Georgia had its first scrimmage of the spring on Saturday. We spoke to some people who were invited to see this scrimmage. They don’t normally get to see practice but lucky for us they were in attendance today. After comparing and contrasting what we were told, here are the common threads.
The first-team defense faced the first-team offense, two’s vs two’s and three’s vs three’s. The coaches had the team working on the kicking game, punting, third-down situational plays, red-zone situations, and two-minute drills at the end.
Overall there was much more passing than running the ball. It seemed there were two pass plays for every run play. That’s good as it prevents injuries and works out the receiving corps and the new parts of the secondary.
The biggest takeaway was likely the return of Dominick Blaylock and Kearis Jackson. Blaylock made some really good plays. Hell, just the fact that he’s back out there has to be great news. We had a story about his return earlier this week.
Sopohmore Jackson Meeks did some good things with the second and third teams. He made some difficult catches and got open repeatedly. Speaking of early enrollees, De’Nylon Morrissette is definitely a guy to keep an eye on as he showed quickness and the ability to get open as well. Granted he was going against the third team and the second team but you have to start somewhere.
Ladd McConkey made a big catch and run for a touchdown. (See Auburn highlight)
That’s not to say the running backs didn’t do a lot. Daijun Edwards looked really good with the second team. But if you think about the offensive line he’s running behind, it makes sense. Amarius Mims at right tackle, Warren Ericson at center, Earnest Green at left tackle…there are a number of teams that would love to have those guys as starters. Edwards and walk-on Kurt Knisely had the most yards. A lot of folks will likely rave about Knisely’s day. He’s from Athens Academy and apparently did really well with the third team
Kendall Milton caught a pass out of the backfield and took it to the house for about 70 yards. Kenny McIntosh caught the ball well and ran it in space.
Tight end Brett Seither ran with the first-team offense and he made some catches. Arik Gilbert showed how talented he is, catching three or four passes. He’s a big target and is going to be a monster.
Stetson Bennett looked really good with the first-team offense. He threw the ball well and avoided the rush.
There were no surprises on the first-team offensive line:
LT Broderick Jones
LG Xavier Truss
C Sedrick Van Pran
RG Devin Willock
RT Warren McClendon
Kelee Ringo looked sharp, which is no surprise. Kamari Lassiter was playing the cornerback spot opposite Ringo. Lassiter fared well. Early enrollee Daylen Everette and redshirt freshman Nyland Green are two young guys at cornerback who are going to come around. Their outlook is quite positive.
We heard good things from multiple sources about the inside linebackers like Jalon Walker, Xavian Sorey and Jamon Dumas-Johnson. The defense overall looked like it could really run. We also heard that early enrollee JaCorey Thomas looked very promising at safety.
Dan Jackson is wearing 17 now.
Brock Vandagriff showed he knows the offense well. He tends to want to take off and run since he was a spread QB, but he really stood in the pocket today with the third team. Carson Beck had some reps with the ones as well as his normal gig with the twos, and had a TD pass.
David Daniel made some plays at safety and Ringo had some nice open-field tackles. There were some missed tackles on defense which is not unusual in the first scrimmage. Overall the offense was ahead of the defense which is the opposite of how it normally is to start spring, but UGA returns a lot on offense and lost a lot on defense.
Punter Brett Thorson had good distance on his punts. May need to work on height but stuff like that is hard to tell second-hand.
Update after some observers got home and hit us up:
- Beck had an average day. He was not as sharp as he could be in the 3rd down drill.
- Few of the QBs ran the ball much which was not surprising. Stetson Bennett had one scramble that was probably 50 yards but that was the definite exception.
- Jackson Meeks looked very good with several nice grabs but had two or three drops. He had more targets than any other receiver so that comes with the territory. Few drops overall though considering the number of passes.
- As mentioned, they didn’t throw many to Arik Gilbert but he caught everything, including one ball he snatched over the middle.
- Bennett was really sharp, especially in the 3rd down drill during which he and the offense converted every time. Five for five maybe?. He was head and shoulders the best QB. Not even close. (Matches our notes from last Thursday)
- Bennett, Brock Vandagriff and Beck all received a fair number of reps with first-team offense against first-team defense. Vandagriff looked poised in the pocket and was on target.
- FG kicking needs work. The kickers missed several and one was blocked. Podlesny is the best of the group but even he didn't have his best day. Stetson is the holder for him by the way. Kickoffs were not great either.
- Smart was heard to criticize the defense, commenting on lack of discipline several times and stating that O beat them overall in every drill (3d down, 2 minute, red zone). There were officials there and they called a few offsides penalties.
- Blaylock is back and Arian Smith was running freely and participated fully, albeit in a black jersey
- Kearis Jackson and Dom Blaylock both looked like they did two years ago. Blaylock caught a long pass from Beck.
- Kelle Ringo forced a fumble on a Kendall Milton swing pass.
- Milton had the play of the day referenced above. He ran over David Daniel for the long TD.
- Arik Gilbert looked great down to 260 pounds.
- The Offensive line seemed to pass block well but it's a scrimmage so take it with a grain of salt.
