ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart has a good feel for where his football team is at, and in key respects he is far from satisfied per his press conference on Saturday.

The preseason No. 1-ranked Bulldogs remain one of the most talented and accomplished programs in the country, setting a high bar for themselves accompanied by soaring expectations based on past accomplishments.

There are several positive things to be excited about with this team, among them:

• Talented, deep and experienced offensive line

• Elite and explosive pass catchers in Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey

• Playmaking safety duo in Malaki Starks and Javon Bullard

• Strong linebacker play at the second level anchored by Jamon Dumas-Johnson

But Smart went out of his way following Georgia’s opening fall scrimmage — which was closed to the media and public — to emphasize how far this group has to go if it’s to maintain lofty standards.

“I think so many people make an assumption off of last year’s team and their accomplishments,” Smart said. “This team, number one, I asked them after the scrimmage and after we ran, ‘What have you done to deserve anything you’ve gotten?’ And they’ve done nothing. They’ve done nothing.

“We’ve got to get the right guys in the right spots, find the guys that can really tough it out and compete.”

Here are 3 key concerns noted from Scrimmage One:

QB competition continues

If rising fourth-year quarterback Carson Beck had impressed enough to be named the starter, he would be getting a large majority of reps with the Ones and the offense would be getting built more around his skills.

As is, Beck and Brock Vandagriff continue to split reps with the Ones, while Gunner Stockton impressed on Saturday while working with and against backups.

Beck and Vandagriff both missed on open throws and neither was overly impressive per Smart and others who attended. The head coach also noted there were plenty of dropped passes, including one pass that went right through Arian Smith’s hands and was intercepted.

While it’s fair to say the strong-armed Beck is the leader and still likely to start the first game, Vandagriff brings a running threat to the position and will continue to compete into the season.

Stockton is coming along at a nice clip but reps telegraph his place on the depth chart.

Interior D-line drop-off

Smart suspected in the spring Georgia wouldn’t have the same sort of “train wreckers” it has had in the past at tackle, and that appears to be playing out as high-ceiling freshman Jordan Hall isn’t where the head coach would like him to be.

“Jordan Hall is coming along, he had a tough day,” Smart said after the scrimmage. “He’s got to grow up and be able to help us and play and be disruptive.”

There are tough, reliable veterans ahead of Hall at defensive tackle, as Smart noted.

“We’ve got some really tough, hard workers in there, (but) I don’t know that we have a dominant, disruptive, super hard to block guy,” he said.

“I think we’ve got to create that through our athleticism on the perimeter and our athleticism at backer, but we have some guys that believe in the core values of our defensive program which is to strike blockers, knock the hell out of them, knock them back.”

Backfield limitations

Perhaps if that wasn’t the Georgia defense on the other side of the football it would have looked better in the scrimmage on Saturday.

The hamstring injury to Kendall Milton is concerning, as the rising senior has flashed dynamic talent at times throughout his career and was projected to be a key player in the team’s championship hopes.

Freshman Roderick Robinson might be the best runner out of the backfield at this time, though assistant Dell McGee pointed out last week there’s plenty of work for him to do in other areas.

Georgia’s tailbacks have played key roles beyond the run game the past two seasons, presenting explosive options with James Cook and Kenny McIntosh making plays downfield as well as out of the backfield.

This year’s running backs room, especially with Milton’s future in question, could be challenged to produce at a championship level when matched against SEC competition.