College Football
Buzzing In Atlanta
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
I have to start this with full disclosure. I’m from Atlanta and I’m a huge Georgia Tech fan. I grew up going to spring practices and home games. I wish George O’Leary never left the program for Notre Dame.
I’m also not a fan of Paul Johnson, at all. He started well when he got to Atlanta in 2008 because he had the players recruited by Chan Gailey.
Things have gotten progressively worse each year because of poor recruiting. The Yellow Jackets were 3-9 in 2015 and 5-6 last season. It seems like CPJ does just enough to not be fired but he’s not good enough to leave for a job at any other Power 5 school.
Not to sound pessimistic but as long as Johnson is the coach Tech has accepted mediocrity. They have attempted to make a positive change by getting rid of defensive coordinator Ted Roof and replacing him with Nate Woody.
Woody comes from Appalachian State and the scheme he uses is an attacking 3-4 defense. I’m not sure if Tech has the athletes for this so we will see how this goes.
The best player on the team is quarterback TaQuan Marshall. He’s the prototypical option quarterback meaning he runs well but struggles throwing the football. He led the team in rushing with 1,218 yards and 18 touchdowns. He passed for 936 yards, 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He only completed 37.6% of his passes.
Georgia Tech’s 2018 slate is balanced with six home games at Bobby Dodd Stadium and six road contests.
Eight of the Yellow Jackets’ 12 opponents advanced to postseason play in 2017, including all four ACC teams that will visit Bobby Dodd Stadium — College Football Playoff participant and ACC champion Clemson, Quick Lane Bowl champion Duke, ACC Coastal Division champion Miami and Military Bowl participant Virginia.
Game 1 is September 1st against FCS opponent Alcorn State. This is an easy 50-point blowout win.
The next week is on the road at South Florida. USF was 10-2 last year so the Bulls have some talent. They lost 25 seniors from the 2017 team so they have lost talent and leadership. The Yellow Jackets will get the W.
Game 3 is also on the road at Pitt. GA Tech beat them 35-17 in 2017 and I expect a similar result.
They return home to face Clemson who will be ranked in the top five. The Tigers have drastically superior talent. Clemson will obliterate Tech.
Bowling Green comes to town September 29th. This will be a rebound win.
Friday October 5th is at Louisville. I’m not sure if the Cardinals can replace superstar Lamar Jackson so I anticipate them struggling on offense. Yellow Jackets should win.
They return home the following week to face Duke. The Blue Devils have had Tech’s number recently. This is a tossup.
After a bye week the Jackets travel to Blacksburg for a Thursday night game. VA Tech will win the game.
Game 9 is at North Carolina. UNC is coming off a 3-9 season so they may not be very good in 2018. This should be another win for the Yellow Jackets.
November 10th is home against Miami. The Hurricanes have also dominated Tech since CPJ has been head coach. Canes will win.
Virginia travels to Atlanta after that and Tech should win.
The finale is in Athens against a much more talented UGA team. Jake Fromm will be better in his second season and Georgia gets an easy win.
I think Georgia Tech will win 7-8 games and return to a bowl game.
Coastal Buzz
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
No matter the level of sports you play and no matter what conference or division you play in, you’re going to always have one group that is more dominant than the other; beside the whole “sports camaraderie” thing it’s kind of the purpose of playing, right?
When it comes to ACC Football, the more dominant division, historically, has been the Atlantic. The Coastal Division, which Georgia Tech won in four of the first seven seasons after Paul Johnson was brought in, has played the role of the NBA’s Eastern Conference.
Basically, the Coastal has been the little brother that keeps swinging at the older brother (Atlantic) but is always kept at arm’s length, just far enough to never really land blows.
This bodes well for Johnson and the Yellow Jackets, who after a seventh, fifth, and third place finish in the Coastal over the past three years and a new extension for the aforementioned head coach, need to see continued improvement as they try to regain that early success.
At first glance, Georgia Tech’s schedule seems fairly daunting, however I think it’s more than manageable. Like most college football teams, the difference between a successful season for the Jackets and one that ends in everyone eating away their pain at the Varsity, will come down to handful of games.
