Georgia football takes on Michigan in one of the College Football Playoff semifinals. Below you can find information on live updates, practice news as well as the latest injury report.
Georgia is coming off a 41-24 loss to Alabama, its first of the season. Michigan enters the game with a 12-1 record, having beaten Iowa in the Big Ten championship game. This will be the first time the two schools have met since 1965.
Georgia football-Michigan: Live updates, practice news
Dec 30, 9:00 a.m. update: Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh are set to speak with reporters at 9 a.m., the last media availability before Friday’s game.
Follow this link for a full transcript from Thursday’s press conference.
- “It’s never hard to enjoy it. If you don’t enjoy it, you’re in the wrong profession. I enjoy the smiles when they make a big play. The joy is in the relationships, not the expectations.” -- Kirby Smart on dealing with expectations.
- “To me, being physical is part of the sport. If you’re not going to be physical, you’re probably not going to be successful. Now, there’s hats on hats on the perimeter. You’re blocking more at receiver now more than ever. That’s put a premium more on being physical.” -- Kirby Smart on being physical.
- “We spoke when took the Oregon job. That’s not a major concern for me. It’s something many coaches have done. He delegates his time. He’s a great recruiter, he’s loyal to his players. He’s as invested in this as anyone is. He’s got a great staff with him. It’s not like he’s alone and he hasn’t been alone all year.” -- Kirby Smart on Dan Lanning.
- “James is a South Florida kid that is really tough that wants to play the game of football. He grew up down here, wants to play well. It means a lot to him to get to play down here. When he speaks, people listen. When he speaks it comes from the heart.” -- Kirby Smart on James Cook.
- Harbaugh mentions that Dax Hill, Michigan’s All-Big Ten safety, is questionable. Says they will know more today.
- “We’ve got our routine that we’ve go through. Get ourselves in a place where we’re just arriving to keep that routine the same. Do it just like we would a road game.” -- Smart on Georgia’s routine.
- “When they got married, it was like getting a second brother.” -- Jim Harbaugh on Tom Crean, who is married to Harbaugh’s sister.
- “It didn’t really mean anything to me. Just money.” -- Harbaugh on his contract changes.
- Smart mentions Micah Morris, Dylan Fairchild, Smael Mondon and the young defensive backs as the young players that have impressed during bowl practices.
- “Got a really tough team to play in Georgia. Can’t wait to watch our guys go compete.” -- Harbaugh on playing Georgia.
- “He’s a lot of energy. He coaches with a passion and style that I admire and respect.” -- Smart on Jim Harbaugh.
- “Huge meeting Hank Aaron. That was a really special day.” -- Harbaugh on meeting Hank Aaron.
- “What can we do better about everything?” Smart on Georgia’s approach after every game, not just a loss.
- “Sometimes, that’s the biggest improvement you can make after a loss.” -- Smart on the Alabama game.
- “The biggest difference is you feel an emotional tie. The hardest thing is the time that have an expectation for it.” -- Smart on coaching at your alma mater.
- Harbaugh says Daxton Hill is not currently in Florida.
Dec 29, 5:00 p.m. update: Georgia wrapped up its third practice in Miami on Wednesday, with most of the prep for the Michigan game now wrapped up.
The Bulldogs will hold one final walk-through on Thursday before taking on Michigan on Friday night. Georgia coach Kirby Smart and Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh will also address reporters on Thursday morning, offering up their final thoughts on the game.
“The fact that you’re in the playoff, it makes the practices so much more energetic,” Smart said on Wednesday. “The work ethic so much better, and coming off the loss at the SEC Championship, certainly disappointing, but it was also a little bit of an awakening for our guys of where the brutal truths and how can we work on those. You grow probably the most you grow in a year after a loss, and things are made a lot more relevant to you when you have those.”
Among other tidbits gleaned from Smart’s press conference on Wednesday was that Stetson Bennett is unequivocally the starting quarterback against the Wolverines.
Dec 29, 10 a.m. update: Georgia coach Kirby Smart is set to meet with reporters shortly. Offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer and defensive end Travon Walker will also meet with reporters as well.
You can find a full transcript of Smart’s remarks here.
- “Talent gets you so far. We’re excited about the defensive players we got. It seems in my years of coaching you have one or the other. Some really experienced in front teams and some really experienced teams in the secondary. This one is really experienced in the front.” -- Kirby Smart
- “It’s not every year you get to coach a defense like this.” -- Kirby Smart
- “Just across the country as a whole, you turn on the national news it’s the lead story. The NBA, the NFL, the bowl games that have been impacted. We’ve had protocols in place throughout the year. As Ron saw things starting to spike, we’ve had increased sensitivity to that. We had some bouts the last couple of weeks and lost some guys but we’ve gotten most of them back.” -- Smart on COVID issues with the team. Mentions booster shots have been offered four times to the team.
- “Being in the CFP is where you want to be.” -- Smart on playing in the College Football Playoff.
- “Coming off the loss of the SEC championship is a bit of an awakening.” -- Smart on the loss to Alabama.
- “Early on. When we recruited him, we thought he was different than the typical freshman. He’d put his phone down and sprint up a mountain. He worked out every day. He sent video of going to throwing sessions. You knew right away he had special first-step quickness. We felt pretty good he was a special player when we recruited him.” -- Smart on Brock Bowers.
- “I’m confident in Stetson and I’m confident in JT. I thought coach Monken did a great job of addressing it yesterday.” -- Smart on the quarterback position.
- “Michigan does a tremendous job of using their tight ends.” -- Smart on Michigan’s tight ends.
