On Monday, Nov. 21, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart, kicker Jack Podlesny and linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson spoke to the media. Here are some takeaways from what they had to say.

Respect for Tech

Georgia’s regular season finale is a home matchup with in-state rival Georgia Tech. The Yellow Jackets have had a tumultuous season after the firing of head coach Geoff Collins.

Interim head coach Brent Key has steadied the ship, going 4-3 since taking over. Last week, Georgia Tech upset then-No. 13 North Carolina 21-17.

“They take on his personality of toughness, not beating themselves, being physical,” Smart said. “You can tell they’ve probably honed down some things. He made some changes to special teams. You know, he played there. and when you’ve got someone that played at that university and that’s their alma mater, there’s a certain level of want to desire to represent the University the right way.”

Smart praised the effort of the Yellow Jackets in their win over the Tar Heels.

“They played really hard,” Smart said. “And they did a great job defensively. They always have — you know, Tech has good personnel. and the guys there know football and you can see that the kids are playing with a lot more passion and energy. They’re one game from bowl eligibility and you saw it come out in the play against UNC.”

Senior day

The Bulldogs will also honor their senior class at Saturday’s game. Smart said the group isn’t as well defined as in year’s past due to COVID years, but praised the class for its success.

“These guys, just like the group last year, have been really special,” Smart said. “I mean, we can have anywhere from 20 to 25 guys walking out there and to look and see what they’ve done, to be the winningest class and go through a COVID year where every game was an SEC game.”

Smart said the level of talent may not entirely align with last year’s seniors, but emphasized this year’s for their commitment to the program.

“There’s not a huge star-studded cast,” Smart said. “There won’t be 15 draft picks out there. But there’s some guys that really care about UGA and have sacrificed a lot to this program.”

Injury updates

Smart offered updates on some of Georgia’s injured players, starting with guard Tate Ratledge. Ratledge missed the Bulldogs’ win over Kentucky with a shoulder injury.

“Tate had a shoulder subluxation,” Smart said. “And, again, he probably could have gone in the game. It’s one of those things he checked out before the game last week and we weren’t comfortable putting him in and wanted to give Devin a chance to play.”

Smart also gave another update on the status of AD Mitchell, who has missed eight games with an ankle injury.

“AD was similar last week as he’s been to the previous weeks,” Smart said. “I mean, he did run. He had a few higher speeds. and he did some individual drills.”