I know it’s dangerous to assume, but let’s roll the dice and assume they defeat Alcorn St., USF, Pittsburgh, Bowling Green, and Virginia. And that they lose to Clemson and Georgia. This leaves them with a 5-2 record, with 5 games up in the air; all five of which happen to be in row.
The first of the five is against Louisville, at Louisville. With Lamar Jackson in the NFL and the Cardinals matador style defense, I like Tech’s chances. This is one I would not be surprised to see them leave with a win.
The next opponent is Duke, at home. Now, before David Cutcliffe arrived this would be more of a guaranteed win than the Alcorn St. game, but Duke has played Tech well over the last few years, winning in Atlanta two years ago.
After the Blue Devils come to town and a bye week, there are back to back road games against Virginia Tech and North Carolina. Truth be told, the season could come down to these two games.
As tough as the Hokies are at home, the Yellow Jackets have always played them tough since Johnson’s arrival and have won three of the last four. A win won’t be easy but it won’t be stunning either.
There’s absolutely no telling which Carolina team will show up this season but the games always seem to be close, a common thread with Georgia Tech and I would expect nothing different when they meet in November.
This stretch of five games concludes back in Atlanta, against Miami. The Hurricanes have looked good since Richt’s return and I know the expectations are high in Coral Gables. I almost included this game in the loss column but with it being at home and the potential for a first-place division title on the line, I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I don’t think they will win, I’m just not convinced a Georgia Tech loss is a sure thing.
So, there you have it; a Coastal Division title, right in their grasp.
Of course, now that I’ve said all this, you realize Alcorn State is going to win that first game, don’t you?
Flying Back To Old Heights
By: Mike Anthony
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
The comparison is often made that good teams – like wild animals – can be most dangerous when backed into a corner. There is obviously some truth to that for the saying to have become cliche, but there is more than one law to both nature and sports.
Sometimes, the most danger stems from guard being let down with a known threat that has become so commonplace that people have taken it for granted.
For nearly its entire modern existence, the Georgia Southern football program has been a powerhouse.
In just their second season of Division I-AA (now Football Championship Subdivision) competition, the Eagles claimed a national title. One year later, they became the first team ever to win consecutive championships at that level.
The next quarter century saw Georgia Southern rise as the unquestioned dynasty atop its level of competition, with ‘bad years’ being more commonly recognized as early playoff exits than losing records.
And when the time finally came to move up to the Football Bowl Subdivision, it was like a refresher course in GS Football history.
The Eagles’ first season in FBS resulted in a 9-3 record with two very-near upsets against ACC opponents. And it would have ended with a bowl if not for a useless NCAA bylaw that kept them out of consideration.
2015 brought about another stellar season and a game against Georgia that went into overtime and has kept the Bulldogs from releasing any comment on future dates for what had been a renewing rivalry series.
That season culminated in the first-ever bowl for Georgia Southern – a date with Bowling Green in the Go Daddy Bowl. The Eagles thoroughly disassembled the Mid-American Conference champs in that game and seemed poised to become an immediate player in the perennial ‘G5’ discussion.
But a funny thing happened on the way to more Georgia Southern dominance.
The 2016 season seemed to be set up for even more success than the previous year’s bowl-winner. Newly-hired head coach Tyson Summers got off to a 3-0 start in his tenure, but then the wheels fell off.
And then those wheels careened off of a cliff… And then the truck itself slammed into a mountain… and then the remains of that truck also fell off of the cliff.
The 2016 campaign ended with a 5-7 record and no return to a bowl. The next season began with a losing streak that nearly doubled the previous school record and Summers had been relieved before the Eagles saw their first win.
But the good thing about a program that can barely comprehend such a bad run of results is that it doesn’t take much to build up optimism for the next go-round.
Chad Lunsford was named the interim head coach midway through 2017. And while Georgia Southern won just two of the six games during that stint, a change in mood and culture was palpable and led to Lunsford being named the official head coach before the season concluded.
Some firings and hirings took place, while other members of the existing staff remained.
