Kirby Smart thrilled with injury rehab of Jordan Hall, Xzavier McCleod

Georgia is still looking to get fully healthy as Week 2 approaches. Jordan Hall and Xzavier McCleod are two players looking to return to the field, and Kirby Smart sounded thrilled about where things stand in their rehabs from injury.

Hall is working his way back from a leg fracture sustained earlier in training camp, while McCleod is dealing with an abdominal strain. Neither player saw the field in Georgia’s season-opening win against Clemson, but Smart noted Hall was in Atlanta and made an impression on the staff.

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Smart noted Hall was in the gym before executive associate athletics director of sports medicine Ron Courson did. That showed him how much the sophomore wants to get back onto the field now that the season is underway.

“They’re both doing great, man,” Smart said Tuesday. “They were running today, flying around the sideline just running. Not practicing, but running. Straight-line, cutting. I’m fired up. I don’t know if it was Sunday or Monday, I looked out my office … Jordan was out there smoking it across the field. Excited.

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“He was up 5:30 in the morning game day rehabbing on his own, beat Ron in there, riding a bike in Atlanta. I mean, he is a different dude when it comes to rehab. He has attacked it and dove all-in. I think he’s probably a little ahead of McCleod. McCleod’s dealing with a different muscle-tissue type injury and he also hasn’t really ever had a significant injury. But they’re both pushing.”

More on Jordan Hall, Xzavier McCleod

Hall is coming off a solid sophomore season as a contributor on the Georgia defense. He totaled 10 tackles after arriving as a five-star recruit out of Jacksonville (Fla.) Westside and the No. 23 overall player from the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Industry Ranking, a weighted average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies.

McCleod, meanwhile, is looking to make his Georgia debut. He arrived via the transfer portal this offseason after appearing in four games at South Carolina. During that time, he had an interception and a tackle before leaving the Gamecocks program in October and eventually committing to Kirby Smart and UGA.

Georgia handled Clemson with ease in a 34-3 victory last week, which set the table for a return to Athens in Week 2. That’s when the Bulldogs will take on Tennessee Tech at Sanford Stadium.