Smart ‘hopeful’ star DL Williams can go vs. Tide

Georgia coach Kirby Smart said he’s hopeful the No. 2 Bulldogs will have back a few injured defensive linemen for Saturday night’s SEC showdown at No. 4 Alabama.

Smart said injured defensive tackle Warren Brinson, who missed the past two games with an Achilles tendon injury, practiced last week and should be ready to go.

Star defensive end Mykel Williams, who hasn’t played since injuring his left ankle in a 34-3 victory against Clemson in the opener, was able to run last week.

“I’m hopeful,” Smart said of Williams during a news conference on Monday. “We’ll see. He didn’t do much last week. He got a lot of rehab Friday and Saturday and was able to run Friday and Saturday, which is positive. But he hasn’t been out to practice today and we’ll see how today goes.”

Williams, 6-foot-5 and 265 pounds, is ranked the No. 2 prospect available for the 2025 NFL draft by ESPN analyst Field Yates. Only Tennessee edge rusher James Pearce Jr. is ranked higher.

Last season, Williams was voted second-team All-SEC by the league’s coaches after leading the Bulldogs with 4.5 sacks. He was named a freshman All-American in 2022.

Brinson, a 6-foot-4, 310-pound senior, had 21 tackles, 3 tackles for loss and 2 sacks last season.

According to Smart, sophomore defensive lineman Jordan Hall, who has yet to play this season after undergoing surgery to repair tibia stress fractures in both his legs, is close to returning as well.

“We’re hopeful to get Jordan Hall back,” Smart said. “[He] has been working very hard, tirelessly, doing rehab and busting his butt all weekend.”

Saturday night’s game will be the first time Smart will face new Crimson Tide coach Kalen DeBoer, who took the job when legendary coach Nick Saban retired on Jan. 10. Smart was on Saban’s staff for nine seasons, from 2008 to 2015, before leaving to take over his alma mater’s football program.

“[Saban] recruited a lot of them and they’re good players,” Smart said. “I think anytime you go against a really good team that’s a powerhouse in college football, it’s a challenge. I really look at it like this is a hell of an opportunity for our kids, our program on a national stage.

“We’ve been on the national stage a lot, especially in the last three or four years. It’s the reason kids want to come to Georgia. They say, ‘I want to play in games like that.’ We’re going to have more of them after this.”