Takeaways from Week one of Spring Practice

What are the takeaways from Georgia's first week of spring football practice?

Week one of spring practice is in the books and a lot of new information has emerged to the surface, so what were the main takeaways from the Bulldog's first week back in action? 

UGA is a bit banged Up

On the very first day of practice, Kirby Smart broke the news of a few key contributors for the Bulldogs who are currently dealing with injuries. The biggest name of the bunch was tight end Darnell Washington who is dealing with a lower leg injury and will miss the entire spring. With Brock Bowers also missing practice due to a shoulder injury, it has left the Bulldogs with a depleted spring tight end depth chart. 

Spring football is a very common period of time for players to have things cleaned up and get their bodies fully ready for when fall rolls around. As a result, it provides a lot of opportunities for other players to take advantage of the extra snaps and help their own case of earning playing time, and with ten players currently on the injury list, that's exactly the case. Other notable names on the injury list are WR Arian Smith (leg), OL Tate Ratledge (foot), LB Smael Mondon (Shoulder), and DB Tykee Smith still healing up from his ACL injury from the fall. 

Kirby Smart Riding the Wave

Georgia's head ball coach isn't just using spring football as a valuable developmental period, he's also using it as a time to bring in some of the nation's best talent high school talent onto campus. This past weekend, Georgia hosted dozens of elite recruits which consisted of two of the best up-and-coming quarterback recruits in Arch Manning and Dylan Raiola along with many other high-profile players. 

With a national championship fresh in the trophy case and all of the attention Georgia's program received at the NFL combine, Kirby Smart is riding the momentum wave and stacking up the visits. Yet another example of Coach Smart putting in work on the recruiting trail. 

New Coaches Settling In

Georgia added quite a few new faces to their staff this offseason with two of the bigger names being a new offensive line coach in Stacy Searels and defensive backs coach Fran Brown. Spring practice is always pivotal for new players to get their feet wet, but new coaches have been doing the same as well. Welcoming in fresh faces can often take some time to get adjusted to, but that hasn't been the case for these two coaches. 

Both Brown and Searels have taken no time to settle into their new surroundings and get their players to buy into what they're preaching. With lots of positive reactions coming out from Georgia's camp about their newest additions, they couldn't have asked for a better week one start in that department. 

New Leaders Emerging 

Leadership is always vital towards a team's success and after having a laundry list of players take off the NFL, Georgia was in need of new players to step up and take on leadership roles. Just one week in, two players have seemingly done that. Defensive lineman Zion Logue and offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran have both emerged as new leaders for the Bulldogs. 

In fact, last week Kirby Smart said "I think what’s good about Zion is he’s a great leader, a great kid. He is the perfect example of a guy that has matured and he’s grown." Along with that, Van Pran became a huge asset for Georgia's offensive line last season and has now turned into a leader up front. He also made comments during his time with the media last week that he and the team are ready to move on from the national championship and get back to work in an effort to pursue another. Two players transitioning into the second half of their collegiate careers and stepping up as leaders is a site you love to see if you're Kirby Smart.

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