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Published Aug 24, 2020
What we've learned from Georgia's first week of fall camp
Anthony Dasher  •  UGASports
Editor

Georgia kicks off its second week of fall camp Monday which means there are five more to go until the Bulldogs travel to Fayetteville to open the season at Arkansas.

Although reporters have not been allowed access due to the ongoing pandemic, thanks to some Zoom calls along with some info from various sources, we are starting to get a little better picture for where Georgia stands.

Obviously, plenty of questions remain.

Today, however, we will look back at five things we learned.

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Cochran making expected impact

When Kirby Smart hired Scott Cochran as his special teams’ coach, it was expected the former Alabama strength and conditioning coordinator would give the energy level at the Butts-Mehre Building an additional boost.

According to offensive lineman Jamaree Salyer, that is exactly what has happened.

"Energy, I’m telling you. It is every day. Forget the practice field—in the hallway, he’s energetic,” Salyer said. “You hear that voice and it just cracks me up. He does everything full go. He brings a whole other level of spirit to the team.”

Salyer is not the only one who feels that way.

“Scott’s energy has certainly come through. He's an energetic, very demanding coach, and has done a particularly good job in front of the team and the units,” Smart said. “I think he’s very comfortable doing that, because he was always in front of the team in his past jobs being a strength coach. He has done a good job with that, and the players respect him; a lot of them know him through recruiting."

Davis expected to shine

If you have followed the video snippets sent out by the Bulldog football program, you may have caught junior nose guard Jordan Davis.

For someone who has had to focus on keeping his weight in check, if those video snippets are any indication, Davis appears to be doing a great job.

They have also bumped the expectations defensive coordinator Dan Lanning has for the North Carolina native.

“I have really high expectations for Jordan. Jordan's worked hard. Tray Scott does a phenomenal job; (he) and coach Williams, do a great job with his development,” Lanning said. “But Jordan, I think, is hungry. There just are not a lot of people born in this world that look like Jordan Davis, right? So, when you look like that, there is an expectation. I expect him to really achieve at the highest level this year, have a phenomenal season, and really help our team and our defense."

Assuming Lanning is correct, watch for Davis to contend for All-SEC honors.

Leaders saying the right things

Smart has stressed over and over the need for his players to do the right things when navigating the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic.

Although concerns remain, at least the players appear to have gotten the message when it comes to wearing masks, social distancing and just being smart when outside the confines of the Butts-Mehre Building.

“Guys have been doing a tremendous job of wearing their masks, staying around, staying away from things that can’t really help themselves or the team, not having groups of people at their houses, and things like that,” Richard LeCounte said. “Guys have really been taking this seriously, and I think that’s something you can only be happy with, because in order for us to have a season, we have to have guys be healthy.”

Eric Stokes agrees.

“We can’t be going around saying, ‘We want a season’ and not follow protocol,” Stokes said. “I know that we're all wearing a mask and washing our hands; we are doing every little thing, so we do not spread it. We are trying to do everything in our power to have a season, and for all of us to be safe here.”

Do not expect much quarterback news

Although many in the Bulldog Nation are dying to know who starts for Georgia at quarterback against Arkansas, do not look for Smart to drop many hints.

As we have already seen in dealing with Smart when dealing with previous quarterback “competitions,” that is simply a subject he is never really liked to address.

In our last Zoom with Smart eight days ago, he revealed that JT Daniels still was not cleared for contact, while Jamie Newman missed some time a few weeks ago with a mid-foot injury.

But as far as who starts against Arkansas, do not be shocked if that answer is not learned until the opener at Arkansas.

From the sound of it, Bulldog players have been instructed to say the quarterbacks to “they’re all working hard” and “they all look” good so not to give anything away.

So, while fans and media may be out of luck, take solace that the quarterback room is as deep as it has been in some time. We will just have to be patient to see who starts.

Lanning excited about defensive potential

Although Lanning is quick to remind anyone who will listen that it is a brand-new year and what happened last year with his defense does not apply to 2020, he is obviously excited about his potential.

Georgia’s defensive coordinator gave what might be the quote of the week when asked who he thought the “Alpha Dog” of this year’s defensive might be.

“That’s a good question. I am trying to think of who I do not want to fight on defense. That would probably be any of these guys. But we have got a good group. We have a bunch of dogs. The comment that was made last year several times with the "No Name Defense" and that was maybe taken the wrong way,” Lanning said. “When I say that, I mean we have a lot of unselfish players, a lot of guys who want the ball in their hands at the end of the game, want to be on the field for fourth down. There are a lot of guys on the defense I would want to go to war with right now. I don’t know if I’d want to pick one alpha dog, but we’ve got a really good group of guys.”

My humble opinion, Lanning is correct.

Athletically, Georgia’s defense takes a back seat to nobody, it is just a matter on how quickly it gels. Assuming it does, the sky is the limit to how good this unit can be.

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