Thursday March 28th, 2024 9:46PM

(VIDEO) G-Day: Smart, Chaney unleash 'Air Dogs' for fans in 25-22 Red victory

By Jeff Hart Sports Reporter

ATHENS — Georgia coach Kirby Smart said the 66,000 fans that showed up for Saturday’s annual Spring Game at Sanford Stadium wanted to see an air show.

So, he and offensive coordinator Jim Chaney gave them one.

Sophomore incumbent Jacob Eason threw for 311 yards and two touchdowns for the Black team while freshman Jake Fromm threw for 277 yards and two scores for the Red as Smart and Chaney dialed up 65 pass plays during the just over two-hour scrimmage marking the end of Spring practice.

In the end, Fromm’s Red team got the better of Eason and Black pulling out a 25-22 victory when Rodrigo Blankenship hit a 28-yard field goal with 1:03 left.

“To have 66,000 people show up to watch a practice is an exciting thing,” Smart said. “They came to see our two guys throw it. We appreciate the support they have given us. We tried to give them what they wanted.”

Those looking at the final stat lines will certainly point to the nearly 700 yards of offense allowed by the top two defensive units. They may also notice that the offenses went 10-for-24 on third down, 2-of-3 on fourth down, and scored all five times they cracked the Red Zone. However, the three quarterbacks, including third-string junior Sam Vaughn, were just 33-of-65 (50.7 percent) for the game.

Smart shrugged all of it off.

“We probably limited the defenses more than the offenses. The only thing that will matter is when we look at the tape,” he said. “We don’t want to show people what we’re going to do (on defense) in certain situations so that makes it tough on the defenses.  But, since our plan was to throw it more the defenses know what is coming so that will limit your completion percentage.

“We saw some growth in a lot of the players today and over the whole Spring so that was really good to see. The best part was seeing how (Eason and Fromm) handled themselves in the two-minute drill. They both had some solid plays.”

While Eason and Fromm certainly will command most of the water-cooler conversation on Monday, sophomore receiver Tyler Simmons and freshman receiver J.J. Holloman both had breakout performances. Sophomore Mecole Hardman, moved to receiver from the defense, gave fans plenty to ponder with several explosive runs after catches.

The receiver group was considered a work-in-progress coming into the Spring but Smart said the group as a whole, including senior Javon Wims and junior Terry Godwin, showed that maybe that assessment was perhaps premature.

Godwin (5 catches, 130 yards) and Simmons (5 catches, 114 yards, 1 TD) led the group. Wims had four receptions for 96 yards, Holloman three for 77 and a touchdown, and Hardman had three for 62 yards.

“J.J. has had an up-and-down Spring but I thought he did a great job. Simmons also really stepped up. But don’t forget about Javon and Terry. They all had some explosive plays and that’s what we want to see from them,” he said.

“Mecole knows how to run with the ball. You have to remember that he never played receiver in high school so he is still learning how to catch the ball and play that position. But you see what he can bring to the offense. For us it will just be where is he needed most: offense or defense. We’ll have to see once we get to the fall.”

For all the talk the past two weeks about how the No. 1 offense was having its way against the No. 1 defense during the practice sessions, it did not play out that way in the first half.

The Black offense, led by Eason, Nick Chubb, Wims, and Godwin could generate very little against a defensive group led by John Atkins, Lorenzo Crater, Reggie Carter, and Aaron Davis. They had just 34 yards of offense in the first quarter.

But in the second quarter Eason did connect twice with Wims on two long passes and another to Godwin but the Black offense could muster just two Blankenship field goals. Davis also picked off an Eason pass to stop a drive.

Early on it looked like it would be a defensive battle as the Red offense, led by Fromm, also had trouble generating much of anything with just 27 yards of offense.

But Fromm and fellow freshman Holloman connected twice for 61 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown to give Red a 7-3 lead. After Davis’s interception of Eason, Fromm and the Red offense struck again.

Fromm found Holloman for 19 yards followed by a 17-yard screen pass to Elijah Holyfield to the Black 15. Two Prather Hudson runs moved it to the 6 and three plays later Holyfield capped the drive with a 3-yard touchdown run for a 14-3 lead.

Eason and the Black offense responded with their best drive of the half going 48 yards in 9 plays to the Red 16. But the drive stalled and Blankenship closed out the half with a 33-yard field goal to make it a 14-6 Red lead at halftime.

The third quarter began much the way the first quarter did with the defenses dominating. But midway through the period the offenses got going again. Red moved to the Black 32 but Blankenship missed a 49-yd FG attempt.

Black began its first drive with Vaughn and moved into Red territory with Eason taking over late in the drive. Eason finally got his team in the end zone finding Wims for 11  yards and then Stanley down the right sideline for a 42-yard touchdown pass to pull Black within 14-13.

In the fourth quarter Fromm moved Red down to the Black 23 but Blankenship missed his second consecutive field goal attempt sailing it wide.

Eason, on the strength of a 42-yard pass to Godwin to the Red 23, moved Black to the Red 17 but he was nearly picked off by J.R. Reed on third down. That set up a 34-yard Blankenship field goal that hit the left upright and squirted through to give Black a 16-14 lead.

Fromm and Red reclaimed the lead 22-16 on the next play when Fromm floated a pass down the right sideline for a 70-yard touchdown pass that Simmons managed to grab over a defender and then raced the final 40 yards for the score. Fromm connected with Holloman for a 2-point conversion.

Eason and Black charged back quickly. Eason to hit Godwin for a 40-yard pass to the Red 30 but he was sacked for a fourth time in the game by Davin Bellamy. On the next play Eason found Rabun County’s Charlie Woerner, who bounced off a defender and raced the final 25 yards for a 35-yard touchdown. But, Blankenship’s PAT hit the upright to keep the game tied with 2:31 left.

But Red wasn’t finished. Fromm found Simmons for 20 yards but an incomplete pass and a sack forced fourth down at the Red 49. Fromm cooly hit a streaking Hardman for 38-yards down the right side to the Black 13. A dropped pass and two Holyfield runs set up Blankenship’s 28-yard field goal for the eventual winning points.

NOTES: Nick Chubb had one touch for 9 yards on a screen pass from Eason. ... Sony Michel got one pass for 2 yards and had one rush for 4 yards. ... Holyfield led both teams in rushing with 49 yards and 1 TD on 15 carries. ... Freshman DB Richard LeCounte led the Red team in tackles with 9 and hd one pass breakup. ... Hardman also had 51 yards on two kickoff returns.

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