Reading into what Georgia assistants Mike Bobo, Todd Hartley said on Thursday
Georgia sent two more assistant coaches out to speak to media on Thursday. Two phases of the game were represented as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo started it off and special teams coach Todd Hartley went next. DawgsHQ was there for it all and below we read into a few things they had to say.
Carson Beck with some sage wisdom for Georgia QBs…
Bobo was asked a number of times about the Georgia quarterback and every single time he had something positive to say. He talked about Beck’s demeanor and how he has been working really hard on the deep ball this offseason.
But maybe the most interesting thing he had to say about Beck came when he discussed the message Georgia’s triggerman delivered to start preseason camp.
“Carson made a great statement in our first meeting, tried to set the tone,” Bobo said. “He said, ‘I want to say something to you guys. You need to take this camp like you’re getting ready to play Clemson the first game. I didn’t do that when I was young. I wasn’t taking advantage of every opportunity to get ready to be the starter.’ That’s an easy thing to say rather than do. I’ve been saying it for 27 years coaching quarterbacks. You’re getting ready to play.”
One of the reasons coaches love having fifth-year quarterbacks around is moments like that one. Beck knows what it takes to become the starter at Georgia. It also seems like he knows how he could have put himself in better position.
The Arian Smith project…
DawgsHQ has consistently reported this offseason that Georgia coaches are really pouring into fifth-year wideout Arian Smith this offseason. The former track star and Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl hero struggled last season, his first fully healthy season since he got to Athens.
Smith got a case of the drops during the first part of the season and in a development that was visible to a novice, lost a lot of confidence in the process. Georgia, knowing what it has in one of the fastest players in the sport, has invested a lot of time in him and continues to do so.
“Well, on a daily basis I get to spend a lot of time with Arian,” Bobo said. “He’s definitely a big special teams player for us, and that’s been a big role for him, but a lot of times he’s repped so many things in special teams I get to have him during those special teams periods and really work on techniques of running certain routes. We’re not running full speed all the time, but talking about routes and body control, working on the deep ball, adjusting to the deep ball with our eyes — not necessarily running, you know, a full-speed post or a full-speed go.
“Epitomizes” the Georgia program
Georgia outside linebacker Chaz Chambliss catches a lot of flack from the red and black faithful. He’s not the tallest, longest, or fastest player on the field and that’s easy to see when he’s out there. But that’s just the thing, Chambliss is out there a lot.
He tends to get blamed for things and sometimes they’re even his fault. Perceived mistakes get discussed ad nauseam and that, my friends, is how a snowball is formed. Next thing you know there are folks who love Georgia football who are saying that he can’t play at all.
Those Georgia coaches, however, disagree. They break down the tape of both practice and games and when it comes to Chambliss’ ability to do what they’re asking him to do, Hartley raised a few eyebrows with his comments on Thursday.
“First I’ll start with Chaz, he’s been here so long and he’s so strong,” Hartley said when asked about the outside linebackers who give his tight ends the most trouble. “He’s the savvy veteran of the group, and when we’re going against those guys, you’ve got to have a different plan for blocking Chaz. When we go up to the line of scrimmage and tell the play, Chaz has probably heard that play a thousand times and knows exactly what is coming.
“Our guys get so frustrated when Chaz is exactly where he needs to be when he needs to be there, so you’ve got to have a different plan for a guy like that that’s played so many snaps. He’s so tough and physical and such a core Georgia guy. He just epitomizes what Coach Smart believes makes this program. You can’t talk outside linebackers unless you start with Chaz first.”
Listen, I get it. Coaches play the wrong guy sometimes. It has happened at Georgia under Smart. It has happened countless other times to every other program in America. But when they’re playing the wrong guy, they don’t often gush about him like UGA coaches seem to with Chambliss at every opportunity.
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