Georgia football coach Kirby Smart has made it clear that there is no replacing former inside linebacker Roquan Smith.
Saturday marked the third spring practice for the Bulldogs and the third workout in which it's evident the 2017 Butkus Award winner is no longer around.
"Not having him there, there are things that pop up," Smart said in a news conference. "I think there are good players there, but there is maybe not a dynamic player, so they've got to do it by committee. We've still got pretty good backs. You look at (D'Andre) Swift, (Elijah) Holyfield and (Brian) Herrien coming out of the backfield, and they're hard to cover.
"There have been some plays where it's like, 'Uh-oh, that guy didn't cover that guy like No. 3 used to.' So they've got to improve that, but I do like that group."
Smith and Reggie Carter must be replaced at inside linebacker from last year's Southeastern Conference champions, but the Bulldogs have plenty of depth from which to choose. Senior Natrez Patrick has 18 career starts and 116 career tackles, and he is joined by the likes of senior Juwan Taylor, junior Tae Crowder, sophomore Monty Rice and sophomore Nate McBride.
Taylor started last season's 45-14 victory at Vanderbilt, and Rice started the 53-28 win over visiting Missouri.
"We've been rolling who goes with the ones and twos and threes, because there is really no defined starter, in my opinion," Smart said. "There are literally six guys competing for two starting spots, and there is nobody who's a starter there."
The inside linebackers are coached by Glenn Schumann, who Smart said likely would accompany Smith in late April to the NFL draft in Arlington, Texas.
Fullback committee
For the first time since 2013, Georgia will play a football season without Christian Payne at fullback.
What will the Bulldogs do in his absence?
"In most traditional fullback offenses, you use tight ends in that role as a backup, because you only get to travel 70," Smart said, "so we'll keep those portions of our offense. We think those are good weapons to have, but it will be done by committee. It will be done by Jackson (Harris), (Isaac) Nauta, Charlie (Woerner) - all those guys.
"We'll also have guys coming in the fall who can help with that."
Staff member fired
Georgia associate equipment manager Kevin Purvis, who has worked for the Bulldogs since 2006, was fired after an arrest Friday night on three felony surveillance charges and a misdemeanor charge of possession of a controlled substance.
Purvis is alleged, according to multiple media outlets, of placing a hidden camera in a shower area of the Butts-Mehre athletic complex.
"As soon as it learned of the incident, the Athletic Association notified the University of Georgia Police Department, who began their investigation," the university said in a released statement. "The university took immediate action, and the employee was terminated early in the investigation.
"Based on the findings of the police investigation, no student-athletes were victims in this incident."
Smart expressed his disappointment Saturday before adding, "I'm very pleased that it didn't involve any of our student-athletes. That's the key."
Odds and ends
Freshman defensive back and early enrollee Divaad Wilson tore an anterior cruciate ligament Saturday during practice Redshirt junior offensive lineman Sam Madden has been forced to give up football, and the school is applying for a medical exemption. Smart said this year's Bulldogs have more experience on the offensive line but are not as deep on the defensive front. Former Georgia safety Bacarri Rambo is working as an intern with the Bulldogs, and Smart hopes Rambo can become a graduate assistant "when the time is right."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.