Georgia’s preseason work has brought Juan Gaston into the spotlight, but Kirby Smart wasn’t ready to sign off on the idea that the offensive lineman is already in finished form.
On Wednesday, as the Bulldogs moved into the third week of preseason practices, Smart pushed back on the growing storyline around Gaston’s conditioning. The Georgia coach said the second-year guard still has work to do when it comes to staying on the field for longer stretches.
“Just the camp window, I would say his stamina needs to improve,” Smart said. “Somewhere out in you guys’ world, it became this great offseason loss of weight and this great physical specimen, but he has to be able to play more snaps.
He has got to have better stamina, and I've addressed that with him. I told him, you can do one of two things.
You can read what people write about you, or you can listen to what your coaches tell you and listen to the truth.”
Gaston is listed at 6-foot-7 and 360 pounds. He started four games and appeared in 13 last season, and he is expected to start at right tackle for Georgia.
Smart said the message to Gaston is part of a broader standard for the entire offensive line. Georgia needs players who can hold up through long possessions, not just look good in shorts and summer workouts.
“We're very honest with him,” Smart said. “To be able to start and play down in, down and out, he's got to get in better shape and be able to sustain.
Not only him, but several guys have got to, to be able to play winning football. You've got to be able to play for an 8, 10-play drive in a row, and part of doing that is putting the pads on and going out and doing it.”
Smart also drew a line between summer training and what happens once camp gets rolling in the heat. Conditioning work with strength and conditioning director Scott Sinacliar matters, but it only goes so far once the Bulldogs are out in full pads.
“You can run all summer, but that doesn't mean you're prepared to go out in Sanford Stadium and play a 10-play drive when it's 110 degrees (in feels like temperature),” he said. “We're not where we need to be in regards to that. That's not directly at Juan, as much as it is everybody as a group.”
Even with the challenge, Smart made it clear he likes what Gaston brings to the table. He pointed to the lineman’s enthusiasm, versatility and daily approach.
“I enjoy coaching Juan,” Smart said. “Juan loves football.
Juan goes out to work each and every day. He's got the flexibility to kick in from tackle to guard.
He's a good athlete. He likes practice.
He likes football, and it's fun to be around him. We've got to keep getting him better."
Georgia has also adjusted its fall camp structure, mixing in walkthroughs, corrections and scrimmages while varying the workload from day to day. Smart said the Bulldogs have not treated any camp exactly the same way, and that the staff is trying to tailor the schedule to the roster, the depth chart and the season ahead.
“Some of our practices have been just like they have in the past and some of them have been dialed back in terms of trying to load twos and threes with more reps,” Smart said. “There's not one camp we've had that's been the same.
We don't do the exact same thing every camp. We try to cater it to what we need in terms of the position groups, the depth, the development, the season, the order of the season, the number of SEC games, who do we play first.
There are a lot of things that change within that, and I just think you have to change how you do things sometimes with these kids because they can get bored with monotony.”
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