Practice Report

UGA Sports Communications

The fifth-ranked Dawgs conducted a two-hour workout in full pads on the Woodruff Practice Fields Wednesday.

Earlier in the day, Georgia’s Kirby Smart participated in the Southeastern Conference Football Coaches Weekly Media Teleconference and said the Dawgs (5-0, 2-0 SEC) are gearing up to go back on the road to face Vanderbilt (3-2, 0-2 SEC). In 2016, the Commodores came to Sanford Stadium and claimed a 17-16 win.

“Vanderbilt beat us last year especially at the line of scrimmage, and it’s not hard to teach humility when you turn on the tape and see what happened last year in that game,” said Smart.

Smart was asked about the progress of the offensive line as the Dawgs are averaging 387 yards of total offense per game including 237.4 yards rushing per game.

“We are definitely making progress and getting better as we grow but we’ve got a long way to go to get where we need to go on the offensive line,” said Smart. “We’re rolling with six guys, and they have been consistently playing, and we’re going to continue to do that. We’re trying to get seven or eight guys in the rotation, but they have gotten better each week.”

After Wednesday’s workout, selected players met with the media and discussed their preparation this week and fielded questions regarding the Commodores.

“There’s some very talented running backs in the SEC, and this week we’ll be facing one in Ralph Webb,” said redshirt freshman tailback Prather Hudson. “As a member of the scout team, I have to emulate these guys, and he’s a tough, downhill runner. Overall, Vanderbilt is a very disciplined team. We have to be very disciplined in everything we do, on offense, defense and special teams.”

This season, Hudson has appeared in all five games on special teams and has six carries for 15 yards; all coming in the 42-14 win over Samford.

“You have to be ready,” said Hudson when asked about his first career rushing yards against Samford. “It’s next man up, and it’s always great to play Between the Hedges.”

“The Vanderbilt game was very frustrating last year,” said sophomore tight end Charlie Woerner. “We’re mad inside about it, and it’s been in our heads a lot. As far as special teams, I think last year we learned you can’t slack up on it. We’re much more focused, and we’re better in all phases from our punting, punt coverage, kickoffs, kickoff returns.”

Woerner has played in four games with one catch for four yards, and said the tight ends are doing what they can to contribute to the team.

“We’re not throwing the ball as much because our running game is doing well, and the tight ends are working on blocking better,” he added.