ATHENS — Having once been one himself at Georgia, Kirby Smart loves an underdog story as much or more than anyone else in college football.

But more than that, the Bulldogs’ head coach appreciates players who give their all and are reliable, so when Smart singles out players for praise it should not be taken lightly.

Most everyone knows the Stetson Bennett walk-on, to junior college, to fourth-stringer, to Hesiman Trophy finalist story.

Georgia fans have also seen Eric Stokes go from lightly-regarded 3-star recruit and redshirted freshman to first-round NFL draft pick.

Ladd McConkey is the offensive version of Stokes, a player overlooked by many who redshirted and has now stepped into a starring role and onto NFL radar.

The Bulldogs produce break out players each spring, and Smart identified a few during a podcast with ESPN’s Rece Davis and Pete Thamel.

“We’ve got a kid that’s going to be one of our returners and slot receivers in Mekhi Mews, he was great in the spring game he made some plays in the spring game,” Smart said.

“But man, he has had a really good camp and he wants to eat off the floor every day,” Smart said. “He’s 5-foot-8, 185 pounds and he’s blocking and playing bigger than he is.”

Smart appreciates toughness and durability in Georgia receivers, hence his trust in McConkey and appreciation for past players such as Tyler Simmons and Kearis Jackson.

“Jackson Meeks is another guy who has had a good camp,” Smart said, calling out the physical 6-foot-2, 205-pounder from Central High School in Phenix City, Ala.

Meeks is the sort of player who stars on social teams, as well, arriving with a strong understanding of the game after playing his high school football for former Auburn quarterback Pat Nix.

Of course, Meeks has a family connection to big-time football, too, as his uncle Za’Darius Smith is a three-time NFL Pro Bowl linebacker who is now with the Cleveland Browns.

Smart spends more time with his defensive players, so praise is often a bit slower to come from him when it comes to looking at that side of the football.

Smart, however, cannot deny the freight train coming downhill and into the SEC that is Javon Bullard.

Bullard was the defensive MVP in both of Georgia’s CFP wins last season over Ohio State and TCU.

Indeed, it was Bullard who delivered the historic — and legal — knockout blow on Buckeyes’ receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. at the end of the third quarter of the CFP Peach Bowl, turning momentum and enabling the Bulldogs to rally from a double-digit deficit.

“We have some defensive guys,” Smart told ESPN before holding back and naming just one. “Javon Bullard, I think, has had a good camp and is really competitive.”

And that was it, the three players Smart chose to publicly praise in the ESPN interview.

The Georgia head coach meets with the media on Monday, and he will likely say there were five or six other players he could have mentioned.

But he didn’t, and it’s telling those are the three players who came to mind.