Georgia had to find a quarterback in practice this week who could at least approximate what Ole Miss brings to the table, and Kirby Smart said the Bulldogs had one in-house.
That job fell to Hezekiah Millender, the sophomore dual-threat quarterback from Clarke Central High School in Athens, whom Smart said handled the scout-team role in a way that mirrored Trinidad Chambliss. Millender, Georgia’s fourth-string quarterback, has played in only two games this season.
He completed his lone pass against Tennessee state for 17 yards and added two carries for 22 yards. Against Western Kentucky, he did not complete his only pass attempt and rushed once for 5 yards.
Smart said Millender’s work in practice gave Georgia the look it needed.
“We’re lucky because we’ve got a kid named (Hezekiah) Budha Millender who is a tremendous copycat of Trinidad,” Smart said. “He scrambles like him, he moves like him, he’s quick, he navigates the pocket.
“But we can’t simulate everything; we don’t have wideouts and lineman like they do, but (Millender) did a tremendous job trying to mimic him. He watched film on him, we scouted him, and we tried to get him to escape the same ways Trinidad does.”
Millender also flashed earlier this year in Georgia’s G-Day scrimmage in April, when he completed 9 of 15 passes for 103 yards.
The Bulldogs, ranked No. 2, face No. 10 Ole Miss at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, with Georgia looking to keep moving toward the SEC Championship Game and the College Football Playoffs.
Smart, speaking on his “Bulldogs Live” coaches’ show hosted by Jeff Dantzler, said Chambliss is the kind of quarterback who forces a defense to be sharp from the opening snap.
“He’s a tremendous player, it motivates you and challenges you to play against the best,” Smart said. “I have a lot of respect for the way he plays, he competes.
“Against a guy of that caliber, you’ve got to be at your best. The best way to play him is with your offense - because if you score points and keep him off the field, those are two productive ways to limit him.”
Smart also praised what Chambliss has done at Ole Miss since transferring from Ferris State (Mich.) after his high school career at Grand Rapids’ Forest Hills Northern High School.
“The guy is from the D-2 level and was really an afterthought,” Smart said of the Lane Kiffin recruit. “And the next thing you know he takes over and leads the team to the playoffs and he’s back doing it again.”
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