Category: UGA Football

UGA Football: Smart, Lovett, Williams and Beck Talk Season Prep

ATHENS, Ga. — University of Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, junior wide receiver Dominic Lovett, sophomore defensive lineman Mykel Williams and junior quarterback Carson Beck spoke with the media Wednesday afternoon and offered the following comments.

Head Coach Kirby Smart
On Ernest Green, Raylen Wilson and Branson Robinson’s health… 
“Ernest was able to go yesterday some of the time, he’s dealing with a little bit of an ankle sprain, but he worked out and ran on Monday and practiced about 50 percent of the reps yesterday. We think he’s going to be okay. Raylen is still dealing with a hyperextended knee. Branson had a significant injury yesterday. He had a non-contact ruptured patellar tendon. So, he will be out for the season. Tough, tough break for him. He was coming back from a toe injury on the other leg and he was actually not even in a contact drill, he cut, planted and ruptured the patellar tendon. He’ll make a full recovery, but he will unfortunately be out for the season, which puts us in a tough situation at back. Kendall [Milton] has actually been taking some more reps, he’s been able to do some things, but he’s not at 100 percent. Andrew [Paul] is getting a ton of reps, Roderick [Robinson II] is getting a ton of reps, Cash [Jones] has been getting a ton of work. It’ll be done by committee as it always has been here. I hate it for Branson because he had really worked hard. By the end of the spring, when he had the turf toe, he was battling back all offseason, he’s had a great summer and looked really good in the days leading up to this injury.”

On the differences between preparing the team for a full season and for a specific opponent…
“It’s very different in terms of what we do at practice. We do a lot more against each other while we prepare for the season, it’s a lot more about mental toughness – going in the heat, pushing through, developing the entire roster. When you start game planning for a game, it’s exactly that. You start game planning for a game. Now, we’re not to that point yet. We’re not working on our opponent, we take this week and work on several of our future opponents so that we have footage and material, where I would say 25 percent of the practice is focused on an opponent and 75 percent of the practice is focused on us. Because at the end of the day, we’re trying to get us better. By Friday, our focus will have turned to our opponent.”

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UGA Football: Fourteen Dogs Named To Preseason Coaches All-SEC Team

ATHENS, Ga. — Fourteen Bulldogs, including a league high 10 on the First Team, were included on the 2023 Preseason Coaches All-Southeastern Conference Team, according to a league announcement Tuesday.

Junior tight end Brock Bowers, junior receiver Ladd McConkey, junior tackle Amarius Mims, redshirt sophomore guard Tate Ratledge and junior Sedrick Van Pran were named to the First Team offense while sophomore lineman Mykel Williams, senior lineman Nazir Stackhouse, junior linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, sophomore safety Malaki Starks and junior defensive back Javon Bullard were voted to the defense’s First Team.

Second Team Bulldog selections included senior running back Kendall Milton, senior guard Xavier Truss, junior linebacker Smael Mondon and junior defensive back Kamari Lassiter.

The Bulldogs start their 2023 campaign at home versus UT Martin in Sanford Stadium on Sept. 2. ESPN+/SEC+ will cover the matchup at 6 p.m.

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