- “First thing you have to do is match their intensity.” -- Smart on Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo.
- “Stetson is the starting quarterback. The question is the situation right and is JT healthy enough.” -- Smart on the quarterback situation.
- “I think both of those guys are healthy. They weren’t able to do much lead up to the SEC championship. They had a week off and then had some good recovery time. Both of those guys, they work hard. It’s very important to them. There’s no way in the middle of the season to get 100 percent.” -- Smart on Chris Smith and Jamaree Salyer.
- “We play every game independent of the previous. We sit down as a staff and talk about it. I think Stetson has played at a high level. He has not played perfect by no means, but he’s played well. Our team understands we’re going to give the best opportunity to win.” -- Smart on Stetson Bennett.
- “Really at the end of the day, they’re both different quarterbacks and they’re both good.” -- Smart on Stetson Bennett and JT Daniels.
- “It’s definitely exciting. They’re very good at different things. Heard both of their names for about a month now. I’m sure they’re as excited to play me as I am excited to play them.” -- Jamaree Salyer on facing Michigan’s defensive ends.
- “COVID is affecting everybody. You just gotta be safe.” -- Salyer.
- “Everything requires work, strain and effort to perfect your craft.” -- Salyer on playing tackle.
- “Take everything seriously. Don’t take anything for granted. You can’t see the competitors all the time. This whole bowl practice, I haven’t seen Aidan Hutchinson but I’ve been competing against him the whole time.” -- Salyer on the defensive line.
- “I want his best and he wants my best. I just think we’re excited for the matchup.” -- Salyer on Aidan Hutchinson.
- “I feel good, really good actually. During that time off, we hit rehab hard. Body feels really good. Coach Smart has been managing the practices well.” -- Jamaree Salyer on his body. Salyer missed four games due to a foot injury.
- “Jamaree is one of those guys that just gives it his all every day.” -- Travon Walker on Jamaree Salyer.
- Walker says Georgia’s game against Kentucky was the most physical.
- “We’re just natural competitors. We have to go out and prove whatever they’re saying is wrong.” -- Travon Walker on the Georgia defense.
- “Just me coming to work and working on my skillset to affect the passer.” -- Walker on the Georgia pass rush and how it can bounce back.
- “They have a good offensive line unit. They do play physically. We have to attack them. Just strain more than they strain.” -- Walker on the Michigan offensive line.
Dec 28, 5 p.m. update: The Bulldogs have wrapped up their second practice in Miami, with the Bulldogs once again donning pads as they try and acclimate to the Miami heat.
Below are some photos as well as a video from the practice. Georgia will practice again on Wednesday and Thursday before playing in Friday’s game.
DawgNation’s Mike Griffith provided additional insight into Tuesday’s practice, which you can read here.
Brock Bowers was featured prominently in the video above, as the freshman tight end figures to play a big role in the Georiga offense come Friday. He leads the team in every major statistical category.
Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken praised Bowers when the former spoke to reporters on Tuesday.
“He works awfully hard at his craft. It’s important to him,” Monken said. “He doesn’t say a lot, he just works.”
Dec 28, 9 a.m. update: Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken will meet with reporters today to discuss the state of the UGA offense. We will also hear from Stetson Bennett, James Cook, Zamir White, Kearis Jackson and John FitzPatrick as well.
- “Everything that you work for in the offseason, that you point for, you’re here. Last week I thought we had a good week of practice and we’ve continued that here.” -- Todd Monken’s opening statement.
- “The reason Stetson Bennett plays, we think he gives us the best chance to win. That’s really the end of that question.” -- Monken on Stetson Bennett.
- “George has done a fantastic job of trying to get back. Trust in the knee, reps. He’s still a young player. He’s basically missed the last two springs. We’re still trying to work him in. He’s done a great job of getting back and helping the team.” -- Monken on George Pickens.
- “Not a lot in terms of our confidence in both players. I’m talking about me, at times we’ve undervalued his skillset. Some guys just combat that and fight and scratch and try to prove you wrong and that’s what Stetson did. It’s not so much what JT did but what Stetson did. Stetson got an opportunity and continued to win. Sometimes opportunity leads to things going in your direction. It never went back to where JT got a chance.” -- Monken on Stetson Bennett and JT Daniels.
- “When a player doesn’t play up to their own standard, we’re always looking to play our best players. There are times in games when our players don’t play our best. I think the body of work that Stetson had given us allowed us to carry that over into the next weeks.” -- Monken on the quarterback position.
- “Stetson Bennett is a hell of a player. So is JT Daniels. So is Carson Beck and we think Brock Vandagriff is going to be one as hell.” -- Monken on the quarterback position.
- “James is a tremendous football player and works hard all the time. He and Zamir are two of our hardest works. It’s fun to have guys like that. James has had a tremendous career here. I think he’s going to have a tremendous career at the next level.” -- Monken on James Cook.
- “When he first got here, we put GPS systems on the backs of our top 40 guys. Right away you could tell he only knew one speed. Right out of the jump, I wouldn’t have done it as a young player. Tight ends were running, he’d be 10 yards ahead of everybody. He only knows this way to work. He’s probably got more range than we thought. He’s continued to develop as a route runner. He doesn’t say a lot, he just works.” -- Monken on Brock Bowers.
