NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Georgia faithful lit up Vanderbilt Stadium in Georgia’s 30-6 win Saturday night.
The Bulldogs' receiving corps? The results were mixed.
Matt Landers and Lawrence Cager, two of Georgia’s bigger bodied targets, found themselves open several times. Landers finished the game with two receptions for 26 yards. Cager had one of the bigger plays in the first half, sitting in an open area of the secondary for a catch-and-run of 38 yards. The play set up Georgia’s third touchdown of the first half, which was a 1-yard run by Brian Herrien.
The Bulldogs lone touchdown reception in the game belonged to Demetris Robertson. Robertson ran a drag route across the back portion of the endzone, and Jake Fromm was able to find him in the left corner for a three yard score.
“I saw the linebacker lining up inside of me, so I just wrapped around him and ran to the back pylon," Robertson said. "I caught that pass so many times in practice, so I was just like, ‘I got it.'"
The junior out of Savannah had the biggest play of the game, negated following a holding call on Isaiah Wilson. Robertson streaked down the field on a play that looked eerily similar to Terry Godwin’s touchdown reception against the Commodores last season. Fromm found Robertson for a gain of 52 yards, but the play was called back.
Robertson’s coming-out party in the SEC was nothing Smart didn’t see coming. Smart always knew it was in him, and that it was just a matter of time before he found the endzone against an SEC opponent.
“Yeah, it has something to do with three wide receivers getting drafted and being gone. He was just as talented last year as he is now. He just doesn’t have a 10.4 100 meter guy in front of him, a seventh round pick, and a fourth round pick. He’s able to get opportunities. And he’s taken full advantage of those. Demetris, he comes to work every day, and I just hate so bad that so many people have these expectations for him, because he’s such a good kid and he practices so hard, and he’s so deserving of what he’s going to be.”
The second half featured a more ground-and-pound ideology by James Coley. Aside from a Kearis Jackson 32-yard reception which was followed immediately by a fumble, the Bulldogs receivers did absolutely nothing of note in the last 30 minutes, but overall, Robertson felt the group did what they were supposed to do.
“I feel like we did well,” said Robertson. “We have a lot of things to clean up, so we have to get back to the drawing board and get better. We have a great group of guys. Physical guys. Fast guys. Unselfish guys.”
Head coach Kirby Smart also thought the receivers left room for improvement, but was happy with their performance in other areas than just receptions.
“You know, I don't think they had their best performance. I thought they were very physical, and when you're physical, it makes catching the ball that much easier. They were dominant on the perimeter. I mean, our guys, Tyler Simmons, Kearis, Cager, Matt, I mean," Smart said. "George, those guys are physical guys on the perimeter, and they punish people, along with the tight ends. I think that kind of brings you your catches and kind of gives you an opportunity to catch the ball. We got the opportunity to throw it some, and we hit some and we didn't hit some. Vanderbilt did a good job of taking some of them away, too."
Although only four receivers made catches against Vanderbilt, others were targeted. Freshman George Pickens' number, in particular, was called numerous times near the goal line. In the first half, Coley attempted to free him up on a slant route using a natural pick from the slot receiver, but Pickens was the recipient of pass interference by a Vanderbilt defensive back.
In the second half, Fromm attempted to connect with Pickens on back-to-back throws to the end zone. The first was too short while the second was out of Pickens’ reach.
“George, he would have caught one of those if he had the opportunity,” Smart said. “It was just out of range for him. A couple of the other guys made good catches and made plays, so I feel good about that.”
Fromm was happy with the way the group played, saying “I saw a bunch of guys running around wanting to make plays, and wanting the ball in their hands.”
Pickens and the rest of the cast should have plenty of opportunities to connect with Fromm next weekend, as Georgia plays host to Murray State, with kickoff slated for 4 p.m. EST in Sanford Stadium.
