Georgia Football’s Tuesday practice was an emotional one. Coach Kirby Smart wasn’t holding anything back during the entire time the media was there. This week is hate week, and the level of intensity throughout practice showed that Georgia is ready for in-state rival Tech.

There were a few things that stood out at practice on Tuesday:

Defense Running New Drills:

The defense ran cut block drills during the time the media was there; that showed them preparing for Tech’s triple offense and how their line will block. The exercise started with the “arse” ball and hitting it like a standard cut block drill. However, this drill included four false linemen that rolled at the defensive lineman’s feet as he came through.

The defensive line continued this drill until every lineman could do it without hesitating. As the line ran this drill, I observed the level of intensity in this particular unit rose with each rep.

Georgia Still Has a Few Injury Bugs:

 
Georgia has quite a few players banged up, and they’re all in different stages of their rehabs.

For starters, Natrez Patrick was the only player wearing a black, no-contact jersey. While the media was there, he was running up and down the hill at the practice facility.  DaQuan Hawkins-Muckle was practicing for the second day in a row, and he looked healthy. Isaiah Wynn who injured his knee and missed the Louisiana-Lafayette game, practiced with no problem. Michael Chigbu was also running drills efficiently. However, Jayson Stanley was on the stationary bike and we did not him running drills after injuring his toe.

New Faces at Practice:

 
One of the most interesting things at practice on Tuesday was the alumni and past coaches in attendance. John Fabris was present, and he seemed to be watching practice rather closely. There also seemed to be former players helping set up different schemes for the defense. The former players did not get close enough for me to be able to identify who they were. However, it appeared that the alumni were there for moral support along with mentoring the players for Tech week. And what about Brian VanGorder? He was not in attendance at Tuesday’s practice that I was aware of, or at least, he wasn’t visible.

Sum It Up:

Tuesday’s practice showed just how high the team’s emotions are. These Bulldogs have a point to prove. I dare say there seems to be an air of vengeance in this group stemming from the 30-24 loss in Sanford a couple of years ago in 2014 where Tech players helped themselves to Georgia’s historic hedges. It appears that they want the seniors to go out on top, and they are pushing themselves and each other to achieve that very goal. After seeing the emotion during Tuesday’s practice, you can tell that Smart and company want this win badly.