his name doesn’t have an ’O’ in it. But he’s the ‘Big O’ for wearing zero, and he’s a big man, for sure. But I assume he wanted a single digit, and we were all out.”
- Smart said he didn’t think any asterisks should be included next to whatever team wins the championship this season. “Basically, it’s the teams that are playing, and if the teams that are playing have a championship series, a four-game playoff, I don’t see why it would have an asterisk. It is what it is. It’s beyond the kids’ control. … These teams in the SEC certainly won’t do that, not after playing 10 games, a conference championship and possibly two playoffs.”
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