The heat was turned up for Georgia's first preseason football scrimmage Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium, and Bulldogs second-year coach Kirby Smart felt that a lot of his players were cooked as a result.
"We didn't exactly get the level of intensity I was looking for," Smart said afterward in a news conference. "We had not had the kind of heat we had today, and I think it affected too many guys mentally. Overall, it was a very balanced scrimmage between run/pass and offense/defense.
"Both of the units did some good things."
The Bulldogs ran roughly 70 plays, according to Smart, in the two-hour scrimmage that was closed OVERSET FOLLOWS:to the media. No statistics were provided.
Smart said the offense got the better of the defense on third-down situations but the defense won the red-area period. Georgia is looking to improve its red-zone numbers both offensively and defensively from a year ago, when it ranked 13th in the Southeastern Conference in red-zone defense.
When Smart was asked about the play of quarterbacks Jacob Eason and Jake Fromm, he said both did good things but both need to improve. When pressed more about Eason, he said the returning starter made some good throws and led the offense but still has to get better.
Senior left tackle Isaiah Wynn missed the scrimmage for what Smart has referred to this past week as an "illness," and Smart said Saturday that junior defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter sat out as well for the same reason. Ledbetter served a six-game suspension at the start of last season but started four of the seven games he played, tallying 24 tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss.
Senior Dyshon Sims, who began preseason camp working at right tackle, shifted to left tackle to fill in for Wynn.
"I don't think we're as effective with him out," Smart said. "It wasn't glaring today, and it wasn't like we couldn't function. I just think that with him in there, we're a better unit."
Smart said for a second time that Cameron Nizialek, the graduate transfer from Columbia University, leads returning starter Marshall Long in the race for punter and that the kicking competition between David Marvin and returning starter Rodrigo Blankenship remains tight. Marvin is a graduate transfer from Wofford.
The Bulldogs will take today off before resuming preseason workouts Monday afternoon, which will follow the start of classes at the university.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.