Hump-Day Roundup: Georgia forms identity

We are at the midpoint of the 2022 season and what better time to begin a midweek update for the Georgia faithful over at DawgsHQ. Below you’ll find a notebook that we plan to put out every Wednesday that picks off some Bulldog news items and quotes from the team.

Georgia identity identified by Kirby Smart…

Every now and then the Georgia head coach will say something non-newsy that will raise a few eyebrows. When asked about the identity of his Georgia football through six games this season, Smart took the opportunity to talk about how much he likes this team and why.

“Probably grit, toughness,” Smart said after Tuesday’s practice. “The way they practice, I really like it. They’re really a unique, connected group. A little different than last year’s group. Last year’s group feels like they had been around longer. This group is created a little bit of a identity of how they care for each other, but also the grit and toughness they play with.”

Tell any coach in the country that he is going to have a tough, gritty football team for the upcoming season and he’d take it. Tell that same coach that the team would also be connected and play for one another, and he’d jump at the chance to lead that group.

For all of the talent on last year’s team, its most beneficial intangibles were connection and resiliency. As the Bulldogs continue to get healthy and figure themselves out on both side of the ball, the bones of a championship football team appear to be strong.

Vince Dooley is out and about…

A bout with COVID-19 put former Georgia head coach Vince Dooley in the hospital last week. It wasn’t a particularly long stay as he was released earlier this week. Dooley is now 90 years old and we think the entire world of College Football is glad to see him back in his element and doing well.

“I’m grateful for all the cards, text messages, emails, and calls as well as the prayers and concerns,” Dooley said in a release from UGA sports information.  “But I’m ready to go Saturday with my regular book signing session at the UGA Bookstore and certainly the homecoming game.”

GATA coach Dooley.

Georgia linebacker holds court…

It has been a pretty eventful two weeks for fourth-year junior linebacker Rian Davis. He started the first game of his career vs. Auburn, finishing second on the team in tackles with four total and two solo.

The Apopka, Fla. native also got his first opportunity to speak with the Georgia beat on Tuesday. It was a fun conversation. Davis has battled through three major injuries at Georgia. He had a torn ACL when he arrived. He suffered a torn labrum in his second season and then missed a large portion of last season with a ruptured quadriceps.

All three of those injuries required surgery and extensive rehab. He called his first career start ‘a good time’ because he was able to get out there and share the field with his teammates. It was also an emotional experience for the Georgia linebacker, who has displayed some remarkable mental toughness through it all.

“It was definitely hard,” Davis said when asked about keeping a positive mindset. “I have definitely had some times throughout these last couple years where I have been down and wondering why this happened to me. I try to think in a mode where your situation could always be worse. There is always somebody in a worse situation. There are people at other schools who have had more injuries than me. They have battled back. I look at it like that. Somebody’s situation is always worse than mine.”

A thought…

If I had told you two-plus years ago that Georgia would be the defending National Champions in 2022 while also holding the top spot in the Associated Press poll, would you have taken it? I’m betting that official poll results for that yes or no question would be 100 percent in one of those directions.

The Bulldogs are in a really good spot and they haven’t consistently played their best ball just yet. We’ve seen them put it together for a complete game or two. We’ve seen quarters and halves of championship football from this team. We have not, however, seen Georgia do it week in and week out.

I have no way of knowing whether it’s coming or not, but knowing that it’s there is half the battle. It may sound cliche but UGA’s hopes of repeating hinge on how much better the team gets from this point on.