ATHENS — If you’re coming to Sanford Stadium for G-Day on Saturday seeking another coronation of the Georgia Bulldogs as 2021 national football champions, you might as well take the Ga. 10 Loop right on around town and head back home.
Rings ceremonies? There will be no such thing.
The former Bulldogs who are either preparing for the NFL draft or just getting on with the rest of their lives reportedly will be in attendance to receive their new jewelry between the first and second quarters of the intrasquad scrimmage (1 p.m., ESPN2). And certainly there will be an extensive video tribute during the nationally televised broadcast and perhaps on UGA’s Jumbotron.
Otherwise, Kirby Smart’s attitude toward Georgia’s spring practice has been solely focused on getting a very young team ready for the 2022 campaign, his seventh as head coach.
In fact, nary a player or coach was available this week to discuss Saturday’s proceedings. Smart did discuss G-Day briefly on 680 The Fan this week.
“You always like to see how these young guys react to a big environment,” Smart told former Bulldog Buck Belue. “You know, I don’t think any of these guys have played in front of a crowd this size in their career, the new ones. So, I like to see the midyears and the guys that maybe didn’t have a major role last year take on a bigger role.”
There are a lot of players of that ilk as the Bulldogs are replacing 14 of 27 starters off last season’s 14-1 team. They also welcomed a record 19 early enrollees from the 2022 recruiting class. Not all of them will be available because of winter surgeries, but at least 13 will.
Here are five things to watch for Saturday:
1. 93K Day II?
How many fans will be there has been a point of much discussion this week. Georgia football Wednesday evening released a video of Smart urging a sellout of the 92,746-seat facility. In the video, Smart revealed that the proceeds from this year’s game are to go to an as-yet-unknown charity of the players’ choice.
The Bulldogs are charging $5 for assigned-seat admission this year for the first time in a non-pandemic-altered scenario. Last year, UGA charged $10 for admittance for a socially distanced seating arrangement, which sold out at 20,524 tickets.
As of Thursday, UGA had sold out the lower bowl and a goodly portion of the upper level of the stadium. But how many fans actually show up on the Saturday of an Easter weekend with an 80% chance of rain in the forecast remains to be seen.
Smart famously called for and received a sellout crowd for his first G-Day as Georgia’s coach in April 2016. It was dubbed “93K” because at least that many – and likely significantly more – filled Sanford Stadium to the brim that year. But attendance was free that year, the weather was beautiful and rap star Ludacris played at halftime.
Smart credited that scene for blasting off the recruiting efforts that have resulted in four trips to the SEC Championship game and two College Football Playoff appearances. Dozens of recruits are expected Saturday.
2. Quarterback pecking order
With sixth-year senior Stetson Bennett returning from two MVP performances in Georgia’s playoff run to the championship, there is no mystery about who is the No. 1 quarterback this year. But who are Nos. 2 and 3 is an intriguing question. It will debated on the field Saturday between sophomore Carson Beck, redshirt freshman Brock Vandagriff and freshman Gunner Stockton.
Little likely will be decided directly off Saturday’s play. Bennett played the least of anybody in G-Day 2021, as he went 3-of-4 passing for 58 yards and an interception. It was Beck and JT Daniels who got most of the reps, combining for 560 yards and five TDs. Vandagriff was 6-of-9 passing for 47 yards.
How offensive coordinator Todd Monken will deploy Bennett is a mystery. Technically, he needs less work and has the least to prove of the group. Then, again, Georgia might want to send a message that “this is our guy.”
The real intrigue likely will come afterward. The Bulldogs will conduct their annual “Growth Meetings” next week, where roles and expectations are detailed and discussed between coaches and players. In the age of the transfer portal, players dissatisfied with the way those conversations go frequently head elsewhere.
3. Where’s the skill?
Smart has lamented the Bulldogs’ lack of depth at the skill positions this spring. Between injuries and delayed availability, Georgia just doesn’t have as many players as it needs to compete well within the team, especially in the defensive backfield and at receiver, where six or more players routinely rotate in.
“In seven years, we have never been this thin. Never,” Smart said at the midpoint of the five-week practice session.
The good news is Georgia’s frontline guys have gotten a lot of work. The bad news is fans likely won’t see a ton of them Saturday in hopes of preserving their health and building depth.
But spring games are where young skill players become known to the masses. This time last year, not many were familiar with Adonai Mitchell or how to pronounce his first name (uh-DON-ay). Now he’s known nationwide as just “A.D.”
With tight ends Brock Bowers (shoulder) and Darnell Washington (ankle) sidelined, a lot of eyes surely will on No. 14 Arik Gilbert.
4. Remade middle
Georgia’s pregame depth chart for the championship game three months ago had these players on the first five lines: “DE Travon Walker, NOSE Jordan Davis, DT Devonte Wyatt, MONEY Quay Walker, MAC Nakobe Dean.” That, folks, is being strong up the middle!
Those guys will on the sideline Saturday, but only to pick up their championship rings. Who lines up in those spots on the field will have some big shoes to fill.
Some of them seem fairly well-settled, such as Zion Logue as heir apparent to Davis in the middle. And Jalen Carter will no doubt man one of the three down-lineman positions on almost every down this season. But the competition to fill the many corresponding roles that coach Tray Scott assigns therein has been intensely waged over 14 spring practices.
At inside linebacker, Georgia has recruited impressively the past two seasons for this moment. But the tremendous experience that characterized the Bulldogs’ second-line play the past two seasons will be mostly absent this year, especially with third-year sophomores Rian Davis and Trezman Marshall struggling to stay healthy. That will put a lot of attention on Jamon “Pop” Dumas-Johnson, Smael Mondon and Xavian Sorey, all of whom have flashed in limited action. That action no longer will be limited.
5. Life after Jake Camarda
Special teams aren’t generally a big part of spring games because coaches don’t want to get anybody hurt and they want to control those situations. But watching Georgia play games this year without punter and kickoff specialist Jake Camarda handling those responsibilities will be intriguing if not spellbinding.
By the end of Camarda’s four-year reign, the Bulldogs almost seemed to take for granted that those sometimes-harrowing possession exchanges would be decidedly uneventful. The 2020 All-American averaged a UGA record 45.78 yards during his career. His 47 punts went for 46.7 yards (on average) last season but didn’t qualify for the NCAA’s minimum attempt standard for national ranking. As Georgia’s kickoff guy, 71 of Camarda’s 102 went for touchbacks, and 16 others resulted in fair catches. Hence, the Bulldogs’ kick-return defense led the SEC and ranked third nationally.
Georgia imported Brett Thorson from Australia to take over punts, and he and place-kickers Jack Podlesny and Jared Zirkel are having a go at kickoffs. If any of them can come close to duplicating Camarda’s work, the Bulldogs’ special teams should be in good hands.
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