KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Josh Heupel has seen enough to assess Georgia’s defensive front in the wake of the season-ending injury to Nolan Smith.
Read the full story here
Heupel is doing what coaches do...his homework against his opponents. Beal is good but Nolan Smith will be missed....I assure you. UGA needs to open the field up with long dime passes. Have not heard one word about Arian Smith? He has the world-class speed...he is a route runner that can separate. Smart has not mentioned his name in awhile. Have I missed something? He is not on the injured list. TN will be on UGA's TEs...know it. Receiver ADM would offer a huge lift to the passing game. I cannot see UGA losing this tilt. I just cannot.
“This year, he’s played a lot of snaps already. It’s not like he’s new to it. He’s stepped up and he’s ready to play.”
There's no doubt that the Dawgs will miss Nolan Smith on the defensive side of the ball, but as this article has rightly pointed out, this team has depth and experience throughout the roster and guys like Robert Beal can make a difference in situations like this. With JDJ and Mondon in the middle, there's plenty of strength and speed to handle the Tennessee run game and help out with pass coverage. Beal knows how to bring the pressure from the edge and has plenty of experience doing it. It will be interesting to see if UGA decides to blitz (as opposed to the typical 4 or 5 man rush), and under what conditions they are willing to do it.
GO DAWGS!
@UGA66...concerning Arian Smith....from another article on DawgNation today:
" Georgia has been missing wide receiver AD Mitchell, who has played just five snaps since the Oregon game. His status is very much up in the air entering Saturday’s game. Dominick Blaylock and Arian Smith have also been limited due to injuries this year, but those two are expected to be back at full strength on Saturday. "
If Arian is in fact at full strength and ready to go then he definitely could be a threat. I'm still concerned about letting loose with Stet downfield...could be risky if we try and push it too much. We can't afford any turnovers.
