Good afternoon.
Typically, we get to watch a little bit of practice on Monday, but thanks to the Labor Day holiday we were pushed back until today.
Here is what we saw in the nine minutes we were allotted.
... As we indicated earlier, there was no sign of cornerback Nyland Green today. Sources tell us that Green is expected to miss a couple of weeks due to a hamstring injury.
... There was some good news. Christopher Smith (shoulder stringer) was practicing in a white jersey with no apparent concerns. It still remains to be seen how much action he will see Saturday against Samford.
...Quick glance at the first team offensive line revealed no change. Broderick Jones at LT, Xavier Truss at LG, Sedrick Van Pran at C, Tate Ratledge at RG and Warren McClendon at RT. That said, look for the Bulldogs to mix and match their offensive linemen throughout the game, much like they did Saturday against Oregon.
...Saw Arik Gilbert make a nice catch.
...Dom Blaylock was working with the second group of receivers at slot.
... Kirby Smart was bearing down on players with his microphone today.
... Fun to watch the energy Mykel Williams practices with. The guy has some motor.
Much more to come.
JED MAY
Christopher Smith was out there at safety wearing a regular white jersey. He suffered a left shoulder “stinger” in Saturday’s win over Oregon.
Malaki Starks also got reps at No. 1 safety during a team passing drill. Kirby Smart implored the freshman to “stay over the top” and also told Starks he wanted to see how fast he is in a “Utah” drill.
Dan Jackson rotated in with the first-team defense later in the media viewing period.
Smart also told corner Kelee Ringo to be more physical during the team passing drill.
It appears the Bulldogs are expecting lots of quick passes to the perimeter against Samford. That's an area Oregon tried to exploit as well. The defensive units went through a drill where they all ran to a scout team receiver who caught a short pass. Smart yelled at the scout teamers several times to keep running through the play. The defenders were taking some vicious swipes and punches at the ball as the receivers ran by.
It appears freshman Christen Miller is one of the players working on the scout team. He was going strike and release drills in a No. 97 jersey. That belongs to Samford defensive lineman Nick Jackson.
PATRICK GARBIN
For the two periods we observed, the coaching staff, to me, seemed a little bit more fired than normal. Simply, there seemed to be more of a sense of urgency at practice today than before. Also, the offensive linemen were especially driving the blocking sled—really pushing it all over their area on the field, more so than we’ve seen in a long while.
As I solely watched the offensive side of the ball, the running backs’ initial drill was catching flare passes out of the backfield. How fitting it was to see Kenny McIntosh take a pass, and with excellent blocking from Ladd McConkey, the senior back weaved through a few defenders. Although UGA has never kept up with such records, McIntosh’s 9-catch, 117-yard receiving game against Oregon, I’d be willing to say, is one of the top receiving games in Bulldog history by a running back. I can recall only one or two other running back receiving performances (for both catches and receiving yards) which was better. During the same drill, Daijun Edwards made a similar move to McIntosh, with Dominick Blaylock making a nice block.
I overheard an elderly observer on the sidelines (I think he’s an old high school coach) praise Kirby Smart for his “efficiency” at practices—that Smart works [multiple position groups] at one time better than anyone.”
At one point, Smart really got onto some a couple of scout-team players: “I don’t care if they touch you… Run!”
I watched the tight ends for most of a period. The rotation the entire time: Brock Bowers—Darnell Washington—Oscar Delp—Ryland Goede—Brett Seither—Arik Gilbert. Tight ends coach Todd Hartley twice praised Gilbert for nice receptions.
For the ensuing four-quarterback drill, whereby all of the signal-callers throw to a different receiver at the same time, the top-2 four-receiver/tight end sets were as follows: 1) AD Mitchell—Kearis Jackson—Ladd McConkey—Brock Bowers; and 2) Dominick Blaylock—Jackson Meeks—Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint—Oscar Delp. After running No. 6 in the drill before, Gilbert was part of the No. 3 set.
