Kirby Smart reveals what Amarius Mims needs to do to return from injury, get on the field

The Georgia Bulldogs starting offensive tackle, Amarius Mims, has missed the Bulldog’s last five games. And although Georgia was able to pick up the win in each of those games successfully, head coach Kirby Smart and the offense would love nothing more than to get one of these fixtures of their offensive line back in time for their challenging three games stretched in the season.

Mims has been at practice this week for the Bulldogs and looks to be close to taking the field again. But what does Smart need to see out of Mims to turn that close to a surefire thing? The Georgia head coach revealed that list of things he needs to see to give Mims the ‘ok’ against Missouri.

“He’s gotta be healthy enough to play and be the best available player to play. I mean, he’s working his butt off,” said Smart. “He did extra work Friday, extra work Saturday, extra work yesterday, and he’s going out today to continue to work. But I mean, at the end of the day, he’s got to be confident to go out and play. And he’s much closer to that today than he was last week, is all I can tell you.”

Smart doesn’t appear to want to let out any more information than needed, and rightfully so. Georgia will take on the surprise of the SEC this season in Missouri. And whatever advantages the Bulldogs have, especially when it comes to player statuses, will likely be held close to the vest.

Smart considers why Georgia has been dominant at home

Since head coach Kirby Smart took over, the Bulldogs have been a dominant force at home too, making it one of the most intimidating road trips for opponents to make.

Smart thought about what goes into that home field advantage, noting that it’s an effort that the entire team doesn’t take for granted.

“I think it’s a collective effort, right,” Kirby Smart said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, we all chip in on this.’ We practice hard. We beat the hell out of each other out there at practice, and we want to put a good product on the field.”

The last time that Georgia lost a home game was against South Carolina in 2019. Since then, Georgia has won two national championships and an SEC Championship. Since that last home loss, Georgia has won 23 straight home games.

“We want to defend our turf. We feel like championship teams at Georgia have not lost at home. So, you better not lose at home if you want to be a championship program. We have a wall that kind of says that. You better not lose at home if you want to do something special,” Smart said.

“The atmosphere has helped with that, but sometimes teams come in and play well. You have to rise to the occasion to play against them.”

Georgia has two more home games this season, both of which are against currently ranked opponents. So, that long home winning streak might soon be tested.