Georgia Nearing Full Strength for the Orange Bowl
Georgia is finally reaching full strength as the countdown to the Capital One Orange Bowl is just a little over 48 hours away from the 7:30 PM (EST) kick-off time set to be broadcast on ESPN. Head coach Kirby Smart spoke to the media one final time on Wednesday before Friday's game against Michigan.
The sixth-year head coach took the time to update the media on several of Georgia's key players after Georgia concluded its two final padded practices of the week on Monday and Tuesday, where sources tell SI Dawgs Daily that were two of the highest energy practices held this season.
Not only did Smart extinguish any rumors regarding a change in quarterback as the debate between former starter JT Daniels and current starter Stetson Bennett continues to dominate the conversation on social media, Smart said in no uncertain terms that the senior out of Blackshear, Georgia, is the starting quarterback.
"In terms of quarterback, Stetson is our starting quarterback,"
Smart also provided updates on Jamaree Salyer and Christopher Smith, both players who had their status for the SEC Championship in question after dealing with injuries in the leadup to the game versus Alabama. Smart said, "Yeah, I think both those guys are healthy,"
Smart even added by further confirming the fact that both players may not have been fully healthy for the SEC Championship.
"They were fighting to get back and weren't able to do much there the weeks after Georgia Tech, leading up to Georgia Tech and then going into the SEC Championship. There weren't a lot of practice reps for them trying to recover. They've had a week off before we started back, and then they've had some good practices buildup. The benefit they got was a little bit of recovery time there for two days, from the time we left for Christmas and then coming back and starting again."
Jamaree Salyer, Georgia's starter left tackle, is a big get when fully healthy after missing the last four regular-season games with a foot injury. Salyer played well against a tough matchup like Alabama's Will Anderson despite not being fully healthy in Atlanta. Georgia will certainly be happy with a similar performance against the two talented edge rushers for Michigan; Heisman finalist Aidan Hutchinson and David Ojabo look to be one of the best edge-rushing duos in the nation.
Christopher Smith missed the final two games of the season with a knee that's been described as a "bone bruise" before making his return versus Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Smith was a part of the play that saw Jameson Williams take a skinny post route 67-yards for a score due to a Georgia-blown coverage.
Smith and Salyer are proven difference-makers for Georgia and will play a big part in a potential Georgia win.
As for star wide receiver George Pickens, Monken would go on to tell the media Tuesday that Pickens is still developing despite missing the previous two springs due to the outbreak of COVID-19 in 2020, and the most recent setback being his ACL injury in 2021.
"There are going to be some things that he's continued to work through, trusting the knee, obviously reps. He's still a young player, when you think about playing as a freshman, and then we didn't have any spring ball. So he's basically missed the last two springs when you think about a young player's development, and then he missed a couple of games the year before. So he's still a young developing player, and we're still trying to work him in and to make sure that he can help us offensively and most importantly help us win with what he can do at this point. But he's done a great job of getting back and helping this team."
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