ATHENS — Absent from any promotions for Saturday’s G-Day game (4 p.m., ESPN2) has been any mention by Georgia of having won the past two national championships and going for an unprecedented third in a row in 2023.
That has never been done in the modern era of football. Generally, Minnesota is credited with winning three national championships in a row from 1934-36, becoming the consensus selection of the many polls of the day and losing only one game over those three seasons. Otherwise, it hasn’t happened since.
Coach Kirby Smart even acknowledged the Bulldogs’ opportunity to go for three championships in a row. But that was only briefly as he ran off the field at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Jan. 9 after Georgia’s 65-7 win over TCU clinched the 2022 titled. He yelled to the crowd “one, two, three” while counting it out on his right hand.
Not surprisingly, there has been no mention since. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs’ players have been dutifully trained how to respond whenever talk of a “three-peat” is brought up to them. Amarius Mims offered a demonstration this past week.
“Who cares?” the junior tackle said. “This is a different year. Our identity is going to be this team this year. No matter what we did in ‘21 or ‘22, we’re going to be known for what we did this year. Basically, we’re just moving on.”
There will, however, be a video tribute to the 2022 national champions on the Bulldogs’ massive scoreboard at the west end of Sanford Stadium before. Last year’s team members who have moved on via graduation and NFL draft entry who might be on hand are expected to show off their championship rings at some point. And Saturday’s highlight, no doubt, will be the “collaring” of a new mascot, which will take place 10 minutes before kickoff. “Boom,” a mere puppy at this point, will succeed the great “Que” as Uga XI.
After that, all attention will be on the annual intrasquad scrimmage and a rather significant quarterback competition that will be decided sometime between Saturday and Georgia’s season opener against Tennessee-Martin on Sept. 2.
Here are five things to watch for during G-Day:
QBs, QBs and more QBs
All eyes will be on whomever is playing the game’s premier position Saturday. Carson Beck and Brock Vandagriff are locked in a fierce battle to become the starting quarterback that succeeds the great Stetson Bennett in 2023.
The 6-foot-4, 215-pound Beck is a junior who has bided his time as Bennett’s understudy the past two seasons. But indications are that Vandagriff, a 6-3, 215-pound sophomore, has given Beck a run for his money during the past five weeks that have encompassed Georgia’s spring practices.
How the Bulldogs deploy those two quarterbacks will be a telling sign. In the past, when there has been an intense and meaningful competition at the position, Georgia will rotate the top two quarterbacks on the team – Red or Black – that features the No. 1 offense. Other times, they might simply be on opposing squads. The Bulldogs have not yet released the rosters for the annual intrasquad game.
Meanwhile, Georgia certainly wants to get in some meaningful work for redshirt freshman quarterback Gunner Stockton. Though clearly No. 3 on the Bulldogs’ QB totem pole, Stockton has been impressive both this spring and while running the Georgia’s scout-team offense during last season’s postseason preparations.
The Bulldogs also will want to get some snaps for walk-on Jackson Muschamp, a 6-2, 190-pound junior and the son of Georgia co-defensive coordinator Will Muschamp.
‘Doing it for Dev’
A seat in the offensive line’s meeting room remains forever empty. Inside, there is a huge portrait of Devin Willock. Many of the players who occupy that space have gotten tattoos that pay homage to their fallen comrade.
Georgia’s offensive line has dedicated the 2023 season to Willock, who was killed in a fatal car crash Jan. 15 that also took the life of recruiting analyst Chandler LeCroy and injured two other members of the Bulldogs’ football family. Unquestionably, Willock is the “why” for Georgia’s offensive front this season.
In the meantime, the Bulldogs are still trying to figure who will be their top five in that position group this season. In addition to Willock, who made starts at left and right guard last season, the Bulldogs are having to replace NFL-bound starting tackles Broderick Jones and Warren McClendon.
A great battle is being waged at left tackle, where junior Austin Blaske and redshirt freshman Earnest Greene have alternated snaps with the first team. Mims seems entrenched as Georgia’s right tackle, where he started the final two games of 2022. But position coach Stacy Searels is intent on finding the best five, regardless of which player lines up where.
“Everybody’s in a rotation right now,” Mims said. “That’s all I can say about that.”
Secondary deployment
Losing a pair of All-Americans to the NFL draft is no minor development for any team, but the Bulldogs feel good about their options in the defensive backfield.
Georgia must replace safety Christopher Smith and cornerback Kelee Ringo from the 2022 defense. But it hasn’t been as simple as plugging in somebody else in those two spots. Muschamp and secondary coach Fran Brown have been cross-training numerous players at various positions in order to be sure that they have the best rotation possible.
Daylen Everette and Nyland Green appear to be the top choices for succeeding Ringo at cornerback, but Texas A&M transfer Smoke Bouie has gotten reps there, as well as at safety. Cornerback Kamari Lassister and safety Malaki Starks appear to be solid starters at their respective positions, but there has been much experimentation all around them. While Javon Bullard earned postseason MVP honors playing the star position last season, he and fellow nickel back Tykee Smith are getting looks at safety as well.
Most important, Georgia has to make sure it has depth in the secondary to withstand any losses to injury. So young players such as A.J. Harris and Julian Humphrey will be given a hard look as they face off against an extremely deep UGA receiving corps.
New-look offense
Speaking of wideouts, another point of interest Saturday will be seeing what Georgia’s offense looks like in its first year under offensive coordinator Mike Bobo. Between the turnover of talent on offense and the format of the annual intrasquad scrimmage, there’s no guarantee that what is on display Saturday will be what the Bulldogs look like next season.
Never-minding a new starter at quarterback, Bobo inherits one of the deepest receiving corps in the SEC, while also navigating cyclical turnover and spring injuries in the backfield, a significant loss at tight end and changeover at both tackles. As for Saturday’s spring game, expect Georgia to throw the ball all over Dooley Field.
In wideouts Ladd McConkey, Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas and tight end Brock Bowers, the Bulldogs feature four of the SEC’s top 17 receivers from 2022. Meanwhile, between Kenny McIntosh’s graduation and injuries to Kendall Milton (hamstring), Daijun Edwards (hamstring) and Andrew Paul (ACL), Georgia is left with inexperienced running backs in sophomore Branson Robinson and freshman Roderick Robinson. That likely will impact some of the sophistication of the passing game.
So, whatever you see Saturday, take it with a grain of salt.
“We’re evaluating players, not plays,” Smart said. “We’re trying to figure out what players can help us, then we’ll worry about the plays. So, I don’t put a lot of pressure on offensive identity in the spring.”
New faces on D
Georgia’s defense appears to be in reload mode for 2023, but that won’t necessarily be apparent Saturday. The Bulldogs will have a lot of their frontline players sitting out because of injury rehabilitations. Others, such as linebackers Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon and interior defensive linemen Zion Logue and Nazir Stackhouse, have little to prove to coaches and likely will be used sparingly.
Sophomores Marvin Jones Jr., Jalon Walker and Mykel Williams – all standouts as freshmen last season – will be watching from the sideline because of injuries. Jones, who plays defensive end and outside linebacker, and Walker, an outside and inside linebacker, both had offseason shoulder surgeries. Williams, a defensive end who led the Bulldogs’ in sacks last season, with 4.5, suffered a foot injury during spring practice that required minor surgery two weeks ago. Georgia also remains without senior safety Dan Jackson, still recovering from the midseason foot surgery he had last fall.
Their absences have given several other players a platform on which to perform Saturday. Among the standouts this spring have been defensive linemen Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins and Warren Brinson and linebacker Xavian Sorey. Expect to see a lot of them and other up-and-coming players.
