Georgia senior strong safety Dominick Sanders did not post the same numbers last season that he produced in 2015.
Sanders told reporters Saturday afternoon in Athens that he played with a shoulder injury throughout last October and November, admitting that coaches monitored his situation.
"It was to a point where they didn't want me to play," Sanders said. "I told coaches that I'm going to play until they knock it out of place or until it's hanging. My main thing is that I'm not worried about injuries. I've got injuries all the time.
"If it's not surgery, I'm not sitting out."
Sanders, a 6-foot, 193-pounder from the Atlanta suburb of Tucker, made The Associated Press All-Southeastern Conference first team after a 2015 season in which he tallied 48 tackles, five tackles for loss and six interceptions. He returned the six interceptions for a school-record 205 yards, and his six pickoffs accounted for half of Georgia's total.
Last season, Sanders had 34 tackles, three interceptions and no postseason recognition. He announced after December's Liberty Bowl victory over TCU that he would be returning for his senior season, which he hopes will be injury-free.
"Every tackle I made with that shoulder, it made a noise every time," Sanders said. "At the same time, I told myself, 'I'm not seeing a doctor. I'm going to keep playing.'"
The new guy
Georgia's lone new assistant this year is defensive line coach Tray Scott, who was hired following the abrupt departure of Tracy Rocker on Feb. 7. Scott coached last season at North Carolina and had been hired by Ole Miss before switching SEC locales.
"I'm excited about what Tray has been able to do," Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart said. "He brings a lot of energy to our team and enthusiasm to the practices. Tray is a guy I've known for a while now, and I think he does a great job.
"He'll continue to develop our young defensive line, and we'll continue to move forward. I'm very pleased with what he's done in the offseason and the energy he's brought to the conditioning program."
Scott is the third defensive line coach for senior defensive tackle John Atkins, who redshirted in 2013 under Chris Wilson and played the past three seasons for Rocker.
"At the end of the day, it's really a business," Atkins recently told reporters when asked about the change. "I've just tried to learn how to control what I can control. It was a shock, though, but we've got to play with whoever is here. Coach Rocker was like a father figure in the room. Everybody was close to Coach Rocker.
"He called all of us and told us to keep working hard. His favorite quote was, 'What are you going to do when the baby cries?' He said that before he hung up."
Practice update
The Bulldogs held their sixth spring practice Saturday, wrapping up their second week of work. Their seventh practice is scheduled for Tuesday, with the G-Day game set for April 22.
"As a group, we just have to pick it up and really execute,'' senior cornerback Aaron Davis said. "That's the thing that might have been lacking so far, execution on things that we should be able to do. A lot of times, if you're not doing what you're supposed to be doing, it can be looked at as being complacent or just not focused, but guys need to be locked in and know what to do.''
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.