The first ‘early signing day’ of the new NCAA recruiting rules saw GS fall behind Sun Belt rivals, but the staff made more hires, ramped up the recruiting efforts, and by February ended up with the top-rated recruiting class in the conference.
The ultimate judgment on whether or not the Eagles have turned things around won’t come until the fall, but it’s hard to argue that Georgia Southern hasn’t had a great offseason that is quickly erasing a disastrous 2017.
No Walk In The Dawg Park
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It is never too early to talk UGA football. Here is a look at the Dawgs’ schedule from worst to best in 2018.
12. Austin Peay: The Governors roll into Athens on September 1st and roll out about three hours later with a beat down and big fat paycheck.
11. UMass: The Minutemen arrive in Athens in mid-November and will get hammered within minutes.
10. Middle Tennessee State: The Blue Raiders come to Athens in mid-September and depending on the outcome in Columbia, South Carolina the previous week will determine how badly they get pummeled.
9. Vanderbilt: Vandy won the last time they came to Athens in 2016, but that will not happen in 2018. Vandy will be scrappy but in the end get beat something like 41-17.
8. Tennessee: The Vols come to Athens where they won with a Hail Mary in 2016. Butch Jones left a huge mess in Knoxville and Jeremy Pruitt is there to clean it up. It may take 2-3 years to get the Vols back in contention if they give Pruitt enough time in Knoxville to do it. 41-0 at home last season really eats at the Vol nation.
7. Georgia Tech: The Jackets have won the last two times they have visited the Classic City, but that will not happen in 2018. UGA is too deep and talented for Tech in 2018. Did you ever think Clean, Old-Fashioned Hate would land here?
6. Missouri: The Dawgs travel to COMO on 9/22 with a young secondary and will face a Tiger team with Drew Lock, who throws the deep ball better than anyone in the country. Dawgs better be ready for this one. This game worries me.
5. Kentucky: Georgia travels to Lexington on 11/3 and I already know it will be a night game even before it is announced. This is sandwich game between Florida and Auburn and UGA better be ready. A loss to Kentucky would be disaster for UGA because UGA just flat out owns Kentucky in football.
4. LSU: A trip to Red Stick is never easy. The Dawgs will be coming off a Vandy win and LSU will be in the third leg of a four-game stretch with three of the Tigers biggest rivals. Ole Miss, @ Florida, UGA and then Mississippi State, who beat LSU 37-7 in Starkville in 2017.
UGA is catching the Tigers at a good time, but it will still be a toss-up game. Who will LSU’s QB be?
3. South Carolina: This game has been moved back to early September and let me go ahead and warn you that this will be a war.
Columbia, South Carolina may be the hottest place on the planet early in football season. This will be a great game to attend because the sights around Williams Brice stadium will be easy on the eyes because Carolina girls are sweet southern pearls just as the song says. Will Muschamp is building quietly a quality program in Columbia.
2. Florida @ Jax: With Dan Mullen arriving in Gainesville, promising a better offense and a more heated rivalry after saying of the Bulldogs winning the East in 2017, “Even a blind squirrel finds a nut every once in a while.” As Granny Hawkins said in Outlaw Josey Wales that big talk’s worth doodly-squat Dan.
This game will be more heated than in the past with 4th place Dan running things in Gainesville. 42-7 in 2017 could have been 63-7 it was that one-sided. I Have never seen a Florida team lay down like that Gator squad did that day.
1. Auburn: The DSOR (Deep South’s Oldest Rivalry) was played twice in 2017 with UGA winning the SEC Title 28-7 over AU. This game has all of a sudden become very heated with UGA taking 10 of the last 13 contests. This one in Athens on November 10th should be a classic.
UGA’s conference schedule is tough with trips to LSU, Missouri, Kentucky, South Carolina, and UF in Jax.
Dawgs need to win four of the five contests to get back to Atlanta and play for another SEC Title. Hey Bama, see you in Atlanta.
2018 Sting
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia Tech is coming off another subpar season after 2017. They finished the year under .500 and missed a bowl game for the second time in three years.
For whatever reason Tech gave Paul Johnson a two-year contract extension in January. Maybe the program has accepted mediocrity or they may really feel CPJ is a genius.
