The three pillars of Georgia’s spring football season — recruitment, spring practice and pro day — have all been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

While recruiting has remained feasible through remote communication, and early workouts gave coaches a glimpse at position-level competition, Georgia’s 2020 pro day was scrapped entirely.

“The guys that didn’t get to go to the combine that we think are really good football players, I worry for them,” head coach Kirby Smart said in a conference call on Tuesday.

Smart’s concern stems from the limited opportunities available to his less attention-grabbing seniors to catch the eye of pro scouts ahead of the NFL draft from April 23-25. The NFL scouting combine held in Indianapolis at the end of February was the premier spring showcase for hundreds of draft entrants. 

For graduating Bulldogs who didn’t receive a combine invite, including Tae Crowder, Tyler Clark, Michael Barnett, Tyler Simmons and Eli Wolf, Georgia’s pro day scheduled on March 18 offered a strong alternative.

Last year’s event attracted New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick and Atlanta Falcons general manager Thomas Dimitroff to Georgia football’s practice facility for a more personal assessment of prospects.

“You feel good when you go out there and you go perform,” Smart said. “Whether you perform good or bad, you feel good that you got your opportunity.”

Yet the lack of a pro day and the peace of mind that goes with it does not seriously undermine players’ ability to pop up on NFL scouting radars. A lot more goes into the calculation of professional skill than a single day of scripted positional drills and speed and agility measures.

As seven Bulldogs were selected in last year’s NFL draft, two players who were overlooked for the combine, Natrez Patrick and Jonathan Ledbetter, were picked up as undrafted free agents. 

“Most NFL teams will tell you, ‘We’re going to go off the [game] tape anyway,’” Smart said. 

So what exactly will game tape tell NFL teams scrutinizing the 2020 Bulldog draft class?

Players like Jake Fromm, D’Andre Swift and offensive lineman Andrew Thomas don’t have much to worry about in the absence of a pro day. In addition to quality film, all three also attended the combine and left with reports predicting they could soon top a professional depth chart.

Juniors Swift and Thomas both received combine grades that landed them in the top 20 of all 2020 draft prospects.

Among the seniors who missed out on the chance to have their 40-yard dash clocked or their bench press reps tallied in Indianapolis, Clark and Crowder are probably the most glaring 2020 combine snubs.

Clark has been a force in the middle of the defensive front for the past four years. The 6-foot-4, 300-pound tackle appeared in 54 of the team’s 55 games since 2016, first breaking out as a sophomore in 2017 with 2 1/2 sacks and six tackles for loss.

He recorded another 2 1/2 sacks last season, and eight of his 26 tackles were behind the line of scrimmage. Clark also developed his pass defense as a senior, using his NFL caliber size to pressure the quarterback 11 times, once more than in the 2017 and 2018 seasons combined. 

Ranked No. 229 in CBS Sports’ prospect rankings, Clark’s “violent hands” and athleticism work to his advantage, but a monotonous pass rush keeps his draft stock relatively low. 

Crowder was a top-producing run stopper for Georgia in 2019. He recorded the second-most tackles with 62, four of which were for a loss, and took back a 60-yard fumble return against Tennessee. 

Crowder has bulked up since initially entering Georgia as a running back, but his highlights reveal a lean quickness that aids his downhill movement on the inside and makes him dangerous when the ball finds his hands. 

Smart also holds hope for Simmons. Though Simmons didn’t get many touches at receiver last season, 11 of his 21 grabs and his lone touchdown came across Georgia’s final three games. 

However, Simmons has proven his versatility as both a specialist end-around back and a punt returner. Last year, he averaged 15.9 yards on nine returns.

As his players approach draft day, Smart remains confident that even those who counted on a strong pro day exhibition will find themselves on an NFL roster come fall. 

“I have no questions that we’ll probably have three or four guys that will be either late draft picks or free agents and make a team,” Smart said. “You see it every year.”

Printed with permission from The Red & Black independent student media organization based in Athens, Georgia; redandblack.com/sports