WATCH: 5 takeaways from Kirby Smart’s opening fall practice press conference

Kirby Smart Georgia head coach Kirby Smart addresses the media before the annual Kirby Smart Family Foundation Giving Day Luncheon in the West End Zone of Sanford Stadium in Athens, Ga., on Wednesday, Aug. 7, 2019. (Photo by Tony Walsh) (Anthony Walsh)

August 4, 2022 at 6:04 p.m. UTC

By Mike Griffith, DawgNation

ATHENS — Kirby Smart said it’s “grind” time for Georgia football with a “million battles to face” before the Bulldogs open the season.

Fall drills are no longer a time for players to be getting in shape — the NCAA allows teams to train together throughout the offseason.

Instead, Smart said, it’s a time for Georgia to “lock in and lock out,” in terms of getting focused on football and avoiding outside distractions.

Georgia has one of the biggest reloads in recent college football history on its hands, having to replace a record-15 players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft, along with 13 transfers that included four former starters.