One of head coach Kirby Smart’s initiatives this spring was having sustained focus. Focus involves various traits, but three that are crucial to obtaining the attention that Smart and his staff are pushing for are toughness, discipline, and character. These three qualities according to many players and Smart himself flow throughout the team, and many players obtain all three. Here are who the players and Smart thought to be the toughest, most disciplined and who holds the highest character on the team.
TOUGHNESS:
“We have a lot of tough guys on the team. Dyshon Sims, (Elijah) Holyfield and defensively all those guys are pretty tough,” — NICK CHUBB, SENIOR RB.
“All the guys. But I’m usually going against Jonathan Ledbetter, Lorenzo Carter, and Davin Bellamy. Like I said the times I got to go down to the nose or the line all these guys are tough. They’ve all stood out this spring,” – ISAIAH WYNN, SENIOR OL.
“The tough, tight end group. Those are some hard nose guys, and they’re just making us better and more physical. Also, I’d say Solomon Kindley, the young guy. Every time and every snap he brings a punch,” – NATREZ PATRICK, JUNIOR ILB.
“Definitely Terry Godwin. Mecole (Hardman Jr.) has become a receiver, so he’s difficult. They’re short, shifty guys with a lot of agility,” – DEANDRE BAKER, JUNIOR CB.
“We got a bunch of good ones. Lorenzo Carter and Davin Bellamy are really good players. Jonathan Ledbetter is a pretty good player. I don’t think I could narrow it down to one because those guys challenge me every day,” – ISAAC NAUTA, SOPHOMORE TE.
“I’d have to say it’s between Malkom Parrish and Deandre Baker. They’ve been here they know what we’re going to do and have great technique. It’s always great to go against some of the older guys,” – TERRY GODWIN, SENIOR WR.
“There are some of those offensive and defensive linemen that are some tough dudes. I would say a couple offensive linemen and defensive linemen without saying their names. Just because they take every single rep, they don’t complain about what pads we’re in and they head butt a lot,” – KIRBY SMART, HEAD COACH.
DISCIPLINE:
“I’d like to say myself, but we got a lot of guys that get where they’re supposed to be, that are on time to things and are always doing things they’re expected to do. I think the tight end group as a whole is the most disciplined. We’re a pretty solid group of guys and are there when we’re supposed to be. So I’d have to say the tight end group,” ISAAC NAUTA, SOPHOMORE TE.
“Aaron Davis is very disciplined and a smart kid. I definitely have to go with my guy,” – NATREZ PATRICK, JUNIOR ILB.
“The defensive line, a lot of those guys probably had to lose weight and I know a ton of them have had to drop those pounds and be ready to run,” – ISAIAH WYNN, SENIOR OL.
“The tight end group, because they know their assignments on and off the field. The toughest in that group would be Charlie Woerner or Isaac Nauta. Woerner is a very tough disciplined guy and is super fast,” – DEANDRE BAKER, JUNIOR CB.
CHARACTER:
“(Isaac Nauta) Personally, he’s a heck of an athlete, obviously awesome guy regarding physicality and mentally knowing the game. But I think his leadership stepped up a lot. I believe it’s really starting to challenge other guys. During conditioning, he’s demanded the best out of other people. I think he’s starting to get that out of people. He’s starting to get that out other individuals and the team loves him. That’s the biggest thing for him is taking it over. He has everything now he’s just demanding that from others, and that is what we need on this team,” – JEB BLAZEVICH, SENIOR TE.
“Jonathan Ledbetter has shown a lot of leadership, that is the big emphasis this year, more leadership roles. (Ledbetter) is just pushing to get everyone better every day not just himself,” – JOHN ATKINS, SENIOR NG.