ATHENS – The “wheel route.” Even those unfamiliar with football terminology might recognize that term. They certainly do if they were paying attention to last year’s game between No. 8 Florida and No. 5 Georgia in Jacksonville.
The Gators wore out Georgia with that particular concept last season. It was the primary weapon Dan Mullen used to dismantle the Bulldogs’ defense on the way to a 44-28 victory.
To review, the Gators piled up 571 yards – 474 of it passing -- and ran 80 offensive plays to Georgia’s 56 to score the victory. And the wheel-route concept was a big part of Florida wiping out an early 14-0 deficit by out-scoring the Bulldogs 38-7 the rest of the first half.
It had to be maddening for Georgia’s defensive-minded coach Kirby Smart. It certainly was for the Bulldogs’ fans. And one can be sure the Gators haven’t forgotten about it.
“I can’t tell you it won’t happen again because they run the same plays this year as they did last year,” Smart said after Georgia’s second practice of the week Tuesday. “We’re not changing our entire defense because of that.”
And why would they? The No. 1-ranked Bulldogs will enter Saturday with not only the No. 1 defense in the nation, but one that is being compared with Alabama’s 2011 squad that so dominated its opponents.
Meanwhile, even more than is usual, the personnel has changed significantly for both teams. Georgia’s secondary almost is completely different, with eight defensive backs either moved on to the NFL or other collegiate addresses. And Florida doesn’t have quarterback Kyle Trask, tight end Kyle Pitts or slot-receiver Kedarius Toney anymore.
But the Gators do have back running backs Malik Davis, Dameon Pierce and Nay’Quan Wright. They were the ones wreaking the most havoc against Georgia in November. Those three backs combined for 212 of Florida’s yards on 10 catches between them. They also had a hand in Florida gaining another 97 yards rushing.
The Bulldogs adjusted in the second half last year, but the damage already had been done. And they certainly plan to be prepared for it this season.
“We’ve got answers for it,” Smart said. “But there are things that can hurt you when you just play for the wheel that can hurt you other ways. I certainly don’t want to give up explosive plays, whether that’s a back out of the backfield, a tight end, a receiver, whatever it is. So, we’re going to do all we can to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
Much of that is determined by the play of the Star position, or nickel back, in Georgia’s defense. That is essentially the fifth defensive back in the Bulldogs’ base 4-2 alignment. It’s one of the toughest positions of all to play because the player who mans it must be big enough to factor in the run game and take on tight ends and offensive linemen, but also swift enough to cover backs and receivers in the pass game.
The nickel back also must be bright and quick with decisions. In the age of the run-pass option (RPO), he’s often the guy opposing quarterbacks are reading on the perimeter.
“The Star defender – or the sub-defender, the nickel or the money, they all have their different funky names – is usually in that RPO game,” said former Georgia lineman Matt Stinchcomb, who is a college football analyst for ESPN. “He’s the conflict defender. He has to be able to play in space. He has to cover the slot-receiver type. But he also has to be part of the run game. So (quarterbacks) are watching to see if he’s leaning toward the box or about to drop in coverage.”
Three things should help the Bulldogs mitigate the effectiveness of that play this year against the Gators: One, senior Latavious Brini has been playing very well at nickel back for the Bulldogs; two, Georgia is playing much more zone defense this season; and, finally, Florida quarterbacks Emory Jones and Anthony Richardson aren’t as good as passers as Trask was.
Which is not to say they can’t throw. Nearly half of the Gators’ offensive yards, 247.4, have come through the air. But while they’re completing 62% of the passes for 15 touchdowns between them, they’ve also combined for 12 interceptions.
Simultaneously, though, they bring a QB-run threat that Task could not. Jones and Richardson are the Gators’ leading rushers with 842 yards and five touchdowns between them. It’s off that concept that Florida builds its passing game.
“That’s how they stress the defense,” Stinchcomb said of the Florida quarterbacks. “They have a kind of self play-action, where he fakes toward the line as if he’s going to run and then he just steps back and pops a pass to the running back, who kind of slips through the line of scrimmage. It’s kind of like the Tim Tebow step, but instead of a jump pass, they just kind of step dump the ball over linebackers’ heads, who probably stepped up on that fake.”
As for Brini, he has watched so much video and spent so much time working on “eye discipline” in practice that he probably sees it in his sleep. He believes he’s as ready as he possibly can be.
“Every day you wake up is a challenge. So, I say I embrace the challenge,” said Brini, a 6-2, 210-pound senior. “… Every team is tough. Every team has their tricks and everything. So, we’re just going to come out and stick to the game plan and hopefully make some plays.”
Brini’s biggest issue at this point is stamina. To what he does, he’s covering a lot of ground every game. Smart was excited when the Bulldogs finally got back West Virginia transfer Tykee Smith from a foot injury a few weeks ago just to spell Brini on some plays if nothing else. Then Smith was sidelined again, this time with a season-ending ACL injury.
Now freshman Javon Bullard of Milledgeville is having to step in at the position when and where he can.
“Javon is actually a great young player,” Brini said. “He’s accepted his role and knows that we need to step up, and he’s doing a great job.”
There wasn’t a position called “Star” when Smart played defensive back for Georgia. But he has come to respect the tremendous importance of it in the RPO era.
“The Star is in the cross hairs of all those plays,” Smart said. “He’s the guy they’re reading, he’s the guy they’re blocking, he’s the guy they’re blitzing, he’s the guy they’re throwing off of, he’s the guy they box count. So, having a tough, physical guy who’s 205 pounds that can run, that can cover - they just don’t grow anywhere. You don’t find them anywhere. …
“It’s a tough position, and Brini’s done a good job.”
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