Kirby Smart isn't a fan of what he's seen from his players after the Bulldogs' latest spring practice.
"We have a young, inexperienced group," Smart said Tuesday, according to Dawg Nation. "We really can't practice to our standard because they're all tired."
Smart added: "I need the old players - old to me is Year 2, Year 3 - to lead the Year 1 guys because I feel like half of the roster is in their first year at Georgia. ... It's been tough. We got a long way to go, but I'm optimistic. We do have good kids and they do work hard."
Smart sounded particularly unimpressed by his freshman class.
"I'm calling out all the freshmen for not being in shape," he said. "There's not a guy out there, a freshman, that's sustaining his reps and just flourishing."
Smart - a two-time national champion with the Bulldogs - was specifically asked about the team's young group of receivers and safeties. He expects improvement from his pass-catchers.
"They gotta get in shape," Smart said about his freshman wideouts. "They're constantly tired at practice, they got their hands on their hips, exhausted. I think there's a little anxiety in that.
"They're trying, there's no lack of effort, and they're talented. But they got a long way to go in terms of learning what to do, and our job is to get them ready."
Georgia's safety position has been a strength for the school with Malaki Starks and Dan Jackson serving as key contributors in the secondary for multiple years. However, Smart's outfit is now looking for other safeties to step up with Starks and Jackson entering the 2025 NFL Draft.
"It's just like a lot of guys and there's nobody really standing out," Smart said of Georgia's competition at safety. "K.J. (Bolden) is there and he continues to bulk up, get a little bit bigger. ... There's no solid foundation that Malaki and Dan provided, so it's a by-committee group."
The 49-year-old coach added that his safeties are "trying to survive practice instead of thrive."
"We wanna thrive, not survive," he said.
Smart repeatedly said Tuesday that he believes his coaching staff will help his players improve but added that it may not be an easy task.
"They have to be willing to receive coaching," Smart said. "They're offended when you coach them. I'm not talking about the freshmen, I'm talking about in general.
"I think they'll get there. If they won't, then somebody else will be in their spot."
The Bulldogs are 105-19 under Smart's watch. They've won three SEC championships together in addition to back-to-back national titles during the 2021 and '22 seasons
