Georgia football: Top performers from the Appalachian State game.

The entire defense

It would be impossible to single out anyone on defense, they had one of the best performances in recent years. Appalachian State’s option run game led by Taylor Lamb is dangerous, but big plays were kept to a minimum.

For most of the night, their run game was stopped at the line. That front seven with players like Roquan Smith and Trenton Thompson stuffed everything up the middle. Then transfer J.R. Reed and other defensive backs forced outside runs back inside.

The passing game was also contained and it never seemed like the defense fell for any play-fakes. Overall, there just isn’t anything to complain about.

Yeah, Appalachian State doesn’t have SEC talent, but they’re a well coached team that understands their identity on offense and runs their scheme well. If Georgia puts together 11 games like that on defense, this is going to be a special season for the Bulldogs.

But to recognize a few players:

Trenton Thompson: Six tackles, two for a loss, one sack. Thompson is a run stopper, been that for his entire career at Georgia. But as the 2016 season ended, he developed into a pass rusher. He continued that this week with one sack.

Roquan Smith: Six tackles. As a middle linebacker, the expectation for Smith is to run all over the field to get to the ball carriers. He certainly did so against the Mountaineers.

J.R. Reed: Five tackles, one sack. Reed is a transfer from Tulsa, but he played like he’s been a Bulldog his whole career. The defensive back was always around the ball. If he wasn’t making the tackle, he was breaking up passes or forcing running backs back into the middle of the field where they landed in the grasp of a lineman or backer. Impressive first night in the red and black.