ATHENS – For an instrasquad scrimmage, Georgia’s G-Day game Saturday was an incredibly eventful affair.
It started before kickoff with the ceremonial “collaring” of the Bulldogs’ new mascot. A very young and spry English bulldog named Boom – understandably nervy from all the noise attention – accepted the coveted spiked collar from Uga X, aka Que – to officially become Uga XI in the long line of mascots that dates to the 1950s.
Right after kickoff, on what would have been the first play from scrimmage, Georgia’s Red team deliberately took a delay-of-game penalty in honor of the late Devin Willock and Chandler LeCroy. Players removed their helmets, pointed to the sky and a few embraced as UGA used the occasion to recognize the football player and the recruiting analyst who died in the Jan. 15 alcohol-related car crash.
At the end of the first quarter, members of the 2022 team went on the field to be recognized for their parts in securing last season’s national championship and to show off their newly issued championship rings. Some, such as tight end Darnell Washington, wore on one hand all four rings earned while playing for the Bulldogs.
Before any of that happened, news broke two hours before kickoff that touted defensive lineman Bear Alexander had entered the transfer portal.
Mixed around all that was some pretty good football. Coach Kirby Smart might beg to differ, but it definitely was an exciting brand, as the opposing offenses exchanged five scores in the game’s first 19 minutes. For the record, the Red team, featuring the No. 1 offense, defeated the Black team, featuring the No. 1 defense, 31-26.
“I thought it was the tale of two halves,” said Smart, embarking on his eighth season as the Bulldogs’ head coach. “We had a first half that we lit it up on offense and didn’t seem like we could stop anybody defensively. Then, flip that over, and the second half we couldn’t score any points. So, obviously, we’ve got to improve in both of those areas. But there were some positive things that came out of it, too, and some guys played well.”
Quarterback Carson Beck, in particular, looked really good in the opening half. He led the Red team to scores on its first three possessions before the unit finally needed to punt midway through the second quarter. Each of those scoring drives featured a long pass completion from Beck, a junior from Jacksonville, Florida, who is battling sophomore Brock Vandagriff for the right to succeed Stetson Bennett as Georgia’s starting quarterback.
Bennett, by the way, was among the lettermen on hand to watch the proceedings. Beck, for one, wasn’t reading too much into it.
“Football is a game that ebbs and flows,” said Beck, who was Bennett’s backup last season. “It’s gonna go bad, it’s going to go good. But, you know, I just try to be grateful for everything regardless of how it goes. I felt like everything was working today, and Bobo was dialing it up.”
“Bobo” is first-year offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, who was calling his first game as an assistant coach under Smart. Take it for what it’s worth as a showcase scrimmage, but between the split squads, Georgia threw the ball 69 times for 550 yards.
Credit: Chip Towers
While Beck certainly benefited from getting to pilot the Red team – which featured all the other first-team offense players – Georgia had a plan to even the playing field. He and Vandagriff, who was running the No. 2 offense as the Black team’s No. 1 quarterback, swapped sides at halftime.
Regardless, Beck already had made quite an impression in the early going. He completed long passes on all three of the 70-plus-yard scoring drives, including 39 yards to Brock Bowers, 37 to Ladd McConkey and 30 to Dillon Bell. Beck was 13-of-18 passing for 211 yards and a touchdown by halftime.
Vandagriff was efficient as well, completing 5 of 6 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown and showing off his trademark mobility with a 23-yard gain off a scramble. The touchdown came on a 29-yard pass to Jackson Meeks, the last 10 yards of which were negotiated as Georgia’s offensive line shoved him across the goal line in a scrum.
Vandagriff’s first shot with the No. 1 offense didn’t go quite as well. His first pass, which was delivered perfectly to the hands of tight end Oscar Delp, was dropped. A couple of plays later, Vandagriff’s pass was picked off by senior defensive back Tykee Smith. A short time later, Vandagriff had another interception by Javon Bullard waved off after an offside penalty. He also was sacked once.
“I don’t know what my numbers were, but I feel like I was in the right place most of the times,” said Vandagriff, who was 13-for-25 passing for 175 yards with two TDs and an interception between the two squads. “I could’ve had a little better accuracy. That was due to me probably having some nerves going out there. That was the most I’ve played in Sanford. But overall I’d say today was pretty solid.”
Whether it was the change of sides or the grind of the hot afternoon, Beck didn’t look as sharp after halftime either. He was unable to lead the Black team to scores in any of his possessions. In fact, there were no offensive scores after halftime until Vandagriff’s TD pass with 40 seconds remaining actually ended the game.
As for newfound stars that might have been discovered Saturday, Mekhi Mews, who caught that pass, deserves mention. A 5-foot-8, 170-pound sophomore from Grayson, Mews made three of the game’s electrifying plays, going 99 yards with a kickoff return (that officially didn’t count), ripping off 29 yards on a punt return and turning a short pass reception into a 54-gain that nearly went for another score, all in the first half. He finished as the game’s leading receiver, with four catches for 91 yards.
“Mews does that every day,” Smart said. “He’s a guy that, last year, he kept getting really close to being able to play and help us. He made plays like that on scout team, and we put him in some games as the returner. As you saw today, he’s got some return ability. He’s exciting, and you get what you got today.”
Credit: Chip Towers
On defense, freshman outside linebacker Damon Wilson had two sacks, and redshirt freshman tackle Christen Miller also had one. Javon Bullard, a star for the Bulldogs at nickel back last season, played the entire game at safety. He had the interception that was waved off because of the penalty and had a pass break-up.
Freshman linebacker Raylen Wilson returned an interception for a 21-yard touchdown, and Xavian Sorey and AJ Harris led their respective squads with seven and six tackles.
“As a defense, we were mad from the second drive on,” senior defensive tackle Zion Logue said. “We couldn’t really get things figured out. We felt like our feet were in the mud. We were kind of sluggish, but we turned it on in the second half, and things kind of turned around for us.”
Georgia started the day somewhat shorthanded. Already aware that several frontline players were going to miss the game because of injury rehabs, running back Branson Robinson and linebacker Smael Mondon showed up in walking boots and did not play. And transfer wide receiver Rara Thomas did not participate.
With fellow running backs either out (Kendall Milton, hamstring) or banged up Daijun Edwards (hamstring), that left most of the carries to freshman early-enrollee Roderick Robinson and walk-ons Cash Jones and Sevaughn Clark. Robinson ended up as the leading rusher of the day, with 42 yards on 11 carries for the Black squad.
Regardless of how one breaks down the minutiae of the day, Smart said he likes what he saw from his team throughout the spring and is encouraged about the Bulldogs’ prospects next season.
“I’m excited,” he said. “I’ve always said we’re built to sustain here. That’s my motto.”
About the Author
