Back in December, D’Wan Mathis was a blockbuster flip for Georgia’s 2019 signing class.

While it’s becoming more and more common to see true freshmen quarterbacks playing in the SEC, Mathis has yet to play in a regular-season game after having surgery this offseason to remove a cyst from his brain. It’s no surprise that due to the nature of that situation, Mathis has been brought along slowly. On Tuesday, Georgia coach Kirby Smart was asked for a Mathis update during his post-practice press conference.

“He’s getting closer,” Smart told reporters. “We’re hoping. He’s getting to do more. He’s getting to do some scout-team things and do more activity. But he’s still not cleared to play and take live reps soon. And we hope that’ll be soon.”

As a recruit, Mathis was rated 4-stars, the No. 9 Michigan product, No. 11 pro-style quarterback and No. 311 prospect overall nationally in the 2019 class on the 247Sports Composite.

With Georgia already six games into the 2019 season and Mathis not yet cleared to play, it would appear the freshman is on course to redshirt this season. If he’s cleared, Mathis could play in four games (combined regular-season and post-season) and not have the 2019 season count against his four years of NCAA eligibility.