Georgia football put the pads on Saturday, and a look at the video released by the school suggests the intensity was running high.
“Listen, Listen, a lot of people been talking about what they can do and what they can’t do,” said J.J. Holloman, the Bulldogs’ leading returning receiver. “We got pads on now, man, it’s all you!”
The video appears to show defensive back Mark Webb and Tyrique McGee slamming Kearis Jackson to the turf after Jackson ran full-throttle into them.
Webb and McGee are entrenched in battles for playing time at the star position, and while the hitting drills aren’t everything, it’s an early opportunity to show the staff some want-to.
Jackson’s aggressive run into the tacklers said plenty about him, too, as he took some repetitions as a tailback last season when the Bulldogs’ ran into depth issues.
Many have forecasted Jackson as a candidate for a breakout season at receiver with UGA having lost four of its top five targets from last season.
Junior receiver Demetris Robertson got the better of fellow transfer DJ Daniel in another drill, breaking his tackle attempt and racing into the end as teammates around him celebrated.
Robertson was expected to have an immediate impact last season after transferring in from Cal, but he ended up buried on the depth chart with no catches and four carries all season.
Robertson’s performance in the brief video clips suggest he’s not as weak and frail as his critics have suggested, and that maybe there will be more to his game this season than just raw speed.
Outside linebacker Brenton Cox is also shown making a takedown tackle on a running back that appears to be Brian Herrien in the made-for-contact drill.
If Cox can plain containment this season with the same fervor Georgia might be on to something, as there was quite a drop off when D’Andre Walker left the field in the SEC tile game last year.
Herrien appears bulked up and ready to handle a load between the tackles. It was a role Herrien proved he could handle last season on the rare instances he was given the opportunity.
The Bulldogs have 11 more spring practices left, including the G-Day game at 2 p.m. on April 20 at Sanford Stadium.
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