ATHENS — It probably didn’t come as much of a surprise to the 52,630 souls who braved the cold and wet conditions Saturday for Georgia’s annual spring game at Sanford Stadium. Especially after watching Bulldogs head coach Kirby Smart break out a plethora of then-freshmen in January’s Sugar Bowl loss to Texas.
A youthful defensive squad was again on full display for Bulldogs fans. And it was hard not to come away thinking that, despite the youth, the 2019 defense could very well be the most talented and athletic that Smart and his staff have assembled.
The stat sheet after Red’s 22-17 win over Black will attest to that. And it only took three plays for many to get a glimpse of perhaps what is to come.
Playing on the Black squad, sophomore defensive back Tyson Campbell “held” D’Andre Swift to a 7-yard gain on a play that looked ready to break open chasing down the running back with a late burst of speed to force him out of bounds. Campbell then broke up Jake Fromm’s pass to Tyler Simmons on the next play, and redshirt-sophomore defensive back Eric Stokes closed the game’s opening sequence by picking off Fromm’s next offering for a 39-yard pick-6.
“I just had to trust my technique,” Stokes said. “I had to trust every little thing, and I’m just happy I was able to get it.”
For the Black unit, considered the No. 1 defense for the day, the top six tackles were all underclassmen, led by junior defensive back Richard LeCounte with 8 tackles. True freshman linebacker and early-enrollee Nakobe Dean had 5 tackles, Campbell and Stokes each had 4 tackles to go with one PBU each and Stokes INT. Juniors Mark Webb (DB) and Monty Rice (linebacker) followed with 3 tackles each, with Webb registering 3 PBU on the day.
For the Red unit, which was comprised almost exclusively of underclassmen, a true freshman and early-enrollee DB Lewis Cine had 8 tackles, sophomore DB Christopher Smith had 6 tackles, including a sack, freshman DB Tyrique Stevenson and redshirt-sophomore DB Latavious Brini each had 5 tackles to lead the way. The Red defense as a whole recorded 6 sacks and 8 tackles-for-loss and Brini also had an INT of a D’Wan Mathis pass.
In the Sugar Bowl against Texas back in January, Georgia fans got a glimpse of the future as a bevy of young players were thrown into the fire after several starters sat out in anticipation of the upcoming NFL Draft or were injured.
Smart said the theme heading into the 2019 season is creating havoc. Saturday’s G-Day display didn’t rise to that level for obvious reasons, but even in the scaled-down glorified practice format of G-Day, it was easy to see what the Bulldogs will be able to throw at opposing offenses.
“I definitely feel like we created havoc early on getting the pick-6 from Eric,” LeCounte said. “Our defense (he Black unit) played real physical. Those young guys on the Red defense, I was really happy for those guys because I know they’ve worked hard all spring learning those plays.”
Smart didn’t specially address either defensive unit but praised what he saw as the desire to compete.
“I (was) excited about the tight nature of the game, the back-and-forth battle,” he said. “The guys got to play, so that as good from a competitive standpoint. I got to see the look in some guys’ eyes that were out there, competing and playing hard. That part was good.”
Stokes, who had 5 tackles and PBU in last year’s Sugar Bowl, acknowledged the improvement on the defensive side during the spring.
“Everyday we are coming in and working and competing. We are doing everything we can to make each other better,” Stokes said. “That’s what I love about this team. Everybody is improving from top to bottom. No one is taking a day off.”
Stokes, from Covington and Eastside High School, also said getting work in as a freshman at the end of last season was invaluable.
“(Getting in some games) last year helped a lot because it showed me that I can play SEC football,” he said. “SEC football is different. It really helped with my confidence.”
While the two defenses did manage to give up 587 total yards on the day, they forced four field goals and Stokes gave the group a score of its own with his pick-6.
LeCount said they are already anxious to get started on preparation for the 2019 and SEC opener on Aug. 31 against Vanderbilt in Nashville.
“I know everyone on this team is hungry for this upcoming fall. It’s time to work because we really don’t have an easy schedule.”
Opposing offenses better getting ready themselves because they will not have an easy time holding back a young, hungry, and talented Georgia defense in 2019.