Georgia Tech athletic director Todd Stansbury noted that, despite the strength of Tech’s schedule – Tech played two of the four teams in the College Football Playoff (Clemson and Georgia) as well as 10-win Miami and nine-win Virginia Tech – “you could look at it and say we’re three plays away from playing for another ACC championship,” he said.
Stansbury referenced Tech’s last-minute losses to Tennessee, Miami and Virginia. Had the outcomes against Miami and Virginia been reversed, the Jackets would have played Clemson for the ACC title. Instead, along with the heartbreaking loss to Tennessee, the Jackets finished 5-6.
One of the lone bright spots for the Yellow Jackets in 2017 was quarterback TaQuan Marshall. He led the team in rushing with 1,218 yards and 18 touchdowns. He passed for 936 yards, 10 touchdowns and 5 interceptions. He only completed 37.6% of his passes. He needs to work on his accuracy but Paul Johnson also needs to develop an intermediate passing game.
Tech ranked 33rd in total defense, allowing 354.3 yards per game. That ranking is misleading because they had one game cancelled. If they played a full 12 game schedule, they would have been ranked lower.
Ted Roof was finally let go as defensive coordinator and replaced by Nate Woody. Woody is a 27-year coaching veteran and he turned Appalachian State into one of the best units in college football.
After installing an attacking 3-4 scheme, Woody oversaw the transformation of an App State defense that ranked eighth in the nine-team NCAA Division I FCS Southern Conference in total defense the season prior to his arrival (2012) into a unit that led the Sun Belt Conference in total defense three times and ranked among the top 30 in NCAA Division I FBS each of the past four campaigns (2014-17).
Hopefully the defense will drastically improve in 2018. They have been the weak link of the team for most of Johnson’s tenure.
The schedule for the upcoming season seems favorable. The first game is September 1st against FCS Alcorn State. That will be an easy win.
The next game is at USF. The Bulls were 10-2 last year so I expect them to still be pretty good in 2018. I’m going to give the edge to Georgia Tech but this should be a tough game.
Week 3 is on the road at Pitt. The Yellow Jackets beat the Panthers 35-17 last season. I expect the same results this season.
The schedule gets significantly harder when Clemson comes to town. The Tigers will win by 20-plus points.
GT plays at home against Bowling Green the following week. This will be the last tune up game before the schedule gets more difficult.
They travel to Louisville for a Friday night game. Since Lamar Jackson departed, the Cardinals will have a new starting QB. For that reason, I give the edge to Tech.
The next three games are Duke, at Virginia Tech and at UNC. The only win should be against Carolina.
They close out the season against Miami, Virginia and at Georgia. The Hurricanes and Bulldogs will beat Georgia Tech. The UVA game should be a win for the Yellow Jackets.
They should be able to rebound and win 6-7 games and appear in a bowl.
New Dawgs, Old Tricks
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
It’s been a good start to the Kirby Smart regime. I’d be lying if I said I saw his early success coming this soon, but I have a feeling Georgia fans won’t mind me being a little off with my prediction.
While I understand the excitement, and if you’re a UGA fan you have every right to be, I would caution getting too overzealous. If you’re experiencing a bit of Deja vu, it’s because you’ve seen this movie before.
Kirby Smart and Mark Richt will be forever linked for the obvious reason that Smart succeeded Richt, after the latter was relieved of his head coaching duties. However, it’s some of the similarities concerning each coaches’ first couple years in Athens that I want to talk about; their records in particular.
For one, they both arrived as first-time head coaches. Sure, that’s not necessarily life changing or anything, but neither had any other head coaching experience prior to UGA, which does play a part when assessing their early years.
And going by the first two years for each at Georgia, those seasons are almost identical.
Smart finished his inaugural season 8-5, ending up just outside the Top 25. Richt finished 8-4, ranked 25th at season’s end.
Kirby then followed that up with a second season consisting of a 13-2 record, the school’s first conference championship in over a decade, a berth in the playoffs, and a number two ranking in the final polls. That’s a sophomore slump anyone would sign up for.
