ATHENS - Quintavius Johnson knows exactly what Vanderbilt quarterback Jared Curtis is bringing into Sanford Stadium on Saturday.
He’s seen the whole quarterback dream from the other side of it.
Johnson once fit the mold himself, a 6-foot-2, 215-pound signal-caller at Mays High School in Atlanta who imagined having the ball in his hands every snap and steering a team toward a championship. Then the body changed. Johnson grew into a 6-4, 255-pound edge rusher, and the position changed with it.
The dream didn’t.
Now Johnson is chasing the quarterback instead of being one, and Curtis stands in the way of the championship goals he still carries. Kickoff is set for 12:45 p.m., and Johnson said the job isn’t just about finishing plays with sacks. It’s about making Curtis uncomfortable from the start.
“It’s not always going to be a sack,” Johnson said of the need to create havoc. “It could be getting him off the spot, or keeping him in a trap.”
Through four games this season, Johnson has seven tackles and 1.5 tackles-for-loss. He’ll be looking for his first sack of the year against a Vanderbilt offense built around Curtis’ ability to extend plays and take off when the pocket breaks down.
That scrambling element is exactly what Vanderbilt coach Clark Lea said he’ll be prepared to use if Georgia’s rushers drift out of their lanes. Georgia coach Kirby Smart also pointed to the challenge Curtis presents as a runner, saying earlier in the week:
“I don’t know if one person has tackled him yet,” Smart said. “He’s strong.
He’s quick. He’s powerful ….
“
That’s where Raylen Wilson comes in. The middle linebacker could be asked to spy Curtis at times, tracking him if he slips past the first wave or tries to turn a broken play into something bigger. Wilson is one of the Bulldogs who may be able to handle Curtis one-on-one, but Johnson said Georgia’s answer has to be collective.
“It starts throughout the week, running to the ball for your teammates,” Johnson said, “so if your teammate doesn’t make the tackle, you are there if anything was to go wrong.”
Curtis has already been sacked seven times this season, and Georgia’s defense has produced 11 sacks, which ranks tied for eighth in the SEC and 27th in the nation.
Johnson is one of three Bulldogs to keep an eye on against the Commodores, along with receiver and special teams standout London Humphreys and Wilson.
Humphreys may be due for a larger role in the passing game after catching just four passes for 23 yards over the first four games. He’s also already made his mark on special teams this season with a blocked punt at Arkansas.
Vanderbilt had another punt blocked last week at Auburn.
In Other News...
Kirby Smart Seemed To Send A Message In Georgias Vanderbilt Win
Jared Curtis did not suit up in Vanderbilts recent meeting with Georgia after the quarterback, who had flipped his commitment from the Bulldogs to the Commodores last year, was injured. Georgia handled the game the way a team trying to stay in the thick of the national title race needed to, while Vanderbilt came away with its season outlook looking far less secure than the one in Athens.
Afterward, Curtis made his way toward Kirby Smart, setting up a moment that drew attention for what happened as much as what did not. Smarts body language suggested he was not eager to linger, and the interaction felt like the sort of understated sideline scene that can say plenty without anyone having to say much at all. [Read more 🡒]
Georgia Left Vanderbilt With Two Concerns Alabama Will Test
Georgia left Nashville with a win and a cleaner record, but not a clean bill of health on the details that usually travel with them into bigger games. The Bulldogs beat Vanderbilt 38-14 to move to 5-0, and Carson Beck turned in another efficient day by completing 25 of 32 passes for 295 yards and three touchdowns. Even so, the outing had the kind of uneven stretches Georgia cannot ignore when the schedule sharpens, especially with the ground game not finding much rhythm.
The defense also had its lapses, most notably on third downs, and Alabama is the sort of opponent that tends to expose those cracks quickly. Georgia did settle in after halftime and looked more like itself down the stretch, but next weekend brings a far sterner test of whether those second-half corrections can carry over. For a team that has mostly handled business through September, the trip to face Alabama now feels less like a checkpoint and more like a revealing exam. [Read more 🡒]
Kirby Smart Is Already Pressing Georgia On One Concern Before Alabama
Vanderbilt kept things interesting for a half before Georgia pulled away for a 38-14 win, scoring the final 17 points to close it out. Clark Lea had reasons to point to some progress on the Commodores side, especially in protection and the run game, while Kirby Smart came away talking about the kind of things he likes to see from his own team this time of year: conditioning, execution and the steadier finish that can matter when the schedule tightens.
Smarts focus now turns quickly to Alabama, and it sounds like he is already sharpening one concern before that matchup arrives. Even after a comfortable win, Georgia is still looking to clean up areas that can become costly against a better opponent, and Smart did not hide that there is more work to do before the next test. [Read more 🡒]