With Saturday’s G-Day now complete, here’s five quick impressions from the game, won by the Black Team 21-13.
…Justin Fields did all right for himself, completing 18 of 33 passes for 207 yards, throwing a touchdown and an interception. He moved well in the pocket, seemed to manage the huddle well, and for the most part made good throws. There were a couple of instances where he made some ill-advised throws, but overall carried himself well and made wise decisions with the ball in his hands.
There were a couple of sacks credited to the defense where I’m not sure if the freshman would have truly been brought down. His best passes came on a quick hitter to Ahkil Crumpton that went for a 24-yard gain, followed in the second half by a back-shoulder pass to Jeremiah Holloman that went for 33 yards.
Fields' best run was a 22-yarder in the fourth quarter.
Jake Fromm? The sophomore wasn’t quite as sharp, completing 19 of 38 passes for 200 yards and threw a pair of interceptions, including a Pick-6 to Deandre Baker. Fromm did have a 46-yard touchdown pass dropped by Riley Ridley, who had the ball jar loose after hitting the ground hard.
There were some other drops involved, at least four by my very unofficial count, two by Elijah Holyfield.
Ridley and Fromm would redeem themselves, however, and took advantage of the opportunity when they hooked up for a 57-yard touchdown with 1:42 left in the game.
*****
D’Andre Walker has some get up and go. After spending his first three seasons as primarily a backup at outside linebacker for the likes of Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter, Walker is finally getting his opportunity to be “the man” and if Saturday was any indication, he’s going to do just fine. Walker was credited with a pair of first-half sacks and broke up one pass.
Monty Rice also had a big day. The sophomore is playing Will linebacker for the Bulldogs and Saturday led the Black team with 14 tackles, including a sack.
Keyon Brown and David Marshall were also credited for two sacks each.
*****
…While I hesitate to make too much out of this, considering the circumstances and the fact Saturday was technically just a scrimmage, both the first- and second-team offensive lines seemed to struggle in pass-pro more than I thought they would.
Both defenses spent considerable time in the opposing backfield, forcing a combined 11 sacks with even more pressures.
*****
As expected, Georgia’s first team offensive line consisted of Andrew Thomas (left tackle), Kendall Baker (left guard), Lamont Gaillard (center), Ben Cleveland (right guard) and Isaiah Wilson (right tackle). One second-team surprise was D’Marcus Hayes getting reps at left tackle.
*****
Color me impressed with Georgia’s new scoreboard. While it may not be the biggest in the SEC, the pictures were much sharper and the sound was loud and clear, something that hasn’t been the case for the past few years.
Although there’s probably still more University officials can do to enhance the fan experience, the improvements they made to Sanford and the ongoing West End Zone Project are certainly a positive step.
If you weren’t among the 82,184 fans who attended the game, my guess is you’ll like what you see this fall.
*****
There were some drops, and a few routes didn’t go quite as planned, but overall, Georgia showed that it may have more depth at receiver than first thought.
Crumpton (four catches for 55 yards), Tyler Simmons (three for 29), Holloman (three for 59), Matt Landers (2 for 28, 1 TD, Jayson Stanley (4 for 30) and Trey Blount (1 for 45) all accounted for themselves well.
Terry Godwin, Ridley (two catches for 72 yards, 1 TD) and Mecole Hardman are Georgia’s top three returning receivers, but Georgia will need more contributors than these come fall. If G-Day is any indication, they might just have some help.