What about Mark Rich’s second season? How about a 13-1 record, a conference championship for the first time in 20 years, a third-place finish in the season ending polls, and a Sugar Bowl win. Had the college playoffs actually existed during the 2002 season, Georgia would have been one of those four teams, without a doubt.
I know it’s purely coincidental, but to have two first time head coaches with almost identical seasons to start their career at the same school, is still pretty interesting.
I do have to say that Smart has done a better job on the recruiting trail, specifically with local talent. Richt did a good job with Top 10 recruiting classes those first few years, but I don’t remember him ever having a number one class, like Smart has for this upcoming season.
I know this may come across as me antagonizing the UGA fan base- like I’ve been sitting around all day, drinking beer with Skip Bayless and Danny Kanell, scheming of ways to get under your skin- but I promise it’s not like that at all. Even though it’s been 12 years since I lived in Georgia, I was a resident there long enough and remain friends with enough people, to know expectations are at an all-time high.
I’m not trying to knock Smart, or anything he has accomplished; bringing him in was obviously the right call. Bulldog fans have every reason to be excited and should be. This is the greatest amount of promise their team has had since, well, Mark Richt’s first two years.
I will say this though; if you’re a Georgia fan, finishing this upcoming season at 11-3, with a SEC East Division title, to go along with a loss in the SEC Championship game, may not be the outcome you’re looking for, for one particular reason.
As different as Smart and Richt may be in certain areas, so far, they’ve been pretty similar in the one area that counts.
Dawg Watch
By: Kipp Branch
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
So, you have the Georgia Bulldogs coming three points shy of a national title in 2017 and trying to maintain the momentum of the unexpected title run. The Dawgs are now the hunted instead of the hunter moving forward in year three of the Kirby Smart regime in The Classic City.
Here are 5 Dawgs to watch in 2018:
Deandre Baker: The senior cornerback, when set up against SEC opponents last season, allowed a passer rating of 38.7. That was the second-lowest rating allowed by an SEC cornerback. In his junior season with the Bulldogs, Baker was targeted 42 times and allowed 18 receptions for 209 yards. Baker played in 15 games and also recorded 44 total tackles, 3 interceptions and 9 pass deflections.
When Baker decided to return for his senior season Georgia DC Mel Tucker’s job got a little easier because Baker will shut down one side of the field while UGA gets the other defensive backs some valuable snaps early to get ready for the SEC slate.
Look for Baker to contend for All-American honors and be contender for the Jim Thorpe Award, given annually to the top defensive back in college football.
Richard LeCounte III: The five-star Liberty County product is being counted on to step into a leadership role on the Bulldog defense that lost Roquan Smith to the Chicago Bears.
Kirby Smart has been speaking directly and indirectly to LeCounte through the media about stepping up to being the player the coaching staff envisions him being. Expect a huge year out of LeCounte as he responds to his head coach and the mental side of the game catches up to his fantastic athletic ability.
Monty Rice: How do you replace the best linebacker in UGA football history? Well Monty Rice had 14 tackles in the G-Day game in April and has the confidence of his head coach, who had this to say about Rice after the game: “He’s a great kid, man, He’s one of those that when the lights come on and he gets the chance to play in front of somebody, he flashes more. He just loves the game. He loves contact. He likes to hit.”
That’s all I needed to hear about Rice who will lead this young linebacker group in the fall. Rice will have three years to make his mark in Athens.
Terry Godwin: The former five-star recruit from Hogansville came back for his senior season. Godwin has been the second leading receiver on the team for each of his three seasons and has shown flashes of the lofty recruiting ranking at times during his UGA career.
Godwin is the man and needs to play like the man at WR in 2018. Godwin leads a talented position group that returns two other starters in Riley Ridley, and Mecole Hardman. UGA is loaded at every position on offense.
Justin Fields: The top rated QB in the last recruiting cycle looked the part in the G-Day game. He played better than Jake Fromm in the contest and brings a skill set to the offense that UGA has not seen since DJ Shockley which is the ability to make plays with his feet.
