ATHENS – It’s been a long and stressful season for Georgia football coach Kirby Smart and his team, and things don’t seem to be slowing down.
Smart, whose Bulldogs (7-2) face Cincinnati (9-0) with eighth place in the ranking, at 12:30 pm next Saturday at the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl, revealed that his program has dealt with more problems related to Covid- 19 than ever before.
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“We have dealt with this all year, but our numbers have increased in the last two or three weeks in terms of hitting some players,” said Smart on his Saturday night conference call.
“We had gone a long time without really losing anyone, and some guys that we had to quarantine and lost, and we’re struggling to get them all back.”
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Smart did not give a specific number or share any player names that could be affected.
Smart said last week that he did not know which Georgia players would choose to quit bowling.
But on Saturday, the fifth-year coach confirmed that sack leader Azeez Ojulari will play the game after reports and sources indicated that the projected choice for the first round would be canceled.
At least six former UGA holders will lose the game against the Bearcats, including cornerback Eric Stokes, middle linebacker Monty Rice, offensive guard Ben Cleveland and tight end Tre ‘McKitty.
The Bulldogs have had four games moved or postponed this season because of Covid-19 issues from other teams, but not their own.
Smart said there would be “one or two” players missing if UGA had played Vanderbilt as rescheduled on December 19.
The Commodores canceled, however, spoiling Senior Citizens’ Day and costing the outgoing class a chance to establish the school’s brand for victories.
Smart said the team tested on returning from a three-day holiday on Saturday, and there are two more Covid-19 tests on Monday and Wednesday.
“You can imagine we are in needles,” said Smart. “Anyone who gets these three test cycles right will be out, and the biggest concern is contact tracking in which they can knock out more guys. No one at this time would not have released the contract tracking or Covid.
“It is an obvious concern for both teams.”
Cincinnati had no players reported as an opt-out at this time.
Smart said there are protocols in place if he misses the game because of Covid-19, as some coaches, including Nick Saban and Sam Pittman, did this season.
“Whenever I do a test, it’s a concern of mine,” said Smart. “I’m not going to share exactly that plan, because it didn’t have to bear fruit, but we’ve already gone through it and talked about it.
“(We) have things available for Skype meetings, Zoom meetings to sit at team meetings, to be in practice through Zoom meetings (and) have someone responsible for game day decisions.
“Almost everyone in the country has this (provisional plan) now.”
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