- ““Obviously you can’t turn the ball over. That isn’t a Stetson problem, that’s a national problem. When you turn the ball over, you don’t give yourself a chance to win. If you look at the plays he’s made, he’s made national championship-winning plays. He has, you just turn on the film and look at some of the throws he makes. Some of the decisions he makes, the things he does with his feet. There’s no doubt in my mind we can win the national championship and there’s no doubt we can win it with Stetson Bennett. We went into the (SEC) championship game as a favorite, as a favorite, over a team that hasn’t been an underdog in five years. That ought to tell you a lot about our quarterback and how he played. For some reason, we get into this stereotyping of players based on where they were at some point. Be it one was a walk-on, one was a 5-star, Just look at the production and what he’s done for our football team, it’s impressive.” -- Monken on Bennett.
- “JT is a student of the game. He’ll be ready to go.” -- Monken on JT Daniels.
- You don’t know if you’re going to be able to process things fast enough or if he’s a freak athlete. Where he shines the most is how slowly the game comes for him and how football smart he is.” -- Stetson Bennett on Brock Bowers.
- “You want your play on the field to be the only determining factor. You don’t want to rely on anybody else. You want it to be in your hands.” -- Bennett on his play.
- “If you listen to them when how good you are, you’re going to listen to them when they’re telling you how bad you are. You can’t really put too much into how much people talk about something they know nothing about. You wouldn’t listen to me talk about heart surgery.” -- Stetson Bennett on blocking out the noise.
- “You can’t really do much in this game without talented players and they’re hungry to prove it in every single game.” -- Bennett on the Georgia defense.
- “I just gave him advice on what to do and the mindset. Just me being a leader, I’ve talked with him about that.” -- Zamir White on George Pickens.
- “My mindset is just grinding out. Just being the best leader and teammate I can be. I don’t really think about my injuries at all because my knees don’t bother me.” -- Zamir White on his college career.
- “I personally feel like that’s just part of the game. When you’re winning, fans love you. It’s just part of it. Keep on going, keep on being positive. Just know what your team is working.” -- Zamir White on bouncing back.
- “Just playing at the Hard Rock Stadium, it gives you chills. Just playing in front of my family, it’ll be good.” -- James Cook on playing in front of his hometown in Miami.
- “He been doing what he been doing all year. The stage ain’t too big for him to do anything extra. He’s just got to put us in the right situation to win.” -- James Cook on Stetson Bennett.
- “Everyone has seen George play and knows what he’s capable of doing. For him to come back from that injury is tremendous for not just himself but this game.” -- Kearis Jackson on George Pickens.
- “He’s not in this alone. He was receiving a lot of bad talk. We know we’re all here together. Not just him, but the whole team knows we have a bigger opportunity in the next game.” -- Kearis Jackson on Stetson Bennett.
- “I pretty much knew he had the talent to be one of the top tight ends in the country. He’s shifty and I knew he was going to be dangerous from the first time he got the ball in his hands.” -- Kearis Jackson on Brock Bowers.
- “We’re hungry and excited and ready for Friday.” -- John FitzPatrick on Friday’s game.
- “I’m excited for the challenge against him, he sets the edge well.” -- John FitzPatrick on blocking Aidan Hutchinson.
Dec 27, 7 p.m. update: Most of the Georgia team arrived on Sunday. But the Bulldogs added two key pieces on Monday, with George Pickens and JT Daniels joining the team in Miami.
Pickens posted on his Instagram account that he had made it to Miami, while Jake Rowe of Dawgs247 was the first to report that Daniels had cleared COVID-19 protocol and joined the team. Daniels had entered protocol last week.
The two join the team just hours after the CDC amended its quarantine and isolation policies, reducing the number of days suggested to be in isolation from 10 to five.
Georgia held its first practice in Miami on Monday, though it was closed to the media. The Bulldogs held a team outing on Monday at the beach after practice concluded. The Bulldogs also practiced in Athens on Sunday.
Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett will speak to reporters on Tuesday along with offensive coordinator Todd Monken. The two will likely speak about the Georgia quarterback situation, especially now that Daniels has joined the team.
ESPN’s Kirk Herbstreit offered his thoughts on the quarterback situation on a Zoom on Monday.
“Even with everything Bennett’s done, there are still people that cover the team and the fans that are like, ‘where is JT Daniels,’ Herbstreit said. “For example in the Michigan game, if he throws a pick you can just feel the energy go to ‘when is JT Daniels going to be in there? What the hell are they doing?’”
The Bulldogs will take on Michigan on Friday at 7:30 p.m. ET.
Dec 27, 8 a.m. update: Georgia defensive coordinator Dan Lanning will meet with reporters today to preview the upcoming game against Michigan. Lanning will be the new head coach at Oregon after the season, with Glenn Schumann and Will Muschamp serving as the co-defensive coordinator after Lanning leaves.
Georgia players Jordan Davis, Nakobe Dean, Lewis Cine, Quay Walker and Chris Smith will all speak with the media today as well.
- “I’m really proud of the work our team has done to get here. Our guys are eager and hungry to get out on the field here.” -- Dan Lanning
- “Our approach didn’t change. I think you give a lot of credit where credit is due. I think we’re hungry to go back out there and do it again.” -- Lanning on coming back off Alabama.
- “Our guys are excited to compete. The fact that we had a hiccup doesn’t change that. We recognize that opportunity in front of us and want to take advantage of it.” -- Lanning on Georgia moving forward.
- Lanning stresses he’s been able to focus on Georgia while balancing his responsibilities going forward with Oregon.
- “I think our kids would say they came here for one purpose. I give our players a lot of credit for how diligent they’ve been. We came here to win a football game.” -- Lanning
- “Michigan plays football. They show tremendous balance in the way they prepare. It’s going to be a physical football game.” -- Lanning on the Michigan offense.
