Takeaways from Georgia vs. South Carolina media day

ATHENS, Ga. — After a couple of ho hum non-conference games to start the season, one against an FCS opponent and a Group of Five opponent, Georgia is ready to begin conference play. South Carolina rolls into town this Saturday with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS. The Bulldogs are favored by 27 points according to multiple sportsbooks and they held media day on Monday. DawgsHQ was there and we’ve got some thoughts on what we heard.

Georgia is better than it has shown on the perimeter

The Bulldogs should have score on their first two drives against Ball State a week ago. A big reason they didn’t, especially the second drive, is poor blocking on the edge and the perimeter. It was an issue on and off for most of the game and sometimes the guy with the ball in his hands just overcame it.

It was something Georgia was great at a year ago. Those quick screens, jet sweeps, and outside runs were highly productive because the Bulldogs got a hat on a hat and moved guys out of the way. Darnell Washington played a big role and UGA misses him, but his former head coach isn’t making any excuses there. He has known that Washington wouldn’t be around for awhile now.

But when Kirby Smart spoke to reporters on Monday, he made it known that what we’ve seen in games isn’t exactly what he’s seen on the practice field.

“I think we have a very good perimeter blocking team,” Smart said at media day. “We’re going to get an opportunity to show it for the next however many games we have. We work really hard on that. And when I watch our guys do it in practice, they really do a nice job. But I don’t know if that answers your question.”

The test is coming for Georgia defensive backs

South Carolina got off to a disappointing start in 2023, losing 31-17 to North Carolina but it hasn’t been the fault of Spencer Rattler. The former Oklahoma quarterback is off to a pretty impressive start, completing over 80 percent of his passes and averaging 10.5 yards per attempt.

Now if you wanted to argue that the Tar Heels and Furman aren’t exactly stellar competition, we wouldn’t argue with you but the point stands. Rattler has gotten off to a much better start than a season ago. He’s going to be tested on Saturday against a Georgia secondary who looks to be loaded for bear. But the same can be said for the untested UGA defensive backfield.

“We have to be prepared,” Smart said. “It’s not just Rattler, it’s all they guys around him. An elite group of wide receivers and tight-ends that they use. And he makes a lot of plays. And they’ve got a lot of guys that can play the ball down the field. I mean, the explosive plays they’ve made in the last, I don’t know, four to five games of theirs is pretty special. Pretty elite. And a lot of them are down the field throws. So we will have to play that part well.”

Bell in the back pocket

Bulldog fans saw something on Saturday that DawgsHQ told them was coming. Dillon Bell lined up in the backfield in the first quarter of Saturday’s game and took a handoff around right end for a 10-yard gain. He lined up beside the quarterback a few more times on the day with the most notable instance taking place in the second quarter when he made a cut off right tackle, threw a juke move on a Ball State linebacker, and weaved his way into the end zone from 21 yards out.

Bell didn’t come to Georgia to play running back. He certainly looks like he could play the position and do it well, but he’s a receiver long term. With that said, Smart is impressed at how willing Bell is to do what is asked and his ability to play that spot is something Georgia will have when it needs it.

“First of all, Dillon Bell has been a selfless player,” Smart said. “He’s done what we have asked. He’s a really good wideout. This has been going on for a while. So this is not something that’s been new. We’ve done this lot with a lot of players. Our situation at running back, having guys go back there and look, understand certain plays they can run. He’s big enough, you know, 200 pounds plus to pick people up. He’s physically tough. He strikes people. So he can protect. He can do a lot of things from the backfield. And it’s something that we’re always going to have, you know, as an option or package, but a lot of it has to do with the health of our backs.”

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