UGA SCRIMMAGE STATS
RUSHING: A.J. Turman 22-140-2, Brendan Douglas 22-99-1, Quayvon Hicks 3-13, Nick Chubb 3-10-1.
PASSING: Faton Bauta 17-28-250-2-1, Brice Ramsey 17-28-219-1-0, Jacob Park 2-8-36-0-0
RECEIVING: Malcom Mitchell 6-88, Brendan Douglas 4-39, Isaiah McKenzie 3-70, Justin Scott-Wesley 3-60, Jay Rome 3-41, Jeb Blazevich 3-29, Jackson Harris 3-37-2; others with two catches — Clay Johnson, Kenneth Towns, Reggie Davis, Nick Chubb
DEFENSE: Jake Ganus 9 tackles, Chuks Amaechi 8 (4 TFL, 3 sacks), Tramel Terry 6, Malkom Parrish 6 (2 PBU), Devin Bowman 4.5, Reggie Wilkerson 4.5; others with 4 tackles — Tim Kimbrough (sack), Quincy Mauger (sack), Reggie Carter (TFL); 3.5 tackles — Jarvis Wilson, Lorenzo Carter (sack), Aaron Davis (INT, 2 PBU), Chris Mayes (sack); 3 tackles — Sterling Bailey (sack, PBD), Josh Dawson (sack), Johnny O'Neal (sack)
Georgia’s quarterback competition is now a two-man race, and it’s tight at the top.
The Bulldogs won’t come out and say that, but their actions during spring practice make it clear that the starting job next season will be decided between Brice Ramsey and Faton Bauta. Through the first two scrimmages, those two quarterbacks are getting virtually all of the snaps — and all the pass attempts — with the first and second offenses.
Meanwhile, Jacob Park’s participation has been almost exclusively with the third team, with some limited repetitions coming on the second unit.
In fact, when coach Mark Richt was reading off statistics from Saturday’s scrimmage, the second of the spring, he initially forgot to include Park’s all together.
“I’m sorry. He was 2-for-8 for 36 yards,” Richt said when asked about Park at the end of his recitation.
Park’s eight attempts were mostly with the No. 3 offense, while Ramsey and Bauta attempted 56 passes between them while alternating with the first and second units.
“I thought they both had some good moments and a couple of bad moments again,” Richt said of the two contenders. “I couldn’t tell until I looked at the stats (how they did); I wouldn’t have been able to predict. As it went, Faton was a little hotter on the front end and Brice was a little hotter at the tail end of the scrimmage.”
Just like in the first scrimmage, Ramsey and Bauta’s stats were nearly identical. Ramsey, the sophomore who served as Hutson Mason’s backup last season, was 17-of-28 for 219 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions. Bauta was also 17-for-28 but went for 250 yards with two TDs and one interception.
Over the two scrimmages, it looks like this: Bauta (58.6 percent) 34-of-58, 407 yards, 4 TDs, 2 INTs; Ramsey 33-of-60 (55 percent), 451, 3 TDs, 2 INTs.
“You know what, they’re getting there. They really are,” Richt said. “They’re learning a lot. Of course, the better you protect, the easier it is to prove that you know your progressions and can get to your second and third guy. We had a few more catches for our running backs, which means we hit more check downs than we have. We’d been trying to always make the big-league throw down the middle. … We had only pick collectively and we had a lot more in the first scrimmage.”
Richt did his best to downplay Park’s limited participation.
“This time around we wanted to make sure Park got some reps with the 2s instead of just the 3 unit,” he said. “We did rotate the other guys more. It wasn’t like the whole day Brice or the whole day Faton with the 1s. We wanted to keep rotating that around. And we’re not done rotating. We’re still learning.”
Bringing the pressure: Adding to the challenge for the quarterbacks is the fact that they were under tremendous pressure from the defense Saturday, as they have been for most of the spring. The Bulldogs' defenders recorded 10 sacks during the 120-play scrimmage, including three by Chuks Amaechi, a junior-college transfer, and one each by Sterling Bailey, Lorenzo Carter, Josh Dawson, Tim Kimbrough, Quincy Mauger, Chris Mayes and Johnny O'Neal.
Richt said Georgia’s offense has had difficulty dealing with pressure all week, which he said is a testament to the Bulldogs’ defenders.
“Those guys have been all around us, coming off the edge and squeezing the pocket,” Richt said. “We couldn’t learn much about the quarterbacks because we were just struggling to block those guys. They are really good players, and they’re making us better. Today we pass-protected better.”
Tight end U.: One trend that seems to have emerged in spring camp is that the Bulldogs will continue to target tight ends with regularity. Jay Rome, Jeb Blazevich and early-enrollee Jackson Harris each had three catches, and Harris caught two for touchdowns during Saturday's scrimmage. Rome and Blazevich had seven receptions between them in the first scrimmage.
“I definitely feel like we had a really good day (Saturday), and we had a good day last Saturday as well,” Rome said. “The system that (offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer) brought here to Georgia is really tight-end friendly. If we keep getting opportunities we’re going to keep making plays.”
Etc.: One again, Brendan Douglas and A.J. Turman got the majority of tailback reps. Running with the No. 2 offense, Turman gained 140 yards on 22 carries and scored two TDs. Douglas finished with 99 yards on 22 carries and a touchdown with the first unit while the Bulldogs continue to protect the health of star Nick Chubb. … Sophomore Reggie Wilkerson is working with the No. 1 defense as the "star," or nickel back. The rest of the starting secondary has Quincy Mauger at strong safety, Dominick Sanders at free safety and Aaron Davis and Malkom Parrish at the corners. … Malcolm Mitchell led the receivers with 88 yards on six receptions. … Georgia's place-kickers "were not real sharp," Richt said. Marshall Morgan was 3-for-6 and missed an extra point. Patrick Beless was 2-for-3. … The experiment of Brandon Kublanow at center appears to have ended. Sophomore Josh Cardiello got the third-team reps behind Isaiah Wynn and Hunter Long on Saturday.
About the Author
