Former coach Mark Richt weighs in on Georgia coordinator Mike Bobo
ATHENS — Georgia football opens preseason practice Thursday looking to answer several questions, not the least of which is at quarterback.
The Bulldogs sent 13 players to the NFL draft this year and saw starting quarterback Carson Beck transfer to Miami, leaving plenty of holes for rising players and incoming transfers to fill.
Georgia’s defense appears quite equipped, but the offense is in development, with Gunner Stockton projected to take over as the starting quarterback and transfer receivers Zachariah Branch and Noah Thomas expected to make a major impact in the wide receiver corps.
Former Georgia coach Mark Richt made it clear in a recent interview that fans concerned with the game-planning and coaching don’t need to overthink it.
The Bulldogs need passes to be on target and have the receivers make the catches.
“I think (offensive coordinator) Mike (Bobo) caught more hell than he should have last year,” Richt said of the UGA offensive coordinator, who became an easy target when the offense struggled last season. “I think Georgia dropped more balls than any team in America. If someone just took the stats and said every ball that was catchable was caught, and you added up those receptions, yardage and possible touchdowns, who knows what kind of season they have offensively.
“One drop is one drive, and one drive can cost you a game.”
Indeed, every dropped pass contributed mightily to more challenging down-and-distance situations and dropped the likelihood of converting third downs and sustaining drives.
As for the quarterback situation, Richt said Bobo knows how to evaluate and plan around that position, as evidenced by the success former UGA signal-callers David Greene, Matthew Stafford and Aaron Murray — among others — had in the program under his direction.
“You have to find out what (Gunner) does well and build on that,” Richt said. “You can’t try to make him something he’s not, and hopefully you’ve recruited to fit your system at other positions.”
Richt said the Georgia playbook won’t have to change as drastically as some might think.
“You have things in your playbook that one guy might do better than another,” Richt said.
Georgia opens the season riding a 31-game home win streak that dates to 2019 at 3:30 p.m. Aug. 30 against Marshall.
About the Author
Mike is in his eighth season covering SEC and Georgia athletics for AJC-DawgNation and has 30 years of collegiate sports multimedia experience, 25 of them in the SEC including beat writer stops at Auburn, Alabama, Tennessee and now Georgia. Mike was named the National FWAA Beat Writer of the Year in January, 2018.
