ATHENS - Georgia is two weeks from opening the regular season against Tennessee State, but the biggest test of the fall may come first.
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will head into Sanford Stadium for their second scrimmage of camp, a practice that should go a long way toward sorting out where this team really stands. The first scrimmage last Saturday belonged to the defense, while the offense had trouble with drops in the heat. Kirby Smart said he liked the energy, even if plenty still needs work.
“All in all, I was pleased with the effort in the scrimmage,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “There’s a lot of areas we can improve on. We’re not near where we need to be yet, but I was pleased with the effort the guys.”
This time around, the weather should be less punishing. Smart said temperatures got well into triple digits last weekend, and that kind of heat only made the first scrimmage tougher on everyone involved.
What makes Saturday so important is the timing. Once next weekend arrives, Georgia will shift into game prep, which means this is the last real chance for players to make a loud statement before the season starts. A lot of spots are still up for grabs, and the competition on the field should be fierce.
One of Smart’s biggest priorities is health.
That has been a major issue for Georgia in each of the last two seasons, both of which ended with early College Football Playoff exits. This team is not as deep as some of Smart’s past groups, which makes staying intact even more critical.
The Bulldogs came through the first scrimmage in solid shape. Center Drew Bobo sat out with a finger injury, but he has since returned to practice. Georgia also has several players on snap restrictions, including defensive end Gabe Harris and defensive back Kyron Jones.
If Saturday ends with Georgia in a similar place physically, that would be a win in itself for a team that plays a demanding brand of football.
The other major concern is the passing game, and especially the wide receivers. That room has taken plenty of scrutiny during camp, and outside of fourth-year receiver London Humphreys, no one has clearly separated yet.
“Weell, we decide to keep our heads down and keep working,” wide receiver Sacovie White-Helton said. “And we believe that hard work pays off.
Whatever happens on the outside - people have opinions about everything. One week they may like you, one week they may not.”
Georgia is extremely young at receiver. Humphreys and White-Helton are the only two wideouts who have spent multiple seasons in Athens, which means the Bulldogs are asking a lot from inexperienced players.
Talyn Taylor and Craig Dandridge arrived with elite recruiting pedigrees, while Landon Roldan fits the kind of profile that has worked in Smart’s offense before. Georgia can also lean on its tight ends, but the Bulldogs need more than one or two pass catchers to emerge if the offense is going to leave camp feeling good about itself.
Saturday should help reveal whether that is starting to happen.
The defense, meanwhile, has already made life difficult on the offense, though a lot of that edge has come from the secondary. The front seven will have a chance to make its own case this weekend.
Georgia’s defensive line has shown it can get after it, even if quarterbacks cannot be hit in these scrimmages, which makes sacks harder to measure. The offensive line is considered strong, even with Bobo limited, so any wins up front would stand out.
Elijah Griffin is expected to be one of the top defensive players in the sport by the end of the season, and linebacker Chris Cole has drawn strong reviews from both observers and Georgia coaches. The outside linebacker room could end up being especially important, which puts extra attention on Quintavius Johnson and Chase Linton.
There are also several key battles that should get clearer on Saturday. Backup quarterback and backup center are two of the biggest ones, with Ryan Puglisi and Cortez Smith viewed as the likely favorites at those spots.
At offensive tackle, Juan Gaston was publicly chided by Smart this week. The question now is whether he can secure the right tackle job next to freshman Zykie Helton.
And in the secondary, Georgia still has decisions to make at the safety spot opposite KJ Bolden. Jones was not an obvious candidate to be in the mix entering the first scrimmage, but he has helped himself enough this fall to become a real option.
Georgia wants depth. It wants contributors.
But it also wants to leave camp knowing exactly who it can trust when the lights come on. Saturday is the next step in figuring that out.
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