Kirby Smart: Opt outs 'not a major concern' for Georgia ahead of bowl game
For Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs, a trip to the Orange Bowl is a bit of a disappointment. Still, after not making the College Football Playoff, Georgia is looking to make the best out of a New Year’s Six Bowl berth.
For now, Smart isn’t concerned about opt outs for the Orange Bowl, though.
“It’s probably gonna happen throughout the week,” Kirby Smart said. “They need some time to decompress. I’m not expecting anyone to not play, to be honest with you, but when those conversations come, we’ll have those conversations with them. We’ll talk to them. I know we’ll have some entering the portal. Those conversations have been happening for several weeks now leading up to this time. So, we’ll have guys into the portal and opt to not play in the game.”
Opt outs have become much more common in recent years, especially with the transfer portal and potential high draft picks looking to avoid a potential injury. However, both Georgia and Florida State appear motivated for this game.
“To be honest with you, I’m really not stressing or worried about it right now. We’ve got a week to kind of get ourselves together. Our guys will take some time off, take a little break they need, get back and get back to working out, getting to throwing, and getting some practice time,” Smart said.
“But it’s not a major concern for me right now because I know we have a good core of our team that’s going to want to be there and play. I just don’t have specifics, though.”
Kirby Smart offers injury updates on Brock Bowers, Ladd McConkey, Amarius Mims
Opt outs may not be a major concern for Kirby Smart and the Georgia Bulldogs. However, injuries clearly have been and Smart gave an update on those injuries following the SEC Championship Game.
“[Amarius] Mims bumped it against — I don’t know exactly what happened, somebody fell on or he stepped on Tate [Ratledge], something happened. He just felt like it was weak and he couldn’t go. It threw us back to [Xavier] Truss having to go back out. Truss had moved in for Tate, try trying to play for him some. It threw Truss back out there. He played a little bit at tackle. Just part of what we had to do. We had to move those guys around,” Smart said.
“Brock [Bowers] and Ladd [McConkey], those guys battle and compete. They’ve been in rehab every morning. We wanted to play so bad against [Georgia] Tech and they couldn’t. They were going to be close today. They were out there limping around, not 100%. But the game matters to them. The team matters to them. Brock Bowers of all people, this guy is going to be a first round pick, and he’s just out there battling his tail off.”