John Lilly was asked after Tuesday’s Belk Bowl how many other games in his coaching career had he served as the play-caller.
“Other than the G-Day game?” he asked, straight-faced.
Yes, other than that.
“Tonight was the first time,” he said.
And it may not be the last. After all, Georgia’s tight ends coach did a pretty decent job filling in on a week’s notice for veteran offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. He patched together the rest of the game plan Bobo left behind before accepting the Colorado State head coaching job, then called the plays and watch Georgia’s offense execute it against an opponent that came in ranked sixth in the nation in total defense and third against the run.
All the Bulldogs did was roll up 505 total yards and 305 yards rushing on the way to a 37-14 victory in the Belk Bowl.
“I don’t want to sound over-confident or arrogant or whatever, but that’s what we expected to happen, quite frankly,” said Lilly, who coached tight ends and was recruiting coordinator at Florida State before joining the Bulldogs in 2008. “I had a lot of confidence in and our whole staff had a lot of confidence in our players. I know how well-coached and prepared that are. I knew they’d go out there and execute at a high level if we put them in position to.
“Of course, the fact that Nick Chubb got on the bus helped. It was exactly what we thought could happen.”
Chubb, a freshman tailback from Cedartown, gashed the Cardinals to the tune of 266 yards rushing, a Georgia bowl record.
To add to Lilly’s challenge, he had to call half the game without starting quarterback Hutson Mason. The fifth-year senior went out with a concussion shortly before halftime. He certainly made a positive impression on his charges.
“He did a great job,” senior center David Andrews said of Lilly. “He had a great plan and he was confident in us and knew he could pretty much call anything on that play sheet.”
Said redshirt freshman Brice Ramsey, who filled in for Mason: “Yeah, I was completely content with Coach Lilly and everything we did tonight. He called a good game and we put up 37 points, so that’s huge.”
Head coach Mark Richt was also complimentary of Lilly’s efforts. He also made a point to thank offensive line coach Will Friend, who plans to join Bobo’s staff at Colorado State but stayed on for Georgia’s bowl.
“It would have been very difficult to run this bowl game without Will there with those offensive linemen,” Richt said. “I think they played their tails off for him and for Georgia. John Lilly obviously did a good job of honing the game plan down.”
Richt now has to turn his attention to finding a new offensive coordinator to succeed Bobo. Lilly might get even stronger consideration following Tuesday’s performance.”Honestly, I’m not worried about that right now,” Lilly said. “Tonight’s not about that. Tonight’s about our seniors and this football team and what they did. That’s really all I’ve cared about this week.”
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