- “Coach Muschamp has been invaluable to us. Our guys love being coached by Will. With his demeanor and approach, he’s been fun to be around.” -- Lanning on Will Muschamp.
- “You want to be able to affect the passer. Several close calls that we weren’t able to finish on. We have to find unique ways to create that pass rush.” -- Lanning on the Georgia pass rush.
- “Our approach has been the same it has been all season. Luckily with bowl prep, there is a lot of time. We’ll operate the way we have all season. I’ll still be making the calls. Everything will operate the way it has all season. ” -- Lanning confirms he’ll make the defensive play calls against Michigan.
- “Our players take a tremendous amount of pride.” -- Lanning on the defense going forward.
- “Glenn is a phenomenal coach. He cares about his players tremendously. He’s somebody I’ve leaned on my entire here at Georgia. He’s obviously extremely intelligent. He’s grown every year as a coach. We’re life-long learners in this group and Glenn is certainly an example of that.” --Lanning on Glenn Schumann.
- “The time off, for all of our players, has been important from a recovery standpoint. From a star standpoint, I know Poole and Brini have been attacking things.” -- Lanning on Chris Smith and the star position.
- “We’re trying to stay safe.” -- Nakobe Dean on the team arriving in Miami.
- “When we started back practicing we had a camp-style practice. I wouldn’t say there’s a falloff. We just have to continue to work and do what we do.” -- Nakobe Dean on the team bouncing back against Alabama.
- “We just gotta work, trust the game plan and execute. We didn’t have elite focus and elite execution.” -- Dean on the loss to Alabama.
- “We have an opportunity to do something that’s never been done before.” -- Dean.
- “As a coach, he’s great. He works as hard, if not harder, than we work on the field. He demands the best out of us. He was going to push me to be great. Day-in, day-out. I really respect him. Grateful for him for that.” -- Dean on Glenn Schumann.
- “We’re on to another opponent. Similar goal to win, but new gameplan. Just have to trust the gameplan.” -- Dean on switching from Alabama to Michigan.
- “My knee has been doing pretty well. I’m doing everything I can to play in this game. I’m putting in a lot of work to get my knee back right. Everything will be good.” -- Smith on his knee injury.
- “I don’t really want to disclose the percentage about my knee.” -- Smith on his knee injury.
- “They’re just stressing to us be safe and make good decisions. You can’t really dodge it right now, you just need to be safe.” -- Smith on the recent rise of COVID.
- “It stays the same. We always want to go out there and compete and get better.” -- Smith on the intensity at practice.
- “It didn’t put doubt in our mind. Things didn’t go how they wanted to go. We’re focused on Michigan, we’re focused on getting a win and continuing on with our season.” -- Smith on the game against Michigan.
- “I honestly know as little as you do. Probably 98 percent or 99 percent of the team is vaccinated. Other than that I don’t really know what’s going on.” -- Cine on the testing protocol.
- “We just went back to our fundamentals. Work on the fundamentals. Basically, the things people don’t seem to focus on.” -- Cine on the vibes at practice the past couple of weeks.
- “Making sure you communicate. From corner to safety. It’s those little things that make a difference when it comes to games. It’s why we’re really focused on that.” -- Cine on the fundamentals they’ve focused on.
- “Just his knowledge. Ever since me and coach Schumann have started, it’s been perfect. Mainly by him being so intelligent with the game has helped and that’s really stood out.” -- Walker on Glenn Schumann.
- “Just run and hit.” -- Walker on slowing down the Michigan running game.
- “At the end of the day, it came down to the team that played the best game. They were the better team that day. We didn’t do our job on defense. We didn’t turn the ball over, didn’t sack the quarterback. Just gotta do what we gotta do and take care of everything else.” -- Walker on the loss to Alabama.
- “That was the main goal. Seeing the 2017 team and going to the Rose Bowl and winning, that’s a place we wanted to do as well. It’s not easy getting here, but things will happen for you.” -- Walker on the 2018 recruiting class.
- “The Dawgs don’t beat the Dawgs. Other than that, everything should play out how we want to play out.” -- Walker on playing Michigan.
- “They’re definitely a physical team. I can’t really compare them. Each team is different.”-- Davis on the Michigan defense.
- “Coach Schumann is a tremendous coach. Highly respected. Every time I’m around him I learn something new. Coach Schu is a great coach and that’s what impresses me the most.” -- Davis on Glenn Schumann
- “That’s the first I’m hearing of that. You lose some and you work on getting better. You just have to keep moving forward.” -- Davis on the Georgia defense.
- “It’s all about timing, it’s all about chemistry. It takes timing from the OLBs. It’s definitely a timing thing.” -- Davis on the twists and stunts run by the defensive line.
- “You have to continue to move in the future. Just keep moving forward.” -- Davis on not thinking about the Alabama game.
- “We’re just excited to be here and have fun in Miami.” -- Davis on the Georgia game.
Dec 26, 12 p.m. update: The Michigan Wolverines arrived in Miami on Saturday as they get to the bowl site a day before the Bulldogs.
Two Michigan players met with the media to preview the game, with Michigan defensive end Aidan Hutchinson sharing his thoughts on the Georgia offense.
“They have a talented offense and a lot of solid players,” Hutchinson said. “But I think if we just execute and just do our jobs and don’t get too hyped up in the moment. We’re going to be just fine, and I think we’ll have a lot of success if we just hone in and focus on our jobs and don’t let the moment get too big.”
