Smart wants No. 3 Georgia to run the ball like champions in opening game against Tennessee State

ATHENS, Ga. (AP) — On the day of No. 3 Georgia's first preseason practice, coach Kirby Smart emphasized where he wants his Bulldogs to excel: Run the ball and stop the run.

“You cannot get away from that point of emphasis," Smart said. “That’s not going to change ever in our program.”

The first test for Georgia's ability to establish a strong running game and run defense comes in Saturday's season opener against Tennessee State (0-1).

Even though Georgia finished 12-2 in 2025 with its second consecutive Southeastern Conference championship, a Sugar Bowl loss to Mississippi in the quarterfinals of the College Football Playoff was a disappointing finish for a team which won back-to-back national championships in 2021 and 2022.

Georgia's average of 182.1 rushing yards per game ranked fourth in the SEC. The Bulldogs defense ranked second in the league with 81.5 yards allowed on the ground per game.

That was not good enough for Smart.

“I would say we are coming off a year that we were subpar at that, when we really tried to drive that home,” Smart said. “We’re not going to ever get away from that. We have to be able to run the football. Show me a good team that wins championships that can’t run the football. I mean, it just doesn’t happen.”

Junior Nate Frazier returns to lead Georgia's running game after coming close to 1,000 yards last season. Georgia also returns running backs Chauncey Bowens, who rushed for 526 yards and six touchdowns, Bo Walker and Dwight Phillips Jr.

Georgia lost its top five receivers, including Zachariah Branch, a third-round pick by Atlanta, and Colbie Young, a fourth-round pick by Cincinnati. London Humphreys, who had 18 catches for 276 yards last season, is the top returning target for quarterback Gunner Stockton.

Tennessee State opened with a 26-24 loss to Jackson State in Nashville last week. Coach Reggie Barlow said playing at Georgia in the Tigers' second game is a “blessing.”

“So excited about that, that our young guys get a chance to go and see how they measure up,” Barlow said. “You listen to these guys, they all probably wanted an opportunity to go to an SEC school and now you get a change to see how you measure up against SEC opponents.”

Tennessee State is 0-4 against SEC teams, including three losses to Vanderbilt.

Georgia's defensive line lost a potential starter last week when Xzavier McLeod announced on social media he was retiring. Another Georgia defensive lineman, Elijah Griffin, said Tuesday he was surprised.

“I found out probably when you found out to be honest with you,” Griffin said. “I didn’t really know. Obviously me and Xavier were close. But we didn’t talk about those off the field issues.”

McLeod had 17 tackles and started six games in 2025.

Smart had strong praise for sophomore tight end Elyiss Williams (6-7, 255), who he described as a “really hard worker.”

“I mean he is as physical a blocker as maybe I’ve seen in my career coaching, for a tight end,” Smart said, adding Williams “enjoys the physicality of what he does. He’s really improved as a pass catcher, he’s improved as run after catch guy, but to do what he does without complaining or worrying about his individual numbers, he just works, I mean, the guy, he works.”

Williams joins senior Lawson Luckie, Ethan Barbour and Jaden Raddell to make tight end one of Georgia's deepest positions.

The Bulldogs will debut a new all-white look as an alternate uniform when they play Western Kentucky at home on Sept. 12. The new uniform will feature white helmets, with red and black stripes, white jerseys with black numbers and red trim, and white pants.

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