ATHENS — Georgia football needs answers in Scrimmage Two, which is scheduled to commence at Sanford Stadium on Saturday weather permitting.
Coach Kirby Smart approaches most every day of practice with a sense of urgency, and there’s no question it’s warranted this offseason.
The Bulldogs have no margin for error if they are to make the championship run many — including Smart and quarterback JT Daniels — believe they are capable of.
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But talking about it doesn’t get it done, and the head coach has gone so far as to say it can be a distraction for players reading their own headlines.
The good news is this UGA team has so many battles for playing time and snaps that no one can afford to get comfortable for fear of losing their starting jobs.
Here are three areas that still need to get sorted:
Offensive line
Xavier Truss or Broderick Jones at left tackle? Sedrick Van Pran or Warren Ericson at center?
Offensive line coach Matt Luke opened camp talking about the flexibility and leadership he was looking for and experience from offensive guards Justin Shaffer and Jamaree Salyer. Ericson can play center or guard.
But the left tackle position is a weekly topic for discussion with the more experienced and seasoned Truss trying to hold off the more highlight-rated Jones.
Can Truss play with more emotion? Can Jones play with more power and physicality? Is true freshman Amarius Mims still anywhere in the immediate picture?
The center competition comes down to Van Pran getting the snaps down. Daniels had center issues at USC throughout his true freshman campaign that threw off the timing of the Trojans’ offense and contributed to a disappointing campaign. UGA won’t allow that to happen.
Receivers
Smart’s words about the skill position players being the determining factor in what the offense can do just keep echoing. Two years ago newer and inexperienced receivers struggled to learn their assignments when they weren’t getting injured and it slowed down the Georgia offense.
Todd Monken, a former receivers coach himself, won’t tolerate that in this Bulldogs’ offense. There has been a lot of pushing and pulling to get the receivers and backs up to speed so UGA’s version of the Air Raid can have the diversity necessary to be effective with a veteran like Daniels pulling the trigger.
Demetris Robertson had a breakout of sorts in the last scrimmage and will have a chance to show he can have the sort of consistency that’s been lacking over his career with the Bulldogs.
Second-year receiver Justin Robinson has already shown he can play through bumps and bruises, but can he contribute at a high level and make the sort of catches necessary to fill the role of X?
Smart said Jermaine Burton is “day-to-day” with his hyperextended knee, but does that mean he’s fine to scrimmage? Or “day-to-day” with what he’s asked to do in practice behind the scenes? It’s been more than a week since the injury.
Defensive backs
Yep, this position group is going to keep getting hammered, much more so in practices than in print because of all the inexperience.
Senior Ameer Speed continues his audition for a role, but time is running out for him to win a significant role in the secondary. Speed has and will be a significant contributor on special teams regardless, but can he win a starting job?
Second-year cornerback Jalen Kimber has impressed the head coach with his intelligence and could be positioning himself for a starting job with another strong scrimmage.
Former 5-star cornerback recruit Kelee Ringo continues his comeback from last year’s torn labrum and is still adjusting to SEC playing speed.
The most intriguing player with a significant role, however, could be veteran Christopher Smith. The Atlanta product has improved his body and is playing faster this spring which should result in a significant uptick at his safety position playing alongside Lewis Cine.