WHAT WE ARE HEARING: Kirby Smart's Georgia Bulldogs "In Pretty Good Position"
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ATHENS - Kirby Smart’s Georgia Bulldogs are a bye week away from taking on the Oregon Ducks in Atlanta to start the 2022 season.
And with the No. 3 Dawgs’ camp wrapping up, and the team turning its focus to the season Dawg Post wanted to do an information dump on a slew of things around the team.
The No. 1 topic of fall camp from insiders and observers has been the Dawgs new-look defense, which still has well-known players like Jalen Carter, Nolan Smith and Kelee Ringo. But the departure of a slew of defenders to the NFL is noticeable.
The overwhelming consensus is that this defense is noticeably fast, but it is still “thinking” about what’s next rather than playing. Insiders are hopeful that the Oregon game will allow Georgia’s new players to get the sort of test they need to morph into the type of defense that can help Georgia win it all again.
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That’s one reason players like Carter have not gotten tons of action in scrimmages.
“Jalen Carter didn't play much at all,” one observer said of the star lineman’s day on Saturday.
“By midseason the defense should be fine,” said one longtime insider. “But the inside guys (linebackers) are going to have to get guys lined up. They are not as big (as the 2021 defense). Speed-wise - the defense can run. There is speed everywhere, but if you are running the wrong place that's not good.”
“This defense is really, really fast,” added another insider.
After the first scrimmage one observer asked this:
“Which would you rather happen - the offense has a problem, or the defense, with Kirby Smart as the coach, having to develop during the year? I know which I would rather have.”
Georgia’s offense suffered a loss Saturday when Andrew Paul suffered a reported ACL injury. The season-long loss means the Bulldogs are that much thinner at running back. Kendall Milton, who has +10000 odds to win the Heisman Trophy this year according to FanDuel, has not scrimmaged so far this summer. He’s expected to be ready to play against Oregon if nothing further slows down his hamstring recovery.
Meanwhile, Kenny McIntosh has had at least two long runs during scrimmages, and one insider said he was eager to see what’s going to happen next with the veteran back.
“Kenny McIntosh had another long run. He looks legit,” that person said.
Still, the strength of the offense is its tight ends, which runs four deep.
“The tight ends are the real deal,” said one insider. “Its hard to describe how deep they are. Darnell dominated last Saturday, and then this scrimmage you got Delp out there running all over the place.”
But the loss of Arian Smith earlier in the summer was a red flag for one insider:
“Arian Smith is a huge, huge loss because you have to respect his ability to go deep,” the insider said. “That’s one thing that lets the tight ends exploit so much underneath. That’s a big loss.”
It “seems” like Carson Beck is the No. 2 quarterback behind Stetson Bennett. He’s been in that role for a while, but Brock Vandagriff isn’t a freshman anymore and has been getting shots with the No. 1 unit like Beck.
But insiders think Vandagriff isn’t as consistent as he needs to be to take over the backup role ahead of Beck.
“It looks like it is that simple - Beck is just more constant,” one tied-in person said of the competition. “Gunner isn’t there yet - that’s going to take some time.”
Georgia’s specialists have had an up-and-down camp - too inconsistent to be comfortable for the coaching staff. Jack Podlesny has, perhaps, been up and down, but we’ve all seen what he can do. The issue might be more punter, and what happens at that spot.
Still, insiders are bullish about the Dawgs after ingesting the two scrimmages.
“Shoot, I think we are in pretty good position to be honest,” one insider said. “The young guys are good - and fast. But they do need to play, and probably screw up some, before we know the full story. But not much is holding this team back.”
Quick Hitters on some players:
Kamari Lassiter sure seems to be the corner opposite Ringo
Malaki Starks has been talked about a lot
Andrew Paul was having a camp that had folks buzzing about him before being hurt
Ladd McConkey had a good scrimmage Saturday as did Dominick Blaylock
A lot of folks are big believers in Georgia’s offensive line
Dillon Bell had a good camp
Stetson Bennett had a very, very good first scrimmage
Kenny McIntosh had two good scrimmages
Georgia’s tight ends very well could be the best position group the program has ever had
