Slow Start For Offense, Then Bennett Leads Comeback:
Trailing 7-5 heading into the second half, Georgia exploded for 22 points in the 3rd quarter on its way to a 37-10 win. It was a combination of offense, defense and special teams that sparked the Bulldog comeback and improve Kirby Smart to 5-0 in season openers and Georgia all-time at 97-27-3 in openers. Georgia now leads the all-time series with Arkansas 11-4.

With four first-time starters on offense including redshirt freshman quarterback D’Wan Mathis, Georgia tallied three points on 177 yards in the first half. In the 2ndquarter, Georgia came through with a safety for its first points. It was the first safety since the 2016 season opener against UNC. Mathis returned midway in the 4thquarter.

With 10:07 left in the first half, junior Stetson Bennett came in at QB and finished the day 20-for-29 for 211 yards and 2 TDs, all career highs. Today marked the first time Georgia had a new starting signal-caller since 2016 as Jake Fromm had started the past 42 games. Fromm is now in the NFL with Buffalo.

In the second half, Bennett directed a six-play, 57-yard go-ahead TD drive, capped by a 19-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens (4-for-47 yards, 1 TD). It gave the Bulldogs their first lead of the game. Then Bennett covered a two-point conversion, scampering in to make it 13-10. It was Bennett’s third career TD pass and Pickens ninth TD catch.  Zamir White’s six-yard run capped a 13-play, 81-yard drive for a 34-10 lead with 11:15 left. Kearis Jackson led the team in receiving with a career-high six catches for 62 yards and two punt returns for 34 yards.

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The Georgia Bulldogs vs. The Arkansas Razorbacks

Game & Broadcast Info

Georgia	2019 Averages	Arkansas
30.8	Scoring Offense	21.4
12.6	Scoring Defense	36.8
+3	Turnover Margin	-5
408.1	Total Offense	340.1
185.1	Rushing Offense	147.2
223.0	Passing Offense	192.9
11.3	Punt Returns	11.5
19.1	Kickoff Returns	18.5

 

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By John Frierson
Staff Writer

We’re all eager to see the Georgia Bulldogs take the field again, which, at last, they will do Saturday at Arkansas when their season, delayed and altered by the coronavirus pandemic, kicks off against the Razorbacks.

It will be a regular season like none before it — a 10-game schedule against only SEC teams — and it will be a season with a lot of new: new safety protocols, a new offensive coordinator, a new quarterback, a lot of new offensive linemen, new lead running backs, and some new uniforms.

This season marks the 40th anniversary of the 1980 national championship, and to honor and celebrate that magical 12-0 run the Bulldogs will suit up Saturday in a throwback road uniform, with the red pants and white jerseys. It’s a modern take on what Georgia was wearing on the road 40 years ago, including in that season’s opener at Tennessee when a freshman, Herschel Walker, burst onto the scene.

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By John Frierson
Staff Writer

Jamaree Salyer, astronaut. That has a nice ring to it.

The 6-foot-4 and 325-pound Georgia offensive lineman said during a Quick Chat after practice Wednesday that he would love to go into space for a day, “just to see what’s out there.”

During our Chat, Salyer, a junior from Atlanta, also talked about opening the season Saturday at Arkansas, and facing former Georgia offensive line coach Sam Pittman, now the Razorbacks’ head coach. Other topics included video games and being a veteran on a Bulldog offense with a lot of new pieces this season.

Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: To be this close to finally playing a game again, are you about as excited as you’ve ever been for a football game?

Salyer: Yeah, it’s really exciting. You know, the butterflies are there and you’ve got that first-game feeling, to get out there in a new environment, really. It’s really cool, I’ve never been to Arkansas before, never been to Fayetteville, so it’s going to be exciting.

Of course, this game has extra meaning for the offensive lineman, and it’s going to be fun.

Frierson: What’s it going to be like to see Coach Pittman again, only this time he’s the head coach of the other team?

Salyer: He poured a lot into me while I was here, I was one of the Sam Pittman guys, and I really enjoyed my time with him here. He was great to me, treated me with respect, pushed me hard and I got a lot better under his wing. I’m excited to compete against him — it’s kind of crazy.