Hutchinson finished second in Heisman Trophy voting after he led the Big Ten in sacks this season. The Wolverines also have another star edge rusher in David Ojabo, who finished with 11.0 sacks.
Michigan played one of its best defensive games of the season against Iowa in the Big Ten championship game, as the Hawkeyes were held to 3 points and went 5-19 on third down.
Offensively, Michigan was led by its ground game this season. The Wolverines will lean on their running backs, as Hassan Haskins and Blake Corum combined for 31 rushing touchdowns.
Quarterback Cade McNamara though is no slouch, throwing 15 touchdowns to 4 interceptions while completing 64 percent of his passes.
McNamara hopes that despite the nearly month off between games that Michigan will be able to carry over their excellent play from the Big Ten championship game.
“I think we’ve honestly done a really good job of picking right up where we left off at the Big Ten Championship over the last couple of weeks in practice,” McNamara said. “I think as we come back here as the environment shifts just a little bit, I think myself and the other leaders on this team are just going to do the best we can to make sure that that momentum carries into practice because however we practice it’ll reflect to how we play in the game.”
Georgia is set to arrive in Miami shortly before 4 p.m. ET. Most of the Bulldogs arrived back in Athens on Saturday night after some brief time off for the holidays. Though, like most Americans, a few Bulldogs had some travel troubles, as Kelee Ringo shared some of the difficulties he had in getting back to Athens.
Dec 22, 9 a.m. update: The big news on Tuesday was that JT Daniels is one of the Georgia players in COVID-19 protocol. You’re likely wondering what comes next and what the path to a return looks like for not just Daniels but anyone on the Georgia team that tests positive.
For starters, it’s important to clarify that per the SEC and NCAA testing policy, Georgia only has to test vaccinated players if they are showing symptoms. Georgia coach Kirby Smart has maintained that Georgia has a high vaccination rate, with it being believed over 90 percent of the team has been vaccinated.
According to sources, Daniels has been vaccinated.
“We’ve got a large portion of our team that’s been vaccinated and continues to be diligent about that,” Smart said last Wednesday. “We ask the guys that aren’t to be extra safe. We’ve taken some precautions around the building and to be smart. It’s certainly that time of year, we had a little bout with the flu there that made me concerned as well about COVID. Here in the last couple of days, we’ve been on top of it and our guys are understanding that we have to be safe and cannot lose anybody at this time. Ron and his staff have been incredible.”
DawgNation’s Mike Griffith reported that Georgia is offering booster shots to Georgia players today, while Michigan as a team is getting its booster shot on Wednesday.
In the event of a positive test for a vaccinated player that has shown symptoms, said player must quarantine for 10 days from the outset of said symptoms. If Daniels began showing symptoms on Monday and received his test results on Tuesday, he could possibly return on Dec. 30, in the event that he is no longer showing symptoms by that date.
As far as close contacts, such as the other quarterbacks in the quarterback room, the SEC defines close contacts as the following:
- Student-athletes on either side of positive student-athletes
- Student-athletes directly across from positive student-athletes
- Sideline/courtside/dugout/team bench area
- Position/unit meeting areas
- Any student-athlete who comes into direct contact with secretions of an infected student-athletes through oral, nasal, or eye mucosa.
- Any student-athlete identified through proximity monitoring devices, if utilized.
Close contacts do not join Daniels in quarantine in the event they are vaccinated. Per the NCAA’s policy close contacts must “mask in public indoor settings for 14 days with discontinuation if a COVID-19 test is performed three to five days after exposure and is negative, or if the assessment does not reveal high risk.”
Georgia players have stated as well to an increase in mask enforcement in the building as a way to try and prevent anyone missing the game against Michigan.
“We don’t want to lose any players to something we can kind of prevent, by putting back on our masks, so that has been a conversation,” defensive end Travon Walker said. “It’s by choice, but the type of team we have, the guys don’t want to risk missing the game because it’s so big to us, so we’re starting to put back our masks on our own.”
The Bulldogs will leave for Miami on Sunday and play Michigan on Dec. 31 in Miami. The game is scheduled for a 7:30 p.m. ET start.
Dec 21, 10 a.m. update: Georgia defenders Travon Walker and Nolan Smith will meet with the media on Tuesday to preview the upcoming game against Michigan.
- “After that SEC championship game, we had a lot we wanted to work on. It is something that our defense has to step in. We have to make a statement. ” -- Travon Walker on the Georgia defense.
- “It is kind of different. They like to run the ball. They use a lot of NFL formations.” -- Travon Walker on the game against Michigan.
- “We have to handle our business on the field. We’re down there for a business trip.” -- Walker on playing in Miami.
- “One thing that I can say helped me is conditioning-wise. Running harder so I can play as many snaps as I need to.” -- Walker on what he has worked on since the Alabama game.
- “The mission is still the same. Just have to keep moving forward.” -- Walker on Dan Lanning leaving.
- “We have to get out there and play our ball. Be the most physical team out there.”
- Walker adds he is the best basketball player on the Georgia team.”
- “I know my body is worth a couple of million dollars so I just have to take care of it.”
- “We don’t lose anybody to anything we can prevent, by doing things like putting on our masks.” -- Walker on the rising covid cases in the country.
- “With the type of team that we have, we don’t want to risk missing this game. A lot of guys are putting their masks back on.” -- Walker on COVID.
- “Wearing masks in the building, that’s a big thing for us. Anything to do to win games, that’s not out of the question. I’m going to see my grandmother, hunting with my uncle, I don’t want to get them sick.” -- Smith on wearing masks again.
