LeCounte: New UGA Players "Are So Talented"
ATHENS — Georgia practiced for two hours in full pads on Tuesday afternoon under ‘chamber of commerce” weather conditions. The session was the 13th of 15 slated for the Bulldogs this spring, which will culminate with the annual G-Day game this Saturday at Sanford Stadium.
Following practice offensive lineman Ben Cleveland, wide receiver Jeremiah Holloman, defensive back Richard LeCounte and defensive end Justin Young visited with media to discuss spring practice.
Cleveland and LeCounte, both juniors, enrolled in Georgia at the mid-year in January 2016 and took part in spring practice prior to their freshman seasons. Both saw the benefits of the extra time on campus.
LeCounte started 13 of 14 games last season and was the Bulldogs’ leading tackler with 74 stops. He also caused three fumbles, recovered two fumbles and returned an interception for 29 yards.
“It definitely gave me a kickstart as far as academically and progressing on the field,” LeCounte said. “I got a head start so a lot of things that a regular freshman coming in in May or June, I couldn’t relate to because I was here and got adjusted to it January. That was a real big positive for me, and I don’t regret that decision at all.”
Cleveland started at right guard for the first four games of 2018 season before suffering an injury at Missouri. He returned to action six games later against Auburn and also played against Georgia Tech, Alabama and Texas.
“I feel like it gave my an extra opportunity to learn the playbook,” Cleveland said. “I was able to get a feel for things, transitioning from high school to college. It was a big step to come in early and get that extra edge over other guys in the class.”
Georgia has 14 mid-year enrollees this year and both LeCounte and Cleveland have been impressed with the performances of that group as a whole.
“They’re definitely find their ways,” LeCounte said. “Those guys are so talented. They’re like sponges on everything the coaches are saying. They remind me of me when I came in in ’16, just trying to get everything that they can get out of spring and learning the playbooks. Those guys have definitely progressed a lot on the field and have a chance of helping us in the fall.”
“It’s huge,” Cleveland said. “They don’t understand it yet. I didn’t understand it neither when I first got here. They’ll understand when they’re in their junior or senior season. The impact that this semester has on them is going to be huge, just getting ahead of the game and staying ahead of the game to make those leaps that might take a regular enrollee a little longer to make because they don’t have the extra help those new guys have right now.”
G-Day is slated for a 2:00 p.m. kickoff this Saturday and admission is free. The game will be televised on the SEC Network, with Georgia alums making up half of the broadcast team for the game. Matt Stinchcomb will serve as a color analyst, and Maria Taylor will be the sideline reporter. They will be joined by Tom Hart calling the play-by-play and Greg McElroy also serving as an analyst.