Georgia players share on disappointment, unfamiliar feeling after loss

ATLANTA, Ga. — While Georgia falling to Alabama at Mercedes-Benz Stadium feels so familiar, about half of the Bulldogs that suited up Saturday night were in incredibly unfamiliar territory.

For the first time in 30 games and 728 days, Georgia walked off the field on the wrong end of things. For the 2022 and 2023 recruiting classes, it was their first-ever loss in a UGA uniform. Kirby Smart was aware of that and shared his love with a disappointed locker room.

“I love ’em. I mean, I love ’em. The guys in there, I told them that there are two classes of guys in that room that have not lost a game. You’re looking at 10, 15 NFL players who lose every other week. There’s two classes of our kids that have not lost a game. They’re resilient, they’re fighters, and in life, a lot of times, you really can’t get better until you lose sometimes because you have to find out what you can do better,” Smart said in his postgame press conference. “It was a sad — there were some really upset guys. A lot of guys really care about this team and the culture is really good on this team. They were hurt in there, and rightfully so. But the message doesn’t change. It’s about looking inward and figuring out what we can do.”

Offensive lineman Sedrick Van Pran enrolled at Georgia in 2020. Prior to Saturday, he had seen just three losses in his time in Athens. So, while the fourth hit hard, he also shared perspective on what the loss can do for the future of the Bulldogs.

“I think it’ll be a culture builder,” Van Pran said. “I think it’ll be a culture builder for some of those younger guys. Some of the older guys have experienced things like this. It’s just something that has come not often, but it’s something that we’ve experienced.”

“I think the biggest thing is that the younger guys have to learn from this,” he continued. “They have to feel this. They have to embrace this and just continue to work and go from there.”

As for defensive back Malaki Starks, it was his first-ever loss. A sophomore, Georgia went undefeated in his freshman season and was unbeaten coming into Saturday. He’s hopeful that the team will keep its head up amidst the disappointment.

“It’s hard to do what we do,” Starks said. “He (Smart) loves us, and we’ve got to continue to grow from this and keep our heads up.”

Then, there was Carson Beck. His perspective is an interesting one. Like Van Pran, the fourth year quarterback had seen just three losses prior to Saturday. However, as a first-year starter, this is the first that’ll go on his resume. While obviously down about the result, Beck believes it can be a learning experience.

“To come into this game and not, you know, finish the way that we wanted to and kind of leave the destiny of our team in someone else’s hands rather than us handling it ourselves, you know, that’s hard, but at this point it’s out of our control,” Beck said. “But, you know, we fought hard and I thought throughout the season we showed that, you know, we were a really dominant team.”

“Obviously to always have the mentality to never give up. It’s never over and I truly believe that every guy on that sideline, through every second of that game, never gave up,” he continued. “I’m super proud of this team. It shows how resilient we are. It obviously didn’t finish the way we wanted to. To see guys fight and care and love each other on the field and truly fight for one another is special. It goes to say how special this program is and how Coach Smart has built this program. We just kept going out there and fighting and kept going. Obviously it didn’t go our way at times, but just never give up.”

Now, it’s a waiting game for the Bulldogs. The College Football Playoff committee will announce its final rankings on Sunday (12:00 p.m. ET, ESPN). Georgia is likely to be on the outside looking in. However, there’s not doubt the Bulldogs believe they belong.

“I do,” Starks said when asked if he thought Georgia should still be in the College Football Playoffs. “I’d be a fool to say no, but obviously it’s not up to us. It’s up to them. Whatever they decide, we’ll go from there.”

“I mean, obviously it would mean everything to us,” Beck added. “You know, we’ve fought so hard through this season. I mean, it’s been a gruesome season. There’s been guys out, fighting to get back just like Coach Smart said earlier. I mean, Ladd (McConkey) and Brock (Bowers) too, guys that are going to go on and play football for a long time, haven’t really practiced at all for the past 15 days, two weeks, and, you know, they’re out there battling. Obviously, we think that anybody that steps out on that field is going to go execute and play, and obviously I have a ton of confidence in every guy that’s out there and love them to death. I mean, we’re in there fighting together each and every day, but to be given that chance would mean everything to us.”