Kirby Smart provides update on CJ Allen's rehab process

As Georgia gears up for a stretch run that will include three straight games against ranked opponents, the Bulldogs do so with key players like CJ Allen still nursing injuries.

Allen, in particular, was dinged up in the team’s contest against Florida last weekend. Smart provided an update on Wednesday morning on an SEC teleconference call.

“He’s been able to practice but he has not been 100%,” Smart said. “So we tried to control his, monitor his GPS and not have real long sprints and try to control his reps and things like that. But he has practiced.”

Allen has been a somewhat light contributor on the defensive side of the ball.

So far, through the first eight games of the season, CJ Allen has recorded 11 tackles. He had one tackle in the team’s most recent game against Florida.

Georgia maintaining dominant home presence

The Bulldogs have been excellent overall all season long, but they’ve been especially hard to beat at home. Smart dove into why he thinks that is this week.

“I think it’s a collective effort, right,” Smart said. “It’s like, ‘Hey, we all chip in on this.’ We practice hard. We beat the hell out of each other out there at practice, and we want to put a good product on the field.”

The last time that Georgia lost a home game was against South Carolina in 2019. Since then, Georgia has won two national championships and an SEC Championship. Since that last home loss, Georgia has won 23 straight home games.

“We want to defend our turf. We feel like championship teams at Georgia have not lost at home. So, you better not lose at home if you want to be a championship program. We have a wall that kind of says that. You better not lose at home if you want to do something special,” Smart said.

“The atmosphere has helped with that, but sometimes teams come in and play well. You have to rise to the occasion to play against them.”

CJ Allen and Georgia will return home Saturday for a game against Missouri that kicks off at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.

On3’s Dan Morrison also contributed to this report.