Updated 08-27-2019 12 Noon EST…
During Monday’s press conference, Kirby Smart updated the status on several players who were coming off injuries from last season or have been battling back from injuries suffered in practice during fall Camp.
Freshman inside linebacker Nakobe Dean and sophomore offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer have both dealing with lower leg injuries. Salyer has missed the last several practices while Dean was seen back with the linebackers this past week during the media viewing period.
Kirby stated that Dean is getting better; although, he is uncertain whether or not he is back to 100%. He also said that Salyer is still fighting to get back to where he was.
“As far as injuries, Nakobe (Dean) has practiced, he’s been back, he’s not a 100 percent, but he has practiced, which is promising, “said Coach Smart. “They had a day off yesterday, so I’ll know a lot more today with him coming out there, whether he’s 80, 90, or a hundred, I don’t know where he is but he’s going to need a lot of rehab.”
“Jameree (Salyer) is still fighting his way back,” added Kirby Smart. “He’s probably behind where Nakobe is but still expecting to get him back.”
Redshirt freshman running back Zamir White is coming off back-to-back ACL tears that required surgery to repair. He came into Fall Camp at the beginning of August fully cleared to practice. Kirby Smart said he’s “rip-roaring to go…”
“Zamir’s worked really hard. Conditioning-wise, he’s one of the hardest workers on our team. He’s played in a lot of our special teams in roles. He’s done a good job in the scrimmages. I think he’s very confident with his knee and his health so he’s rip-roaring to go. I don’t have expectations for him per say, to say, ‘you’re going to do this in the second quarter at this time and this play.’ He’s just going to go with the flow of the game and sometimes that changes and I can’t tell you how that will be for him or what that will be from him but I can tell you is that he’s an unselfish kid that has worked his tail off to get back. Some of the expectations for him are probably unwarranted but for him, it’s a matter of he’s got his health and he wants to support his teammates.”
Another player battling back from an ACL related knee injury is senior defensive lineman Julian Rochester. Coach Smart has stated during fall Camp that he has been practicing 50% of the time and working with the trainer 50% of the time.
It’s safe to say that Dean and Salyer remain questionable for the Vanderbilt game; although, Kirby Smart stated that the coaching staff have yet to determine the 70 players who will make the travel roster to Nashville, TN. T.V. broadcast update: As of Thursday afternoon, the Georgia football game versus Vanderbilt television broadcast has been moved from the SEC Network to ESPN. Kickoff time remains 7:30 p.m. EST.
UPDATE:
During the media viewing period of Monday afternoon’s practice, freshman Nakobe Dean (17) who has been battling an injury he sustained during Fall Camp was practicing with the inside linebackers, and he looked to be running full speed with no limitations. Senior defensive lineman Julian Rochester (5) was practicing with a right knee brace but with no limitations. Rochester is coming back from a knee injury and surgery from earlier in the year. During Fall Camp, Kirby Smart said he has been practicing 50% of the time and with a trainer the remaining 50% of the time. All the running backs looked fine in Monday’s practice and that includes junior D’Andre Swift, sophomore James Cook, and redshirt freshman Zamir White. All three were running full speed in the drills with no limitations. We still not see offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer during the media viewing period.