Georgia spring game takeaways: Defense flexes, offense shrugs (2024)

ATHENS, Ga. — The usual asterisks abound: It’s a spring game. The stadium where it was played was nearly half shut off because of construction, a crane hovering over the north end.

And it ended in a tie. Even with a good meal at stake — literally, steak, to the winners — Georgia head coach Kirby Smart declined to let one team go for two in the final minute and the win because he didn’t want to put a two-point play on tape for Clemson or other actual future opponents.

So, really, what can you take away from this?

Well, a bit actually. The Bulldogs defense might deserve more confidence. The offense may still be very good, but it got a public kick in the butt. Here’s what we can glean from Georgia’s spring game Saturday, plus what was learned the previous five weeks.

Defense: ‘Run fast and hit hard’

This is an intriguing unit, loaded with potential, capable of being very good, but still with plenty of concerns. It finished strong on Saturday, the first-team defense getting the best of the first-team offense for most of the game.

“I feel like we won the day in a way,” junior Mykel Williams said. “It’s definitely not up to the standards because we gave up 20 points. But I feel like we held our own today.”

Williams looked very good at outside linebacker, tipping a Carson Beck pass and picking it off. CJ Allen had the middle nailed down and had an interception of his own. Gabe Harris flew around at defensive end. Joenel Aguero looked solid at nickel back. There were a lot of good moments for those young backups. And although the defensive line wasn’t tested much, it wasn’t run over much, and it got a decent push against the pass.

The defense looked fast, which was the word junior linebacker Jalon Walker used when asked to describe their identity this year.

“I know we’ll run fast and hit hard,” Walker said. “That’s one of our core traits. Toughness. We’re connected as well. But going out there today and having fun, flying around. Our identity will be made up throughout summer and going towards our first game against Clemson.”

Williams, playing his new position of outside linebacker, brought length and athleticism. He also played some defensive end. And he’s been healthy, which is the first thing Smart mentioned when asked about Williams.

“I explained to him, if you want to have a really good year, you have to have a really good camp,” Smart said. “He’s kind of bought into that. Practicing good makes you better. It’s not his fault he’s been injured. But you can’t play good if you don’t practice. So I thought he had a really good spring.”

So did the entire defense, apparently. And this was without three key starters: safety Malaki Starks, linebacker Smael Mondon and end Tyrion Ingram-Dawkins.

“We’ve done pretty well throughout the spring,” sophom*ore cornerback Daylen Everette said. “Some days the offense had us, and some days we had them. We just kept going back and forth. We made each other better every day. It showed out there: Tie ballgame in the spring game.”

Receivers: Deep and talented

This was already known, but seeing it on display brought it home. Even without Brock Bowers and Ladd McConkey, Georgia will have a variety of good options and skill sets, and won’t be reliant on one or two receivers.

Dominic Lovett (104 yards on seven catches) is taken for granted because he has been around for a year, but he was the team’s second-leading receiver in 2023 and again looks to be one of Beck’s favorite targets.

Miami transfer Colbie Young is a big body and can make the tough catches: He had a third-down completion to move the sticks and a touchdown on a short pattern. Dillon Bell and Rara Thomas are both dangerous on the outside. The tight ends can get into space, with Lawson Luckie grabbing an 18-yarder.

Sacovie White, the freshman who earned some spring buzz, scored the go-ahead touchdown for the Black team in the fourth quarter, taking a short pass from Gunner Stockton and waltzing down the right sideline for 26 yards. Freshman Anthony Evans, playing for the second team, had 75 yards on three catches.

“There’s a lot of different ways we can attack a defense,” Beck said. “Obviously helps us as an offense immensely. And there’s a lot of different guys that are going to make plays. The good thing about it is all of them are very selfless, so they’re going to give their 100 percent then they’re going to be happy for the next guy if they don’t make the play, because they know the next time around the ball may be coming to them.”

Running backs: Hopeful

The tailbacks have drawn more uncertainty, a product mostly of inexperience but also of Trevor Etienne’s arrest last month on a DUI charge. He will likely be suspended for at least a game early in the year, but on Saturday he showed what he can do on the field: some good runs, plus value in the passing game, with 33 yards on three catches.

