Kirk Herbstreit impressed with JT Daniels' decision making
Each NFL team plays three preseason games before the regular season begins. Even in high school football, many teams host a scrimmage against another team before the regular season is set to start.
College football doesn’t have the luxury of a tune-up game. That means in marquee matchups, such as Saturday’s game between Georgia and Clemson, players must be in midseason form to secure a victory.
ESPN College GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit noted this is especially vital at the quarterback position. When the Bulldogs and Tigers face each other, all eyes will be on JT Daniels and D.J. Uiagalelei.
Herbstreit, who stopped by the UGASports Live podcast with Jim Donnan and Dayne Young this week, said Daniels’ return after a strong finish to the 2020 season should do wonders for Georgia.
“I think that (offensive coordinator) Todd Monken has a quarterback, as we saw late last year over the last three games, who just understands where to go with the ball, more than anything,” Herbstreit said. “He’s not a dynamic runner, but I think he makes up for it with his decision-making. I think Georgia’s really improved where you can lose a guy like George Pickens and still have more receivers than they’ve had. I felt like really for as long as I can remember, as good as Georgia recruits, I’ve been surprised they haven’t had, like Alabama, not first-rounders, but three, four, five difference-makers that, if a guy got dinged up, they can still count on him. Or if a defense tried to take away Pickens, we’ll make you pay over here.
“I think they’ve made incredible strides in that specific area. While we all want to look at JT Daniels, I think in order to beat Clemson, you’re going to have to score with them. And I think the receivers and the backs—his supporting cast—will be big.”
Herbstreit said both Georgia and Clemson’s quarterbacks will need their supporting casts to play well on Saturday. For Clemson, it’s not as much wondering how Uiagalelei will replace quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Herbstreit believes losing running back Travis Etienne is much more concerning, due to his breakaway ability.
“You take away a guy like Travis Etienne, that’s like taking away Garrison Hearst. Yeah, you have another guy who’s good, but wow, Garrison Hearst is Garrison Hearst,” Herbstreit said. “Or Terrell Davis is Terrell Davis. There are only so many guys like that, and Etienne was that for Clemson. … Etienne made a lot of bad plays right because of his balance and change of direction.”
For Georgia, Herbstreit is also paying close attention to how the offensive line looks in addition to the receiving corps. The reason for that is due to Clemson’s defensive line, which figures to be a strength for the Tigers.
“You’re going to see some really good play at the line of scrimmage, and Georgia’s offensive line will have to answer that. It’s easy to look at JT Daniels, but I’m looking more at the line and how they do, and these receivers, and can they win in some man-to-man coverage situations?”
Herbstreit will call Saturday’s game on ABC, slated for an 8 p.m. kickoff. Therefore, Herbstreit didn’t offer a prediction during his appearance on the podcast. He does believe this should be a great game between teams that have recruited at the highest level over the past half-decade.
Regardless of this game’s outcome, Herbstreit believes Georgia remains the team to beat in the SEC East, with Florida being the program with the best chance of chasing the Bulldogs for a division title. Herbstreit believes the SEC Championship will feature Georgia and Alabama, giving the edge to the Crimson Tide for the time being.
“I think it’s clearly Georgia and Alabama meeting in Atlanta,” Herbstreit said. “Right now I would give Alabama—just based on 'been there and done that.' Even with all the new faces, I would give Alabama the edge over Georgia in Atlanta.”
While the focus of the podcast was to discuss Georgia’s opener against Clemson, Herbstreit took a trip down memory lane with Donnan. Back when Herbstreit was a young broadcaster, he recalled taking a trip to Athens for College GameDay in 1998. That was the beginning of what became a long-lasting friendship between Herbstreit and Donnan.
That friendship evolved to the point where Donnan will text Herbstreit when he’s live on air if a particular topic of interest is brought up.
“He’ll shoot me some texts during the games I’m calling,” Herbstreit said. “I keep my phone right in front of me on GameDay, and we get into a topic, or we’ll hit on something, and if Coach Donnan has some feelings, it’s right there in front of me. And I’ll say it on the air, too.”
