Freshman inside linebacker Nakobe Dean and sophomore offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer were both absent from Wednesday’s UGA football practice during the media viewing period. Salyer was scheduled to be available for post-practice interviews on Tuesday but was replaced with Cade Mays while Dean has been absent since Saturday’s scrimmage.

During Wednesday’s post-practice press conference, head coach Kirby Smart gave an update on the status of both players.

“They were both out there at practice halfway through. They worked with the trainers early on and they’ve both been dinged up,” said Coach Smart. “But both of them I expect a full recovery.”

In addition to the absence of Dean and Salyer, junior running back D’Andre Swift was seen wearing a black, non-contact jersey, which is normally reserved for the quarterbacks. Of course, that left room for all sorts of speculation on why he was in a non-contact jersey. Was he dealing with an injury as well? When asked about Swift and the black jersey, Kirby said with a smile:

“That was just so y’all would focus on that. I see that it obviously worked. Y’all missed, at least I haven’t seen it written yet, what I didn’t want you to see. You’ve got that good. I’m glad y’all got that.”

It’s not uncommon for some players to get dinged up and be dealing with minor injuries as the team transitions from Fall Camp into game preparation mode. The Georgia football team will be back at it this afternoon (Thursday) and then tomorrow (Friday) as well as Saturday as they continue to prepare for their season opener versus the Vanderbilt Commodores on the road in Nashville, TN.