Typically, we get to watch a little bit of practice on Monday, but thanks to the Labor Day holiday we were pushed back until today.
Here is what we saw in the nine minutes we were allotted.
... As we indicated earlier, there was no sign of cornerback Nyland Green today. Sources tell us that Green is expected to miss a couple of weeks due to a hamstring injury.
... There was some good news. Christopher Smith (shoulder stringer) was practicing in a white jersey with no apparent concerns. It still remains to be seen how much action he will see Saturday against Samford.
...Quick glance at the first team offensive line revealed no change. Broderick Jones at LT, Xavier Truss at LG, Sedrick Van Pran at C, Tate Ratledge at RG and Warren McClendon at RT. That said, look for the Bulldogs to mix and match their offensive linemen throughout the game, much like they did Saturday against Oregon.
...Saw Arik Gilbert make a nice catch.
...Dom Blaylock was working with the second group of receivers at slot.
... Kirby Smart was bearing down on players with his microphone today.
... Fun to watch the energy Mykel Williams practices with. The guy has some motor.
Much more to come.
JED MAY
Christopher Smith was out there at safety wearing a regular white jersey. He suffered a left shoulder “stinger” in Saturday’s win over Oregon.
Malaki Starks also got reps at No. 1 safety during a team passing drill. Kirby Smart implored the freshman to “stay over the top” and also told Starks he wanted to see how fast he is in a “Utah” drill.
Dan Jackson rotated in with the first-team defense later in the media viewing period.
Smart also told corner Kelee Ringo to be more physical during the team passing drill.
It appears the Bulldogs are expecting lots of quick passes to the perimeter against Samford. That's an area Oregon tried to exploit as well. The defensive units went through a drill where they all ran to a scout team receiver who caught a short pass. Smart yelled at the scout teamers several times to keep running through the play. The defenders were taking some vicious swipes and punches at the ball as the receivers ran by.
It appears freshman Christen Miller is one of the players working on the scout team. He was going strike and release drills in a No. 97 jersey. That belongs to Samford defensive lineman Nick Jackson.
PATRICK GARBIN
For the two periods we observed, the coaching staff, to me, seemed a little bit more fired than normal. Simply, there seemed to be more of a sense of urgency at practice today than before. Also, the offensive linemen were especially driving the blocking sled—really pushing it all over their area on the field, more so than we’ve seen in a long while.
As I solely watched the offensive side of the ball, the running backs’ initial drill was catching flare passes out of the backfield. How fitting it was to see Kenny McIntosh take a pass, and with excellent blocking from Ladd McConkey, the senior back weaved through a few defenders. Although UGA has never kept up with such records, McIntosh’s 9-catch, 117-yard receiving game against Oregon, I’d be willing to say, is one of the top receiving games in Bulldog history by a running back. I can recall only one or two other running back receiving performances (for both catches and receiving yards) which was better. During the same drill, Daijun Edwards made a similar move to McIntosh, with Dominick Blaylock making a nice block.
I overheard an elderly observer on the sidelines (I think he’s an old high school coach) praise Kirby Smart for his “efficiency” at practices—that Smart works [multiple position groups] at one time better than anyone.”
At one point, Smart really got onto some a couple of scout-team players: “I don’t care if they touch you… Run!”
I watched the tight ends for most of a period. The rotation the entire time: Brock Bowers—Darnell Washington—Oscar Delp—Ryland Goede—Brett Seither—Arik Gilbert. Tight ends coach Todd Hartley twice praised Gilbert for nice receptions.
For the ensuing four-quarterback drill, whereby all of the signal-callers throw to a different receiver at the same time, the top-2 four-receiver/tight end sets were as follows: 1) AD Mitchell—Kearis Jackson—Ladd McConkey—Brock Bowers; and 2) Dominick Blaylock—Jackson Meeks—Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint—Oscar Delp. After running No. 6 in the drill before, Gilbert was part of the No. 3 set.
