Georgia football: was the play calling at LSU an attempt to bring Haselwood back?

(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)
(Photo by Andy Lyons/Getty Images)

Georgia football is off today after a loss to LSU. The Dawgs travel to Jacksonville next week to play the Florida Gators. That game will help determine the SEC Eastern Division Championship.

Contrary to what many may believe, Georgia football is not out of the hunt for no. 1 wide receiver Jadon Haselwood. The Cedar Grove standout decommitted from Georgia a few weeks ago and reopened his recruitment after a 19-month-long commitment.

Dawgnation writer Jeff Sentel recently got some information from Haselwood regarding his recruitment. Haselwood, like all high school stars has one primary goal for the rest of their prep football career; get to the NFL. And he wants to attend a school that can get him to the pros. And to get there, he knows he needs to stand out and be a focal point of whatever offense he plays in.

Before Haselwood’s decommittment, Georgia quarterback Jake Fromm averaged just 18 passes per game, and the Dawgs lack a true no. 1 receiver. Five receivers have at least 10 catches, and senior Terry Godwin is up to seven grabs after finally recovering from an ankle injury. Not only that, Georgia’s receivers are asked to be good blockers in order to even see meaningful playing time. It’s why Tyler Simmons and Jayson Stanley have beaten out Ahkil Crumton and Demetris Robertson for playing time.

That brings us to Baton Rouge, in the game against LSU, where Fromm threw a career-high 34 passes. A strategy that seemed odd considering Georgia had success on the ground in the first quarter before abandoning the running game. The score didn’t become lopsided until the fourth quarter, so it’s not like Georgia needed to get into a hurry.

Was the expanded focus on the passing game a ploy to impress Haselwood? He plans on signing in the early signing period, leaving Georgia with just two months to bring him back into the 2019 class.