Practice Report: Georgia kicks off preseason camp

ATHENS, Ga. — Preseason practice is officially underway at Georgia. The Bulldogs had their first practice on Thursday and will be in camp for the next couple of weeks before school starts. Reporters were able to see about 15 minutes of practice and below we share everything we saw and heard.

*** I always like to start with the quarterbacks and we usually see routes on air. Thursday was no different as four different quarterbacks threw to four difference receivers at the same time with all of them running different routes. It’s tough to watch more than one quarterback during this time but I thought Carson Beck was clearly the sharpest of the bunch and Jaden Rashada was a close second. Those two were hitting their guys in stride and Bobo had praise for Rashada on a really nice corner route.

It was our first look at Rashada in a UGA uniform and I jotted down a few notes. He’s still pretty thin and probably needs to add 10-15 pounds. He also has a really short, effortless release and appears to be a bouncy athlete. I don’t know what kind of runner he is capable of being but he has the quickness to extend plays behind the line of scrimmage. On the hoof he reminds me a lot of what Beck looked like as a first or second-year player at Georgia.

*** I spent some time watching the running backs go through some footwork drills. Trevor Etienne went through and I was pretty impressed with the quickness. Then a few other guys went before I saw Nate Frazier and it was clear that he was moving at a different speed than anyone else in the group. We’ll see what things look like when Georgia puts on the shoulder pads but Frazier is one of the twitchiest athletes I’ve ever seen on those practice fields.

There was also a moment when we were leaving the field when Smart got after Frazier on the microphone. He asked Frazier why he was walking between drills before saying, “I thought you told me you wanted to start on punt team?”

*** I got a look at what might be the first and second team receivers during routes on air. The first group included Dillon Bell at X, Arian Smith at Z, Dominic Lovett in the slot and Oscar Delp at tight end. The second group had Colbie Young at X, London Humphreys at Z, Anthony Evans in the slot and Lawson Luckie at tight end.

I also took note of how hard James Coley and Bobo were coaching walk-on wideout Jeremy Bell from Clinch County. He’s a true freshman and was committed to Purdue are a large portion of the process. I watched him a bit and he’s a really smooth, twitchy athlete. It may be nothing but I don’t think I’ve seen two assistant coaches give that much attention to a walk-on during individual drills.

*** Jaden Reddell has added what appears to be some really good weight. He looked a little thin this spring but he was noticeable bulked up and moving well. He made a really nice fingertrip grab on a corner route thrown by Gunner Stockton, too.

*** Moving on to the Georgia offensive line where the first group was made up of (from left to right), Earnest Greene, Dylan Fairchild, Jared Wilson, Tate Ratledge, and Xavier Truss. The second group was Jamal Meriweather, Micah Morris, Drew Bobo, Daniel Calhoun, and Monroe Freeling.

Everytime I’ve seen Truss since the end of last season it looks like he has cut some bad weight and is moving better. If he has played the last couple of seasons at 330 to 340 pounds, he has to be in the 315 range right now and appears to be moving quite well. I’m betting that has a lot to do with him transitioning to a primary tackle role this season. He’s certainly in the best shape of his Georgia career.

I also got a good look look at Jahzare Jackson and he is a sight to behold on a football field. Undoubtedly the biggest human I’ve ever seen out there and appears to move quite well. I watched him in a run blocking drill and was impressed with his ankle and hip flexibility. It’s easy to see why Georgia took a flyer on him.

*** It was certainly a different look out there on the defensive side of the ball where it felt like Georgia had five or six guys coaching every group. Jarvis Jones was really hands-on with the outside linebackers and there were a couple of others guys working with that group and the defensive line.

*** Damon Wilson is certainly a bigger dude than I saw this spring and the difference between last year and this is pretty wild. He seems to be carrying close to 25 extra pounds and he’s doing it well.

*** Another guy who has really changed his body is freshman nose tackle Nnamdi Ogboko. He might be heavier than the spring because he’s more developed in his upper half now but he looks leaner.

*** I didn’t get to see much of the defensive backfield but we did notice that Chris Peal, wearing a black, non-contact jersey because of labrum surgery, is working at safety. Defensive back was similar to the defensive line in that several coaching were pitching in to help out.

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