Kirby Smart hopeful for return of two Georgia stars
The Georgia Bulldogs may be getting healthier. Today, Kirby Smart provided an update on two of their injured play-makers — Darnell Washington and Tykee Smith.
“We haven’t ruled out this weekend,” said Smart. “We thought all along this would be the target, this week or next. But can’t say for sure they’ll be cleared for this game.”
Washington is expected to have a bigger role this season on offense. Last year, the Bulldogs tight end had seven receptions for 166 yards on the season.
On the other hand, Smith spent that past two seasons at West Virginia. Each of the last two years, the defensive back had two interceptions. He was an incredible get in the transfer portal for Georgia, as he projects to be vital to their secondary.
In an update earlier in September, Smart mentioned that both Washington and Smith were out of their walking boots. Now, it looks like their progressing along nicely.
Whether or not Washington or Smith plays this weekend, the Bulldogs should be able to handle Vanderbilt on the road. However, it would be nice to get the duo back for the following week — Arkansas comes to Athens.
Kirby Smart unhappy with Georgia’s secondary against South Carolina
Perhaps the return of Tykee Smith can’t come soon enough. Following Saturday’s win against South Carolina, Smart was unhappy with Georgia’s secondary.
“It’s not just Ameer [Speed]. It’s other guys. DK [Derion Kendrick] got one. He [Josh Vann] went up and got one over top of him. Kamari [Lassiter] got one. They hit an over route on Lewis, it came back being incomplete but they had him. It was not just Ameer, it was several guys,” Smart said of his secondary. Josh Vann had a good night for them and hey, we’re going to face guys like him every week, every week.”
Although Georgia’s defense forced quarterback Luke Doty to throw an interception and fumble the football, those two turnovers weren’t enough to overshadow the secondary’s struggles. Smart highlighted the efficiency through which South Carolina passed the ball downfield, as the Gamecocks averaged over 15 yards per completion.
“You got to play with great technique,” Smart said. “I don’t care what your pass rush is, it’s not getting there before that ball is up. That ball is caught, catch throw. We can’t protect guys all game. We got to play one-on-one. If you want to be a good defense, you better be able to play man to man. That’s the No. 1 quality. Right now, we had some shots tonight that they got on top of us. We have to improve. We got to grow and develop some younger players.”
Evidently, Kirby Smart watched offense reign king around the SEC this weekend. Now, he wants the Georgia Bulldogs to ramp up their defensive intensity as the season progresses.