ATHENS — In the midst and spirit of an election year, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart opened the 2016 fall practice season Monday with his own ‘State of the Dogs’ address.
Speaking in front of a large contingent of assembled media at the Butts-Mehre Complex, Smart said things are right where he expected them to be as they prepare for their Sept. 3 season-opener against North Carolina in the Chick-fil-A Classic at the Georgia Dome.
“What we want is for the players to show more willingness to push through the pain and adversity,” he said. “If that means more weight on the bar or more reps past what you are accustomed too, then so be it. I think for the most part, they have done that. We still would like to see some more progress but we’re really just getting started here.”
The allusion Smart was trying to make was that no player or team can make that next step without the willingness to accept, and overcome, adversity. Making that next step was certainly a major reason Smart was hired after Georgia fired Mark Richt at the end of the 2015 regular season despite averaging 10 wins a season.
Smart was asked if he had been following the examples used at Alabama, where he spent the past nine seasons as the defensive coordinator for the Crimson Tide under Nick Saban, as the foundation to build his own program in Athens.
“We’re not using the exact blueprint that I was part of the past nine years, but it’s close,” he said. “What we want to do is build the foundations to make this a successful program year-in and year-out. This is the third phase of our first season. We had the spring, the summer, and now we’re getting ready for the fall.
“There are three things we’re looking for: leaders, their willingness to buy into the team concept, and how they handle success and adversity on a daily basis. I think in all three areas we’re making progress. As for the adversity, you’re going to have good days and bad days. How you handle that will be a big factor in whether you play.”
He continued:
“We're looking for leaders. Every team is defined by the leadership they have, and I don't know exactly who those leaders are going to be. We've got some guys who can be leaders, but how are other guys on the team going to handle that leadership when it comes and confronts them?
"The willingness to buy into the team concept, which I think is archaic in today's day and age. A lot of guys are all about `me, me, me, me, me, me, me.' The willingness for our team to accept in camp that there's a team concept -- there's only one ball. There's 10 guys on offense that don't have the ball. So what you do without the ball is a lot more important than what you do with the ball.
"The third thing for us was making sure that every guy understands handling adversity and success the right way. For me as a coach, how kids handle adversity in camp tells me a lot about them. We're going to try and simulate the ups and downs of a season in camp. There's going to be good days for the defense, there's going to be bad days for the defense. Same for the offense. How you respond to that (is what's important). There's going to be players demoted. There's going to be players promoted in jobs, on the depth chart. There's going to be movement. How they respond to that adversity will tell me a lot about them."
Of course, no press conference would be complete without addressing some key areas of concerns, most notably quarterback, running back, and at the kicker position.
When asked whether any of the three signal callers -- senior Greyson Lambert, junior Brice Ramsey, or freshman Jacob Eason -- had distanced themselves Smart was non-committal. When asked if fan popularity would have any influence, he smiled.
“Do the fans impact my decision? Absolutely not," he said. "They can go out there and cheer and scream for him but I've got to make the best decision for this team. Ultimately, with the fans and who the fan favorite is, that's going to be the guy that wins the games, I promise you. If Eason loses a game, they won't like him either."
At running back, with the health of juniors and top two backs Nick Chubb (knee rehab) and Sony Michel (broken arm) still an issue, Smart said they will cautiously work both back into the fold.
Michel is surely going to be out for the first couple of weeks of the fall. Chubb is expected to practice Monday.
“Nick has done everything we’ve asked of him (as far as rehab and getting ready for the season),” he said. “Nick just needs the ball in his hands. I think that will be the real test when he finally gets into some of the contact drills.”
If neither Chubb nor Michel is ready by the North Carolina game, senior Brendan Douglas, sophomore Shaquery Wilson, who moved over from the defense, and true freshman Elijah Holifield could be called on early.
After the graduation of Marshall Morgan, the Dogs will need someone to step forward at the kicker position. Smart said they are looking at two main guys in redshirt-freshman Rodrigo Blankenship and redshirt-sophomore William Ham, who both got some action in the G-Day game in April. The punting duties as well will be a hot competition between Ramsey and true freshman Marshall Long.
Smart said “stressful” competition is a key factor.
“It’s hard to simulate in practice the stress that kickers face during a game. We got to see some of that with both those guys (in the G-Day game),” he said. “Daily competition and handling adversity will be huge in making that decision. As for punting, if Brice is kicking the best, he will be the guy no matter how the quarterback competition plays out. If it’s someone else, then that will be the guy.”
As things were winding down, what was most noticeable with Smart’s ‘State of the Dogs’ address, was the use of the word competition.
“Competition is good for everyone,” he said. “We want everyone to come in and compete for a spot. We want the guys who were here before to know there will be competition for their spot. When everyone pushes everyone else, it makes everyone better. That is what we want.
“We still have a ways to go to be where I want us to be. But I do feel like we're making progress. The next 29 days or so will tell us where we’re at and what we need to do to get better.”