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The Georgia Bulldogs vs. The Arkansas Razorbacks

Game & Broadcast Info

Georgia	2019 Averages	Arkansas
30.8	Scoring Offense	21.4
12.6	Scoring Defense	36.8
+3	Turnover Margin	-5
408.1	Total Offense	340.1
185.1	Rushing Offense	147.2
223.0	Passing Offense	192.9
11.3	Punt Returns	11.5
19.1	Kickoff Returns	18.5

 

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ATHENS, Ga. – The Bulldogs have nine representatives on the Preseason Media All-Southeastern Conference Football Team, according to a recent league announcement.

Georgia also tied for second with the most votes to win this season’s SEC title.

The Bulldogs tied for the most players on the First Team Defense with junior defensive lineman Jordan Davis, senior defensive lineman Malik Herring and senior safety Richard LeCounte.  Sophomore receiver George Pickens and junior center Trey Hill represented Georgia on the Second Team Offense while senior linebacker Monty Rice and junior defensive back Eric Stokes were named to the Second Team Defense.  Also, junior punter Jake Camarda was included on the Second Team Special Teams.  Redshirt sophomore running back Zamir White was the Bulldogs’ sole Third Team selection.

The Bulldogs, who are ranked fourth in the AP poll and tied for third in the Coaches Poll, are set to open the year in Fayetteville, Ark., versus Arkansas on Saturday.  The SEC Network will televise the matchup at 4 p.m. ET.

By John Frierson
Staff Writer

It was a little over a year ago that Georgia defensive back Eric Stokes sat down — remember when you could comfortably and casually sit across from someone? — for his first Quick Chat. One of the things he talked about was the trip he’d taken to Pensacola, Fla., that summer, and how much he’d enjoyed riding a Jet Ski for the first time.

It was a big thing, he said, because he didn’t know how to swim. And Stokes, now a junior on the preseason watch lists for all the major defensive honors like the Bednarik Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy, said last August that one goal he had was to learn how to swim. That goal, he told me during another Quick Chat, after practice Tuesday, has been achieved.

Among the things the 6-foot-1 and 185-pound Stokes, from Covington, Ga., did when so much was shut down amid the coronavirus pandemic, along with tons of working out to be ready for this season, was learn how to swim. He also talked about Saturday’s season opener at Arkansas, dunking a basketball, Hot Wheels and much more.

Here’s some of what he had to say:

Frierson: After everything that’s gone on over the past six months or so, what does it feel like to be in the middle of a game week again?

Stokes: Of course it feels weird and all that stuff, but now that our schedule is getting back to normal, it’s a great feeling that you’ve missed.

Frierson: What were you doing during the spring when everything was shut down? How did you fill the downtime that you suddenly had?

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The Georgia Bulldogs vs. The Arkansas Razorbacks

Game & Broadcast Info

Georgia	2019 Averages	Arkansas
30.8	Scoring Offense	21.4
12.6	Scoring Defense	36.8
+3	Turnover Margin	-5
408.1	Total Offense	340.1
185.1	Rushing Offense	147.2
223.0	Passing Offense	192.9
11.3	Punt Returns	11.5
19.1	Kickoff Returns	18.5

 

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The Georgia Bulldogs conducted a two-hour practice Wednesday, Sept. 23, in preparation for the first contest of the season at Southeastern Conference opponent Arkansas, in Fayetteville, Ark.

Georgia travels to Arkansas to face the Razorbacks Saturday. Kickoff is set for 4:00 p.m., ET, on the SEC Network. Before practice, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart participated in the SEC Football Weekly Media Teleconference and provided an update on the Bulldogs. Following practice, Warren Ericson and Jamaree Salyer offered these comments on the contest with Arkansas.

Selected comments from Smart and the student-athletes follow:

Coach Kirby Smart
Opening Statement
“I am looking forward to seeing my dear old friend Sam Pittman. It’s a long time coming. This offseason in terms of our players being excited and the uncertainty involved in this year. I know our guys are certainly extremely excited to go play. I don’t know if we are going to get much better without playing. We need to go play so we can find out where we are. We are excited to go play Arkansas.”

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