ATHENS - No matter which quarterback hits the field for the Florida Gators on Saturday, Georgia football coach Kirby Smart knows his team will face a major challenge.
The Gators are fourth in the SEC in total offense thanks to a dependable rushing attack led by star running back Jadan Baugh. However, they’re also fourth in passing efficiency. They’re a run-first team, but with receivers Vernell Brown and Eric Singleton back, the Gators are at full-strength at wide receiver for the first time since game one.
That means Georgia’s secondary needs to be at their best no matter which quarterback is throwing to them.
With KJ Bolden’s availability still up in the air, the Bulldogs may have to rely on Ja'Marley Riddle again at the strong safety spot. He wasn’t at his best against Auburn, but head coach Kirby Smart told reporters this week the East Carolina transfer is still improving.
“Ja’Marley’s improving. He plays more strong safety than anything else. He's very intelligent. He has good instincts and he communicates really well. So he continues to improve coming off a very significant injury to end last year. He's improved with every week. He improves every day in our system, understanding how to do things, and he's got good competition around him including Rasean Dinkins, including Kyron Jones, Zion Branch. I mean, all those guys, Todd Robinson, they've all improved and they continue to get better.”
Georgia’s safeties need to bring their best, as do the cornerbacks. The Gators have several weapons at the receiver position and will hope to stretch the field with some explosive plays in the passing attack.
Georgia’s cornerns have played well overall, but this could be their biggest challenge of the season so far.
Here’s what Kirby Smart had to say about Bulldog starting cornerback Ellis Robinson this week...
“Yeah, Ellis is a competitor. He’s really driven to be good at what he does and he works hard at it. It's important to him that he does things the right way and plays with the right technique. He likes to have chances to make plays on the ball and cover people. He has a good mindset about the position that giving up a play is not the end of the world. He can erase it quickly and move on to the next, and that's a good trait to have at his position. So I’ve been really pleased with his effort and the things he's done.”
