With no spring practices as a result of COVID-19, we have very little information regarding the health of a few key players.
Thankfully, Kirby Smart filled everyone in during a teleconference with UGA reporters on Tuesday.
During the call, Smart mentioned that had there been spring practices this year, multiple Bulldogs would have been forced to sit out due to pre-existing injuries.
One player that Georgia fans have been wondering about is rising sophomore wide receiver Dominick Blaylock, who suffered a torn ACL in the first quarter of the SEC Championship loss vs LSU.
Smart touched on his rehab, and other players’, on Tuesday:
“The great thing about rehab is you can do it anywhere,” Smart said. “Ron (Georgia’s sports medicine director) has them set up. They can come in and do check-ins with Ron. If they choose to be here in town they can do their rehab locally here and have access to everything.”
Given the severity of his injury, nobody expected Blaylock, a former five-star receiver out of Marietta, to be able to train with the team this spring. The hope remains that he will be ready to go for fall camp in August.
Smart also mentioned backup quarterback D’Wan Mathis, who is still in the process of coming back after undergoing surgery to remove a cyst on his brain last May.
“Dom and D’wan they do exactly what you ask them to do, and they know it helps the future of their careers to be rehabbing,” Smart said. “And they’re committed to doing that. And the good thing is the NCAA has allowed us to help those guys.”
According to DawgNation, Mathis chose to stay in Athens during this time so he could remain close to the trainers and football facility.
However, if he did return home to Michigan, Smart said that that would have worked as well.
“The good thing is Ron knows so many people across the country every one of these kids he can reach out to somebody and have a whole network of people where they can get their rehab done,” Smart said.