Georgia final thoughts: Bulldogs’ talent, versatility on display in dominant win

ATLANTA — It may be time for teams to stop scheduling Georgia in Week 1. Kirby Smart is 9-0 in openers, six of them against power-conference opponents, four of them ranked. Give Smart eight months to game plan for an opponent, and he does fairly well.

But yes, the rest of the season tends to go pretty well, too, and this Georgia team has the look of one that can win another national championship.

Let’s dive a bit deeper into what we saw in Georgia’s 34-3 rout of Clemson and what it means.

Frazier’s breakout game wasn’t surprising. He was the nation’s second-ranked tailback recruit in the Class of 2024 and generated a lot of buzz in preseason. Frazier’s speed and burst were a perfect way to lift Georgia’s run game, and he’s going to be a star if he stays healthy.

But Trevor Etienne is set to return from suspension, either this week against Tennessee Tech or for the Kentucky game. Branson Robinson struggled (12 yards on seven carries), but it was his first game in more than a season, and his pounding, physical approach may work better in future games.

The takeaway may be how Georgia’s backfield has flipped from weakness to strength. Chauncey Bowens (6 yards on three carries) and walk-on Cash Jones (one carry for 15 yards and two catches for 14 yards) can also help.

“We’re going to continue to get better and look forward to using all those guys’ skill sets,” Smart said. “We’ve got a really good dynamic in that running back room in terms of the players we have.”

2. Five top receivers

The search for a potential weakness on this Georgia team often centers around the lack of a game-changing receiver following the departures of Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey. And that could still end up being a problem. But what Georgia has going for it — and was on display in the opener — is a lot of options at the position.

Dominic Lovett, Arian Smith and Dillon Bell were the starters, and each had at least three catches, combining for 121 receiving yards and 34 rushing yards. Colbie Young and London Humphreys, the two top transfers, each had a touchdown. Those are the five guys who form a pretty good core, each someone the defense has to worry about, each very capable of winning in single coverage. And it’s a diverse group — Lovett and Smith bringing speed, Young offering size and physicality, Humphreys and Bell providing a mixture of speed and size.

That doesn’t even include the tight ends. Oscar Delp had a quiet game (no catches and only one target) but was on the field a lot (39 snaps), helping as a blocker against Clemson’s defensive front. Lawson Luckie had two catches for 37 yards, and Stanford transfer Ben Yurosek figures to get more snaps.

“We’re loaded,” Bell said after the game when asked about the weapons. “All I can say is we’re loaded.”

The main worry? Injuries, which seem inevitable at these positions. That’s why it would behoove Georgia to build depth by getting Anthony Evans, Sacovie White, Nitro Tuggle and Cole Speer more snaps and targets. That isn’t to say any will be starter-level, but Georgia can benefit by having dependable weapons to bring in as the fourth, fifth and sixth receivers if needed.

The question nobody has about Georgia is at quarterback, but it also shouldn’t be taken for granted. Carson Beck is the rug that ties the room together, both with his arm and his personality.

“Poise. He’s nice and poised. He kept the team going,” Bell said. “During huddles, he was giving us motivation: ‘It’s gonna open up at some point, we just have to stay patient and lean on our quarterback and coaches.’”

Beck has always had a calm, collected manner. But he also has a bravado to him that is becoming more visible due to his status this season — second-year starter, Heisman contender.

“I thought he got a little passion and energy,” Smart said. “(At halftime), he came in, sat down with the iPad and told me, ‘When we come out second half, we’re going to go in there and score, Coach.’ And sure enough, we did.”

This was one of my big questions about Georgia’s defense all offseason: Everyone agrees Walker is a great talent, but how do you keep him on the field? Walker refers to himself as a hybrid linebacker, but could that doom him to being a jack of all trades, master of none?

This game was a big answer in the right direction. Walker was on the field for 29 snaps, moving around a lot depending on the play. If you technically list him as an inside linebacker, he had only the fourth-most snaps at the position, but that was more than any outside linebacker had (Damon Wilson 21, Mykel Williams 20). More importantly, Walker made great use of his time, racking up six tackles, including a team-high 1.5 sacks, and generally being a problem.

Afterward, Smart said something very revealing about the coaching staff’s approach to Walker, as well as Williams, who moved this season from defensive end to outside linebacker.

“We’ve had to get uncomfortable as coaches to use (Walker’s) skill set, and I think coach (Glenn) Schumann and the defensive staff have done a great job of finding ways that he can be successful,” Smart said. “Mykel and him both are really good football players, and they both need to be on the field. They don’t need to share time.”

5. The comparison to the 2021 defense

I’m not claiming the 2024 defense will be just like that historically dominant unit. But part of what made that 2021 defense so special was not just how much talent it had but how Georgia got all that talent on the field. For example, Quay Walker and Channing Tindall, first- and third-round NFL Draft picks, shared time at inside linebacker.

The snap count Saturday showed hints of similar time sharing. That’s actually not isolated to the 2021 defense — it’s been a staple of the Smart-Schumann defensive strategy. But the extent to which they were able to employ it Saturday, and the effectiveness, is what stood out.

Twenty-one defensive players were on the field for double-digit snaps. And that was with much less subbing than usual on the defensive line. Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins, Nazir Stackhouse and Christen Miller played most of the game, with Warren Brinson getting only three snaps before getting hurt and Jordan Hall and Xzavier McLeod already out. So there were more looks with Williams and Gabe Harris at end, with freshman Joseph Jonah-Ajonye seeing 13 snaps.

The linebacker and edge snaps:

• Raylen Wilson (ILB): 32
• CJ Allen (ILB): 31
• Smael Mondon (ILB): 28
• Jalon Walker (ILB, OLB): 26
• Damon Wilson (OLB): 21
• Mykel Williams (OLB, DE): 20
• Chaz Chambliss (OLB): 16
• Gabe Harris (OLB, DE): 15

In the secondary, KJ Bolden came off the bench but ended up with the most snaps (49), with Malaki Starks and Dan Jackson each getting 45. Starks shifted down to play star a lot, with Joenel Aguero hurt and starter JaCorey Thomas getting 19 snaps.

Daylen Everette, the new No. 1 cornerback, received all the first-team snaps (45) while starter Julian Humphrey and backup Daniel Harris essentially split time. Justyn Rhett and five-star freshman Ellis Robinson received snaps in garbage time.

It’s quite an advantage to get garbage time opportunities against a marquee opponent.

(Photo of Carson Beck: Brett Davis / USA Today)