Georgia’s Demetris Robertson has no problem acknowledging that he wasn’t ready to go last season, that he wasn’t ready overtake Mecole Hardman or Terry Godwin or Riley Ridley, who are now plying their trade in the NFL.
Robertson’s ready now though, as Saturday’s opening-day performance against Vanderbilt indicated. The junior from Savannah was the Bulldogs’ leading receiver with three catches for 23 yards and a touchdown in the 30-6 win over the Commodores. He also had two runs totaling 29 yards and would’ve had another long catch to his credit had his reception on a deep post over the middle not been wiped out by a holding penalty.
“D-Rob was ready to go,” said Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm, who targeted Robertson seven times in the game. “You’ve got a fast guy, good ball skills, a guy who’s ready to run around and make plays. So, we’re excited to use him. We’re ready to see what kind of plays he can make next week.”
Everybody wondered what was wrong with Robertson last season, his first after transferring to Georgia. At Cal, Robertson had caught 50 passes for 767 yards and seven touchdowns to earn freshman All-American honors. But it his first season with the Bulldogs, he could never earn a starting position, failed to record a pass reception and appeared in only nine games as a backup.
Turns out, Robertson just wasn't in the tip-top condition he needed to be to compete in the SEC. A hernia injury that cost him his second season at Cal and required surgery kept him from working out and training at a championship level.
Georgia’s strength-and-conditioning staff, led by Scott Sinclair, took care of that this year.
“I feel like this spring, this summer, coach Sinclair and his staff got me really prepared, my coaches got me really prepared,” said the 6-foot, 190-pound Robertson. “I feel like just coming from Cal to Georgia, I really wasn’t in the shape that I should have been because I was out for like two months and wasn’t with the team yet. But now I’m in good shape, and I’m just trying to get better throughout the season.”
That’s not to say Robertson didn’t produce any highlights before Saturday. Lest we forget, he scored the first time he touched the ball for Georgia last season, racing 72 yards for a touchdown on a reverse in the opener against Austin Peay.
Robertson also scored on his first touch this season. On first-and-goal at the 3, Robertson lined up in the slot on the right side of the field and found himself wide open running across the back line of the end zone, two steps ahead of his defender. Fromm led him perfectly with a pass Robertson hauled in a couple of steps shy of the left corner.
“It felt good; it felt really good,” Robertson said of ending both his reception and TD-catch droughts in one play. “But, I mean, I do that all the time in practice. So, it’s something I’ve done plenty of times in practice.”
Speed is the one thing about Robertson’s game that is undeniable, and it is in the vertical-passing game that he can really help the Bulldogs.
Georgia fans saw a glimpse of that when Robertson got open on a deep post route on Georgia’s second possession of the game. Fromm hit him in stride for a 53-yard gain. But a holding penalty on Isaiah Wilson brought the play back.
“That was awesome,” Robertson said. “I just went inside the DB and cut across the safety’s face, and Jake laid it in there.”
As for the penalty that negated the play, he said: “That happens sometimes. We’ll have to do some up-downs in practice. But in the game, it’s always ‘next play.’”
Fromm came right back to Robertson on the next play. His 17-yard reception wiped out most of the penalty yardage, and the Bulldogs kept the drive alive to post a 14-0 lead with a minute still remaining in the first quarter.
But it wasn’t just in the passing game that Robertson showed his wares. He also earned a spot on the punt-return team as a “gunner hold-up” along with fellow wideout Matt Landers.
“D-Rob’s been busting his tail,” Smart said. “He got an opportunity to make some plays, and I thought he was very comfortable. He was dominant on special teams as gunner holdup, which he gets no credit for. He and Matt Landers had a dominant of performance as you’ve ever seen out there.”
Robertson also has been getting looks as a kick returner. Bigger, stronger and healthier, he should be able to help the Bulldogs in a lot of different ways this season.
That’s his intention.
“I’m really just focusing on the little details, getting my opportunities and capitalizing on my opportunities right now,” Robertson said. “I’m just going to keep playing hard, concentrate on knowing my assignments and being selfless for my team.”
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