As the Georgia Bulldogs begin to get into the thick of their SEC schedule, players are starting to heal up and move past prior injuries.
Georgia hosts South Carolina this Saturday at 12 p.m. and it looks like there is a chance the Dawgs could return some players from previous injury reports.
Last Saturday, starting guard Solomon Kindley was available but did not play against Tennessee. Smart indicated that Kindley is expected to play this weekend.
Defensive lineman Jordan Davis injured his ankle against Tennessee, but Smart thinks the sophomore will be fine.
“We think Jordan is going to be fine,” Smart said Tuesday. “He was able to run and move around and do some things. He continues to improve. If he continues at this rate he’ll be fine. He’s ahead where Solly (Solomon Kindley) and Isaiah (Wilson) were each one of their weeks that they were cleared to play.”
Cornerback Tyson Campbell has been out with a foot injury since the first half of the Sept. 14th game vs Arkansas State.
Smart said Campbell’s been doing more and more but is not sure if he’s ready to return to game action.
“Tyson is running really well, he hit some really good numbers on the GPS today,” Smart said on Tuesday. “As the practice went on, he got better and better and better. I don’t know. He still has not had contact and the pressure you need from getting some contact out there.”
Defensive tackle Julian Rochester was able to make his season debut on Saturday, being forced into action once Davis went down early. The senior defensive tackle underwent offseason ACL surgery and had not been able to go since. Rochester has now appeared in 41 games throughout his career and started 12 of 14 last year.
“Julian played well, he came in and has just been practicing,” Smart said. “We’ve been grooming him to get him ready and get him in the rotation and felt like it was the time to do it. He’ll get opportunities to continue doing that if he continues to do everything he’s supposed to do and work hard in practice.”
