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Freshmen Report on Georgia football: UGA 49, Oregon 3
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Freshmen Report on Georgia football: UGA 49, Oregon 3
DawgNation will offer this report after every game which focuses on the freshmen who played and their contributions. Check out the Georgia football edition from the big 49-3 win against Oregon from Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
Comments
Malaki Starks is absolutely amazing. He would be a first rounder if he enters the draft now. I think he is the first guy making this kind of impact in his first game of first season as a freshman in CKS era (Bowers would be close).
I wonder if the increasingly-active portal, allowing talented players to take it to market, has something to do with the large number of freshmen and red shirts starting and playing early? Play them now because they may be gone next year. Really affects depth.
If you have "a guy" you know is going to be special, then to not play him is definitely gambling that he's buying in to what you're selling. Gone are the days of wait your turn for the truly top players.
I don't think so. Lovasea Carroll left because he wanted to play RB rather than DB. JT Daniels left for a starting job that he wasn't going to get in Athens this year (SB IV) or next (Beck). Jermaine Burton and Justin Robinson left because they did not like the offense. Jaylen Johnson and Owen Condon left because - as reserves who had earned their UGA degrees - their scholarships were not going to be renewed. Absolutely no problem with this at all by the way. Both are starting at G5 programs while going to grad school for free. Condon will make more money in Dallas with an SMU MBA in finance than most professional athletes will get. And am predicting that Johnson will be a college assistant coach in a couple of years, hopefully in Athens as a grad assistant or analyst training to replace Bryan McClendon.
On defense, the only losses were defensive backs Ameer Speed, Jalen Kimber and Latavious Brini. None of those guys were going to start for a UGA secondary that has been vastly improved by Malachi Starks and Kamari Lassiter. Granted Kimber and Brini aren't starting for Florida and Arkansas either, but they are playing bigger roles for those teams than they would for UGA and may yet crack the starting lineup down the line. Speed for his part is not only starting but is considered the leader of a Michigan State secondary that was one of the worst in the country last season, which will do a lot for his draft chances.
Bottom line: guys who are good enough to log significant minutes as true and redshirt freshmen are the least likely to enter the portal in the first place. Instead the portal will mostly be used by guys who have been passed on the depth chart by younger, better players. Plus guys who don't like the schemes or their roles in it and guys whose scholarships have not been renewed.
Speaking of the portal. On Saturday the announcers talked about Clemson not taking any from the portal and UGA having only 1. Can someone provide who that “1” is?
@Brooksie, ESPN made a mistake. Clemson had the one transfer, apparently. UGA had (has) zero. Hopefully, they will correct it.
Touching point about why Starks wears #24, but I was somewhat confused by it as well. Starks says he wears #24 to honor his young friend who was killed. But, from reading Jeff's story, it appears that Starks (who apparently was older than his friend) was ALREADY wearing #24 and the kid started wearing that number (I assume in youth league football) because of him. So, I guess I'm confused by the order of things. But maybe that just me. I'm just glad Starks plays for us. Go Dawgs!