Georgia Football has to move forward without Natrez Patrick

Reggie Carter becomes much more important

Carter has been a fantastic no.3 ILB for Georgia this year. His ability to come in and sub for Smith and Patrick has been invaluable. He has been able to fill either role and play alongside both. That has meant that they have had the chance to get a rest whenever they have needed it.

A concussion kept him out of last weeks game and that means we don’t really know when he will be back. Concussions are always tricky and he could be out for a week or a month. What is certain right now is that the team really needs him back ASAP. That’s especially true when the team faces Florida in two weeks.

As a senior, Carter has been a valuable leader to this team. He has been a selfless player who has often done what the team needs to help them win. While I certainly hope he doesn’t come back before he is ready, we really do need him to be back and ready to start.

As hard as Juwan Taylor and Monty Rice played last week, there is no doubt that UGA needs an older head in there. That’s mainly because without him, Smith needs to play even more. Carter knows how to make the calls and so can sub in for Smith. If he’s out, we risk exposing our most important defensive player to a whole lot more snaps than he needs. That’s a risk I’d rather not take, especially with so many important games left to play.