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Post-game notebook

Unless you were paying close attention, you might have missed all Cade Mays was asked to during Saturday’s 63-17 win over Murray State.

Not only did the sophomore open at right guard, but during Georgia’s third offensive series, he slid over to right tackle in in place of Jamaree Salyer, who opened in place of the injured Isaiah Wilson (ankle).

But that wasn’t all.

Later, Mays gave Andrew Thomas a breather when he flipped over to left tackle—the second time in two games he’s been asked to play three positions in one day.

For Mays, this was no big deal.

“It’s really just second nature,” Mays said. “I do it in practice. I’ll go over there, do my assignment, go over here and do that assignment. It’s second nature to me. All the guys on the offensive line knows what everyone is doing, so it’s really not that big a deal to me.”

Kirby Smart wasn’t quite as modest as Mays.

Georgia’s head coach isn’t known for throwing out hyperbole when assessing his players. If criticism is warranted, he’ll say so. If praise is deserved, he’ll give that, too.

With Mays, there’s a lot to like.

“He’s very valuable. His strength is his diversity. He can play a lot of positions, he is very smart, he practices all those positions,” Smart said. “But with Cade, regardless of what position, he has fire in his belly. Cade is a competitor. Cade loves to win. When we score a touchdown, Cade’s the first guy to celebrate with his back. He blocks downfield and he practices that way. I love the way he plays the game. He plays the game the right way.”

There’s also more to his game.

Mays has also worked at center for the Bulldogs, and can also play left guard.

“I think it’s all due to the work I put in,” Mays said. “But Coach (Sam) Pittman has helped me polish my technique in a way where I can do it on both sides of the line. He’s really worked with me on that and it’s something we’ve both really attacked together and figured it out.”

Cade Mays played three positions on the offensive line for the second time in two games.
Cade Mays played three positions on the offensive line for the second time in two games. (Radi Nabulsi)
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Injury Update

Georgia appeared to get through the game without any obvious injuries.

The Bulldogs did momentarily lose wide receiver and return man Tyler Simmons to an ankle injury. Smart said X-rays were negative and the senior ultimately returned to the game.

…Wide receiver Kearis Jackson wore a cast on his right hand after breaking two bones in it last week at Vanderbilt.

…Freshman offensive line Clay Webb dressed out after missing several days over the past week with an undisclosed illness.

…Offensive lineman Isaiah Wilson (ankle) did not dress out and was using one crutch to get around.

…Wide receiver Tommy Bush did not dress out due to an undisclosed injury.

…Offensive lineman Owen Condon did not dress out due to a lower body injury.


Big day for Wolf

In three seasons at Tennessee, tight end Eli Wolf caught nine passes for 86 yards. He almost equaled those stats against Murray State, catching four passes for 73 yards

“I knew the game play coming in but you never know what way the ball is going,” Wolf said. “It was exciting that it came to me today.”

However, Wolf wasn’t totally pleased.

His first-quarter fumble after 4-yard catch inside Murray State territory squelched a would-be scoring drive. Although Wolf took a shot on the play, he wasn’t making excuses.

“I expect more of myself. I don’t expect to fumble like that,” Wolf said. “When my number is called, I expect to make a play.”

Bulldog shorts

…Sophomore Jamaree Salyer (right tackle), redshirt sophomore Matt Landers (wide receiver), sophomore James Cook (tailback) and junior Jermaine Johnson (outside linebacker) made their first career starts. Quarterback Jake Fromm started his 30th straight to lead the offense while graduate J.R. Reed (S) now leads the defense with 31 in a row.

…Safety J.R. Reed collected a fumble in the second quarter and returned it 14 yards for a touchdown. This marked the first time the Bulldogs returned a fumble for a score since sophomore defensive back Tyson Campbell went 64 yards to the end zone against Missouri last year. Reed last returned a fumble for a touchdown during the 2017 Florida game. This marks the sixth defensive touchdown for Georgia since the Smart era started in 2016.

… With his six extra points in the first half, kicker Rodrigo Blankenship moved to second in SEC history for career consecutive PATs made with 163. The SEC record is 198 held by Daniel Carlson (Auburn) with 198. Blankenship already owns the Bulldog record.

… The Bulldogs exploded for 35 points against Murray State in the second quarter after finishing the first quarter tied 7-all. Georgia went on to post a 63-17 victory at Dooley Field at Sanford Stadium, marking the most points scored since the Bulldogs topped Massachusetts 66-27 last year. The 42 first half points was the most points since UGA scored 42 points against New Mexico State in 2011. Georgia won that day 63-16. The Bulldogs also scored 42 points in the first half versus Middle Tennessee and UMass last year. Today, Georgia collected 561 yards of total offense on 65 plays.

… The Bulldog defense held the Racers to just seven points and 143 total yards in the first half, and MSU finished the day with 17 total points and 284 yards in 60 plays. The Racers had a three-play, 72-yard scoring drive in the opening quarter, highlighted by a 60-yard scoring strike from Preston Rice to DaQuon Green. Junior defensive back Mark Webb led UGA with six tackles today. Freshman outside linebacker Nolan Smith had 1.5 sacks while junior outside linebacker Walter Grant added another sack as the Bulldogs finished with six sacks on the day.

Quotable

“He continues to grow and get better. I think he’s realized that he’s got to play with some physicality to play. The reason he started today is what personnel they were in. We had a package that we’re gonna play against certain teams. I know that y’all don’t understand that, you think that he started because he just … they were in four-wides. We wanted more speed on the field, so we had two outside backers on the field instead of big D-ends. We were just trying to go a little more athletic and more light. So he fit the mold for that. We knew we were gonna roll a lot of guys. So that’s just a small package we had.” – Smart on Jermaine Johnson, who started Saturday’s game

“Yeah he’s got to do a better job when he’s in coverage situations. When you have poor eyes. I’ve got to watch that play and see exactly what happened to get him beat on that play. But he’s physical. Mark practices really physical. You love the way he hits people and strikes blockers, that’s what dislodged the ball to cause a fumble, was his physicality.” – Smart on Mark Webb after getting beat for the long touchdown

“Nolan has a tremendous motor. He played tremendously hard. He's another one who plays with tremendous passion and energy. It’s important to him. I love the way Nolan plays. He continues to grow and play with physicality. Against matchups with bigger people, he’s going to help us, because he has a lot of speed.” – Smart on Nolan Smith’s motor

This and that

…Safety Otis Reese appeared get a handful of reps at inside linebacker during at times.

…Offensive lineman D’Marcus Hayes wore No. 46 as opposed to his traditional No. 78.

…Converted offensive lineman Netori Johnson made his first career with a fourth-down tackle in the fourth quarter to give Georgia the ball back at the Racer 30.

…Outside linebacker Malik Herring played after not getting in the game last week against Vanderbilt. He made one tackle.

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