ATHENS — In Kirby Smart’s opening statement to the media last week, he said one of the main goals heading into the season is to create more havoc defensively. Smart said having quick, twitchy players is a key to increasing the havoc.

Football Outsiders, one of the leaders in advanced stats for college football, calculates havoc rate by adding the total number of tackles for loss, passes defended and forced fumbles, and then dividing that total by the number of plays.

In other words, the goal is to set the opposition back, instead of just merely stopping them.Smart said to boost havoc rate, the Bulldogs must practice disruptively and emphasize defensive plays that create yardage losses. In 2018, Georgia finished 73rd nationally in havoc rate and 13th in the SEC in tackles for loss with 65.

“There’s definitely some schematic stuff,” Smart said. “We have a base defense that we feel good about. Within that, we have a lot of things that we didn’t use last year … I think we’re going to be deeper, and older and wiser on the back end, which allows for a little more complexity.”

Last season, Georgia was a relatively young team in the secondary. Now the team has more depth and reps on that defensive front and the group is beginning to emerge with some personality.

Redshirt freshman Divaad Wilson is at the front of the crew, Smart said. Wilson played for the first time in the Sugar Bowl against Texas and racked up four tackles, including one for a loss.

As a whole, the talent pool is deeper and more experienced. Smart said the increased competition among the positions will help create more havoc.

However, havoc extends past just the secondary. For the defensive line, it has also been an emphasis in spring practice.

“They really make us go out there knowing that we need more tackles for loss, more sacks, more fumbles, more interceptions,” senior David Marshall said.

Out of the early enrollees so far, Smart said Nolan Smith and Jermaine Johnson have immediately come in and immersed themselves into the program. At practice on March 26, Smart was seen working on drills with Johnson.

“I see hunger out of both those guys,” Smart said. “They don’t know exactly what to do yet, but man they do it hard.”

Smart said he’s glad there are 15 practices this spring to develop the young players. Ultimately, teaching them “what to do” falls on the coaching staff, and Smart acknowledged that it’s a work in progress.

The Bulldogs have studied the top havoc teams from 2018 such as Miami and Alabama and in the end, it comes down to knowing where the plays will go before they happen, and then reacting as quickly as possible. As spring progresses, the group will continue to harp on and sharpen those elements.

“First we have to know the plays, know what the offense is doing,” Marshall said. “That’s more the mindset of just getting more tackles and more interceptions.”