Kirby Smart comments on 3 key Georgia football injuries

Georgia football has really been struggling with injuries recently. That isn’t an excuse for their loss against Ole Miss on Saturday, but it certainly is a reason why they struggled with some aspects of their game.

During Kirby Smart’s postgame interview, he shared updates on three key players who have been struggling with injuries. Some of the decisions made by Smart to play them seem very questionable now, but hopefully all three are able to get healthy before next weeks game.

RB Trevor Etienne

"It's hurting him some," Smart said via 247sports.com. "You know, he was not able to do a lot during the week. He got to run a lot, but he didn't get to rep, take shots, and take the physical contact that you probably need on Tuesday, Wednesday."

Running back Trevor Etienne was someone most thought was healthy and ready to go after his rib injury during the first half against Florida last week. But apparently that wasn’t the case.

According to Smart, Etienne was able to practice in a reduced capacity, but he was unable to take hits throughout the week. That is a huge concern because it shows that he wasn’t as ready to go as most thought.

That was reflected during the game against Ole Miss as he only received six carries and accumulated 24 yards. Etienne also hauled in three receptions for 10 yards, but even that is nowhere near the level of production expected from a player of his caliber.

Hopefully Etienne is able to heal up and is ready to go against Tennessee next week, because Georgia’s offense needs him desperately.

Offensive Line injuries

OL Tate Ratledge

"Tate (Ratledge) didn't practice all week. We thought he'd be able to go like he did against Florida. He was not able to take many reps, but we thought he'd be able to go in the game just based off of experience. He struggled, that foot was still not completely healed, and he's out there giving us all he can."

This injury seems like it was mismanaged by Smart and his staff. Tate Ratledge was clearly struggling all night with his injury, and he was beat multiple times by Ole Miss defenders which resulted in key plays for the Rebels.

So if Ratledge was unable to practice all week, it seems strange to play him in general. Not only would Ratledge clearly not be at his best playing injured, but it risks him getting injured even further.

So maybe the best option was to sit Ratledge in hopes he’s get back to 100 percent health by next week.

OL Micah Morris

"Micah (Morris) is still dealing with injury, too, from the Florida game. So those two guys struggled."

Guard Micah Morris had started Georgia’s previous five games before picking up an injury last week against Florida. This injury was unknown to the public until he was a surprising addition to the Bulldogs’ injury report midweek.

Morris was clearly healthy enough to play against Ole Miss, but similarly to Ratledge he struggled because of this injury.

These offensive line injuries came at brutal times because the Ole Miss defense was dominant all night long. The poor offensive line play was one of the biggest reasons why Georgia lost, so hopefully they’re able to get healthy and improve before the Tennessee game next week.