ATHENS — Kirby Smart put his Georgia football team back on the practice field Monday afternoon aiming for the sort of energy that has propelled the No. 1-ranked Bulldogs through a perfect season.

Smart admitted the Monday and Tuesday practices last week were not up to part with FCS-level Charleston Southern coming to Sanford Stadium for a non-televised game and predicted this week’s work to be “completely different” because of the opponent.

Georgia is a 35-point favorite over Georgia Tech in the noon game at Bobby Dodd Stadium in Atlanta, but there’s a level of familiarity at work.

“These kids were all recruited by Tech, (and) they know Tech’s players,” Smart said. “That (preparation) doesn’t concern me. Our guys are very mature and handle things very well.

“It was awesome at the game the other day to come out of it and approach this thing with a ‘will not be denied’ attitude,” he said. “We’re going out to play our best game. That’s our goal - play our best game of the season. How do we do that? We usually do that by practicing well.”

Practice observations

Jamaree Salyer was working with the offensive line and did not appear to carry any sort of injury marker. Broderick Jones has started in place of Salyer the past three games while the senior leader recovers from a foot injury. Smart has said Salyer has been healthy enough to play the past two games, indicating that he has been held out as a precaution.

Nolan Smith was working with the defensive with a brace on his arm. Smith was injured in the final minutes of the 41-17 win over Tennessee and did not play against Charleston Southern.

Dominick Blaylock was back in the same red jersey as all of his offensive teammates and did not appear to show any after-effects of the pulled hamstring that had most recently kept him out before he played last Saturday. Blaylock’s work against Charleston Southern were his first game snaps since the 2019 SEC Championship Game.

George Pickens was also running routes in the drills with the other receivers and looking just as fast and sharp. Pickens, however was wearing a black no-contact jersey. Smart said Saturday Pickens had certain metrics he needed to meet in strength tests before he could be cleared. Pickens suffered a torn ACL last March.

Kendall Milton was back running through drills, albeit, with a heavy brace on his leg. Milton suffered a sprained MCL in October and has missed the last three games. Smart said Milton was targeted to come back for the Georgia Tech game.

Christopher Smith was not seen on the practice field. Smart said UGA is still hopeful to get the senior safety back soon. Smith had a non-contact practice injury last week, Smart said, when his knee “buckled” unexpectedly.