ATHENS — The Georgia football team held their fourth practice of the spring on Tuesday, once again going full pads.
“A lot of competition out there,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “As a whole, the overall feels probably a little younger than what I remember in the past. Maybe it’s the total number of new players. In terms of midyears, I think we’re up a little bit in midyears. We’ve broken a new record every year with more and more midyears, and then the addition of the portal guys. It’s just a lot of new faces out there.”
Players are getting more comfortable, as both young and old faces made plays during practice.
With the Bulldogs almost a third of the way done with spring practice, here are a few players that stood out to DawgNation.
Quarterback Carson Beck:
Beck is supposed to standout at practice. He’s expected to be one of the best players in the country. While we haven’t seen Beck line up and run good-on-good, there’s a calmness with Beck at practice.
This time last year, he was trying to prove that he was THE guy for Georgia. This year, he’s removed any doubt and exudes confidence.
“He’s making crazy throws that everyone knew he could always make but now I think he has the confidence to do that every play,” tight end Oscar Delp said. “He already had that, but it’s just more comfortable. It’s his offense, he’s leading it and you can tell that he is.”
Running back Roderick Robinson
For as much chatter as there has been about Trevor Etienne, it was the sophomore Robinson who made a standout play on Tuesday. He plowed through Ellis Robinson during a perimeter Oklahoma drill.
Perhaps that should be expected, given Roderick Robinson is over 60 pounds heavier than the freshman cornerback. Still, it’s encouraging to see Robinson run with such confidence.
Georgia’s rushing attack could really benefit from Robinson stepping up, emerging possibly as a thunder option to Etienne’s lighting.
Wide receiver Arian Smith
Smith has flown under the radar this offseason, as he elected to return to Georgia for a fifth season. He was finally able to stay healthy in 2023, only to struggle with confidence and drops.
But he made a big catch in Georgia’s SEC championship loss to Alabama and seems to have carried some confidence into the offseason.
Smith has been leading Georgia’s wide receiver group in drills. On Tuesday, he earned some praise from James Coley for how Smith competed in a drill.
Smith’s speed is a game-changer and if he’s able to do the little things well for the Bulldogs, he could play a big role for Georgia this fall.
Outside linebacker Damon Wilson
Wilson made it a goal to bulk up this season. One quick look at him on the practice field shows he’s been attacking the weight room.
Wilson is listed at 240 pounds and looks like someone who will be much more capable of holding the edge in Georgia’s season.
It’s also worth noting that Wilson was getting first-team reps in dime package look for Georgia opposite Mykel Williams during a drill. It’s probably not worth reading too much into that one look, but Wilson could give Georgia’s pass rush some real bite.
“He’s putting more muscle on his frame,” outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss said. “Obviously it allows him to do more stuff in the run game, being able to set more edges. Mentally he’s been able to take what we do as a defense and expand his mind to not just his pass rush but also coverage and in the run game doing stunts.”
Inside linebacker Justin Williams
Not every freshman had a “Welcome to Georgia” moment like Robinson did on Tuesday. Freshman linebacker Justin Williams, also a 5-star prospect, had a nice tackle in the perimeter Oklahoma drill.
That Williams doesn’t stand out physically at his position speaks to how loaded the inside linebacker room is for the Bulldogs. And this is a group that doesn’t have senior Smael Mondon this spring.
Williams is an elite athlete. And he should only get better with the more experience he gets under his belt.
“These guys are a hard-working group,” Walker said of the freshman linebackers. “They fit very well in the inside backer room. Can’t wait to watch them grow during the spring.”
