Georgia Football: What to expect from Austin Peay
Players to watch
Can I say that the star for Austin Peay is probably their head coach? Seriously Will Healy is one of the youngest head coaches in college football and he’s turned around a desperate program. He’s going to be a guy who gets a bigger job one day. Quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall is also worth keeping an eye on. He passed for over 200 yards against UCF and he’s certainly a talented dual-threat QB. The Dawgs are going to take on a few of those this season and so he should be a decent test for them to get their season started.
With Williams injured, the Governors will heavily relay on Ahmaad Tanner at running back. He’s either the 1a or 1b option anyway, so they will at least still have an experienced and capable back that they can hand the ball to. The issue will be that Tanner did well when splitting carries with Williams last year. Does Austin Peay have another player that can step in for Williams or is Tanner going to be expected to carry a heavier load against UGA? If it’s the latter, it’s going to be hard for him to wear down a talented Georgia defense.
From a defensive perspective, the Dawgs will need to watch Jaison Williams. The Defensive end accounted for 9.5 sacks last season and 4 forced fumbles. He’s the most impactful player on the Governor’s defense and the Dawgs will need to stop him. Protecting Jake Fromm and Justin Fields will be important for the OL against this opponent. They will have a much bigger challenge going up against SC in week 2.
The game this week is expected to be a blowout. But don’t sleep on Austin Peay because they do have some talented players who are capable of putting together drives and scoring touchdowns. I wouldn’t predict a shutout by any means and there’s a good chance that you’ll heard these three names called quite a bit.