ANTHONY DASHER
The media was able to view approximately 15 minutes of Thursday's opening day of fall camp and head coach Kirby Smart was already in a feisty mood.
As we walked in he described the lack of guys being able to finish a series as "Horse*&^%!" over the PA system. Smart yelled it into the microphone at his players, obviously not pleased with some of the early effort he was seeing.
No lolly-gagging allowed here.
It was obvious from the moment the media walked on the field that Smart wasn't allowing his team to simply ease their way back into action.
Otherwise, here is what I observed:
... Although one should never assume any sort of pecking order, when wide receiver drills were being run, this was the order - AD Mitchell and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint; Ladd McConkey and Kearis Jackson; Arian Smith and Dominick Blaylock.
... Saw running backs Branson Robinson and Andrew Paul for the first time. All I can say these two young men are put together.
... Repping at outside linebacker were Nolan Smith, Robert Beal, Marvin Jones Jr., MJ Sherman, Darris Smith and C.J. Madden.
... Of course we gave a peak at the offensive line. Today, First Team reps during the brief time we were out there included: LT Broderick Jones, LG Devin Willock, C Sedrick Van Pran, RG Tate Ratledge, RT Warren McClendon. Second team - LT Earnest Greene, Jr., LG Xavier Truss, C Warren Ericson, RG Dylan Fairchild, RT Amarius Mims.
... We saw all four quarterbacks throw to receivers on air; nothing to really gauge from that other than all four were hitting their targets.
... Not sure how much weight Arik Gilbert dropped, but he does look a little smaller than he did at G-Day when he weight 265.
More to come.
---
JED MAY
... As Dash noted, Smart wasn't in a mood to ease his guys back into practice. He called out both freshmen Earnest Greene and Jacob Hood for already being tired after just four plays soon after the media walked into practice. Smart also told AD Mitchell to "suck it up" at one point and asked over the PA, "Arik, is this a walkthrough?"
... Freshman defensive lineman Christen Miller was practicing, but in a black jersey. Tight end Brett Seither and receiver Mekhi Mews also had black jerseys on.
... Freshman Mykel Williams was working with the defensive lineman during the media viewing period.
... Todd Monken was working closely with the receivers. At one point, he was giving directions to Jackson Meeks that appeared to be about stemming his route right at the defensive back before breaking toward the goalpost.
... Freshman tight end Oscar Delp appears to be in very good shape.
... Freshman outside linebacker Darris Smith already looks like one of the longest and rangiest guys among the outside linebackers. Lots of potential there.
... Arik Gilbert had an issue blocking MJ Sherman on one rep. Todd Hartley came over to give a couple pointers before they did the rep again.
---
DAYNE YOUNG
I spent the whole session checking out wide receivers, both in WR-only drills and then with quarterbacks passing to them.
Initial observations on WRs:
To echo Dash on the order: (it changed a little, but for the most part was something like:
Mitchell, McConkey, Rosemy-Jacksaint, Jackson, Arian Smith, Blaylock, Meeks, Jernigan
Darnell Washington is a force of nature. He looks phenomenal and moves so well for a man his size. I don’t know that I’ve seen much of his archetype on a football field. There was one pass thrown to him that would have sailed over most players and he nearly pulled it down from the sky
Todd Monken urged tight ends to “not sit back” and talked about the need for consistency. “Not every now and again, every f***ing time.” Monken gave Brock Bowers an earful for keeping his head up too early in a route.
I did see a pretty pass from Brock Vandagriff to Brock Bowers.
Stetson Bennett was dialed in on a perfect out route to Ladd McConkey
Kirby Smart called out Meeks over the loudspeaker for wearing a visible shirt underneath his gear. The shirt apparently was from high school.
Kirby’s ire then went to Arik Gilbert. “Arik, is this a walk through?! Holy hell!”
RADI NABULSI
Mike Cavan was asked if Kendal Milton was fully healthy and Cavan, Kirby’s right-hand man, answered that he was.
Defense:
Tray Scott had his big men in the trenches exploding from their knees into padded dummies, working on full extensions which would result in the linemen forming a long ‘U’ shape after having knocked the spring-loaded dummies backward.
