Inside Slant

The Sports Xchange

November 13, 2018 at 10:44 pm.

No status quo for Georgia

At Georgia, there’s no such thing as status quo.

That’s particularly true when it comes to playing time and athletes having to prove themselves in practice in order to get on the field.

It doesn’t matter where a player sits on the depth chart to start the year. If you work hard and compete, your time will come.

Even as No. 5 Georgia gets ready to play its 11th game, positions continue to be up for grabs.

“All of them. Every position on our team — every week, inside backer, every week, outside backer, probably more the second and third at the outside backer than the first,” head coach Kirby Smart said.

“Defensive line. We’ve had changes in defensive line, and you all don’t write about who starts there, but we’ve had a lot of changes there. Secondary — we’ve had a lot of battles at safety, and rotating the dime, nickel and star.”

There’s no shortage of examples for the Bulldogs (9-1), who host UMass Saturday afternoon (4 p.m., SEC Network).

At defensive tackle, Jordan Davis has gone from a seldom-used scout team member to being listed as a co-starter with Tyler Clark. Devonte Wyatt is also starting to get more looks.

Ditto for freshman Otis Reese, who is now listed as a co-starter at safety along with Richard LeCounte.

“It’s really not a rotation as much as it is personnel based. So, depending on what the other team’s in, we play one or the other of the safeties,” Smart said.

“Otis is getting better. Richard is actually getting better. The best thing for Richard has been Otis’s growth. So, I think that the motivation and the competition has made Richard better.”

Cornerback is another position where there continues to be a lot of competition.

When freshman Tyson Campbell — who has started all 10 games — found himself struggling against Auburn, the Bulldogs weren’t shy about inserting redshirt freshman Eric Stokes, who made one of the game’s big plays when he batted down a pass to hold Auburn to a field goal instead of a touchdown that would have given the Tigers a double-digit lead.

“Very similar. They’re both young guys. They’re both really fast guys. They’re both track guys. They’re both pretty good tacklers. Eric’s played well in the moments he’s gotten to play in the game. And a lot of getting to play in our games is based on how you practice, so we see 2,000 snaps and you guys see 20 snaps,” Smart said.

“He’s done a really good job in the snaps he’s been in the game, and he continues to improve, and we’re really fired up about the way he’s been able to play. He’s one of the brightest kids. You teach him something, he knows it and he applies it to the game. And the moment he’s been in the games, the two big games have not been too big for him.”

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