ATHENS — It is starting to appear likely that Georgia’s All-SEC safety Richard LeCounte might play in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on Friday.
LeCounte himself created a buzz Monday when he replied to a tweet of a supposed recent photo showing him going to full speed and leaping high for a ball in practice.
His response: “Shhhhhh.”
Later, in video conference calls arranged by the Peach Bowl, Georgia coach Kirby Smart and some of LeCounte’s teammates acknowledged the possibility of LeCounte playing in Friday’s matchup of the No. 8 Cincinnati Bearcats (9-0) and the No. 9 Bulldogs (7-2) at Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium (noon, ESPN).
“I can’t put odds on it,” Smart said Monday. “It will all boil down to the health and safety of that young man. If he’s capable of playing winning football, he’ll go out there and play.”
That’s not a small development considering the senior from Liberty County will be exactly two months removed from a near-fatal motorcycle accident in Athens. LeCounte made contact with two vehicles when he was thrown from his dirt bike in an accident that occurred just an hour after the Bulldogs returned from their Oct. 31 road game at Kentucky. LeCounte ended up unconscious in the middle of Macon Highway just south of UGA’s campus and was rushed to Piedmont Athens Regional Hospital, where he spent three days in intensive care.
The Bulldogs’ star safety hasn’t played since.
LeCounte, who was wearing a helmet in the crash, suffered a severe concussion and shoulder and foot injuries, in addition to numerous cuts, scrapes and bruises. But while it has long been established that LeCounte would play football again, it is somewhat of a surprise that he apparently wants to make a return in a bowl game that will not have any sort of championship implications.
“He’s never been shy about it; he wants to play,” Smart said. “He’s a football player. That’s the way he’s been since he was in the ninth grade and I watched him running around playing spring football down in Liberty County. That’s just who he is. He enjoys the game. He loves the game.”
The Bulldogs definitely could benefit from LeCounte’s presence. In Cincinnati, they will face a prolific offense that averages 39.3 points and 467.2 yards per game and is led by arguably the best dual-threat quarterback in college football this year in 6-foot-4, 216-pound junior Desmond Ritter.
Credit: UGA Sports
Credit: UGA Sports
However, the reality is, even if LeCounte is able to play, it’s not likely that he would be in the form he was when he led the Bulldogs in interceptions and the secondary in tackles at the midway point of the season. Junior Christopher Smith took over at LeCounte’s safety position in his absence and is expected to start Friday against the Bearcats.
But if Georgia gets anything at all out of LeCounte, it will be a bonus. His mere presence in practice and meetings already has had a positive impact on the defense.
“Mostly it’s his energy,” Smith said. “His leadership is second to none, and definitely his play-making. He always finds a way to stay around the ball and make plays and things like that. That’s definitely something we’ve been missing.”
Smith has been solid as LeCounte’s replacement. He has 23 tackles, which is just three shy of what LeCounte had in five games. But Smith hasn’t been able to record a “havoc play” in his time on the field this season, while LeCounte had three interceptions, four pass-breakups and a fumble recovery the first half of the season. Smith does have four quarterback hurries to his credit.
“Ultimately, when you look at his career at Georgia, Richard has been a play-maker,” defensive coordinator Dan Lanning said Monday. “That guy brings a certain level of energy and juice when he’s on the field. He finds himself around the ball a lot. We don’t completely change our scheme because of one guy’s in or out. But when you have experience, there’s nothing that replaces that on the football field, and Richard has a lot of experience suiting up for the Georgia Dogs.”
Smith acknowledged LeCounte’s superiority in the category of “play-making.” He said that’s something he has been focusing on a lot, with LeCounte’s assistance.
“I feel I’ve played acceptable, but I’ve also got more there,” Smith said. “There’s plenty more opportunities for me to make plays for the team and I definitely want to get there. I do well in the run game and I do well in the pass game, but I just want to be able to make those big plays for the team that I haven’t made yet. But it’s coming.”
Smart wasn’t about to make a prediction about whether or not LeCounte will actually play Friday or how much he might go if he did. Ultimately, he said it would be “a game-time decision.”
Just the fact that LeCounte is trying his hardest to get back on the field during a year in which “opt-out” has become a household word is enough for the Georgia coach.
“He’s pushing really hard; he’s taking a lot of reps,” Smart said. “He’s taking a lot of reps with the 2s. But he’s working hard to get out there and play. It’s going to be conditioning, it’s going to be physicality, it’s going to be how comfortable he is. When you go that long without playing, it’s not always straight-line speed. It’s throwing on the brakes, it’s understanding angles, it’s feeling confident in contact, because it’s a physical sport.
“I don’t know what the odds are, but I know he’s out there doing everything he can do be able to play.”
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