Georgia was in full pads in the Indoor Athletic Facility for part of their Tuesday afternoon practice, and the Bulldogs were clearly expecting the Tigers to put the ball in the air as they prepped for Missouri’s air attack.
The defensive line was working on block recognition and reaction. By that, I mean that two offensive linemen were on a single D-linemen, who would read the block (double team, double then slide, man on man, pass block) and then react to occupy the O-linemen to keep them off the linebackers; so, they will be able to be free to make a play. The D-line was also reading the direction of the play from the blocks and resisting being turned to the off-side. Sophomore Trenton Thompson was missing from practice again, and he did not practice on Monday either during the media viewing period. He is still recovering from an MCL knee sprain he suffered versus Tennessee a couple of weeks ago.
The defensive ends and outside linebackers were working on their pass rush while during the short media viewing period. There is a good chance we see at least one DE/OLB who will be trying to pressure the Tigers QB all night.
Out of the linebackers group, senior inside linebacker Reggie Carter was also absent from practice, and like Thompson, he did not practice on Monday either. R. Carter is recovering from an undisclosed injury he suffered in the Tennessee game, which is most likely a concussion (speculating not confirmed). In lieu of R. Carter and the fact that Natrez Patrick will likely miss at least 2 to 3 more games due to his marijuana arrest last week, the inside linebacker’s looked as follows: junior Roquan Smith was first in one drill line with freshman Monty Rice, junior Juwan Taylor, and freshman Nate McBride following.
Senior outside linebacker Davin Bellamy continued to practice with a club cast/wrap on his injured left hand. He seems to be more comfortable this week going through practice and drills with it. After practice was over, Kirby Smart addressed Bellamy’s frustration with injury and having to wear the heavy wrap on his hand:
“I think it frustrates him at times,” said Smart. “He can’t rip off and tear off like he wants to. He can’t bull and push sometimes. But he’s done a good job. He’s gotten better with it this week. It was more frustrating for him last week. I think it’s something he’s got to get used to, and he’s starting to get more and more used to it. I think he shows a lot of toughness to go out there and play with it and not really let it concern himself with how he looks. He’s trying to help the team.”
Roquan Smith was first among the inside linebackers in one drill line with freshman Monty Rice, junior Juwan Taylor and freshman Nate McBride following.
In the secondary, the defensive backs were also concentrating on defending the pass. One drill, in particular, had them with their backs to the QB and trying to find a long pass over the shoulder, then intercept the ball at its high point. Later on, during the viewing period, the DBs were getting lots of two and three receiver looks on a single side, simulating a bunch formation, again working against long throws but with some ‘come-back’ or curl patterns mixed in.
Not much to report on the offensive side of the ball as we concentrated covering what the Bulldog D was up to during the allotted time we had during the viewing period. We saw both quarterback Jake Fromm and Jacob Eason throwing well, and junior wide receiver Michael Chigbu was practicing in a regular jersey. Chigbu had been nursing a shoulder injury per Kirby Smart. Georgia will continue to prepare for their homecoming game versus Missouri with a Wednesday afternoon practice.