From OnlineAthens.com
September 4th, 2016 12:26 PM
All the quarterback talk that dominated Georgia’s preseason isn’t going away even after the Kirby Smart era began triumphantly with a 33-24 comeback win for the No. 18 Bulldogs over No. 22 North Carolina Saturday night in Atlanta.
The second question posed to the first-year Bulldogs coach in the postgame news conference was about you know what.
It was too early for Smart to commit one way or another for a rotation continuing with fifth-year senior Greyson Lambert and true freshman Jacob Eason.
“There is no plan now,” Smart said. “Right now we’ll assess the tape. We’ll make another decision.”
Lambert started and ended the game, giving the Bulldogs an experienced player with now 22 starts between Georgia and Virginia under his belt to manage an offense that rushed for 289 yards, with 222 coming from Nick Chubb on 32 carries. Lambert raised his arms in the air when Chubb ran 55 yards for a touchdown with 3:34 to go.
Lambert was 5 of 8 for 54 yards--including a third-down completion that went for 25 yards--but he was sacked three times and had a third-down pass deflected at the line. He appeared to hold onto the ball too long on a corner blitz on one sack and another time when he couldn’t find an open receiver.
• View more photos from the UNC vs. UGA game in our slideshow.
ESPN analyst Brock Huard, a former University of Washington quarterback, said of Lambert’s first-quarter play during the broadcast: “He didn’t get to checkdowns, he didn’t get to advantage plays, he really brought nothing to the table that his experience should have brought to the table in 15 minutes of work.”
Georgia fans who had clamored for Eason bathed him with cheers when he came in less than two minutes into the second quarter. He ran two series ending on a Brendan Douglas fumble at the North Carolina 12 and a Brian Herrien 19-yard touchdown run.
“I do think this: Both kids competed hard in the game,” Smart said. “We struggled a little bit with the execution with Jacob in there as far as getting in and out of the huddle and communicating and doing some things, but he’s got some other strengths.”
That was apparent when the Lake Stevens, Wash., product--USA Today’s high school offensive player of the year --showed off his arm talent with his downfield throws, exhibiting why he’s the quarterback of the future and probably also the present.
It resulted in the longest pass play for Georgia since Aaron Murray’s senior season when Eason hit Isaiah McKenzie down the right sideline for a 51-yard gain. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, throwing deep twice to Jayson Stanley and once to Isaac Nauta (when a checkdown was open) and Reggie Davis. Two of the throws drew pass interference penalties.
“You saw them open it up a little bit more when Eason was in the game, and it gave us some issues, also,” North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said. “Both quarterbacks did a nice job. …I didn't evaluate either one of them, but both of them are quality guys. Both of them did what they need to do to win a football game, and that was all that mattered.”
“He was calm,” McKenzie said of Eason who had two shovel passes to him. “I commend him for being a freshman and going out there in a big game and doing his job.”
Lambert completed a pair of passes on a third quarter drive that ended with a missed 42-yard field goal, but was replaced by Eason after North Carolina went up 24-14. He returned near the end of both the first and second halves to operate the four-minute offense, pitching to Chubb for his game-sealing touchdown run.
“Our offense kept moving as we switched quarterbacks,” said McKenzie, who had a team-high six catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. “We didn’t worry about who was in and who was out. We just kept focused doing our job on the field.”
Truth be told, both Lambert and Eason should play Saturday. Maybe even third-stringer Brice Ramsey.
The opponent for the noon game is Nicholls State, which opens its season against Georgia. The FCS program went 3-8 last season.
In its only game against an SEC team, Nicholls State got dusted by Arkansas, 73-7, in 2014.
The Razorbacks offensive coordinator then was Jim Chaney and the offensive line coach was Sam Pittman.
They now serve in those roles for Georgia.
Smart said a decision on a starter could be revealed by Thursday, maybe even by Wednesday.
“We’ve got to figure all that out,” he said. “I don’t want to jump to any conclusion.”
He said during his halftime TV interview of a game in which Georgia ran the ball on 52 of 72 offensive plays: “If we’re able to run the ball and are physical up front, it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is.”
After the game Smart said he liked how both Lambert--now 11-2 as a Georgia starter--and Eason handled sharing the quarterback duties.
“I’m really proud of both of them because I went to Greyson several times while Jacob was in there and he was cheering for Jacob,” Smart said. “He wanted him to do well, and he knew that he was going to have an opportunity to come back in certain situations.”
Syncronex:
Metered
...READ MORE HERE...
