Kirby Smart provides update on Kamari Lassiter, Xavian Sorey

Georgia keeps cruising right along, at 9-0 on the season and closing in on a perfect mark with only a fourth of the regular season remaining. The Bulldogs have done it through a slew of injuries, including one Saturday to defensive back Kamari Lassiter.

Of course, Lassiter’s injury was only temporary. After going down late in the game, he was able to get up and jog off, later returning to the contest.

Coach Kirby Smart joked about his status following the game.

“He just had a back spasm,” Smart said. “I think he just wanted to get up and celebrate so everyone would cheer him.”

Lassiter has been a force in the secondary for Georgia, which continues to battle injuries at just about every level of the defense. He has logged 28 tackles, 3.5 tackles for a loss, a half sack and six pass breakups.

While his injury was just a scare, Georgia was without another player for the Missouri game on Saturday: linebacker Xavian Sorey.

“He wasn’t with us for personal reasons,” Smart revealed.

Kirby Smart praises team’s resilience

One of the things that has made Georgia so special this year is the team’s ability to battle through injuries like the Kamari Lassiter one in real time.

It’s simply a next-man-up mentality, and the Bulldogs are excellent at adhering to it.

“They believe in each other,” Smart said after the game. “We’re a next-man-up group, and that’s what we’ve got to do. Everybody’s got injuries right now.”

In addition to Lassiter going down during the game, Georgia also lost linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson, who left in the third quarter and headed to the team’s locker room. Smart said he’s got a fracture of something in his forearm.

But the Bulldogs still managed to get it done, knocking off Missouri 30-21 and preserving the unbeaten season.

“Our kids were resilient,” Smart said. “They believed in the discipline we had to play with to win, we made plays when we had to. There’s a lot we can work on. I’m excited.”

Georgia will take on Ole Miss on Saturday in a game that kicks off at 7 p.m. ET on ESPN.