How an inexperienced secondary unlocked Georgia’s full defensive potential

The Georgia Bulldogs' defense allowed an average of 40.7 points and 539 yards per game in losses to LSU, Alabama, and Florida in the previous two seasons.

Those defenses had future NFL draft picks Eric Stokes, Tyson Campbell, Richard LeCounte, and Mark Webb, as well as DJ Daniel and current Miami Hurricane starting corner Tyrique Stevenson in the secondary.

All told, the Bulldogs lost almost 2,300 combined snaps among those six players and Major Burns transferring to LSU. Losing those players combined with the numbers above gave Bulldog nation a lot of fear about how well the secondary would hold up this fall.

Yet so far, the secondary has been impressive in the first six games. While it has not played an offense or quarterback the likes of what led to the point totals above, the numbers are astounding and have gotten better with each passing week. The team as a whole leads the country in coverage grade (94.4), has allowed just a 57.6 completion percentage, and a 53.1 passer rating. The five primary players (Derion Kendrick, Kelee Ringo, Latavious Brini, Lewis Cine, and Christopher Smith) have allowed just 396 yards in coverage, with just 190 of those coming after the catch. It's tough sledding for an opponent's passing game, and when they do have success, not much has happened after the completion.

Ringo and Kendrick have been especially superb on the outside. In fact, here are their numbers in coverage:

- Ringo = 3 receptions allowed on 18 targets for 40 yards and a 16.4 passer rating

- Kendrick = 3 receptions allowed on 11 targets for 83 yards and a 20.6 passer rating

Such passer rating numbers are good for the 7th and 9th best in the FBS for those with at least 10 targets. Furthermore, all five primary secondary players have a pass break-up or interception and more plays are being made on the ball (which goes with the scheme change described below). In fact, a play on the ball (interception or pass break-up) is happening at a rate of one for every seven targets. Last season, a play on the ball was made once every 11 targets.

When you combine this exceptional secondary play with what the front six is doing, you get people like those at the analytics site 538 writing articles about how this defense is on pace to do 'best ever' things from a numbers standpoint. As much as I'm fond of the data used in the 538 pieces (e.g., EPA per play), it does nothing to explain the how. This is where film study meshes with the data to show how this greatness is occurring.

First and foremost, it's not the personnel scheme. Under Smart, the defense has traditionally played five defensive backs on over 80 percent of the snaps. This year is no different, as 86 percent of the snaps have had at least five defensive backs in the game. So what's different?

The Big12 conference and NFL have had to deal with the offensive evolution/focus for a while now. What has been their answer? Well, it's a trend that started at Iowa State, and current Los Angeles Chargers head coach Brandon Staley made it even more popular last year with the Los Angeles Rams: use of safeties to prevent big plays. Particularly, a look known as two-high safeties (or Cover 2).

With the defensive backfield it had the past two seasons, the Bulldogs would often end up in some variation man coverage, and especially Cover 1 (single safety in the middle of the field with everyone else in man-to-man coverage). In 2020, the defense played Cover 1 on 26 percent of the snaps, trusting Stokes, Campbell and the others to lock down their man and allow maximum rushers be committed to pressuring the quarterback.

Well, what do you think Georgia's defense has done without the experience and skillset of those now NFL-level players? They've played more zone coverage. While it seems so simple and logical, sticking with that concept and executing it when you have been a certain type of team over the past two years is actually quite difficult.

How much more zone? A significant amount. After being, in essence, a 50-50 man versus zone team over the past two years with Cover 1 the most played coverage, the Georgia defense has played a variation of zone coverage concepts on almost 70 percent of its snaps this season. That number doesn't even include the combination of man and zone, such as 2-Man or two deep safeties with man coverage underneath. Cover 1 is now the Bulldogs' fourth-most played coverage through six games. Again, while intuitive and simplistic in the big picture, the ability to adapt in a significant manner has been impressive.

The dominant front six, Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt and Adam Anderson came back. Jalen Carter, Travon Walker and Nolan Smith have taken a massive leap forward. That's the reason the secondary has played so well, right? While that's all true, there's another discussion to be had. In the football analytics community, there's been an ongoing debate about what has greater importance, pass rush or coverage. In the NFL, the focus is often on covering and then scheming pressure because of how fast the ball comes out and the amount of high-level quarterbacks. In college, pass rush and coverage are more closely linked because of the variety of competitive levels in the game.

Obviously, in a perfect world, the two mesh well and work together, one not stronger than the other. That is what is happening for this Bulldogs defense.

Examine every one of the clips in this section and ask yourself: where is the quarterback going to throw the ball? In each play, there is a millisecond where an elite quarterback who understands the coverage would get rid of the ball for a possible completion with a perfect throw. But it is just an instant. Once that ever so brief moment is gone, there is nowhere to go with the ball.

While pressure is something the Bulldog defense is applying at a rate unseen during the Smart era, it's primarily doing so because the combination of good coverage and the frequent zone concepts meshing with the elite pass rush skills. In particularly in the Clemson and Auburn plays, notice the two deep safeties preventing any throws over the top and the quarterback holding onto the ball in spite of being ready to throw.

If you break down the time aspect of the Bulldogs' pressures this year, it looks like this:

- 2.5 seconds or less = 25% of pressures and sacks

- 2.6 to 3.5 seconds = 25% of pressures and sacks

- Greater than 3.5 seconds = 50% of pressures and sacks

For reference, on 17 of 74 qualifying Power 5 quarterbacks average time to throw is over 3.0 seconds.

In the end, what's the overall point? The inexperience and fears about the secondary, in addition to self evaluation against the best offenses, have forced the Bulldogs to play significantly more zone coverage. Good play by the secondary, plus the scheme change, helped the great pass rush as quarterbacks are forced to hold onto the ball a half count longer. Now halfway through the regular season, you have an entire defense playing complimentary football that is only getting better and more confident each week. That's not good news for the rest of the Bulldogs schedule.