More opt-ins than opt-outs for Bulldogs this time around

ATHENS — Richard LeCounte may or may not play in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Friday. But just the fact that Georgia’s star safety is practicing with the team and trying to play represents a significant shift in attitude for the Bulldogs.

“He’s never been shy about it; he wants to play,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said of LeCounte. “He’s a football player.”

That he is. But LeCounte also is bucking a trend.

It has become increasingly fashionable in recent years for players to “opt out” of bowl games. The Bulldogs might even be considered a trendsetter in that regard, with Deandre Baker and Justin Fields traveling with Georgia to the Sugar Bowl in 2018 with no intention of playing in the game.

Last year, the Bulldogs infamously had more than a dozen players sit out the Sugar Bowl. Some of those, such as eventual first-round draft picks Andrew Thomas and Isaiah Wilson, did so to protect their health and begin training for the NFL combine. That also was thought to be the impetus for Tyler Clark, Brian Herrien and J.R. Reed sitting out, too. Alas, none of them heard their names called.

Earlier this week, Smart intimated that at least some of the Georgia players who didn’t participate last year did not have choice.

The Bulldogs again have a representation of players who are opting out with an eye on their professional careers, including cornerback Eric Stokes, offensive lineman Ben Cleveland, linebacker Monty Rice and tight end Tre’ McKitty. But several other players with similar opportunities are choosing to show up for Friday’s matchup between No. 9 Georgia and the eighth-ranked Cincinnati Bearcats (9-0) in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (noon, ESPN).

Georgia nose guard Jordan Davis and cornerback Tyson Campbell are juniors who have received some first-round NFL draft grades. But they’ll be suiting up for the Bulldogs in a game in which their services are desperately needed.

“First off, I love balling with my brothers,” Davis said. “That’s the big reason. That’s probably the only reason. I love my team too much; I love my Dogs too much. I don’t want to opt out.”

Campbell also had several first-round projections in mock drafts coming into the season. That optimism seems to have waned over the past few months, but there’s no doubt that Campbell has a future in professional football.

Campbell said he never considered opting out.

“I’m still a Georgia Bulldog,” Campbell said. “My task is to finish out the season. I’m still part of this team. We have a game left. So, I want to finish this season with my teammates.”

Third-year sophomores such as quarterback JT Daniels and running back Zamir White also are eligible for the draft, but are choosing to play for the Bulldogs. Underclassmen have until mid-January to decide whether to enter the NFL draft.

Other than Stokes, no other underclassmen have declared for the draft.

“I’m not even thinking about it until after the season,” Davis said. “That’s where my focus is. I’m focused on this team and this game, so I don’t have a decision for you right now.”

Davis has something to prove individually. He sustained a fractured elbow in Game 5 against Kentucky and missed three games, but returned to start the Bulldogs’ final regular-season game against Missouri.

Meanwhile, Cleveland, Rice and McKitty are seniors, McKitty having already graduated. But the NCAA’s “blanket waiver” passed earlier this year because of the pandemic awards seniors with another season of eligibility, if they choose it.

But in each case, the players appear ready to move on. According to Smart, all were playing through injuries this season — Cleveland (shoulder), McKitty (knee), Rice (foot). Only McKitty missed any games, sitting out Georgia’s first two.

There are other Georgia players participating who are putting their professional opportunities at risk. Defensive end Malik Herring and defensive back Mark Webb are among six Bulldogs holding coveted invitations to the Senior Bowl, where NFL scouts gather en masse to evaluate players draft potential.

A significant injury in a bowl game could rob them of that opportunity. We saw that this week as the quarterbacks for Miami (D’Eriq King — knee) and Texas (Sam Ehlinger, shoulder) were sidelined with ailments in their respective games. The extent of their injuries was not immediately known. DJ Daniel, one of Georgia’s players with a Senior Bowl invitation, is not expected to play Friday.

But Smart said players who aren’t assured of an early draft selection generally have more to gain than to lose by playing in bowl games. But as long as Georgia continues to recruit at the level as it has been, early opt-outs always are going to be a possibility.

The Bulldogs appear to have gotten better at managing it.

“I think we learned a valuable lesson as a staff,” Smart said. “It’s not necessarily who you go play with, but what their mindset is when you go play a game in a bowl game. We’ve had success in bowls, and we’ve had failures in bowls. We lost a Sugar Bowl, and we won a Sugar Bowl. The things that stick out in my mind is it’s the approach each team took to those games.”

Georgia lost to Texas 28-21 in the 2019 Sugar Bowl. The Bulldogs defeated Baylor 26-14 in their return to New Orleans this past January.

Georgia players insist their mindset is good for Friday’s matchup. It will need to be against Cincinnati, an undefeated Group of Five program eager to measure itself a perennial Power 5 powerhouse.

“We’re all in,” Davis said. “The motivation, it doesn’t have to be said. What’s understood doesn’t need to be said. We’re coming in there with one goal, and that’s to win. We always want to win.”