He spent more time working with freshman Chris Miller and gave Warren Brinson some extra time too. Miller was in a black jersey.
Nazir Stackhouse looked to be in good shape. He did fall off the dummy once but they came out and wiped the sweat off of his hands and he nailed the next rep.
Jonathan Jefferson looked to be bigger than his listed 6-foot-3, 295 pounds. Maybe it was the guardian caps they were wearing.
Jalen Carter’s shirt wasn’t tight across his gut like you see on a lot of big men. Guy is just a walking slab of muscle.
Mykel Williams looked skinny standing next to all those interior linemen. But he’s taller (6-5) and tips the scales at 265.
Uzo-Diribe had Chaz Chamblis start off one of the drills. He praised Chambliss for setting a “nice edge” in one of the drills.
I am saying this right now: Uzo Diribe is going to be a star coach. Has that “it” factor. Maybe not this year but down the line you are going to see that guy’s name everywhere. He ripped a guy for not showing “&%$# aggression.” “Come off that ball. Knock his ass out. Get your hands tight.”
Nolan Smith started off the drill where they engage the dummy, stand it up, then release and wrap up a teammate who is supposed to represent the ball carrier. The unfortunate “running back” in this drill was Darris Smith who Nolan hit too hard. Nolan quickly apologized and patted the freshman Darris on the shoulder. “My bad.” Welcome to Fall Camp, newbie.
Darris Smith and CJ Madden will need to work on this drill more. They did not have good reps but then this is all new. Smith barely moved his feet and Madden wasn’t much better. Robert Beal could have sold the “runner” role a little better and Uzo-Diribe told him so.
The outside linebacker lined up against the tight ends to get some work. Here were the pairings.
Nolan Smith vs. Brock Bowers
Robert Beal vs. Ryland Goede
MJ Sherman vs. Arik Gilbert
CJ Madden vs. Oscar Delp
Watching the safeties and stars go through their coverage drills, we saw David Daniel lose one ball in the sun. Then Tykee Smith had an interception. JaCorey Thomas stood out to me as a big body out there. Strong too. Malaki Starks spun himself a full 180 to make an INT. No stiff hips with him. Marcus Washington had a bad rep and Will Muschamp lit into him.
They then switched to fades on the red line. Chris Smith started off the drills and was successful. He was followed by Javon Bullard and Dan Jackson. William Poole went next followed by David Daniel, both of whom completed the interception drill. JaCorey Thomas was next and in my notes, I wrote “thick.” Tykee Smith followed Thomas and then we saw another rough rep from Washington.
Just from the eye test, Jaheim Singletary and Nyland Green both pass.
PATRICK GARBIN
As indicated, Kirby Smart and some on his staff got rather explicit during the first practice of fall camp. Part of their agitation may have stemmed from how the younger players were performing. As I heard a staffer say, Georgia had “a case of the first days…some of the young folks look like they don’t know where to go.”
“We’re doing the same sh**!” Smart hollered over his microphone soon after we started observing. “This ain’t fu**ing minicamp!” tight ends coach Todd Hartley yelled.
Watching solely the defense, here are a few other things I observed not already mentioned by the crew:
Defensive backs coach Fran Brown is hands on, to say the least. He impressed me with a quick chat he had with Daylen Everette, instructing the freshman to “stay square” before he attempted to make a hit. In the same drill, Kamari Lassiter made the interception of the day as he juggled a thrown ball before securing it inbounds for the pick. Nyland Green, who actually seems taller than his listed 6-foot-1, also made a notable play, breaking up a pass at the last moment.
Malaki Starks made a nice interception himself, picking off a pass with a spinning leap on the ball. I must have reacted with the interception as another media member reminded me Starks was a state champion in the long jump at Jefferson. In the same group, it seemed Tykee Smith practiced without limitations.
Smart over the mic to his towards the end of our observation periods: “If you’ve already taken your helmet off, yo’ ass is soft.”
The media was able to view approximately 15 minutes of Thursday's opening day of fall camp and head coach Kirby Smart was already in a feisty mood.
As we walked in he described the lack of guys being able to finish a series as "Horse*&^%!" over the PA system. Smart yelled it into the microphone at his players, obviously not pleased with some of the early effort he was seeing.