September 4th, 2016 12:26 PM
All the quarterback talk that dominated Georgia’s preseason isn’t going away even after the Kirby Smart era began triumphantly with a 33-24 comeback win for the No. 18 Bulldogs over No. 22 North Carolina Saturday night in Atlanta.
The second question posed to the first-year Bulldogs coach in the postgame news conference was about you know what.
It was too early for Smart to commit one way or another for a rotation continuing with fifth-year senior Greyson Lambert and true freshman Jacob Eason.
“There is no plan now,” Smart said. “Right now we’ll assess the tape. We’ll make another decision.”
Lambert started and ended the game, giving the Bulldogs an experienced player with now 22 starts between Georgia and Virginia under his belt to manage an offense that rushed for 289 yards, with 222 coming from Nick Chubb on 32 carries. Lambert raised his arms in the air when Chubb ran 55 yards for a touchdown with 3:34 to go.
Lambert was 5 of 8 for 54 yards--including a third-down completion that went for 25 yards--but he was sacked three times and had a third-down pass deflected at the line. He appeared to hold onto the ball too long on a corner blitz on one sack and another time when he couldn’t find an open receiver.
• View more photos from the UNC vs. UGA game in our slideshow.
ESPN analyst Brock Huard, a former University of Washington quarterback, said of Lambert’s first-quarter play during the broadcast: “He didn’t get to checkdowns, he didn’t get to advantage plays, he really brought nothing to the table that his experience should have brought to the table in 15 minutes of work.”
Georgia fans who had clamored for Eason bathed him with cheers when he came in less than two minutes into the second quarter. He ran two series ending on a Brendan Douglas fumble at the North Carolina 12 and a Brian Herrien 19-yard touchdown run.
“I do think this: Both kids competed hard in the game,” Smart said. “We struggled a little bit with the execution with Jacob in there as far as getting in and out of the huddle and communicating and doing some things, but he’s got some other strengths.”
That was apparent when the Lake Stevens, Wash., product--USA Today’s high school offensive player of the year --showed off his arm talent with his downfield throws, exhibiting why he’s the quarterback of the future and probably also the present.
It resulted in the longest pass play for Georgia since Aaron Murray’s senior season when Eason hit Isaiah McKenzie down the right sideline for a 51-yard gain. He completed 8 of 12 passes for 131 yards and a touchdown, throwing deep twice to Jayson Stanley and once to Isaac Nauta (when a checkdown was open) and Reggie Davis. Two of the throws drew pass interference penalties.
“You saw them open it up a little bit more when Eason was in the game, and it gave us some issues, also,” North Carolina coach Larry Fedora said. “Both quarterbacks did a nice job. …I didn't evaluate either one of them, but both of them are quality guys. Both of them did what they need to do to win a football game, and that was all that mattered.”
“He was calm,” McKenzie said of Eason who had two shovel passes to him. “I commend him for being a freshman and going out there in a big game and doing his job.”
Lambert completed a pair of passes on a third quarter drive that ended with a missed 42-yard field goal, but was replaced by Eason after North Carolina went up 24-14. He returned near the end of both the first and second halves to operate the four-minute offense, pitching to Chubb for his game-sealing touchdown run.
“Our offense kept moving as we switched quarterbacks,” said McKenzie, who had a team-high six catches for 122 yards and a touchdown. “We didn’t worry about who was in and who was out. We just kept focused doing our job on the field.”
Truth be told, both Lambert and Eason should play Saturday. Maybe even third-stringer Brice Ramsey.
The opponent for the noon game is Nicholls State, which opens its season against Georgia. The FCS program went 3-8 last season.
In its only game against an SEC team, Nicholls State got dusted by Arkansas, 73-7, in 2014.
The Razorbacks offensive coordinator then was Jim Chaney and the offensive line coach was Sam Pittman.
They now serve in those roles for Georgia.
Smart said a decision on a starter could be revealed by Thursday, maybe even by Wednesday.
“We’ve got to figure all that out,” he said. “I don’t want to jump to any conclusion.”
He said during his halftime TV interview of a game in which Georgia ran the ball on 52 of 72 offensive plays: “If we’re able to run the ball and are physical up front, it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is.”
After the game Smart said he liked how both Lambert--now 11-2 as a Georgia starter--and Eason handled sharing the quarterback duties.
“I’m really proud of both of them because I went to Greyson several times while Jacob was in there and he was cheering for Jacob,” Smart said. “He wanted him to do well, and he knew that he was going to have an opportunity to come back in certain situations.”
Syncronex:
Metered
...READ MORE HERE...
