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Georgia football: 4 things we learned from spring practice and G-Day

Kirby Smart wrapped up his third spring as Georgia football coach with the 2018 G-Day spring game.
Curtis Compton/AJC
Cy Brown
Cy Brown

Welcome to Good Day, UGA, your one-stop shop for Georgia football news and takes. Check us out every weekday morning for everything you need to know about Georgia football, recruiting, basketball and more.

What we learned this spring

Spring practice and G-Day are in the books, which officially brings us to the doldrums of the offseason. Now all that stands between us and the 2018 Georgia football season is the long, long summer. But before we move on with the offseason, we need to take a moment to recap a bit of what we learned from spring practice and G-Day.

So here are four things we learned about Georgia football this spring:

  • Secondary and defensive line depth are the team’s greatest concern. Earlier this spring, Georgia coach Kirby Smart noted two of his greatest concerns about this team. One was the secondary not stepping up and the other was a lack of depth on the defensive line. The secondary assuaged some of those concerns with a 3-interception performance at G-Day, but a strong spring game showing isn’t enough to erase all worry. Likewise, the defensive line was solid at G-Day, and by all indications it has performed well in practice. It’s just light on numbers, which could be a major problem for team that fancies itself a national title contender.
  • Wide receiver is one of the deepest positions on the team. Smart has been complimentary of the receiving corps this spring, especially the second team. At G-Day, backup receivers such as Matt Landers, Ahkil Crumpton, J.J. Holloman and Trey Blount showed out and gave us a taste of what Smart’s been experiencing in practice. Between the proven, steady hands — Terry Godwin, Mecole Hardman, Riley Ridley —and this promising crop of newcomers, this is the deepest group of receivers Georgia has had in quite a while.
  • Monty Rice looks like the next star of the linebacker corps. It’s way too early and way too presumptuous to call Rice the next Roquan Smith, but he is setting himself up to replace Smith as the heart of Georgia’s linebacker corps. Rice finished G-Day with a team-high 14 tackles, and earned a helping of praise from Smart. Everyone accepts that there will be drop-off at inside linebacker without Smith, but Rice may make that drop off less precipitous than we once thought.
  • Justin Fields isn’t ready to take over quite yet. At G-Day. Fields showed why he was rated the top recruit in the Class of 2018, going 18-for-33 passing for 207 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He made some good decisions and put plenty of balls right on the money, but as Smart noted, he did it against the second team. Fields didn’t do anything to the perception that he’s a future superstar, but he also didn’t do anything to start a QB controversy. His time will come, just not quite yet.

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ICYMI: G-Day edition

There was more news and notes to come out of G-Day than you could shake a stick at, so I’ve provided it all right here. Let’s see how many tabs your browser can handle.

Recruiting roundup: G-Day

G-Day is one of the biggest recruiting days of the year for Georgia football. Check below for DawgNation’s recruiting coverage of the spring game, including a gallery featuring the top prospects in attendance.

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NEXT Nation’s No. 3 safety Lewis Cine breaks down his G-Day trip
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