No lolly-gagging allowed here.
It was obvious from the moment the media walked on the field that Smart wasn't allowing his team to simply ease their way back into action.
Otherwise, here is what I observed:
... Although one should never assume any sort of pecking order, when wide receiver drills were being run, this was the order - AD Mitchell and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint; Ladd McConkey and Kearis Jackson; Arian Smith and Dominick Blaylock.
... Saw running backs Branson Robinson and Andrew Paul for the first time. All I can say these two young men are put together.
... Repping at outside linebacker were Nolan Smith, Robert Beal, Marvin Jones Jr., MJ Sherman, Darris Smith and C.J. Madden.
... Of course we gave a peak at the offensive line. Today, First Team reps during the brief time we were out there included: LT Broderick Jones, LG Devin Willock, C Sedrick Van Pran, RG Tate Ratledge, RT Warren McClendon. Second team - LT Earnest Greene, Jr., LG Xavier Truss, C Warren Ericson, RG Dylan Fairchild, RT Amarius Mims.
... We saw all four quarterbacks throw to receivers on air; nothing to really gauge from that other than all four were hitting their targets.
... Not sure how much weight Arik Gilbert dropped, but he does look a little smaller than he did at G-Day when he weight 265.
More to come.
---
JED MAY
... As Dash noted, Smart wasn't in a mood to ease his guys back into practice. He called out both freshmen Earnest Greene and Jacob Hood for already being tired after just four plays soon after the media walked into practice. Smart also told AD Mitchell to "suck it up" at one point and asked over the PA, "Arik, is this a walkthrough?"
... Freshman defensive lineman Christen Miller was practicing, but in a black jersey. Tight end Brett Seither and receiver Mekhi Mews also had black jerseys on.
... Freshman Mykel Williams was working with the defensive lineman during the media viewing period.
... Todd Monken was working closely with the receivers. At one point, he was giving directions to Jackson Meeks that appeared to be about stemming his route right at the defensive back before breaking toward the goalpost.
... Freshman tight end Oscar Delp appears to be in very good shape.
... Freshman outside linebacker Darris Smith already looks like one of the longest and rangiest guys among the outside linebackers. Lots of potential there.
... Arik Gilbert had an issue blocking MJ Sherman on one rep. Todd Hartley came over to give a couple pointers before they did the rep again.
---
DAYNE YOUNG
I spent the whole session checking out wide receivers, both in WR-only drills and then with quarterbacks passing to them.
Initial observations on WRs:
- Kearis Jackson looks strong.
- Jackson Meeks looks the part as well.
- Georgia’s tallest receivers are Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint and AD Mitchell and I’d pegged them at about the same height. I would anticipate one of them would be on the field at all times, often both.
To echo Dash on the order: (it changed a little, but for the most part was something like:
Mitchell, McConkey, Rosemy-Jacksaint, Jackson, Arian Smith, Blaylock, Meeks, Jernigan
- McClendon urged WRs to “tuck and then quick burst.” He later said the key to these drills was “trigger, plant, drive” so that DBs would not know what route was coming.
- He told McConkey to get his pads down and play lower. Same plea was given to Rosemy-Jacksaint.
- He praised Mitchell for multiple great reps
- Jackson Meeks dropped a pair of passes in this drill. Meeks later made a nifty one-handed catch with QBs passing. Braxton Hicks dropped one too
Darnell Washington is a force of nature. He looks phenomenal and moves so well for a man his size. I don’t know that I’ve seen much of his archetype on a football field. There was one pass thrown to him that would have sailed over most players and he nearly pulled it down from the sky
Todd Monken urged tight ends to “not sit back” and talked about the need for consistency. “Not every now and again, every f***ing time.” Monken gave Brock Bowers an earful for keeping his head up too early in a route.
I did see a pretty pass from Brock Vandagriff to Brock Bowers.
Stetson Bennett was dialed in on a perfect out route to Ladd McConkey
Kirby Smart called out Meeks over the loudspeaker for wearing a visible shirt underneath his gear. The shirt apparently was from high school.
Kirby’s ire then went to Arik Gilbert. “Arik, is this a walk through?! Holy hell!”
