University of Georgia Athletics
It's The Work That Makes The Difference
August 03, 2018 | Football, The Frierson Files
By John Frierson
Staff Writer
There is so much to sort out in the weeks ahead as the Georgia football team kicks off preseason practice, from major depth chart decisions to any possible position changes to who will do what on special teams — and about 500 things in between.
First and foremost, however, is how the Bulldogs practice. From Day 1 of the preseason Friday afternoon to the final walkthrough before the bowl game (hopefully in January), it's the mental and physical work that Georgia puts in on the practice field that will decide what kind team and season the Bulldogs have.
"We're not preparing for Austin Peay, we're not preparing for South Carolina, we're not preparing for Auburn or anybody else on our schedule, we're preparing for us right now, and we've got to do a great job this camp of understanding the areas we've got to improve on, and being very demanding and making sure everybody understands the standard that was set last year with the practice habits and the effort and the energy," head coach Kirby Smart said during his pre=practice news conference. "I really think our players are buying into that."
The players certainly did in 2017, which is a big reason why a team with a lot of the same key personnel that went 8-5 in 2016 was able to win the SEC and play for the national championship 12 months later. All season long the veterans talked about how much better they practiced in 2017, how much more demanding the coaches and team leaders were, and how all of that made winning the SEC possible, winning the Rose Bowl possible and made coming within a play or two of a national championship possible.
"To me it was like a game every day, and if it wasn't to the tempo that the coaches wanted, they would demand it for us, from the older guys, or demand it for the team," said sophomore offensive lineman Andrew Thomas, who started every game at right tackle last season as a true freshman. "I think that was what made us different, because we practiced like it was a game, so the games were easy."
Well, easy may be a stretch, but there's no denying that Georgia usually played with the precision and discipline of a squad that was very well prepared and seldom surprised by what the other team was doing. Do the homework, ace the test — in theory it's an easy formula, regardless of the goal you're pursuing, but it gets a lot harder when you're talking about a team of players grinding through practice day after day for months.
A little was written about the Bulldogs' practices last season, because Smart and some of his players sometimes spoke of the improvement from the year before as a key ingredient to their success, but it's hard for a writer to write about something you don't really see, and the media's brief viewing periods at practice aren't really a window through which to judge just how hard or effectively a team is going at it.
When I asked senior outside linebacker D'Andre Walker if the team's practice performance last season, and how that vast improvement paved the way for everything that happened on game day, was an underrated story, he quickly nodded his head before answering.
"I feel like it didn't get enough notoriety, ... just emphasizing that we really did practice hard every day. It was a tough physical practice, even if it was a walkthrough it was mentally and physically like, make sure you've got your hands in the right place and everything," he said.
"It's just as hard every day, it's a new battle every day, it's a new obstacle that Coach Smart has put in front of us, to make sure that we have to execute every day in practice."
Talent is critical, sound offensive and defensive strategies are critical, good in-game decision-making is critical — but if the work leading up to those Saturdays in Athens isn't up to snuff, if the work during the next few weeks of camp isn't at the highest level, then all that talent and promise could be squandered. But nothing about Smart and his staff's approach to anything says that's a possibility.
For Georgia fans paying attention, they should feel good about what Smart said Tuesday, that when the third-year coach referenced "the standard that was set last year," he wasn't talking about winning 12 games or standing in Mercedes-Benz Stadium holding that SEC championship trophy. Smart was talking about the standard for "practice habits and the effort and the energy" that the coaches expect from everyone each and every day.
It was clear by the end of last season just how proud the guys were of both how hard they'd worked and where that hard work had taken them. It's a new team, a new season and there's a lot more work to be done in the days and weeks ahead. But these Bulldogs have seen where that work can take them, and they seem determined to earn their way back there.
Georgia fans can get a good look at some of that hard work at Sanford Stadium on Saturday afternoon. The Bulldogs will conduct a Fan Day practice from 3:30-5:30 and starting at 5:45 Smart and his players will be signing autographs on the field.
John Frierson is the staff writer for the UGA Athletic Association and curator of the ITA Men's Tennis Hall of Fame. You can find his work at: Frierson Files. He's also on Twitter: @FriersonFiles and @ITAHallofFame.
