The Bulldogs are looking good as we approach the Spring Game, but what does Head Coach Kirby Smart think about the team’s progress? Today, he comments on various aspects of the Bulldogs’ Game and which players are looking promising? Fire it up and find out!

KIRBY SMART PRESSER:

EARLY IMPRESSIONS: 
Young, I mean, that’s the first impression is a lot of youth there. Raylan and CJ are way ahead in terms of play time. This this is their second spring with the guys behind them are even younger than them. The guy that’s had a good spring so far has been Bowls. He’s done a good job. He’s picking things up. He’s going to help with special teams wise. He’s learning the defense. And then the other three guys that are here mid-year. Providing good depth and…and they’re learning.  
 
TREVOR ETIENNE AT UGA: 
I think running back is one of the positions that you can pick up really quick. You know there’s some similarities between our offense and there’s a lot of the same runs. A lot of the same words, in some cases. He’s not struggled to transition that part. I think getting comfortable in the offense, there’s nuances. I’ve met with him about it, differences in the way we do things, and they did things offensively that he’s picking up on. He’s very bright not going to be a problem for. For him, there’s been some, you know, mistakes and things, but nothing that can’t be corrected. 

OSCAR DELP LEADS IN TIGHT END ROOM: 
Oscar’s really physical. You know, he does things his way. He’s…he’s not Brock. He doesn’t try to be Brock. He’s a quiet leader, similar to Brock, but he’s really physical. He’s tough. He knows the work ethic it requires, I mean the guys taking a lot of reps since being here, he’s been durable, he’s doing a good job leading in that room as well as Lucky, he is and…and the two young kids. 
 
WHAT “GET BETTER” MEANS THIS SPRING: 
Just being detailed in what we’re attacking each day don’t go out there without a purpose. I try to have the coaches each day go in and give, you know, a few points of emphasis because if we’re not careful, right now there’s so many things to correct, that you can’t see the forest for the trees and it can be overwhelming to a young player. So we…we try to narrow their focus on small things and you know we got 15 opportunities to get better and so far we’ve done that in the…the first three and I have full expectation that they’ll come out there today with the intentions of…of growing and getting better.  

THE BIGGEST CHANGE FOR CARSON BECK: 
I think one of the big challenges for him is being comfortable and trusting the receivers around him. He’s had the fortune and misfortune of Brock and Lad and Marcus Roseme being in the lineup. And you ask any good quarterback they like, wide receivers. They trust, they know. They have intuitive ability to think the same way and. There’s a lot of change in that room right now, showing confidence in himself and showing confidence in those players to do their job and trust them. It’s a big part of it. That trust is not given, it’s earned and they’re earning his trust and it’s…it goes both ways.  
 
ON COACHES CURRENTLY UNHAPPY WITH CFB: 
I think the leaders are going to do a great job positioning us for the future in terms of what they do, the choice of each college coach is obviously up to the college coaches, I mean, there’s certainly higher stakes and higher pay than there’s ever been for college coaches across the board. There’s, you know, the guys making money and making livings that coordinators can retire now they don’t have to go get a head job. You look back even 10 years ago, how much has changed for coaches? There’s no crying out there from my end. I don’t have a lot of coaches complaining saying they want to get out of the profession. They enjoy the profession, they want the profession to be about relationships, developing talent and rewarding positive performance both on and off the field. 
 
CURRENT SYSTEM UNFAIR TO UPPER CLASSMEN: 
I want what’s best for the student athlete. Sometimes I question the system we have now, if it’s best for the student athlete, it’s not necessarily best for the sophomore, junior and senior and maybe best for the freshman. I would love to see a little more fair system for the players in terms of within the players, not necessarily. Where it’s a reverse system of the younger players sometimes get more than the older players.  
 
GET EXCITED FOR JARED WILSON: 
I’m excited for the rest of the world to get to see Jared Wilson. This is the guy that’s number one, I don’t put a lot of high expectations on people and and anoint people. He has a lot to do to be the best player he can be, but when you talk about athleticism at the center position, this guy runs faster than a lot of our defensive backs. Believe it or not, our tight ends, our quarterbacks, I mean his, his numbers, extremely athletic over 300 lbs can get to the second level as quick as anybody, just really athletic. He’s had the great fortune of learning fromCed, unfortunately, that’s not a position that you rotated at a time, so he didn’t get a lot of opportunities to go and play like maybe a a Mims or a DylanFairchild. They got to go in the game and play. He didn’t get an opportunity to do a lot of those things, but he is a really, really good athlete, an even better person. He’s got a younger brother, that’s it’s gonna be a really talented football player as well. And we just enjoyed his leadership and I’m looking forward to, you know, the center being the leader of the group. Like Ced was he’s taking on a new role and kind of doing it his way.