Plug in Tim Tebow’s freshman highlight tape at Florida and you will see how Fields will be used in Athens this year. Justin Fields will have an impact on this football team in the fall in red zone situations. This kid is special.
Kirby is building a monster in Athens, Georgia. Who else can’t wait for September to arrive?
Smart Extension?
By: JJ Lanier
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Before I get too deep into this, just let me say that I like Kirby Smart. As someone who thought Georgia could have gotten a better coach after they fired Mark Richt two years ago, Smart has proven me wrong, so far.
The job that he and his coaching staff did past season was one of the better coaching jobs in college football. His recruiting, which I had no expectations about, have been even more impressive.
That said, the timing and amount of Smart’s recent extension- which runs through 2024 at roughly $7 million annually- is a bit of a head scratcher to me.
I get this is the way things are generally done within college football now, overpaying to lock up the young coach, but it still seems a bit rushed.
Georgia feels like that kid we all new in high school; the one that was never allowed to go out and have a good time, so after a semester at college he comes home with blue hair, pierced nipples, and his tattoo artist girlfriend, Viper, whose free spirited ways really understands him at his core.
Basically, UGA’s fan base and administration have been yearning for national relevance for so long that when they finally achieved it their Facebook relationship status with Smart just went from “it’s complicated” to “married” after roughly the second date.
Again, I’m not saying Smart isn’t the right guy for UGA, but why that amount, now?
To me, if you’re giving a coach that type of extension, it’s for one of two reasons: He or she is entertaining offers from other schools. You are approaching the end of a contract and that coach has shown, either over a sustained period of time or with a championship, they are worth the money.
I can’t imagine there was serious consideration that Smart was looking for greener pastures, especially at this time of year. He’s a Georgia guy through and through and for as much as like to give UGA fans a hard time, there aren’t many coaching jobs better than the one in Athens.
As for the second reason, yes Smart led last year’s team to arguably the most exciting season Georgia has had in recent memory, but how many times have you seen a new head coach inject some much needed life into a program early on, only to fall back to the pack a couple years later. (I feel like this is a good time to mention how similar Smart and Richt’s first two seasons in Athens were, including it being their first head coaching job.)
As an outsider looking in, it just feels like a bit of a risk to do this now, as opposed to after this upcoming season. You’d not only have another year to evaluate Smart, but you can see how he handles being the coach of a team that has the bullseye on their back.
Plus, unless I’m wrong and Smart was actually looking elsewhere, you could probably afford to wait another year without fear of losing him.
But look, it’s not my money and as long as the administration, alumni, and fans feel good about it, God bless them and I hope it works out. I certainly don’t ever resent a coach or player for getting paid.
I will say this, if Kirby Smart ever wavered on what the expectations in Athens have been, it’s crystal clear now; you pay a coach $7 million a year to win National Championships, not just conference titles.
Spring Buzz
By: Kenneth Harrison Jr.
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Georgia Tech finished 2017 with a 5-6 record. It makes the second time in three years that the Yellow Jackets missed a bowl game and had a losing record. So, the logical thing for athletic director Todd Stansbury to do was give head coach Paul Johnson a two-year contract extension through the 2022 season.
This was the eleventh spring game in the CPJ era. One major change was made in an effort to get Tech back on track. Defensive coordinator Ted Roof was fired after the season and replaced by Nate Woody. The defense now runs a 3-4 scheme.
Only 8,500 fans showed up to watch. This could be because there are many things to do in Atlanta on a Friday night or the fan base is tired of coach Johnson. The Blue team beat the White team 21-14.
Several players sat out with injuries. Quarterback TaQuon Marshall did not play after showing up to the training room Friday morning with strep throat. Center Kenny Cooper suffered a lower-leg injury in last Saturday’s scrimmage that required surgery. Guard Parker Braun and offensive tackles Andrew Marshall and Jake Stickler also were out, Marshall for the entirety of the spring.
Defensive end Desmond Branch missed the scrimmage to attend his brother’s wedding in New Mexico. Likely starting safeties A.J. Gray and Jalen Johnson were out all of the spring with injuries.
Freshman quarterback Tobias Oliver led the white team and redshirt sophomore Lucas Johnson led the blue team.
