Georgia Football Concludes Spring's 11th Practice

ATHENS, Ga. --- The Bulldogs held a two-and-a-half-hour practice on Thursday afternoon with sunny skies and temperatures hanging in the mid 70s. This marked Georgia's 11^th of 15 practices this spring.

The following are excerpts from head coach Kirby Smart's post-practice press briefing:

Opening Statement:
"Our guys had a lot of energy today and I think it was our best day of pushing through the heat. It's not real heat, but 70 degrees seems to be warm these days and our guys pushed through it and we had good competition. We continue to grow, we continue to move a lot of guys around to different positions. We are not where we need to be from a mental toughness and physicality standpoint but they are not afraid to try, and you have to commend them for that. I thought we had really good work in special teams and we had the opportunity to do some different things for some of our opponents next year.

Q. How have you seen the running back and secondary positions grow during the spring after losing some leaders?
A. We still have a long way to go. There has been growth and I have seen progress. I have seen some of the drills we do correlate into the scrimmage or a team 11-on-11 situation. We have done a lot of drill work and some of the guys have gotten better. I am pleased with the effort but we aren't near where we need to be yet.

Q. How has Chris Barnes looked after moving from the OL to the DL?
A. He's still learning where to line up. We are so low numbers at the d-line that we are extremely struggling at the position from the depth standpoint. We've got a lot of guys banged up and injured but Chris unfortunately didn't get to go through a lot of the meetings during the offseason so he doesn't know what the words mean. He is playing very hard, but he has to play with better pad level and play lower. That's on us, we just haven't had a chance to practice much with him there.

Q. Have you been able to keep up with the progress of the West End construction of the stadium during spring practice?
A. I see the same pictures I think that everyone does of the new scoreboard and the stadium. I haven't seen anything inside yet, I don't even know that they have gotten to that. I am excited that they have the sod and turf back down and gotten the cranes off the field so we can use it for G-Day. I am certainly excited about the West end zone. I think it will bring a new facet to our recruiting. I think we will have the most premier on-campus stadium recruiting site in the country because we will be able to host a lot of prospects and we will have one of the best locker rooms in the country at the stadium.

Q. How do you see Elijah Holyfield figuring into the running back position?
A. He's a workhorse, he's a tough guy who is physical and extremely competitive. I thought he grew up his second year because he contributed on special teams. His first year, I don't think he knew how to contribute on special teams. He's developed as a special teams player, has gained confidence there and now that has carried over into his offense and to him carrying the ball. He's one of my favorite competitors out there. He has to pass protect better and he knows that. But I am excited about where he can go. He has had some really tough runs this spring.

Q. How has Richard LeCounte developed since last year?
A. He's still growing and it's going to be a growing process for him in the secondary. Sometimes I think Richard really wants to be good, and I don't know if Richard knows what it takes to be good - the demands, the study habits, the seriousness it takes. He's a very talented young man but he's got to meet the demands that position demands, which is come in make the calls, make the decisions and I don't know sometimes if he wants that responsibility on him. But we are certainly counting on him and we are going to continue to coach him until he gets it.

Q. Talk about the progress that the outside linebackers have made.
A. There's a lot of talent in that room, but discipline is going to beat talent every day. That is what we lack the most. Am I looking at the right thing, am I doing the right thing, am I where I am supposed to be, am I accountable off the field. That group can be as talented as they want to be. Walter Grant, D'Andre Walker, Keyon Brown, Robert Beal and Brenton Cox – those guys have to be accountable and disciplined. Couple of those guys might grow out of the position and a couple of those guys might be able to play inside backer, but we have to continue to grow at that position.

Players Mentioned

Walter Grant

Elijah Holyfield

Keyon Richardson

D'Andre Walker