ATHENS — There are plenty of reasons for Georgia to be excited about the season-opener against Clemson.
It’s one of the biggest non-conference games in the sport. It’s a pseudo rivalry. They both have playoff success, with each school winning two national championships over the past decade.
Yet as Georgia begins fall camp, its focus isn’t on the Tigers but rather on themselves.
“I mean, it’s definitely going to help us lock in more, but we just really focus on getting us, like, getting each other better in camp,” cornerback Daylen Everette said. “So just focusing on — like, even today. Today’s our first day to go out there. That’s really the main focus for us.”
Everette knows the Clemson program well, as he initially committed to play for Dabo Swinney as a member of the 2022 signing class. But when Brent Venables left to take the Oklahoma job, Georgia swooped in and flipped Everette.
He’s not the only player on the roster with ties to Clemson. Offensive lineman Tate Ratledge signed for and was coached by Matt Luke. After taking the last two years off, Luke is back in the college game as Clemson’s offensive line coach.
Luke played a significant part in building the current iteration of the Great Wall of Georgia. He recruited Ratledge, Dylan Fairchild and Jared Wilson, who are all projected to start the season opener.
But despite those familiar ties, Ratledge swears he isn’t making the opening game into something bigger.
“Of course I have tremendous respect for Coach Luke. He coached me for two years,” Ratledge said. “I played for him my freshman and sophomore year and have tremendous respect for him, but I’m looking forward to that game just as much as I am any other one.”
At the moment, Ratledge is far more concerned about the difficulties of a Kirby Smart fall camp. This will be his fifth in his time with the program.
And while Ratledge knows what to expect from a physical standpoint, it doesn’t make fall camp any easier.
“I don’t think Coach Smart is going to change his ways. When we’re out there it’s going to be physical, tough practices,” Ratledge said. “Camp’s going to be hard. Always is. I feel like you figure out what your team is during camp. I don’t think he’s going to change anything.”
Smart knows this could be a longer season, as the Bulldogs could play as many as 17 games. It will certainly be a more difficult schedule, with Georgia making trips to Alabama, Texas and Ole Miss. All of those come after a game against Clemson that the Tigers will be eager to win.
But Smart doesn’t want his players thinking ahead. Not to the end of the season, or even to the Clemson game at the end of August. He believes that if his players are completely locked into fall camp, it will help prepare them for the difficult season that lies ahead.
“What we do know is that we’ve got a really tough opening opponent and we’ve got a really tough schedule,” Smart said. “I don’t know that employing a back off pace, take it easy pace lends itself to success when you’re talking about facing the schedule we have to face.”
Before fall camp began, Smart had a message for his team on the importance of fall camp. If the group can push through the swelling August heat as a team, it should have no problem facing whatever Clemson, Alabama or eventually Texas throw at them.
That is why camp is so critical to Smart and thus the Georgia program.
“Why do you have a training camp? What is the purpose of the training camp? It’s to build the toughness within our team,” Smart said.
