Georgia wiped the floor with Tennessee State in a 63-3 season-opening blowout, but head coach Kirby Smart was in no mood to celebrate. While fans in Athens enjoyed the easy win, Smart was already fixated on a deeper problem that could ruin their season: his edge rushers still have a long way to go before real SEC football starts.
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Freshmen PJ Dean and Khamari Brooks have gotten off to a positive start in their Bulldogs’ careers. The two, however, have also inherited the responsibility to amp up the team’s pass rush in the cutthroat SEC competition. One victory against a weaker team is just enough in Kirby’s eyes.
“Grow up. They’ve got to grow up,” the head coach said in a post-game media session. “They just played Tennessee State. They didn’t play an SEC opponent. They’ve got to grow up, and they’ve got to get better because we need them better yesterday.”
Kirby’s public statement is a sobering reminder to the team’s newbies who’ve left a positive impression. Last season, the Bulldogs finished 11-3 and took home the SEC championship before losing in the College Football Playoff quarterfinals to the Ole Miss Rebels.
One of the damning factors was the weak rushing attack. Kirby had top NFL draft picks in his arsenal, yet could not establish an intimidating defense for the Bulldogs. They recorded just 20 sacks, which put them in 107th place nationally. Pro Football Focus ranked their defense No.4 overall, which is good news.
In the SEC, if you cannot hurry the quarterback, you do not survive big-time football. Georgia fell to dead last in the 16-team conference in total sacks last season, averaging under two per game. That lack of front-seven push forced the secondary to cover longer, which ultimately opened the door for Ole Miss to knock them out of the College Football Playoff.
Smart knows that unless Dean and Brooks create real edge pressure against SEC-caliber offensive lines, Georgia will get pushed out of the SEC title race and the playoff picture before December even arrives.
“A player that can show pass-rushing ability is a player that will get on the field for Georgia, even if it is just in certain packages,” Ryan Kerley of the Georgia Bulldogs on SI noted. Dean recorded 1.5 sacks, leading the team. The four-star recruit made two tackles and earned praise as one of the winners from the season opener.
Trailing behind him is Brooks, who also played a significant role. The outside linebacker dealt with third-down pressure. He made three tackles, one solo. He was assisted by defensive lineman JJ Hanne and inside linebacker Zayden Walker –both sophomores.
In their report card grading the Bulldogs’ performance, the Athens Banner-Herald reviewed the defense as an A. Their under-preparedness was clear during third-down incompletions on the first possession. On the flip side, the offense was clearly the better unit and was graded A+. For Kirby and his squad, this game against Tennessee State was an evaluative warm-up.
“I don’t know what you take from this,” Kirby added when asked about what this game meant. You take that we played in the heat, we got our first game jitters out of the way, and we go back to work.”
The offense has improved since last season, but the defense is still stuck where it was last year. The challenge with the two freshmen has rolled in, and it is going to get tougher from now on.