Georgia Offensive News and Notes

Mike Bobo’s last birthday saw Georgia’s offensive coordinator turn 50 years old.

Of those 50 years, he’s entering his 12th season as an offensive coordinator, 10 of which have been in Athens.

Over that time, Bobo has seen the game take some not-so-subtle change in the way it’s played, forcing coaches like the former Bulldog quarterback to adapt.

“Me and Coach T-Rod (Travaris Robinson) were talking about it earlier. Back in the day, the game may have been a little bit simpler. It was a little more physical,” Bobo said. “You've got to adapt. The game is played in space nowadays. I don't want to adapt so much that we don't lose our physicality as an offense.”

Still, changes in the game have forced Bobo and other veteran offensive coordinators to change or risk their teams falling behind.

“What this program is built on and what Coach [Kirby] Smart is building on is tough as a physical offense,” Bobo said. “But you also want to be innovative and play the game in space and try to be explosive. At the same time, you don't want to lose your physicality as an offensive unit.”

Bobo says he’s never been afraid to reach out to other coaches and colleagues when there’s knowledge to be gained.

“We've all got friends in this business that we talk to regularly that are coaching, trying to stay fresh and new with how you do things,” Bobo said. “I tell the players all the time, you've never arrived, you're always learning. That goes for us as coaches, too. We're always trying to find new ways to do things. I kind of follow all those same lines. Every coach, as they go along, as they adapt, as they go along.”

… Bobo on son Drew, who is battling it out to be a backup center. “He’s hell on wheels, isn’t he?”

…Though he did not offer specifics, Bobo said projected starting center Jared Wilson has missed some practice time due to an unspecified injury.

“Jared has missed some things, but he's got to do as much as possible. That's a very important position in the offensive unit,” Bobo said. “Jared's still being able to do that a large majority of what we're doing. We're just being careful with him.”

… Bobo had plenty to say about the impact he hopes to see from wide receiver Arian Smith.

“Any time you've got a guy like Arian or anybody that's got speed, track speed when they're on the field, sometimes you might not see the impact they have on a play, because we might not have gone to,” Bobo said. “But I guarantee you that defense knows when number 11's on the field because of the speed and the ability to make not just a 20-yard explosive, but he's a guy on your team that could have a 70-yard explosive at any time. We’re just trying to be consistent every day.”

… Bobo wants to see Dillon Bell make more plays in space.

“Dillon did a great job for us last year making contested catches, which is awesome. But we're now working on trying to create more space because a lot of times he is our X-receiver and he's in the boundary,” Bobo said. “If you're in the boundary in this league, you're not going to get any off coverage. You're going to get press. And how do you handle press? How do I beat the press? So, we’re really working on the finer points of winning one-on-one battles.”

…Bobo said the offense is just now starting work on installation. Because of that, he’s not ready to put a finger on what his offense’s identity might be. However, the early signs are positive.

“But one thing I feel really good about us as an offense, I think we have a connection. I think that's important,” Bobo said. “We've addressed it. Nobody's flinched in that room when they've been challenged to respond, whether it's during practice or in the meeting the next day. There haven't been any pointing fingers. I think that's always good because you want a connection in that room. It's going to take everybody in that room.”

…Tight ends coach Todd Hartley also spoke with the media Thursday. Among the questions, where does his energy come from?

“Well, there's a very high expectation, that you bring it, all right, that comes from the head coach, and so I don't want to disappoint,” Hartley said. “I do it because the expectation around here is you've got to be the best coach at your position in the country, and if you're not having juice or you're not having fun doing it, how can you be that way, right?

…Hartley said Stanford tight end Ben Yurosek pronounces his name “Your-os-ick.”

…Despite the arrival of Yurosek, a graduate transfer, junior Oscar Delp is still the leader of the tight end room.

"The biggest growth I've seen from Oscar is just from a maturity standpoint, from a leadership standpoint. He's always been there with Brock (Bowers). He's always been there with Brock and Darnell (Washington), so he's never really had to assume the role of leading the room," Hartley said. "From the time that Brock left, Oscar just naturally stepped into the head of the tight end room and really hasn't looked back. Even having been there, Ben's new, Ben's older. We'll rely on Ben's senior leadership as well, but Oscar is the unquestioned leader of our room."