Kirby Smart isn’t one to mince words, especially when it comes to holding his Georgia football team to an elite standard.
So it was that the Bulldogs’ head coach didn’t flinch when 92.9 radio host Steak Shapiro asked him about Georgia leading the nation with 36 dropped passes last season.
“There’s a lot of times that (dropped pass) is mental and technical — you can have both — and we try to help them both ways,” Smart said during his appearance on Atlanta’s WZGC-FM, 92.9 FM The Game.
“The biggest thing is getting confidence in practice so that you can have confidence in games. You get confidence by your habits, right?”
Smart said that if the team’s receivers dedicate time to practicing contested catches -- along with extra catches out of the “Jugs” football passing machine -- they will earn the right to have the necessary confidence to make plays in the games.
Georgia’s 41-34 loss at Alabama last season wasn’t solely attributable to poor receiver play, but there were key instances where UGA receivers could have provided game-changing momentum with routine execution.
Smart said the coaching staff will do its part to make sure the receivers are prepared this season.
“We have to do a better job of putting them in situations,” Smart said, “and allowing them to relax and go play and not put so much pressure on themselves.”
Two of the receivers with nine drops each were drafted into the NFL, while Dillon Bell (eight drops) returns with his mind set on showing more consistency.
Smart added USC transfer Zachariah Branch and Texas A&M transfer Noah Thomas to the Bulldogs’ receiving corps via the transfer portal.
Confidence will be key for all of the receivers, as Smart revealed his theory on what happened with the drops last season.
“I think last year that’s a cumulative effect of like ‘Oh God, oh God, oh God its going to happen,’ “ Smart said, sharing his theory on what the receivers were thinking.
“I think they did it to themselves. You can get in your own head, hitters do it, pitchers do it …. it’s something we have to work really hard on with the guys to gain confidence.”
2024 PFF grades on returning & incoming UGA players in “drop” category, higher numbers represent better grades:
(WR position in boldface type)
TE Lawson Luckie, 87.7
RB Josh McCray (Illinois), 83.3
RB Cash Jones, 78.5
TE Oscar Delp, 75.4
WR Zachariah Branch (USC), 75.0
WR Sacovie White, 74.9
WR Cole Speer, 73.1
RB Dwight Phillips Jr. 70.7
RB Rod Robinson, 70.7
TE Jaden Reddell, 70.7
WR Noah Thomas (Texas A&M), 70.3
WR Colbie Young, 64.9
WR Dillon Bell, 63.0
WR London Humphreys, 58.6
RB Nate Frazier, 51.7
