It says something about both the player and the team when a player rushes for practically 150 yards and emerges disappointed.
That was the case both for the No. 3-ranked Georgia Bulldogs and star runner D’Andre Swift after Saturday’s season debut against Vanderbilt. Swift averaged 9.3 yards on 16 carries for a total of 149 yards, and the Bulldogs rushed for 325 totals in the 30-6 win in Nashville.
“I thought overall we did all right,” said Swift, a 5-foot-9, 215-pound junior. “The offense needs to do a better job for four quarters and a better finishing.”
What about averaging nearly 10 yards a carry, Swift was asked? That’s pretty good, huh?
“I think I did all right for the most part,” he said. “There are a lot of things I can get better at.”
Actually, Swift shares the sentiments of most fans and his head coach as well.
The offensive performance against the Commodores was dominant, but probably should have been even more so. Penalties, missed assignments and turnovers limited the Bulldogs to 63 offensive plays – only one more than Vandy – and they’d add just one more touchdown after scoring two in the game’s first 14 minutes.
And there were even some criticisms of the dynamic Swift to be made.
“We’re in the pursuit of excellence, not perfection, and I don’t think he would say he played excellent,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “I mean go back and watch some of those runs. I don’t think he got touched the first 10-15 yards, (thanks to) Charlie Woerner, Solomon Kindley, and Ben Cleveland. When (Swift) makes guys miss, I think that’s where he measures his skill set. He made a lot of people miss, but I think there were some opportunities in there where he could’ve made a different cut and got more yards.”
Smart had his star back pegged.
“There were a couple of runs I believe I could’ve taken to the house,” said Swift, who rushed for 1,049 yards and scored 13 touchdowns a year ago. “I was keeping my feet, for the most part, but I need to make more people miss. I can always get better; there’s always room for improvement. I’m not saying it wasn’t a good game, but I can always do better.”
That’s certainly encouraging for the Bulldogs, and distressing for coming opponents. And, as always, Swift isn’t a one-man show. In fact, he didn’t even start Saturday’s game. That honor went to senior Brian Herrien and was earned on what he did in preseason camp, according to Smart.
Herrien was the team’s second-leading rusher, with 65 yards on 12 carries, redshirt freshman Zamir “Zeus” White had five attempts for 51 yards and sophomore James Cook recorded the only touchdown for the back with an 18-yard run at the end of the first quarter. Cook finished with 22 yards on two carries and added two catches for 13 yards.
It all added up to a good day, just not a great one.
“Everybody is trying to reach excellence,” Swift said. “We’re trying to be perfect, even though we know can’t be perfect. We’re trying to play to Georgia’s standard and see everybody do well and win. Just be a team.”
Said Smart: “That’s a great competitor to me. (Swift) is trying to figure out, ‘what I can do better to help the team?’”