- “New life. Coach Smart has said it, it’s a one-game season. I think a lot of guys are ready to work. Now that we have this opportunity we have to seize it.” -- Nolan Smith on bouncing back.
- “I couldn’t sleep at night, so I watched the film as many times as I could. Places we could’ve been better. We didn’t pass rush well and that’s on me. There was a lot of things we could’ve done better.” -- Smith on the Alabama loss.
- “When Lorenzo blocked that field goal and Tae did that thing at halftime, a lot of people counted us out there. I’ll be able to tell my kids this forever, that we made it to the College Football Playoff.” -- Smith on Georgia’s last trip to the College Football Playoff.
- Smith mentions working on his hands and secondary pass-rushing moves. “Hands are a big thing for me.”
- “As far as for me, I try to talk to coach Tuck. He’s got a lot on his plate. He just told me straight up, “You should go in there and give them a good shot.” -- Nolan Smith
- Smith mentions that Jarvis Jones is back on the team. Mentions how he helps the team.
- Smith mentions Will Muschamp gave him a big offer when he was the coach at South Carolina.
- “He’s still my coach at the end of the day. I’m happy for him. When he lines up against those Dawgs next year he better know what’s coming.” -- Smith on Dan Lanning
- Smith speaks very highly of Aidan Hutchinson and praises the way he plays.
Dec. 20, 10 a.m. update: The Bulldogs continue to practice on Monday as they gear up for the upcoming game against Michigan. Tight end John FitzPatrick and offensive lineman Warren McClendon will meet with the media shortly to update where things stand.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart also spoke on Monday.
Kirby Smart on the quarterbacks:
“Yeah we don’t disclose that information, we just talk about the guys that are doing their job. All four of those guys have done a tremendous job working. Brock (Vandergriff) has been giving us a great picture down on the scout team end. JT (Daniels) and Stetson (Bennett) are both doing a really good job simulating the offense that Coach Monken wants to do. Like I talk about all the team, we are going to play the guy that gives us the best chance to win. I am really proud of the way both of those guys have practiced. We have done four or five camp-type practices and two that were really focused on Michigan. Both guys Stetson and JT have been really good in terms of being locked-in and really focused on what we need to focus on.”
Kirby Smart on the festivities of the Orange Bowl:
“I think the fun is in the preparation. The fun is in the atmosphere that you get to play in. I think when you get to talk about CFP it is a tremendous opportunity. No matter where you play, no matter where you are in the playoffs you have a grand opportunity. We have a very mature team, we have great leaders, I have full faith and confidence that our guys will handle it the right way. They are also going to be down there for almost a week, so it is not to think that if we were having a game here and it was a big game in Athens for a week our guys all prepare different ways. They spend their time in different locations. I have a lot of confidence that the seniors and the older players will have a good time, a good experience, and when it is time to be focused, be focused. You can’t focus 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, and be at your best. We are trying to build to a moment of truth and built that kind of energy and focus where we need it to be at game time.”
Kirby Smart on the injury front:
“Both Chris (Smith) and Jamaree (Sawler) have been practicing. Chris has been a little more limited in terms of volume but he has practiced each and every day. He is still overcoming his knee but he has been doing a great job. Jamaree has been out there every practice doing a good job. He has actually gotten a lot more work, he didn’t actually get a lot of work before the SEC Championship Game, so he has been able to practice. We have actually had an opportunity to get a lot of young guys to work in the time building up to our game prep. Proud of all the work that all the guys have done. There are no injuries that I can think of right now, significant. Ladd (McConkey) has been a little bit banged up and he has missed some time. But we expect him back and that is really it.”
Kirby Smart on the team’s reaction to the loss to Alabama: “The biggest thing is we are always technical with our players and we are always really truthful and honest. If you sat in our meetings and know that in a lot of the games that people might say that we dominated or held guys to lower points, we didn’t play really well. So, we don’t do it any differently based on the outcome, we do it based on how we execute, how we perform, not just on statistics. We have talked to our defense about that, we are very technical and honest, ‘what can we do better? How can we improve? How can we take away what the opponent does?’ Michigan does a tremendous job, they are very multiple, they have a lot of personnel groupings. They are extremely physical and they are committed to being physical. They can play in space, they have really good athletes. We know that they have a tremendous team. Their offensive coordinator was at Alabama and has done a great job. The challenge is there and we have really worked hard on ourselves, fundamentally and to self-scout, ' what are we giving up? What are people seeing on us? What changes can we make that would be beneficial for us?” That has all been our focus, is how do we get better fundamentally not about the last game.”
Kirby Smart On the confidence in JT Daniels after injuries: “JT has done a tremendous job in all of our practices and all of our work. Being able to be effective and understanding what we have to do offensively and making decisions. We get to see him go sometimes against the two defense, sometimes he gets to go against the one defense, just depending on what we are working on. He has done a good job of doing that.”
- “I’d say we have a chip on our shoulder after the last game. We’re hungry and excited.” -- John FitzPatrick on moving on past the game against Alabama.
- “During that game we handled adversity well.”
- “George is a baller. Everyone knows that and we know he’s going to make plays whenever he is on the field. He’s continuing to get better.” -- FitzPatrick on George Pickens.
- “It’s going to be a challenge. A big front seven. I think we’re going to be up for the challenge.”
- FitzPatrick confirms Georgia has begun working on preparing for Michigan. Mentions Marlin Dean and Chaz Chambliss as guys who are working in that Aidan Hutchinson type role.
- “Losing the SEC championship game left a bad taste in our mouth. We’re eager to get back to our grind and get back to our work.” -- Warren McClendon on getting back to work.
