ATHENS — Kirby Smart has probably never used the word “satisfied” in relation to a first fall scrimmage — anywhere.
And the two-time national championship Georgia football coach certainly wasn’t about to apply that term on Tuesday when assessing his team’s fall camp.
“We got a long way to go,” Smart said, reflecting on last Saturday’s scrimmage, the first of two leading up to the season-opening game against Clemson on Aug. 31.
“We are nowhere near or close to where we need to be. I feel like we have less depth than we’ve ever had.”
Smart said that’s likely a combination of UGA losing talent to other schools via the transfer portal and high school talent waning.
To be clear, Georgia’s preseason No. 1 ranking is valid. Smart has built an established program filled with talent players who understand the value of efficient time allocation.
But expecting players to perform at peak levels after a summer away from actually playing the sport of football is unrealistic.
“Progress has been good, (but I) wouldn’t say that the first scrimmage was really up to the standard expectations,” Smart said. “We did not have a lot of enthusiasm (and) didn’t play to the level that I think we need to play to.”
The good news, Smart noted, is there’s another scrimmage ahead on Saturday, and that’s typically where teams show the most improvement in fall drills.
Further, Smart’s team has taken on his work ethic, for the most part.
“I have been pleased with, like, all the details that go into the leadership in terms of, like, showing a younger player how to do it — guys are coaching guys,” Smart said.
“Guys are on time. We must have 6000 checks and balances in the last two weeks of what time you got to be somewhere, and the guys have been great about that.”
Junior tight end Oscar Delp, one of the emerging team leaders, explained how the Bulldogs will approach things this week understanding the need for a greater sense of urgency.
“It’s just in how we approach every day,” Delp said, noting the team had a full-speed, heavy-pad practice ahead on Tuesday.
“It (sense of urgency) starts with every day, you have to approach every practice and every meeting like it’s got to be the best one,” he said.
“Surely guys can be louder and yell more and try to lift other players up, but everyone has to buy in and be ready for that day and focus on the moments.”
Smart doesn’t seemed as concerned about players like Delp and linebacker Jalon Walker, who also spoke on Tuesday, so much as the depth on the team.
Indeed, as Smart once said, Georgia doesn’t practice to beat one team, it’s a program that practices to be ready to beat everyone.
“There’s not the depth around Carson at the skill positions that there’s been in the past, and, you know, puts more pressure on him,” Smart said. “Carson, he’s he’s got to get familiar with those other guys, and that’s the hardest part in the depth….. "
Defensively, Smart likes the direction in the secondary, a unit that saw three players from last year’s team drafted in the top 100 of the NFL draft, leaving big shoes to fill.
“We don’t have a lot of proven playmakers,” Smart said. “They have to prove it by how they play. They’ve got to have better eye control. We got to tackle much better. We did not tackle very well. We didn’t run the ball punch the ball out level. We need to.
“I got a lot of confidence in the players in the secondary, (but) they have to go do it in live action in scrimmage this Saturday and practices every day to get where we’re going to need to be.”