A Long Look at UGA's No. 1 Offense at G Day: Who Matters the Most?

ATHENS - If you ever wondered why UGA coaches have a bunch of faith in Jake Fromm‍ look no further than the No. 1 offensive unit’s production from G Day. 

Fromm had a lukewarm day throwing the ball - including a pick six that helped propel Eric Stokes to a great day - but the junior QB was in the game when UGA had seven of its ten most explosive plays. 

UGA’s No. 1 unit had 39 total plays on Saturday, and Fromm was the signal caller for each of them. The No. 1 unit averaged 3.92 yards per play on Saturday. Fromm’s 39 plays were as many or more snaps as anyone on the first team offense. Only J.J. Holloman and Charlie Woerner had the same number. 

If the season were today, it certainly appears the Bulldogs will have four skill players on the field with No. 1 unit: Fromm, Holloman, Woerner and Tyler Simmons, who had 38 snaps and a slightly better average because he wasn’t on the field when Fromm took a three-yard sack. He had come out of the game with Tommy Bush taking his spot. It can’t be that surprising that the four skill players with the most snaps are upperclassmen. 

For the record, the No. 1 offensive line unit didn’t substitute on Saturday according to our records. 

The offensive player with the highest overall yard per play average at G Day was was D'Andre Swift‍. The Philadelphia native was in on 25 plays that resulted in 124 total yards - that’s 4.96 yards per play. Swift played on first down 12 of the 16 snaps, but he was on the field for only three of the nine 3rd down snaps. On that down the Bulldogs’ No. 1 unit went with Brian Herrien more often than Swift. 

Still, Swift led the way for the No. 1 offense in average yards per play (4.96) and had the highest yardage per play of anyone third-down plays (5.67). 

Kearis Jackson‍ had the top overall situational average per play for the No. 1 unit with his 6.36 yards per play in second down situations. Jackson had a very steady day overall, too. Jackson’s 31 plays for 130 overall yards, a 4.19 yard per play average, was behind only Swift’s 4.96 total for the day.

Georgia’s power package, a two-tight end set, struggled to pick up yards. Six times on G Day the Bulldogs line up in that formation, and the No. 1 offense only gained nine total yards. Three times the two-TE set was in on first and ten; once on second and ten; once on second and four; and once on third and one. Four of the six two-TE set plays resulted in no yards gained. 

The No. 1 offense averaged 1.5 yards per play in with two TEs on the field; it averaged 4.6 yards per play with only one TE, Woerner, on the field. 

Again, Woerner, Fromm and Holloman played every down we saw on Saturday with the No. 1 unit. 

One thing that went against form for the Bulldogs from the recent past was the the No. 1 offense’s struggles on first down. Jake Fromm is one of the top overall QBs in the country on first down. But the No. 1 unit averaged only 3.25 yards per play on first down - that’s almost seven yards fewer than Fromm averaged on first down last season. 

Fromm and company only faced nine third downs, but converted four of them. On third down the No. 1 unit went for 3.44 yards per play. 

Second down was the top down of the day for the No. 1 unit. Fromm and the Dawgs picked up five yards per play on second down. Again, Georgia was particularly good when Jackson was in the game at 6.36 yards a play.