- The best player on the field is still Jalen Carter.
- Mims did get a few reps with the first team.
The first-team defense faced the first-team offense, two’s vs two’s and three’s vs three’s. The coaches had the team working on the kicking game, punting, third-down situational plays, red-zone situations, and two-minute drills at the end.
Overall there was much more passing than running the ball. It seemed there were two pass plays for every run play. That’s good as it prevents injuries and works out the receiving corps and the new parts of the secondary.
The biggest takeaway was likely the return of Dominick Blaylock and Kearis Jackson. Blaylock made some really good plays. Hell, just the fact that he’s back out there has to be great news. We had a story about his return earlier this week.
Sopohmore Jackson Meeks did some good things with the second and third teams. He made some difficult catches and got open repeatedly. Speaking of early enrollees, De’Nylon Morrissette is definitely a guy to keep an eye on as he showed quickness and the ability to get open as well. Granted he was going against the third team and the second team but you have to start somewhere.
Ladd McConkey made a big catch and run for a touchdown. (See Auburn highlight)
That’s not to say the running backs didn’t do a lot. Daijun Edwards looked really good with the second team. But if you think about the offensive line he’s running behind, it makes sense. Amarius Mims at right tackle, Warren Ericson at center, Earnest Green at left tackle…there are a number of teams that would love to have those guys as starters. Edwards and walk-on Kurt Knisely had the most yards. A lot of folks will likely rave about Knisely’s day. He’s from Athens Academy and apparently did really well with the third team
Kendall Milton caught a pass out of the backfield and took it to the house for about 70 yards. Kenny McIntosh caught the ball well and ran it in space.
Tight end Brett Seither ran with the first-team offense and he made some catches. Arik Gilbert showed how talented he is, catching three or four passes. He’s a big target and is going to be a monster.
Stetson Bennett looked really good with the first-team offense. He threw the ball well and avoided the rush.
There were no surprises on the first-team offensive line:
LT Broderick Jones
LG Xavier Truss
C Sedrick Van Pran
RG Devin Willock
RT Warren McClendon
Kelee Ringo looked sharp, which is no surprise. Kamari Lassiter was playing the cornerback spot opposite Ringo. Lassiter fared well. Early enrollee Daylen Everette and redshirt freshman Nyland Green are two young guys at cornerback who are going to come around. Their outlook is quite positive.
We heard good things from multiple sources about the inside linebackers like Jalon Walker, Xavian Sorey and Jamon Dumas-Johnson. The defense overall looked like it could really run. We also heard that early enrollee JaCorey Thomas looked very promising at safety.
Dan Jackson is wearing 17 now.
Brock Vandagriff showed he knows the offense well. He tends to want to take off and run since he was a spread QB, but he really stood in the pocket today with the third team. Carson Beck had some reps with the ones as well as his normal gig with the twos, and had a TD pass.
David Daniel made some plays at safety and Ringo had some nice open-field tackles. There were some missed tackles on defense which is not unusual in the first scrimmage. Overall the offense was ahead of the defense which is the opposite of how it normally is to start spring, but UGA returns a lot on offense and lost a lot on defense.
Punter Brett Thorson had good distance on his punts. May need to work on height but stuff like that is hard to tell second-hand.
Update after some observers got home and hit us up:
- Beck had an average day. He was not as sharp as he could be in the 3rd down drill.
- Few of the QBs ran the ball much which was not surprising. Stetson Bennett had one scramble that was probably 50 yards but that was the definite exception.
- Jackson Meeks looked very good with several nice grabs but had two or three drops. He had more targets than any other receiver so that comes with the territory. Few drops overall though considering the number of passes.
- As mentioned, they didn’t throw many to Arik Gilbert but he caught everything, including one ball he snatched over the middle.
- Bennett was really sharp, especially in the 3rd down drill during which he and the offense converted every time. Five for five maybe?. He was head and shoulders the best QB. Not even close. (Matches our notes from last Thursday)
- Bennett, Brock Vandagriff and Beck all received a fair number of reps with first-team offense against first-team defense. Vandagriff looked poised in the pocket and was on target.
- FG kicking needs work. The kickers missed several and one was blocked. Podlesny is the best of the group but even he didn't have his best day. Stetson is the holder for him by the way. Kickoffs were not great either.
- Smart was heard to criticize the defense, commenting on lack of discipline several times and stating that O beat them overall in every drill (3d down, 2 minute, red zone). There were officials there and they called a few offsides penalties.
- Blaylock is back and Arian Smith was running freely and participated fully, albeit in a black jersey
- Kearis Jackson and Dom Blaylock both looked like they did two years ago. Blaylock caught a long pass from Beck.
- Kelle Ringo forced a fumble on a Kendall Milton swing pass.
- Milton had the play of the day referenced above. He ran over David Daniel for the long TD.
- Arik Gilbert looked great down to 260 pounds.
- The Offensive line seemed to pass block well but it's a scrimmage so take it with a grain of salt.
- The best player on the field is still Jalen Carter.
- Mims did get a few reps with the first team.
