Washington's words helped spark comeback
His team down by 10 at halftime to Missouri, tight end Darnell Washington had something he wanted to get off his chest.
So, when the Bulldogs adjourned to the locker room after the second quarter, Washington stepped forward to speak his mind.
“I just tried to get across to them in the locker room that anything’s possible. I just had a feeling that we were going to win,” Washington said after practice on Wednesday. “I was just like, let’s pick it up, everyone just do their job. And when the fourth quarter came around, the fellas got stronger.”
It was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.
“I was thinking about it going in, there was a lot of game left, there’s still two quarters left. I just said, 'We got what it takes,'” he said. “I told them it was now or never.”
Considering Washington is 6-foot-7.5 and 280 pounds, teammates were quick to pay attention.
Wide receiver Kearis Jackson said he was not surprised to see Washington step up in the way he did.
“It puts a positive effect on the team; most people look at Darnell like he’s big and goofy, but at the same time, that’s my teammate,” Jackson said. “When it comes to playing football, he’s going to lock in. So, when he comes in and says some words, pretty much all of us were like hey, this is how we want to do it.”
Washington said he learned a lot about his teammates in the final 30 minutes.
“That we’re not quitters,” Washington said. “Most teams get down two or three possessions, but I was like, there ain’t no way. I looked at the guys’ eyes before we took the field—we got dawgs.”
Marvin Jones Jr. making strides
During Wednesday’s SEC teleconference, Smart was asked about the progress of true freshman outside linebacker Marvin Jones Jr.
Although Jones has yet to make an impact on defense, his services as a key player on special teams are not being overlooked.
“He’s starting on special teams now, which is huge,” Smart said. “He’s getting a lot of confidence. I was just watching some of the practices from the last couple of days, and he’s getting better.”
Jones has played in all five of Georgia’s games, with one tackle.
“He does a really good job. He gives really great effort when he’s on the scout team, and he goes over to the defense and reps and does a really good job with that as well,” Smart said. “He’s growing, he’s very intelligent, he’s very conscientious, and he’s getting stronger.”
Another week of Red Zone focus
Georgia’s Red Zone issues have been a popular topic, and rightfully so.
Of 31 trips inside the opponent’s twenty-yard-line, the Bulldogs have only scored 19 touchdowns. So, what does Georgia need to do in order to improve the percentage?
“You just got to execute better,” Smart said. “You put a plan together each week for the Red area based sometimes on what they do and sometimes based on what you think you should do, regardless of what they do in terms of players, not plays.”
He wants to start seeing more success.
“We go through this week and try to out-execute the other team,” Smart said. “We didn’t do that last week, certainly, so we’ll take another swing at it this week and try to do it better.”
Perimeter tackling a focus
Smart obviously has several areas of improvement he wants to see from his team against Auburn. Perimeter tackling is one.
Missouri hurt the Bulldogs with several plays on the edge because Georgia corners and safeties failed to make the necessary plays.
“We’ve got to tackle better on the perimeter. We’ve got to play block protection better on the perimeter. We’ve got to play the ball in the air better,” Smart said. “We’ve done a really good job with disciplined eyes, understanding communication lines, checks and things. But I think we all can improve defensively in terms of our tackling. Those are areas we take a lot of pride in at Georgia, and that’s something we can improve in the secondary.”
