ATHENS, Ga. — On Saturday, the Georgia football team wrapped up its spring season with the annual G-Day spring game. In this year’s edition of the intrasquad scrimmage, the Black team — manned primarily by members of the Bulldogs’ first team defense — defeated the Jake Fromm-led Red team 21-13.
Here are some notes and highlights from the game:
Quarterback battle disappoints:
The G-Day duel between quarterbacks Fromm and freshman Justin Fields was one of the most highly anticipated events of the entire spring. But in a day that was largely dominated by defense, neither of the young signal callers did much to dazzle the more than 80,000 fans that packed Sanford Stadium. There were highs, such as Fields’ 15-yard dime to Matt Landers and Fromm’s 57-yard bomb to Riley Ridley, but neither the Red team nor the Black team ever got much going on offense at any point in the game. Fields flashed his impressive arm strength at times, but overthrew his receivers on a number of occasions.
Fromm finished the game completing just 50 percent of his passes and throwing for only 200 yards to go along with a touchdown and two picks. Fields hit on 18 of his 33 attempts for 207 yards with a score and an interception of his own. Neither made up much ground on the other in terms of winning the starting job in Saturday’s scrimmage. Following the game, head coach Kirby Smart said the pass heavy game plan for both sides made the offenses predictable, which may have led to the poor performances from the two quarterbacks.
Isaiah Wilson leads competition for right tackle:
With last year’s left tackle Isaiah Wynn moving on to the NFL, there was naturally going to be a shakeup along Georgia’s offensive line. It was expected that sophomore Andrew Thomas would make the switch from right to left tackle in Wynn’s absence, which he did in Saturday’s scrimmage. But the vacated right tackle spot was much more of an uncertainty. On Saturday, Isaiah Wilson started at right tackle with the Red team’s first unit, so it appears, for now, that Wilson has control of the job.
However, Dyshon Sims started at right tackle in last year’s spring game before eventually ceding the position to Thomas later in the fall. Wilson appears to be the favorite for now, but the status of Georgia’s offensive line is still subject to change as the season draws closer.
Secondary surprises:
It was a trying offseason for Georgia’s secondary, as last year’s starters Dominick Sanders and Malkom Parish moved on to the next level and potential starters Mark Webb and Divaad Wilson both suffered knee injuries in practice that prevented them from playing on G-Day. But despite the setbacks, the Black team’s secondary play was one of the highlights of the day, as the unit held presumed starting quarterback Jake Fromm to just 19 completions on 38 attempts for 200 yards. Fromm hit on one long touchdown, but he was intercepted twice.
Black team defensive backs Deandre Baker, Richard LeCounte III and William Poole each came away with an interception from the scrimmage, and LeCounte could have easily finished the day with three picks, as he had two more catchable balls go through his hands.