- “He’s a high effort guy. He’s always going to give his best effort so matching that effort is huge.” -- Warren McClendon on Hutchinson
- “Coach Lanning still comes in and works. He gets the best out of his players no matter where he is at.” -- Warren McClendon on Dan Lanning.
- “For the most part, it is strictly business. We have a goal that we’re working to so I’m pretty sure we’ll be locked into that.” -- Warren McClendon on playing in the College Football Playoff.
- “I think you can get a lot better. You get a lot of extended reps.” -- Warren McClendon on getting better in practice in the near month off between games.
- McClendon mentions Micah Morris and Dylan Fairchild as guys who have gotten better over the course of practices so far.
Dec. 5, 4 p.m. update: Georgia football coach Kirby Smart met with reports to preview the College Football Playoff game. The semifinal will be played in Miami.
Opening statement” Thank you so much. …It’s a tremendous, event, usually great weather. I know the players really enjoy getting to go down to South Florida, practice outside, enjoy all the sights and sounds. We’re looking forward to the opportunity to play a first-class organization that has meant so much to the University of Georgia. Then I’ve got a lot of respect for Michigan. Coach Harbaugh’s team. I got to see a little bit of their game last night. I’ve seen a few of their games on TV throughout the season when we had some late kicks and they had some early ones. I’ve got a lot of respect for the job they’ve done. I’ve always respected him as a college coach and pro coach. Obviously, with his brother-in-law being Tom Crean, Tom and I have grown to be good friends and a mutual respect for their family. So I know our university is certainly excited about representing in the College Football Playoff. And our players today are enthused to get this opportunity and get a chance to go back out and play.”
On big plays allowed in secondary. Miscommunication? Guys in right spots?”A little bit of both. There were a couple of plays with miscommunication and a couple of plays we just got beat. They did it better than we did it and we didn’t get a lot of pressure. It was a combination of both, The big one early was a bust. Then a couple of other ones. We had them man and we just got beat. When you play that kind of offense, you’ve got to win some 1-on-1 battles and we didn’t win enough of those.”
On Stetson and JT and playing in Miami for the first time since 1960...”I didn’t realize that. I think maybe Claude (Felton) told me that. I wasn’t aware of that. I didn’t know it was 1960. That’s a long time ago. I know our fans will be excited and the matchup with Michigan certainly excites a lot of our fan base and our school. Our president used to work at Michigan, and also Tom Crean and is family being connected to Coach Harbaugh. I think that’s a great matchup and certainly excited to go play in one of the best bowls that are out there and a lot of our players have not had that opportunity. So, that part will be cool.”
As far as the Stetson-JT question, no, we never discussed that on the headphones last night. Obviously, we have to play better in a lot of areas, but to put any part of that blame or all of that blame on Stetson, there was a lot more to it. We’ve got to play better around him, we’ve got to play better on special teams and defense, really all facets of the game. There were some really, really good throws last night by Stetson, so only his guys could catch the ball. We’ve got to continue to work on some of the poor decisions in a couple of throws there that were picked off.”
Team atmosphere right now and today’s announcement on the playoff...”I’ve only been able to be around the players very little because we got in late last night. We graded the tape this morning and kind of worked through that. We had a team meeting after it was known where we’re playing and kind of went over the schedule going forward.”The players had unbelievable energy, communication, talking about moving forward. A lot of them wanted to know what the schedule was going to be so they could get back to work. I look at it all the time, you have to be brutally honest with yourself at time like this. You have to be willing to say who are we, what are we doing well and maybe we aren’t as good as we thought we were in some areas, where can we improve. Sometimes you can only see that through a loss. Sometimes you can see it through a victory, but these guys were great today, they wanted to have a player’s meeting so a couple of guys got up and spoke on their own. They were In a really good space today.”
Depth in the secondary, building on it, and William Poole playing so much against Alabama...”It is hard to add to depth. If anything, you’re trying to grow the younger players, right? We’re trying to get those guys ready whether it’s Javon Bullard, David Daniel, Kamari Lassiter, to grow those guys and get them better and get them to where they can be quality backups or starters. I think all three of those guys have gotten a lot better because they’ve gotten so many reps throughout practice and things. But they’re not ready to start. They’re not ahead of anybody else and in some ways you have who you have and then you have to develop that roster and get them better.”
Our guys have played well at times this year and each guy has had some poor plays where we haven’t made plays on the ball downfield. And our front has really protected them a lot of the way and that was evident last night when you get zero sacks and you pressure as much as we did, you’re probably going to have some one-on-one situations that you don’t win them all. We’re going to go back to work at it and work really hard.”
We felt like Poole gave us... You know Poole has been working at corner since he’s been in our place and he’s really more corner by nature and covers and has got some speed. And when you watch him last night, he covered some guys really well and then we also had some mental busts that we’ve got to help him with and make it simpler so he can get out there and help us. But we felt like he would give us the best chance, especially with Chris (Smith) being up in the air. Chris wasn’t able to practice much last week, only took a few reps, but thankfully he was able to go in the game. He was a guy who played STAR against Tennessee and he just didn’t get many reps this past week.”
Early impressions of Michigan...”It would be really unfair to say that, we just found out we’re playing them. The biggest thing I noticed was the physicality they played with last night. The leadership they had. I was thoroughly impressed with the interviews that I saw among their players post-game. I think you can always tell where a team stands and what they’re all about by what they talk about, the messaging. To hear those guys talk after the game was really impressive. They’re a senior-laden, senior-driven team that leads that way.”
