Many of the usual suspects stood out in Georgia’s win over No. 7 Notre Dame on Saturday, but it’s worth pointing out that a lot of new faces were incredibly impactful as well.
In fact, some of the biggest plays in the game were made by players who either just showed up, are just now getting their opportunity in a Georgia uniform or didn’t start their careers with the Bulldogs.
Consider:
- Georgia's leading receiver and one of the biggest playmakers in the 23-17 victory was graduate transfer Lawrence Cager, formerly of Miami.
- The Bulldogs' second-leading receiver was Demetris Robertson, formerly of Cal.
- The final pass break-up that assured Georgia victory was logged by cornerback D.J. Daniel, who arrived this season from Georgia Military College.
- Tight end Eli Wolf, a graduate transfer from Tennessee caught 9-yard pass for a third-down conversion the Bulldogs' first scoring drive.
- J.R. Reed, Georgia's defensive captain, snagged a critical fourth-quarter interception. The senior began his career at Tulsa.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart was asked this week if the Bulldogs were particularly good at identifying potential contributors in the transfer portal, exceptional at coaching up new arrivals or just plain lucky.
"Aw, they're good players. Those guys were all good players where they were,” Smart said Tuesday night after Georgia’s practice. “I mean, Wolf was at the SEC Media Days (for Tennessee in 2018). Lawrence Cager was a major factor for Miami, and D.J. was his team's best corner. So, I mean, they were good football players.”
Cager, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound wide receiver from Towson, Md., was the Bulldogs’ leading receiver Saturday with five catches for 82 yards and a touchdown. What’s more, they almost all were significant, with four of the receptions either setting up a score or resulting in a first down. He had another 10-yard catch that was wiped away due to a penalty.
Georgia had several connections to Cager. Smart recruited him while at Alabama, offensive coordinator James Coley ultimately won that battle while at Miami, and Cager got to know current tight ends coach Todd Hartley while they were both with the Hurricanes under Mark Richt.
“It was a no-brainer for us,” Smart said of recruiting Cager. “Paint the picture: You can go play with a quarterback that has played and at a place that has a deficit at receivers. It was a great match."
The pre-existing relationships were nice, but ultimately, Cager said it was the opportunity to make plays in marquee games that brought him to Georgia.
“Big game, you’ve got to make big plays,” Cager said Saturday. “Big-time players make big-time plays in big-time games. That’s all I’ve been saying to myself.”
The touchdown catch Cager made Saturday night was particularly impressive. Not only did the rangy receiver have to go up high to haul in the pass from quarterback Jake Fromm, but he also had to maneuver his body to be sure to get a foot down inside the northeast end-zone boundary while sustaining mid-air contact from behind from the defender.
“Coach Smart always stresses field awareness, always knowing where you are,” said Cager, who scored 10 touchdowns at Miami. “As soon as I caught it, I knew I had to get my foot down somehow, someway, and I got it down.”
Daniel, a 6-foot-1, 185-pound junior from Griffin, was rated the No. 2 junior college cornerback in America coming out of GMC. But after playing behind Eric Stokes and Tyson Campbell in the first three games, Daniel was pressed into duty in the first quarter when Stokes went down with a sprained knee.
Not only did Daniel knock down Notre Dame’s final pass attempt of the game, out-leaping 6-6 tight end Cole Kmet for the ball, but he finished the day with five tackles and a tackle for loss.
Finding “plug-and-play” players who are ready to come in and make an immediate impact is nothing new for Smart. He convinced defensive back Maurice “Mo” Smith to follow him to Georgia from Alabama in 2016 and helped reform the SEC’s intraconference transfer policy in the process. The graduate ended up starting every game at nickel back for the Bulldogs. Tyler Catalina also came in from Rhode Island and started at left tackle that season.
In 2017, it was punter Cameron Nizialek (Columbia) and Reed who made instant contributions, though Reed was redshirted the previous season.
They haven’t all been home runs, of course. Last year, the Bulldogs brought in defensive lineman Jay Hayes from Notre Dame. But while he didn’t make any game-defining plays, Hayes did dress for every game and appeared in all but two as a backup.
Mostly, Smart said it’s the school itself that’s attracts exceptional transfers to UGA. Right now, he’s particularly happy to have Cager, Daniel and Wolf in red and black.
“We're just thankful and blessed to have recruited them and to prepare them to play in big games,” Smart said. “That's why they came; they wanted to play in these big games. So, they're good players and they fit well in our system. I think we needed all three and they've played well."
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