Georgia could wind up employing graduate transfers at punter and at kicker in Kirby Smart's second season with the Bulldogs.
The punting competition, according to Smart, is between returning starter Marshall Long and Cameron Nizialek, while the place-kicking race is between returning starter Rodrigo Blankenship and David Marvin. Nizialek is a graduate transfer from Columbia University, while Marvin is a graduate transfer from Wofford College.
"Cam has done a great job with the punting and is kind of leading that charge," Smart said Thursday afternoon in a news conference. "Marshall is still competing with him."
The Bulldogs held their 10th preseason practice Thursday, working out for two hours in full pads.
Nizialek, a 6-foot-2, 200-pounder from Chantilly, Va., led the Ivy League last season with a 44.8-yard average. Long, meanwhile, averaged 38.7 yards in nine games last season before having his year cut short by a broken kneecap.
Smart did not reveal an edge when discussing his kickers.
"The field-goal kicking and the kickoff situation is really tight," he said. "Those two guys are neck and neck competing with each other."
Marvin made 17 of 23 field-goal attempts last season for the Terriers, while Blankenship was 14-of-18 for the Bulldogs.
Smart seems quite pleased to have battles at both spots.
"We've got a lot better competition than we did last year," Smart said, "and the competition is driving each person every day to raise their level. High-stress situations create your best, and those guys are like assassins.
"They've got one shot, and that's all they've got."
Lost in shuffle?
Although Smart has mentioned the play of freshmen offensive linemen Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson after recent practices, he hasn't offered much about D'Marcus Hayes of Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. Hayes was the lone offensive lineman signee to go through spring drills, and Smart was asked about him Thursday.
"He didn't make the jump in the spring that we wanted him to, but he has played better in camp," Smart said. "On cooler days and the inside days, he seems to play better."
Odds and ends
One of the top battles for the Bulldogs appears to be at right tackle, where Dyshon Sims is vying with Ben Cleveland and Wilson. Smart on senior left tackle Isaiah Wynn missing a fourth straight practice: "I still feel good about him. He's just got a little bit of an illness. It's something I can't disclose, but we think he's going to be fine." Smart said the offense has not moved the ball as effectively against the defense as it did this spring, but he attributed part of that to the return of defensive tackle Trenton Thompson and inside linebacker Roquan Smith.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.