Georgia football: players to watch in tomorrow’s game against Georgia Tech
Georgia football hosts the Yellow Jackets tomorrow for senior day. The Dawgs can secure their second-straight 11-win regular season tomorrow.
Georgia football still controls their own destiny on the route to the playoffs. But a loss to Georgia Tech will wreck the Dawgs and possibly end their championship dreams. To prevent a painful upset, these players will need to be at their best.
J.R. Reed
J.R. Reed is one of the best tacklers in the nation. He’ll need to be against the triple option. Georgia will rely on him to fly from sideline-to-sideline to stop the option on the outside, and to help plug up the middle of the field against fullback dive. Expect to see Reed play almost like a fifth linebacker on many plays.
Tyrique McGhee
If Georgia needs Reed to play closer to his normal safety position, it will also turn to Tyrique McGhee to stop the option. His primary position is nickelback, but against the triple option, he’ll play like a smaller, faster and sleeker linebacker. He’ll have to play inside and out, but mostly, he’ll be the unblocked man on the outside. There will come times when it’s up to McGhee to force the quarterback to make a quick decision.
Natrez Patrick and Tae Crowder
Without Monty Rice in the lineup, Natrez Patrick and Tae Crowder can’t take any plays off. Their first job will be to stop the dive if that’s the option Tech chooses. If the Jackets keep the play outside, they have to be on the chase to prevent big plays when the quarterback chooses to keep or pitch.
Jake Fromm and his receivers
Georgia Tech doesn’t have a great defense, but their pass defense has more issues than the run defense. They’ve given up at least 200 passing yards in eight games this year, but they haven’t seen a group of receivers like Georgia’s. The Dawgs have the big physical J.J. Holloman; quick and dangerous Mecole Hardman; inside slasher Terry Godwin; and all-around threat Riley Ridley.
Of course, you cannot forget about the tight end Isaac Nauta, and running back D’Andre Swift. Both are good receiving targets by themselves. Jake Fromm shouldn’t have any issues slinging the ball against the Jackets.