ATHENS – Georgia’s defensive coaches call them “WTFs.” One can guess what that stands for. Let’s just say, “What The Freak?”
The Bulldogs’ defenders obviously performed well in Saturday’s 49-3 win over No. 11 Oregon at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. They kept their opponent out of the end zone and won the game by 46 points. So, generally, No. 3 Georgia’s defense played pretty well.
But the coaches’ review of the game tape Sunday revealed way too many WTFs. That’s what Georgia’s defensive players were hearing about Monday.
“I don’t know if anybody knows what that means; I don’t want to say it,” junior linebacker Trezmen Marshall said with a laugh Monday. “I just know I try to stay away from them.”
To Marshall’s relief, he managed to avoid any WTFs in the first game of the season. He said he tends to get WTFs for biting too hard on run-fakes.
But there were plenty of others distributed throughout Georgia’s newly renovated defense. While the Bulldogs were impressive in logging two takeaways and keeping Oregon out of the end zone, there were plenty of breakdowns besides.
Based on the final result, it’s easy to forget that the Ducks had just as many first downs as the Bulldogs in the first half (14) and that the Bulldogs never were able to sack quarterback Bo Nix and fell well short of the ascribed standard for “havoc plays.”
As Marshall acknowledged, Georgia could have reached its goal for takeaways per game (3) had he held on to an interception that hit him in the hands during the game. Such physical errors weren’t the chief complaint of coach Kirby Smart and his defensive staff.
“There was a lot of mistakes,” Smart said. “We call them WTFs. Those are things that are, like, ‘Why did you do that? You didn’t do that all year!’ (But) the largest growth for those guys is game 1, 2, 3 in terms of reaction to their mistakes. … You have those in the first game. I’ve come to accept them. It’s more what’s your response is to them.”
That has to be very encouraging to the Bulldogs, and terrifying for their opponents. Next up for Georgia is Samford on Saturday (4 p.m., SEC Network). The Birmingham-based Bulldogs are known for their high-flying, high-scoring offense under coach Chris Hatcher. But they’re an FCS program. After seeing what Georgia’s young defense just did against a team deemed the 11th best in Power 5 football has to be an intimidating prospect.
That the Bulldogs were able to do it with eight new starters and six players getting the first collegiate starts of their career made it even more impressive. Getting the first starts Saturday were freshman defensive end Mykel Williams, junior defensive tackle Nazir Stackhouse, sophomore inside linebackers Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon, sophomore nickel back Javon Bullard and sophomore cornerback Kamari Lassiter.
In all, 20 freshmen and freshmen played Saturday, 13 of them on defense. Smart credited Georgia’s coaches for having so many young players ready to compete.
“They understand their roles,” Smart said. “They’ve done what they’ve been asked to do, and they embrace it. And there’s a lot of positive energy and enthusiasm at practice. It works, and it’s created a really good kind of connection among the staff.”
Smart touched on some of the first-year defenders during UGA’s media day Monday:
On Stackhouse, a 6-foot-3, 320-pound junior from Stone Mountain who started at nose guard and, to date, has been best known for TikTok videos:
“I’ve never seen any of his TikToks, so I wouldn’t really know about that. I’m a lot more concerned how he plays on the field and how he handles himself off the field and all the things he does to help our team. He’s worked himself to get better. He’s gotten in better shape. I think (assistant coach) Tray (Scott) is one of the best developers of defensive linemen in the country. And this is a guy that, hey, he needed development. He came in here really raw. And he wasn’t the player when he got here that he is today. He’s come a long way. And he can still get better.”
On Williams, a 5-star recruit from Columbus, becoming the first freshman to start on Georgia’s defensive line since 2017:
“Yeah, practices led to it, just like it’ll lead to him not starting. … It’s not real hard for us, you know. You base it on who practices the best, who gives you the best chance to win. And he’s done that, really, since he’s got here. His work ethic and his humility has been off the charts. And if he continues to do that, coupled with his ability, then he’ll probably continue to start.”
On Bullard, a 5-11, 180-pound sophomore from Milledgeville:
“He’ll tell you he probably had some first-game jitters like the other guys. And there were a couple times where he didn’t get lined up right, maybe didn’t have his eyes in the right place. But he plays really hard; he plays really physical. He’s going to continue to get matched up on some big guys. He’s got to play big for a guy that’s not a real big size. But he’s another guy that doesn’t back down from contact and works really hard every day.”
It follows that, just because a player didn’t start in the one game doesn’t mean he won’t start in the next. Freshman safety Malaki Starks didn’t start against the Ducks, but logged the most snaps of any defender, made a highlight-reel interception and led the Bulldogs with eight tackles. That might lead to a start Saturday.
Or not.
“We have a plan on every player,” Smart said in reference to Starks. “We talk about every player and where they are and what our plan is. And that plan can change in a game. The plan was to get him in early, and we did. He made a few mistakes, and he made a few plays, and we got to try to limit the mistakes.”
Or, WTFs, as the Bulldogs call them. Getting on the field is the goal, and the fewer of those, the better chances one has.
“Just being out there is the best feeling,” Marshall said.
