Competition is in the air as Georgia begins spring practice

Georgia’s spring practice began on Tuesday, and there is a sense of excitement within the program. In Kirby Smart’s second year, the Bulldogs are talented enough to win the SEC East for the first time since 2012.

Not only will Georgia return proven stars such as Nick Chubb, Sony Michel and Lorenzo Carter, but it has an incoming crop of freshmen that can rival any in college football. With the 2017 season still several months away, Smart is focused on generating competition across the board this spring.

“We’ve got a lot of competition, as you guys well know, a lot of position battles,” Smart told the assembled media at his press conference on Tuesday. “I like to think we’ve got more players that can help us from a depth standpoint at this time than we did last year.”

Some positions will breed more competition than others. Smart and his staff understand that they have two of the best running backs in the SEC returning and a linebacker corps that remains intact after a strong 2016 campaign.

They are also aware that there are areas in need of improvement. Perhaps no position needs a turnaround more than the offensive line, which allowed 24 sacks and 82 tackles for loss. With three starters from last year’s starting unit gone, there will be plenty of competition on the offensive line.

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“Obviously, the offensive line is going to be a play-by-position deal,” Smart said. “We’re going to rotate some guys, musical chairs through the depth chart. A lot of competition at that position. What you see one day will probably not be what you see the next. We’ve got a lot of guys to rotate, move around, and try to figure out the center, guard and tackle positions.”

Georgia went to great lengths to address its deficiencies up front on the recruiting trail, adding six offensive linemen, including D’Marcus Hayes, the No. 2 JUCO offensive tackle prospect, and Isaiah Wilson, the No. 5 offensive tackle prospect.

The Bulldogs will have plenty of linemen to evaluate this spring. Competition should elevate the talent level of all parties involved, which is exactly what the coaching staff hopes will happen. It’s not easy to replace three starters on the offensive line, from a cohesion standpoint, but Georgia should have better individual talent in the trenches.

Although some positions seem locked up from an outsider’s perspective, Smart isn’t taking that approach.

“You worry about guys saying `Okay, well I had my job last year so I’ll have my job again this year.’ That’s not the way it’s going to be for us,” Smart said. “We’re going to challenge them to compete every day. The players that block, tackle, do the things fundamentally well, will be the guys who will be able to play.”

Given the talent level of the early enrollees and their classmates joining them this fall, there could be a few position battles that are closer than fans might expect. Keep in mind, these are Smart’s recruits, which isn’t the case with some of the veterans on the roster. They were brought here with a specific skill set in mind.

Of course, it’s up to the veteran leadership on the team to help set the pace and develop the culture. The Bulldogs have always had talent on the roster, but they’ve never consistently achieved the highest level of success.

That’s part of the reason Smart, a former Georgia safety, was brought back to Athens. This offseason, he’s been preaching “sustained focus,” which is the ability to approach each day with renewed vigor and overcoming complacency. That message should sound familiar to anyone who has heard of “the process” that Nick Saban employed at Alabama.

This culture change was coach-driven in Smart’s first season. Now, the players are preaching the same message.

“Most of us know what to expect,” Michel, now a senior, told reporters before practice. “And we’ve been prepping the early enrollees on what to expect, telling them what the coaches demand out of us.  I think they’ve bought in really well.  We are going to go out there and give the coaches what they want.”

The best way for veteran players to drive that point across is to set an example on the practice field.

Some fans may wonder what players like Chubb and Michel can get out of spring practice, when they’ve already proven they can dominate SEC-caliber opponents. As a coach, Smart refuses to slip into that line of reasoning.

Credit: Mark Zerof-USA TODAY Sports

“Every guy on our team can get better. We’ve got no guy that can’t improve. We preach that to them,” Smart explained. “We’re not going to take guys and say you sit out of this, you sit out of that, because of who you are. I think that can cause angst or problems from within.”

Smart’s first season at Georgia delivered flashes of brilliance followed by long stretches where the team seemed to lack an identity. The Bulldogs were a young team with a new coach, and it showed.

This spring is about finding that identity. Players know what to expect in Year 2 under Smart, and they have bought into his culture of competition. Smart is no longer steering the ship on his own.

“To show the young guys how to do it,” senior linebacker Carter told reporters about the team’s approach to practice. “We are going to show them the work it takes to get to where we want to go to win championships.

“I’m listening to the coaches to do what they ask me to do, then I expect the younger guys to listen to me and the other leadership on the team. We got to lead by example. We can’t let up, we aren’t going to let up.”

Smart’s culture is starting to take root in Athens. Let the competitions begin.

William McFadden covers the University of Georgia for Saturday Down South. For news on everything happening between the hedges, follow him on Twitter @willmcfadden.