Kirby Smart gives update on injured pass rusher Amaris Williams
By David Wasson
Published:
While the prospects are certainly dim for a 2026 return to health for Georgia pass rusher Amaris Williams, Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart didn’t exactly close the door completely Saturday when asked about the rising junior.
“I don’t know how long he’s out. You never know how long it is with the ACL,” Smart said to reporters after the G-Day festivities in Athens. “George [Pickens] was able to come back and play – he had a similar injury. You never put a timetable on it. He doesn’t want to put a timetable on it. He wants to do what he can to recover and get better.”
Williams was injured toward the end of a Georgia’s April 14 workout, a setback that typically costs the player between 6 and 9 months. Williams recovering on the aggressive end of that timetable could put his return smack in the middle of the Bulldogs’ rigorous 2026 SEC slate.
Williams transferred from Auburn just months ago, where he piled up six tackles for loss and two sacks in his sophomore campaign. The Bulldogs were counting on Williams to bolster a lackluster pass-rushing attack that ranked dead last in the SEC in tackles for loss per game (4.21) and sacks per game (1.43).
Georgia opens the 2026 season Sept. 5 at home vs. Tennessee State and begins the SEC journey Sept. 19 at Arkansas.
An APSE national award-winning writer and editor, David Wasson has almost four decades of experience in the print journalism business in Florida and Alabama. His work has also appeared in The New York Times, The Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times and several national magazines and websites. His Twitter handle: @JustDWasson.