Thoughts on the Georgia pass rush against Alabama...”Surprised, I don’t know if that’s the right word or disappointed that we weren’t able to. It’s hard Seth because after watching the tape there were times we did not get pressure but when we got pressure we got beat. We didn’t finish on the quarterback, meaning he outran the guy. He’s really elite at avoiding bad plays, meaning you’re about to get him and he gets rid of it and it’s not a sack. Or he’s going down and he throws a completion on third and four off the goal line and the next thing you know, they drive down and score. We got pressure, we didn’t finish and we didn’t cover at a premium. And a lot of it has to do with him. Him being a good athlete and their skill guys outside beating us one-on-one. Against other teams when we didn’t pressure, we didn’t get exposed. When you don’t pressure this guy and you don’t put a body on a body, he’s so accurate. And they’re dynamic against zone. Their numbers are just staggering when you play zone against them. They do a great job of that. You have to find ways to get him on the ground and pressure him.”
On plan for George Pickens and getting him involved...”He worked a little more this last week, and it’s a progression that we feel like we’re comfortable with, he feel like he’s comfortable with, the doctors are comfortable with in terms of volume. Some of that’s on him from a conditioning standpoint that he continues to work on. Some of it is the ability to get the reps. You can’t catch up the reps and get everything that happens. But I thought he did a nice job last night in the role that he was in, understanding what his job was. He made a couple of plays. I don’t know how many plays he ended up playing, but he certainly is growing in that. Some of that is also missing some other guys who are talented. We were able to throw the ball vertical and a lot of them ended up being pass interferences, things like that that prevented big plays. But George is a guy that, number one he’s not one hundred percent, he’s not his old self yet. We see that from some of the numbers. But he’s getting better, he’s improving, and if he continues to work like he has, he’s going to get more opportunities.”
On how the staff will balance bowl prep and recruiting between now and signing day, if he’d consider making JT Daniels the starter for the bowl game...”I’ve addressed that (quarterbacks) already. But as far as the recruiting, yeah, we’re all about recruiting. We’ll be all out this week. We missed last week, and it’s unfortunate that we missed last week, but fortunate that we got to play in the game that we got to play in. That exposure covers a lot of that up. But we’re trying to kind of double down and see as many guys as we can this week because it goes dead on us here soon. We’ve got a big official visit weekend this coming weekend, so all of our guys will be out. Our players have a little time off. When I say off, I mean off from practice. They’ll be lifting, they’ll be running. We’ve got a program kind of set up for those guys, and we’ll be getting back into it on the back end of the week as we come off the road.”
Can you pull anything from the first Playoff experience that can help you this year?”Yeah I think so. I certainly think having an experience as a coach, organizing it, and knowing what’s about to happen. You’ve basically got three-and-a-half to four weeks that you’ve got to try to manage better than four other programs. We’re all at square one. Nobody’s really ahead of anybody else. It’s like the beginning of a new season. So who manages the next three-and-a-half, four weeks best, in terms of awards shows, final exams, Christmas break, practices, bowl time, there’s a lot that goes into that. Weight discipline. It’s a competition. So whoever handles that best is going to have one foot forward and be ahead of the other. And we want to manage that the right way. And I think having done that one time certainly helps us from understanding what we need to get done, how to prepare, and those things.”
Michigan DE Aiden Hutchinson, what catches your eye...”Yeah, No. 1 I was really impressed with his interview last night, and then again today. I caught him on, I forget who he was on with, but the college football playoff coverage, and you could tell, high motor, high intensity, serious, just a talented player. And it’s funny last night when I got home and turned the game on, I was watching it, I’ve got a nine-year-old son who loves college football, he just watches everything, YouTube. And he started telling me about Michigan’s players. And that’s the first guy he started telling me about. I’m like, How does my nine-year-old son know about him. He knew everything about him, and was giving me all these stats. I was pretty amazed, because I really just started to fill myself in on Michigan last night, and he was talking about him.”
Does this feel like a chance for a make-good on last night?”I don’t know if that term fits it, but I do think we have our players in a position of being a sponge, being able to embrace everything. They’ll listen twice as hard now than probably they would have had they won last night. And like I said repeatedly, if you went down the stat line that says you’re playing a team the caliber of Alabama, you lose the turnover battle two to zero, one was a pick-six, you lose the red zone battle, you lose third downs, you’re probably not going to come out ahead. It’s something you can’t do when you play good football teams. And that includes all the teams in the CFP. So it’s a great learning experience for our guys to understand that now you’ve got to go look at yourself in a mirror and say, We’ve got to figure out what’s the best thing we do. And how do we get better at this point.
And I do think you can get better at this point, and I think our guys got a good awakening of that, and they’ll do nothing but work hard now to be the best they can be. We haven’t played the best version of ourselves, I’ve said that all year, and that’s our job as coaches to get the best version of them out, and we’ve got to do that.”
Georgia football-Michigan: Injury report
Kearis Jackson (probable, ribs), Jamaree Salyer (questionable, foot), Chris Smith (questionable, knee), JT Daniels (questionable, COVID-19), Kendall Milton (questionable, knee), Ladd McConkey (questionable, lower body), Arian Smith (out, knee), Tykee Smith (out, knee), Trezmen Marshall (out, knee), Rian Davis (out, quad), Jalen Kimber (out, shoulder), Tate Ratledge (out, foot)
Georgia football-Michigan: Game time, TV channel for College Football Playoff game
The Georgia football-Michigan game is set for a 7:30 p.m. start. The game will on ESPN.
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