Behind enemy lines: Georgia
It’s South Carolina-Georgia week, and GamecockCentral went out to Athens to try and learn more about this iteration of the Bulldogs.
GamecockCentral reached out to Palmer Thombs of Dawgs HQ to get a sense of Georgia as the Gamecocks head to town.
[Win a Spencer Rattler-autographed football]
GC: The scores are really lopsided, but what does the eye test say about Georgia through the first two weeks having to replace so much?
PT: The eye test to me says Georgia has an offense that is continuing to get comfortable and a defense that is dominant. Consider everything we knew about the Bulldogs coming into the season – plus a couple of those developments so far – and that should make sense.
On offense, Carson Beck is a first-time starter at quarterback. There’s a new play caller – albeit running the same system, just with his own spin on it. Then, when you look at the weapons those guys were likely to be relying on heavily – running back Daijun Edwards and wide receiver Ladd McConkey have both missed the first two games. All of this makes the struggles that they’ve had at times make sense. I don’t think Georgia has shown all of its cards on offense, and that too could be a reason why the “eye test” has not been pretty.
Meanwhile, the defense has lived up to expectations in my opinion. There’s not a game-wrecking defensive lineman on the interior like there have been in years past with Jordan Davis, Devonte Wyatt and Jalen Carter – all three of whom were first-round picks in the last two years. The Dawgs do however have experience in Nazir Stackhouse, Zion Logue, and Warren Brinson, plus Mykel Williams on the edge to get the job done. At inside linebacker, it’s last year’s top two tacklers – Smael Mondon and Jamon Dumas-Johnson – holding it down.
Mondon is continuing to work his way back from a foot injury that ended his spring, but he made his return to the starting lineup last week. Then, in the secondary, four of the five primary starters started multiple games last season (Kamari Lassiter – 15, Malaki Starks – 14, Javon Bullard – 10, Tykee Smith – 5). So, with all this experience it also makes sense that they’ve been dominant.
GC: What has Carson Beck shown you through the first two weeks as the Bulldogs’ starter?
PT: Carson Beck has shown me that he’s going to do all the right things and not the wrong things. That can sometimes look like he’s Checkdown Beck, but in reality, he’s avoiding making mistakes at the cost of looking great in the eyes of fans. It’s why Kirby Smart has come to his defense already.
[Win a framed print of The Taunt/D.J. Swearinger from Vista Art]
As I said above, I don’t think Georgia has opened things up offensively to the extent that they can. I wonder if that’ll happen this week with SEC play started, and I’m curious to see how that affects what Beck looks like.
GC: Who are some players Gamecocks need to know defensively that can cause problems for Spencer Rattler and Co.?
PT: Mykel Williams is the one I am going to keep an eye on most headed into Saturday. He led Georgia in sacks last season as a true freshman and had one in the opener against UT-Martin. Both opponents so far have made it a point to get the ball out quickly. I would expect South Carolina to take a similar approach, but Williams has the potential to get into the backfield and create problems.
Williams is a name coming off the edge – although he plays on the interior on many 3rd downs. Somebody that’s making my players to watch this week on the interior is Warren Brinson. He looked quick coming off the ball last week and against a South Carolina offensive line that documented struggles, he too could be worth watching.
Behind them, inside linebackers Jamon Dumas-Johnson and Smael Mondon are both back after finishing as the team’s top tacklers last season. Both have done a good job of bringing pressure in the past – we haven’t seen a need for it so far this season.
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Finally, in the secondary, it’s a star-studded group. Maybe the most talented defensive back in the SEC is sophomore safety Malaki Starks who had an interception in this game last season. He nearly brought one down in the opener this season and did manage to come away with one last week. If Rattler puts the ball into harms way, Starks could be the one to take it away.
GC: What are some weak links for Georgia that South Carolina can try and exploit? What are the strengths of this Georgia team?
PT: So far this season, Georgia’s run game has been the biggest weak link. The offensive line hasn’t gotten a great push, and Georgia’s running back room hasn’t helped. Returning leading rusher Daijun Edwards has not played. Kendall Milton, who was expected to share the load with Edwards this season, spent the majority of fall camp battling a hamstring issue, but has battled through that the first two weeks. Branson Robinson was lost for the season, and the other two scholarship backs entered 2023 with a combined zero collegiate snaps. With limited depth, the Dawgs have not pushed the issue too much. Furthermore, teams have loaded the box to take the easy yards away. However, with four preseason All-SEC offensive linemen in the five-man starting lineup (Sedrick Van Pran, Amarius Mims, Tate Ratledge and Xavier Truss) and the opponents Georgia has played thus far, you certainly would’ve expected more from this aspect of the offense.
The biggest strength so far has been the secondary. Malaki Starks has been a different player, making that jump from the Freshman All-American season he had in 2022 to the caliber of one of the nation’s top defensive backs regardless of age or position. Kamari Lassiter has come back strong from a foot injury that had him in a non-contact jersey during fall camp, and Tykee Smith looks a step ahead of where he was last year – less than 12 months removed from an ACL injury during his first year post-transfer. Yes, Javon Bullard is banged up and questionable coming into this week, but still this is a strength, especially when you consider the number of guys that could get on the field and make an impact with the likes of experienced options (David Daniel-Sisavanh and Dan Jackson) and uber-talented ones (Daylen Everette, Julian Humphrey, Joenel Aguero and AJ Harris).
GC: What does a path to a South Carolina upset look like?
PT: South Carolina takes advantage of the fact that Georgia has not been great at running the ball and forces that trend to continue. The Bulldog offensive line hasn’t gotten a great push, and the backs a) aren’t entirely healthy and b) aren’t the most explosive group. All that results in another game where the rushing attack is bottled up and pressure is on Carson Beck to perform. Next in the path to an upset is forcing the inexperienced quarterback to make mistakes. He hasn’t faced a ton of pressure this season. If he does, what does that look like? That question remains to be answered, and South Carolina could be the team to force him into that kind of situation.
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Finally, the Gamecocks would have to expose the secondary in a way they haven’t been to this point. Cornerback Kamari Lassiter was called for a pass interference last week. Opposite of him are a couple of corners rotating for their first real playing time. Tykee Smith was a step slow in coverage at times last year, and there’s a strong chance that Javon Bullard could be out with his first-time starting replacement, David Daniel-Sisavanh, known more for his physicality than his pass defense. Put those guys in tough situations enough and something is bound to go your way.
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