Leaders emerge for Bulldogs in spring practice
The Georgia football team finished their eighth spring practice Thursday, revealing several details about the team in the process.
New players are making an impact, familiar voices are getting louder and the Bulldogs are settling into spring.
LEADERS STEPPING UP
The Georgia football team lost a number of upperclassmen this offseason, either to the NFL draft, the transfer portal or otherwise. Certain players on the team are stepping up and filling the void, head coach Kirby Smart told reporters after practice.
“There’s a lot of guys; you can just see them trying to assert themselves and encourage, more than discourage,” Smart said.
Smart named a number of players in his statement, though he didn’t focus on any one in particular. Junior wideout Dominick Blaylock illuminated the situation further when he described Kearis Jackson in similar terms.
“Really good leader,” Blaylock said. “Puts the team on his shoulders. He knows how to pick people up and keep everything going, keep the team going.”
Jackson, a senior wide receiver with the team, played in every game last season. He is now one of the longest tenured members in the receivers’ room, and may be poised for a big year in the fall.
For some, it isn’t a surprise that there are so many players stepping up and making their presence felt for the team. Offensive lineman Broderick Jones explained it as a result of the culture in the Bulldogs’ locker room.
“I believe anybody on the team can be a leader, because the standard that Kirby Smart sets for the team, and the standard everybody has within the team, is being able to push one another to better themselves for the team,” Jones said.
ACTION ON SPECIAL TEAMS
One of the players leaving for the NFL is Jake Camarda, a two time All-SEC punter with the Bulldogs. His absence will create a gap in the depth chart, and until it is filled, the Bulldogs are still contemplating their options at punter.
Brett Thorson, a freshman from Melbourne, Australia, is one possibility to step into the starting position. He was highly regarded as a punting prospect out of high school, and is in his second semester with the university. He’s adjusted well to the differences between U.S. football and Australian rules play, according to Smart.
“So far this spring, he’s been a pleasant surprise,” Smart said. “(Thorson’s) probably not where Jake was last year, but he’s done a really good job.”
BIG WEEKEND FOR THE BULLDOGS
The Georgia football team will hold a closed scrimmage April 2, their first of the spring. For the team, it’s a chance to get a good look at young players in more competitive play, and one of the best opportunities to gauge development, at least until the G-Day game April 16.
The scrimmage will be useful to the team for strategic purposes, and for charting how players are performing in the spring, but for some, it represents more.
“Everyone’s excited to get to the stadium,” Seither said. “Every opportunity we have in the stadium, whether it’s a 6 a.m. run, or scrimmage, or a practice in the stadium, it’s something special to be at Sanford.”