Like Jacob Eason, Florida quarterback Luke Del Rio has had his ups and downs.
But don’t let that fool you.
Georgia head coach Kirby Smart is all too familiar with the Gator quarterback, who he helped recruit to Alabama, where he ultimately attended as a walk-on, before transferring to Oregon State for a season (2014) until finally settling in with the Gators a season ago.
The redshirt sophomore missed a pair of games with a knee injury, before returning two weeks ago against Missouri, completing 18-of-38 passes for 236 yards and one touchdown, albeit with three interceptions, in Florida's 40-14 win.
According to Smart, finding a way to get pressure against Del Rio will be critical to Georgia’s chances. But that might be easier said than done.
“Me knowing the kid personally, you always try to affect the quarterback and disrupt the pocket and do those things, he’s not really affected. He’s been standing behind a pocket all his life and he’s seen quarterbacks take hits,” Smart said. “He’s very intelligent -- understands where to go with the ball, as soon as he sees the coverage, he knows where to go. He’s taken some shots on film where people are coming free at him and he holds in the pocket and throws the ball well. You affect him by batting balls, trying to change up coverage, but you aren’t going to affect him just by hitting him because he’s a tough kid.”
The fact that he’s the son of an NFL coach – Oakland Raiders head coach Jack Del Rio – doesn’t hurt, either.
“Yeah. It’s tremendous help in knowing what to do. They’ve got a pro-style scheme at Florida and he’s come in and allowed them to do the things they really wanted to do,” Smart said. “What us and Jim did at Alabama is more what Luke is able to do for them as far as executing it, putting them in the right plays, making decisions with the ball. And, he throws a really good deep ball.”
So can the Bulldogs be successful?
After a slow start, Georgia now ranks fifth in the SEC in sacks with 11 while the six interceptions accumulated by the Bulldogs is second in the league to the nine collected by Florida.
“I’ll feel a lot better if they're able to affect this group with the protection that they've got, than over the last two. We'll find out. It will certainly be more of a challenge,” Smart said. “As a team, we've got to be careful that that's not our be-all-and-end-all and that's all they think about. Then, you're going to expose some guys outside. So, you've got to be sure that's what you want to do when you start trying to affect the quarterback.”
Crowder impressing at inside linebacker
While it remains to be seen if Michael Barnett and Shakenneth Williams will ever get comfortable at offensive tackle and safety, respectively, after their recent position switch, former running back Tae Crowder appears to be finding a home at inside linebacker.
Although it’s unlikely the redshirt freshman will make much of an impact this year, Smart feels the 6-foot-2, 230-pounder has the body type and skills to ultimately make the transition.
“He’s not a starter; he can’t walk over and learn all the stuff we do. But he has been a pleasant surprise I would say with the physicality part and work ethic,” Smart said. “I think he’s got a shot. Not in his game - I don’t think that’s the case - but for a 230-pound, 6-foot-2 guy, shoot, he’s a pretty good athlete.”
Crowder is the second Bulldog to switch to inside linebacker this year after Rashad Roundtree was moved over from safety earlier this year.
This and that
As mentioned earlier, cornerback Deandre Baker appears ready to re-assume his starting role after sitting out the Vanderbilt game with a sprained ankle. … Florida coach Jim McElwain said that linebacker Jarrad Davis (ankle) will be a game-time decision. Meanwhile, defensive end Jordan Sherit (knee) will play while defensive end Bryan Cox Jr. (thumb) and defensive tackle Joey Ivey (thumb) are listed as probable, according to our sister site, InsiderTheGators.com.
