Georgia team captain ready to ‘play right now’ after Alabama loss
ATHENS — Jordan Hall said Monday he wants to play a football game right now, if that tells Georgia fans anything about the mood this week in the Bulldogs’ locker room.
Fact is, No. 12-ranked Georgia (3-1, 1-1 SEC) doesn’t play again until noon Saturday against Kentucky (2-2, 0-2) at Sanford Stadium, but Hall’s sentiment is telling.
This is a Bulldogs football team that is eager to get dialed in after costly mistakes and untimely lapses in execution led to a 24-21 loss to Alabama. It was a defeat that took the air out of a sold-out crowd that had waited 10 years for Georgia to get a shot at the Crimson Tide at home.
Hall — who has grown from a four-star prospect (247Sports Composite) in the class of 2023 out of Jacksonville, Florida, into a veteran leader — is intent on keeping the team’s mindset in the right place after the disappointing defeat.
“The season didn’t start and the season did not end with Alabama, you know what I’m saying?” said Hall, who had four tackles against the Tide and graded out higher per Pro Football Focus metrics than any Georgia defensive lineman.
“That’s one thing I’m gonna get through our heads: I feel like all the guys, no matter if you’re stuck in a loss or not, we got Kentucky in four or five days.
“We had an opportunity to do it on Saturday, so we gotta knuckle up and get ready to play against Kentucky.”
Hall understands people want answers for how the UGA defense could surrender 24 points in the first half to Alabama and then shut out the Tide after halftime. It’s a question that not even Georgia coach Kirby Smart could answer Monday after reviewing the game footage.
“The same calls that we called in the first half, we called in the second half,” Smart said. “We got some stops, and we made some plays. … Sometimes it’s playing with confidence, and we got to do a better job doing that.”
Hall, who continued his football career last season after overcoming stress fractures in both legs, indicated the loss to Alabama provides plenty of motivation.
“We just use that as fuel,” said Hall, who was a team captain for the Alabama game. “Nobody that we can point a finger at — nobody. We gotta look at ourselves in the mirror and be prepared for the next moment.”
And, as he stood before the podium in Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall on Monday, Hall emphasized wanting to play football in the moment — even though he knows the importance of correcting mistakes and game-planning for the next game.
“If I could play right now, I would,” Hall said. “Preparation is needed. We need to go review the game, what we did wrong, what we did right. We all have a job.
“We’re fired up about it. … I’m just optimistic about what’s in front of us. We have a long season ahead, waiting for us, and we can’t be mad about the past.”
What’s in front of Georgia on Saturday is Kentucky, followed by Auburn, Ole Miss, Florida, Mississippi State, Texas, Charlotte and Georgia Tech.
Smart said this season’s Bulldogs are built to bounce back like last year’s did after an early-season loss at Alabama.
Hall explained why.
“I feel like we can take a punch and give a punch back. That’s something that we pride ourselves on,” Hall said. “We gotta continue to do that day in and day out. But I feel like it’s the way we practice and the way we’re coached.
“Our standard is to never give up.”
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.
