ATHENS — The fourth edition of the Kirby Smart version of Georgia football didn’t allow the rain to dampen their spirits or intensity Saturday afternoon at Sanford Stadium.
A double-reverse throwback pass from receiver Matt Landers to quarterback D’Wan Mathis highlighted the annual G-Day Game, the Red Team beating Black Team 22-17 before a crowd of 52.630.
The Red Team was made up of the first-team offense and second-team defense. The Black Team was the first-team defense and second-team offense.
Here’s a quick look at how select players fared
Stock Up
Tailback Brian Herrien – The senior tailback converted on two third-and-1 situations and stiff-armed preseason All-SEC safety candidate J.R. Reed en route to a 13-yard catch and run touchdown. Herrien had 7 carries for 25 yards rushing and 3 catches for 50 yards as a receiver.
Cornerback Eric Stokes — Stokes stayed in tight coverage of receiver J.J. Holloman most of the game and scored the first touchdown when he out-fought Stokes for a quick pass and returned it 39 yards for the score.
Safety Richard LeCounte –– The bulked-up LeCounte showed off a more physical tackling style and better knowledge of assignments with a Black Team high of 8 tackles.
Quarterback Stetson Bennett — Bennett was 8-of-14 passing for 128 yards and a TD working with the first-team offense (Red Team), and he was 4-of-9 passing for 82 yards working with the second-team offense (Blake Team).
Defensive back Mark Webb — Webb looked good at the “Star” position on defense, breaking up three passes and making three tackles.
Quarterback D’Wan Mathis — Mathis showed off a big arm and flashed his athleticism when he reeled in a 39-yard pass from Matt Landers on the reverse pass. Mathis wasn’t perfect, he did throw an interception, but the early enrollee freshman was otherwise 15-of-28 for 113 yards.
Tight end Charlie Woerner — Woerner handled his blocking assignments and led the Red Team receivers with five catches that went for 44 yards.
Linebacker Nakobe Dean — Dean should technically still be in high school, but the early enrollee freshman had 5 tackles for the Black Team defense.
Stock Even
Tailback D’Andre Swift — Swift looked as explosive as ever with the ball in his hands with 3 carries for 39 yards and 3 catches for 17 yards, but Swift also had a dropped pass.
Quarterback Jake Fromm — Fromm’s final passing line won’t blow away anyone — 14-of-29 passing for 116 yards and a touchdown and interception. But Fromm looked good throwing the football most of the day, and the interception was just a matter of Stokes making a great play and beating Holloman for the ball.
Receiver J.J. Holloman — Georgia’s top receiver had 3 catches for 54 yards and a touchdown, but Holloman failed to pull in the leaping TD grab we’ve seen a couple times earlier this spring on one occasion, and Stokes beat him in a fight for the ball on the other. It was a spirited competition, to be sure.
Stock Down
Receiver Matt Landers — Landers showed the big upside Smart has talked about with a 52-yard catch, but he dropped a couple of deep balls that were in his hands. Smart has talked about Landers’ need to improve his consistency. Landers did show he can really throw the football, though.
The weather: Cold and rainy with wind made it a miserable day for any type of outdoor event, limiting the attendance to 52,630 on a day where good weather would have surely delivered more than the SEC-high of 62,000 Alabama delivered under better weather conditions earlier this spring.