Smart agreed with the comparison to D’Andre Swift and James Cook, two tailbacks who could do damage in the passing game.

“He’s a good back,” Smart said. “He’s explosive, he’s quick, he’s in and out of the hole. The guy’s been a good SEC player for two years. It’s not like he’s a freshman. He’s a really good player, a really good kid, and I’ve been proud of how he’s handled everything since his (arrest).”

Left tackle Earnest Greene lauded Etienne’s presence around the team.

“He’s a guy off the field great for the locker room,” Greene said. “Really a glue guy. He brings that energy, big smiles and everything in the locker room. He’s really good personality-wise for the team. But on the field, guys know what he can do, he’s a really good back, really explosive, really good eyes, good vision. Trying to set up the holes and everything.”

What about when Etienne isn’t in the game? Sophom*ore Roderick Robinson offered up some hope, showing the ability to barrel through tackles. Redshirt sophom*ore Andrew Paul had a nice 16-yard run to near the goal line. Freshman Chauncey Bowens (22 yards on five carries for the second team) also looked big and quick.

Quarterbacks: Up and down

Beck did not have the best day, throwing two interceptions and missing on some deep balls. But he also threw it 46 times, the offense intentionally airing it out and taking more chances. Georgia knows what it has in Beck, who had the nation’s third-most passing yards last year, and wanted more to see what it has in its receivers.

Beck was asked how much stock he put in G-Day.

“Honestly not a lot,” Beck said. “It’s just a glorified scrimmage. It’s more for fun. Come out here to Sanford, play here in front of the fans. … Go out there, see what the guys can do, maybe try some things you haven’t done, see maybe if I can do this in a game, throw this a certain way.”

The fans didn’t get to see freshman Ryan Puglisi, who has been dealing with a lingering knee issue. Redshirt sophom*ore Gunner Stockton, the No. 2 quarterback, had some good moments, throwing for 246 yards, mostly against the backup defense. He also had an interception.

Stockton’s first pass was a deep ball caught by Evans for 54 yards, with freshman safety KJ Bolden beat one-on-one. Bolden made up for it the next drive by coming up to get a stop on third-and-short.

“The offense probably didn’t have as good a day as it’s had in the (other) two scrimmages,” Smart said. “But some of that was dictated by the terms with which we scrimmaged, which was passing, loose plays. I think they did a nice job of handling that in the second half. But overall I don’t evaluate things based on today.”

Depth and the portal

The spring game is always a big recruiting weekend, and shortly after the game, Georgia got a commitment from edge rusher Darren Ikinnagbon, a four-star recruit out of Hillside, N.J. He’s the seventh member of Georgia’s 2025 class.

Ikinnagbon is No. 154 overall in the 247Sports composite rankings, the 19th-ranked defensive lineman. Some outlets have him as an outside linebacker, some a defensive end — either way Georgia appears to consider him an edge rusher.

There could be other commitments soon. But much of the focus now turns to the transfer portal, with the spring window opening on Tuesday. Georgia will likely target a veteran quarterback to compete with Stockton and Puglisi, and it would still love another big body on the defensive line.

As for who may leave, the receiver and defensive back groups are particularly deep, so it wouldn’t be surprising to see anyone at that position go into the portal. And keep in mind that with NCAA transfer rules temporarily kaput via court injunction, anybody can leave, including players that just transferred in this winter.

The only rule really on the books is the SEC’s, which prevents players from transferring within the conference during this window without sitting out a season.

“We’ll see what happens,” Smart said. “I can’t predict the portal, or try to. I’m worried about our guys, and retention.”

He was later asked his level of concern over teams coming after his players.

“Do you want to be here, or do you not. Because they know how we do things by now. They all know,” Smart said. “They say that was the easiest practice we’ve had all spring. So they enjoyed it thoroughly. If guys want to be somewhere else, I have no control over that.”

(Photo: Dale Zanine / USA Today)