Georgia football pass catcher issues very apparent in Clemson win

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — A quick look at the Georgia box score can help explain why the offense struggled so mightly against the Clemson Tigers.

Many of Georgia’s top pass catchers were either limited or absent altogether.

That story should sound pretty familiar to those following Georgia, as it had been the case for the Bulldogs all August. Injuries were a constant factor throughout fall camp.

“I can’t make excuses,” Georgia coach Kirby Smart said. “We’ve had parts of our whole offense available all camp but never everybody.”

George Pickens tore his ACL in March. Dominick Blaylock was able to travel and dress for the game but he’s still not fully cleared to play. Darnell Washington didn’t play due to a foot injury that had him on the sideline in a walking boot. Arik Gilbert was not with the team either after taking a leave from the team for personal reasons.

But even some of the Georgia pass catchers that were able to play weren’t their usual selves. Jermaine Burton picked up a sprained ankle on the first day of fall camp and missed two weeks of camp. He had just two catches for 11 yards.

John FitzPatrick was battling a foot injury and Smart wasn’t even sure if he’d be able to play this week. He had one catch for zero yards.

Kearis Jackson didn’t even play an offensive snap, as he’s still recovering from offseason knee surgery.

“We didn’t know if Kearis was going to go or not,” Smart said. “Kearis is just not himself yet.”

Georgia’s leading receiver was freshman Brock Bowers. He had six catches for 43 yards. No other receiver had more than two receptions.

There were a handful of times on Saturday when Georgia had three freshman wide receivers in the formation. Ladd McConkey, Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint, Adonai Mitchell, Justin Robinson and Arian Smith all played, but they never seemed to make a significant impact.

“When you add all that up, there’s just a lot of parts missing,” Smart said. “But I’m not using that as a crutch or excuse. We got good players out there.”

Smart and JT Daniels were quick to credit the Clemson defense for how they schemed up the Bulldogs. Coming into the game, Smart thought Clemson would play a lot of press-man coverage and dare the young receivers to beat them deep.

Instead, the Tigers came out and played a lot of soft zone coverage.

“They didn’t give us a lot of shots,” Smart said. “I’m interested in watching the tape to see how they controlled the run game as well as they did.”

The longest pass play on the day for Georgia was a 21-yard reception for Jaylen Johnson, a former walk-on who earned a scholarship this offseason.

Daniels knows the Bulldogs have to have not just one pass play of 20-plus yards, but many. Even if teams throw out wildly different coverages from what they had previously indicated on tape.

“We gotta be a little more explosive, which is tough to do with what Clemson did today,” Daniels said. “They played a very conservative soft zone. They dropped eight a lot and did a lot of things they hadn’t shown.”

Daniels had his worst passing performance as a Bulldog on Saturday. He threw for 135 yards on 30 pass attempts. He threw a bad interception that gave Clemson the ball on the Georgia 33-yard line. Fortunately, the Bulldogs were able to stand tall and force a Clemson punt.

Georgia is expected to get healthier at receiver and tight end, with Washington likely back by the end of the month. As Burton, FitzPatrick and Jackson get healthier, the Georgia offense should look more like it did at the end of the 2020 season.

The Bulldogs also aren’t likely to see a defense as good as Clemson’s for the rest of the regular season. Well, except for the defense Georgia plays in practice every day.

“I think we’re good enough and have the talent and have the ability to execute to where we should be able to move the ball on anybody no matter what the circumstance is,” Daniels said. “The pressure doesn’t change based on what your defense does.”

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