SEC Championship News and Notes

As top-ranked Georgia (12-0) prepares for Saturday’s SEC Championship against No. 3 Alabama (11-1), one question Bulldog fans are wondering is how many more opportunities could wide receiver George Pickens receive?

Pickens saw his first action of the year last Saturday since tearing his ACL in March. Although the Hoover, Alabama, native only received seven reps, he caught one pass for five yards.

“We'll have to wait and see. He's done a good job in practice,” head coach Kirby Smart said. “Physically he was fine from the Georgia Tech game. He didn't play many snaps. He's been in a lot of practice routes getting confidence back and starting to become his old self, and I think that's important.”

Indeed.

Assuming Pickens is able to be more of a factor, that certainly qualifies as wonderful news for a Bulldogs offense that already comes into the game at Mercedes Benz Stadium averaging 40.7 points per game.

Alabama coach Nick Saban has not been shy about offering his praise for Georgia players, including freshman tight end Brock Bowers.

“He's an outstanding player, no doubt. Probably as good a tight end as we've faced all year. I think they have three really good tight ends,” Saban said. “He's probably the best receiver, although they're all very capable, good players. He's difficult to guard. He's got good size. He's very athletic, great hands, good route runner. So, he's very challenging to guard.

“Any time you've got big guys that have that kind of skill level, it's harder for smaller guys to cover them. It's harder to find bigger guys that are athletic enough to cover them.”

Bowers’ numbers are hard to ignore

The California native leads all Bulldog receivers with 37 receptions for 652 yards and 10 touchdowns. He’s also rushed three times for 55 yards and a score.

When did the Georgia coaches know Bowers was different?

“Yeah. We felt like at spring practice, probably after the first three or four days when he put pads on,” Smart said. “You never really know what you have in a player until the pads come on. Somebody's got to go hit somebody, and you know they're not shying away from it.”

Smart saw very quickly that was not going to be a problem.

“Once he got into contact, he's got really good toughness. He's got great lower body strength. He's got great pass-catching radius and good speed. These things combine to make for a good tight end,” Smart said. “The fact that he's been so composed has surprised me the most. There's not been a moment too big for him.

“It doesn't matter to him whether he's playing in the backyard, or playing our defense against the scout team, or he's playing Clemson in the opening game—he wants to do it the right way. It's important to him to do it the right way.”

… On Thursday, Bowers and redshirt freshman cornerback Kelee Ringo were named two of the 14 semifinalists for the Shaun Alexander Freshman of the Year Award, presented by the Maxwell Football Club to the outstanding freshman player in college football.

Georgia is one of two schools with multiple semifinalists, with Ohio State earning three. Bowers is the only tight end to earn honors, while Ringo is one of four secondary players to be recognized.

The Shaun Alexander Award has been presented since 2018 and is named for the former Alabama and Seattle Seahawks running back. Three finalists for the award will be named on Dec. 21, with the winner being announced Jan. 10, 2022. The award will be formally presented to the winner at the Maxwell Football Club Awards Gala on March 18, 2022, in Atlantic City, N.J.

When it comes to one-on-one matchups, Georgia cornerbacks Derion Kendrick and Ringo might have the toughest challenge of all.

Trying to contain the talented Alabama wide receiver duo of John Metchie III and Jameson Williams will be tough.

The two have been Bryce Young’s go-to receivers, with Metchie catching 90 passes for 1,045 yards and seven touchdowns, with Williams grabbing 61 passes for 1,261 yards and 13 scores.

So, will Ringo and Kendrick be up for the challenge?

“They'll be going against two of the very best in our conference in this game,” Smart said. “Nobody's really covered these two guys very well, because they're certainly excellent wideouts, and the quarterback's done a tremendous job getting the ball to them.”

But Smart has his fingers crossed.

“I think both guys (Ringo and Kendrick) have improved throughout the year,” Smart said. “They've got a lot of areas we really tried to concentrate on and tried to help them out and understand leverages knowing where your help is, man-to-man technique—everything there is to play at corner."

Georgia will be treating Saturday’s SEC Championship as your typical road game.

“We'll come to Atlanta (Friday), like a traditional road game for us,” Smart said. “We'll travel over, very similar to what we did last week, going over to play Tech.”

Smart believes his team is mentally ready for the challenge that lies ahead.

“The mindset has been great. The energy has been great. Our guys have really been focused. I think it's very important as a coach that you curb the enthusiasm, you have it under control. This is one of those weeks you've got to be careful you don't leave the battle out on the practice field,” Smart said. “You want to make sure they're ready to go. It's going to be a really tough, physical game, and you don't want them to use it all in practice, where our guys have been pretty spirited in getting after it.”

Saban said he’s seen a difference in Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett than the one he faced last year in Tuscaloosa.

In that game, Bennett completed 18 of 40 passes for 269 yards with two touchdowns, but was intercepted three times.

“I think he's playing with a lot of confidence, and obviously the experience he's gained through having additional starts, having more time in the offense. He does a really good job of executing what they do,” Saban said. “He doesn't make a lot of mistakes. He's accurate with the ball. He can extend plays. But I think he's really smart. He sees what the defense is going to do. He gets the ball out of his hands very quickly to the right guys, for the most part.”

Saban noted the fact Bennett has a season’s worth of starts, since that game on Oct. 17, 2020, which has him playing with much more confidence.

“I think those things sort of just develop with knowledge and experience,” Saban said. “I can definitely see how that's benefited him in the consistency he's played with this year, because he's been outstanding.”

If backup JT Daniels sees the field, Saban said he does not expect Georgia’s offensive to change.

“Their offense doesn't change. Both guys are very talented. Both guys do a really good job of sort of executing their offense,” Saban said. “They run the football effectively. They have a great balance. They have good play-action passes. They've got good skill guys outside. And they've got a good effective scheme when they do have to throw the ball, whether it's third down, two-minute, whatever.”

A unique moment from Thursday’s press conference was when Smart fielded a question from a reporter in Mexico.

The SEC Championship is being televised live in Mexico and Latin America, and the reporter asked Smart if he could say a few words to all the Mexican and Latin America fans who would be watching the game.

Smart was prepared.

“I hope everyone down in Mexico enjoys the game and gets to watch it and be entertained by a great game on a great stage,” Smart said. “We're certainly very appreciative in the SEC of all the coverage we get outside the United States, and it's a great opportunity to kind of advertise our conference and show that it's the best in the country.”