After a slow start, Johnson drove the Blue-team offense on touchdown drives of 70, 74 and 55 yards, along with a field-goal drive of 54 yards. He was 5-for-17 with one touchdown and one interception. He had completions of 53, 33 and 35 yards and finished with 143 yards.
I think the low completion percentage (29%) is a problem. I know Johnson is competing for the backup position but this has been an issue under Johnson. For instance, last season’s starter TaQuon Marshall completed 37.1% of his passes. Johnson has failed to develop and intermediate passing game since coming to Atlanta. It seems like every pass play is a long down field pass.
Senior A-back Clinton Lynch looked like he returned to his old form. He had 28 yards on three carries and 33-yard touchdown reception. Lynch failed to reach the end zone as a junior after scoring 16 touchdowns as a freshman and sophomore.
The defense played fairly well, led by linebacker Brant Mitchell with five tackles for loss, contributing to eight total for the Blue-team (first-string) defense.
“We blitzed like crazy (Friday),” Mitchell said with a smile.
It was only a scrimmage so we have to take the defensive performance with a grain of salt. The first-string defense had nine tackles for loss in last year’s spring game and went on to record 4.3 per game last season, lowest in the ACC. The first-string offensive line was also missing two starters.
“You’ve got a good nucleus back,” Johnson said. “I mean, we’ve got nine starters coming back on offense. Defensively, if we can create some negative plays and get some sacks, get off the field, who knows?”
There is not a lot to be optimistic about as a Georgia Tech fan but hopefully they are on the right path to get back to a bowl game in 2018.
Dawgs’ New Tricks
By: Jason Bishop
TheSouthernSportsEdition.com news services
Gone are Sony Michel, Nick Chubb and Roquan Smith, Georgia’s best three players. All three will find themselves in the NFL very soon.
Despite losing those key pieces from last year’s run at a National Title, there are some familiar faces returning to the Georgia Bulldogs that were put on display during the annual Spring Game in Athens, G-Day.
Georgia fans will get to watch Jake Fromm return at QB, D’Andre Swift come back as the featured tail back in the 2018 season. UGA faithful will also get to see newcomers like Justin Fields, the number one QB in the country at the high school ranks last season.
Coach Kirby Smart took his team through the dog walk leading into Sanford Stadium to begin one of the most anticipated seasons in Georgia Football history and it all starts with G-Day.
A crowd of over 80,000 showed up to watch the Bulldogs spring scrimmage. In the game the Black team defeated Red team 21-13.
The Black team opened the scoring with a Deandre Baker pick-6 of Jake Fromm. A good sign from UGA’s secondary as most are predicting it will be the weak link for the Bulldogs in 2018.
Justin Fields was put in display for the fan base to see and he did not disappoint. Fields went 18-33 for 207 yards and a TD. He also did throw an interception.
Jake Fromm also put up decent numbers, going 19-38 for 200 yards and a TD. Fromm did end up throwing two interceptions.
Former Pierce County QB Stetson Bennett also out together an eight-play drive that covered 64 yards and ended with 3 points.
Georgia LB, Monty Smith had a great day. Smith ended up with 14 tackles and a sack. Smith will have big shoes to fill as most expect him to replace Roquan Smith at LB.
Overall, the Georgia defense had 4 interceptions. Baker, Richard LeCounte, William Poole and KJ Smith each intercepted a pass. The secondary will need to continue to be that opportunistic when the season starts on September 1.
The Bulldogs will open against Austin Peay at Sanford Stadium. Georgia will have to go to South Carolina on September 8th, host Tennessee on November 29th, go to LSU on October 13th, travel to Jacksonville to take on the Gators on October 27th, host Auburn on November 10th and then close the regular season out with in state rival, Georgia Tech coming to Athens.
The Bulldogs will also be looking for some help at WR. Coach Smart noted the wide receiver corps had a ton of drops in the Spring Game. Terry Godwin and Calvin Ridley look to step up for Georgia in those roles.
Georgia will still be tough to beat in the SEC East and I look for this team to at least make a return trip the SEC Title Game.