RADI NABULSI
Mike Cavan was asked if Kendal Milton was fully healthy and Cavan, Kirby’s right-hand man, answered that he was.
Defense:
Tray Scott had his big men in the trenches exploding from their knees into padded dummies, working on full extensions which would result in the linemen forming a long ‘U’ shape after having knocked the spring-loaded dummies backward.
He spent more time working with freshman Chris Miller and gave Warren Brinson some extra time too. Miller was in a black jersey.
Nazir Stackhouse looked to be in good shape. He did fall off the dummy once but they came out and wiped the sweat off of his hands and he nailed the next rep.
Jonathan Jefferson looked to be bigger than his listed 6-foot-3, 295 pounds. Maybe it was the guardian caps they were wearing.
Jalen Carter’s shirt wasn’t tight across his gut like you see on a lot of big men. Guy is just a walking slab of muscle.
Mykel Williams looked skinny standing next to all those interior linemen. But he’s taller (6-5) and tips the scales at 265.
Uzo-Diribe had Chaz Chamblis start off one of the drills. He praised Chambliss for setting a “nice edge” in one of the drills.
I am saying this right now: Uzo Diribe is going to be a star coach. Has that “it” factor. Maybe not this year but down the line you are going to see that guy’s name everywhere. He ripped a guy for not showing “&%$# aggression.” “Come off that ball. Knock his ass out. Get your hands tight.”
Nolan Smith started off the drill where they engage the dummy, stand it up, then release and wrap up a teammate who is supposed to represent the ball carrier. The unfortunate “running back” in this drill was Darris Smith who Nolan hit too hard. Nolan quickly apologized and patted the freshman Darris on the shoulder. “My bad.” Welcome to Fall Camp, newbie.
Darris Smith and CJ Madden will need to work on this drill more. They did not have good reps but then this is all new. Smith barely moved his feet and Madden wasn’t much better. Robert Beal could have sold the “runner” role a little better and Uzo-Diribe told him so.
The outside linebacker lined up against the tight ends to get some work. Here were the pairings.
Nolan Smith vs. Brock Bowers
Robert Beal vs. Ryland Goede
MJ Sherman vs. Arik Gilbert
CJ Madden vs. Oscar Delp
Watching the safeties and stars go through their coverage drills, we saw David Daniel lose one ball in the sun. Then Tykee Smith had an interception. JaCorey Thomas stood out to me as a big body out there. Strong too. Malaki Starks spun himself a full 180 to make an INT. No stiff hips with him. Marcus Washington had a bad rep and Will Muschamp lit into him.
They then switched to fades on the red line. Chris Smith started off the drills and was successful. He was followed by Javon Bullard and Dan Jackson. William Poole went next followed by David Daniel, both of whom completed the interception drill. JaCorey Thomas was next and in my notes, I wrote “thick.” Tykee Smith followed Thomas and then we saw another rough rep from Washington.
Just from the eye test, Jaheim Singletary and Nyland Green both pass.
PATRICK GARBIN
As indicated, Kirby Smart and some on his staff got rather explicit during the first practice of fall camp. Part of their agitation may have stemmed from how the younger players were performing. As I heard a staffer say, Georgia had “a case of the first days…some of the young folks look like they don’t know where to go.”
“We’re doing the same sh**!” Smart hollered over his microphone soon after we started observing. “This ain’t fu**ing minicamp!” tight ends coach Todd Hartley yelled.
Watching solely the defense, here are a few other things I observed not already mentioned by the crew:
Defensive backs coach Fran Brown is hands on, to say the least. He impressed me with a quick chat he had with Daylen Everette, instructing the freshman to “stay square” before he attempted to make a hit. In the same drill, Kamari Lassiter made the interception of the day as he juggled a thrown ball before securing it inbounds for the pick. Nyland Green, who actually seems taller than his listed 6-foot-1, also made a notable play, breaking up a pass at the last moment.
Malaki Starks made a nice interception himself, picking off a pass with a spinning leap on the ball. I must have reacted with the interception as another media member reminded me Starks was a state champion in the long jump at Jefferson. In the same group, it seemed Tykee Smith practiced without limitations.
Smart over the mic to his towards the end of our observation periods: “If you’ve already taken your helmet off, yo’ ass is soft.”
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