Georgia football: Players to watch this Saturday against South Carolina

Georgia football travels to Columbia tomorrow to play the South Carolina Gamecocks. Kickoff is at 3:30 and the game can be watched on CBS.

Georgia football has their first true test of the season tomorrow at South Carolina. The Gamecocks believe they have the team to beat Georgia and carry the momentum to a SEC East Championship. But Georgia has a National Championship on their mind. If the Dawgs are able to stave off the upset, it’ll be thanks to mighty performances from these five players.

Terry Godwin

Terry Godwin makes his 2018 debut this week. He’s battled a minor injury all through the preseason and the coaches were conservative with his usage, knowing what he means to the team. He’s now ready to go and that’s bad news for South Carolina.

The Dawgs have a playmaker of just about every archetype. Bruising running backs, scat backs, deep threats, check-down receivers. Godwin is the best route runner. He’s great at getting open inside or out. He’s also the best on fade routes. How many different weapons can the Gamecock defense handle. I’m willing to bet they can’t handle all of them and Godwin might be the most difficult to deal with.

D’Andre Walker

To slow down South Carolina’s offense, Georgia is going to need to rush the quarterback. That’s where D’Andre Walker comes in. He finishes second on last year’s team with 5.5 sacks and 13.5 tackles for a loss. And he did so as a backup.

Now he’s the no. 1 outside linebacker and carries expectations to increase on his 2017 totals. If he can live up to those expectations tomorrow, Jake Bentley will have a hard time sitting in the pocket, and the running backs won’t have an easy time gaining yards either.

Tyson Campbell

This is the player everyone needs to watch at all times. DeAndre Baker should do a decent job slowing down Deebo Samuel, but he’s not the only great receiver the Gamecocks have. Tyson Campbell will be tasked with taking on Bryan Edwards who has 1,383 receiving yards in two seasons. He’s not the playmaker that Samuel is, but he’s still a fantastic receiver and a huge test for Campbell.

Campbell did a good job in coverage last week, however Austin Peay has nowhere near the talent that Carolina has. But there’s a reason why the coaches didn’t cross train Campbell and chose him to start the season at corner. They believe in his ability to cover good receivers. Hopefully he can prove himself.

Elijah Holyfield

D’Andre Swift is already a superstar, but I think Elijah Holyfield has his coming out party this Saturday. The Gamecock defensive line is thin, especially at defensive tackle where they will rotate three true freshmen. Holyfield is the strongest back on the team, but he’s also very agile and has good speed as seen in his touchdown run last Saturday. Making him the last back the Gamecocks want to see.

If he has a good game, there’s no stopping Georgia’s offense. South Carolina will just be too tired to deal with anything the Dawgs throw at them on the ground or in the passing game. That could also lead to one more back having coming out party…

Jame Cook

Yes, the same James Cook who will miss the first half of the South Carolina game because of a targeting penalty. He will likely benefit the most from Holyfield wearing out Carolinas defense. Because he will be fresh, having barely broken a sweat before entering the game.

If the South Carolina defense is worn out after one half, imagine what someone of Cook’s explosiveness can accomplish. He’s so small, at 5’10 190 pounds, and he uses every bit of that size to become an elusive and agile runner. How can the Gamecocks catch him or even wrap him up with the advantages he’ll have tomorrow?