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David Hale, ESPN Staff Writer
DANIA BEACH, Fla. — Georgia‘s hopes for a third straight national championship ended with a loss to Alabama in the SEC championship game, but coach Kirby Smart said his players refused to let that moment be their final memories of the 2023 season.
The Bulldogs enter Saturday’s Capital One Orange Bowl against Florida State with no players who have publicly opted out of the game, and Smart said that’s a credit to the team’s leadership.
“The leaders of the team spearheaded that,” Smart said Friday. “I stayed out of it. I met with each player who was draft-eligible and the seniors, and I was very honest. Then they had to make a decision with their family. But they want to go out on top. They don’t want their last Georgia outing to be the SEC championship.”
Smart said the decisions to play in the bowl game were “kind of contagious,” where after one or two players announced their intention, everyone else got on board.
Still, Smart said a rash of injuries coming out of the SEC title game has created more opportunities for younger players to get reps during bowl preparation.
“We’ve had a lot of guys who weren’t able to practice during this bowl run,” Smart said.
Chief among them is tight end Brock Bowers, who remains questionable for the Orange Bowl. Smart played coy with the media Friday, saying “we’ll see” whether Bowers would be available for the game.
Linebacker Damon Wilson returned to practice Thursday, Smart said, and wide receiver Arian Smith is expected to be back Friday.
“They want to finish together,” Smart said. “I think finishing is important, and we don’t talk enough about it. Everybody says, ‘This is what you should do.’ Kids who love football, they want to play football. And it’s the Orange Bowl. That’s an opportunity that’s not given to everybody.”
One member of the team who won’t be a part of the Orange Bowl is offensive line coach Stacy Searels. Smart said Searels felt sick ahead of Christmas break, but the assumption was that a few days away would have him back on his feet. Instead, Searels ended up hospitalized in Athens, Georgia.
“He’s moving around the hospital, but I don’t think he’s going to make it down for the game,” Smart said. “But he’s up and moving and recovering, and his wife, Trish, said he’s ornery as hell.”