Georgia football: coaches looking for new slot receivers in 2019

Three of the five wide receivers departing from Georgia football played mostly as slot receivers. This spring, the coaches are looking for new players to fill that role.

No more Terry Godwin. No more Mecole Hardman. No more Ahkil Crumpton. Their departures have the Georgia coaches searching for new guys to play slot receiver. According to Georgia’s leading returning receiver Jeremiah Holloman, Kearis Jackson is the man at slot receiver right now.

Head coach Kirby Smart echoed that sentiment for Jackson, and went a bit further, saying a hamstring injury kept Jackson from playing more than four games. Thanks to the NCAA’s new redshirt rules adopted last year, Jackson enters 2019 as a redshirt freshman. Jackson ranked No. 130 overall as a high school prospect in the 2018 class by 247Sports Composite. The site also ranked him No. 23 among receivers and No. 16 in the state of Georgia.

Holloman says Jackson is a bigger version of Mecole Hardman. He praised the freshman’s route running and physicality. While Hardman was more of a speed and quickness type at the slot. The similarities are easy to spot. Both can get themselves open downfield, but they’re at their best after the catch. Hardman was a tough player to tackle because he was hard to catch. Jackson will be a hard player to stop because he can break tackles.

Georgia can’t just rely on Jackson in the slot. The coaches are trying to find the former two-time shot put State Champion from Peach County some help at the position. According to Holloman, walk-ons Jalen Johnson and Willie Erdman are practicing in the slot. He’s also lobbied to play the position some himself, which could help produce mismatches. Holloman was a difficult guy for cornerbacks to cover. Playing him in the slot would force defenses to decide whether to move a corner to play Holloman, or cover him with a nickel, linebacker or safety and hope for the best.

He also said Matt Landers and Demetris Robertson could play the position as well. Landers is an interesting player for the slot because of his height. Typically, teams put shorter and quicker receivers at the slot. But with Georgia’s philosophy of wanting receivers to be reliable blockers, at 6-5, Landers might be a good fit if he uses that size well as a blocker.

Robertson, at 6-foot even, is more of a prototypical slot receiver who plays out wide because of ability to get open deep down field. He has blazing speed, dangerous quickness and good hands to make those skills useful. He is a former five-star after all. If another deep threat emerges, Georgia could have something special on their hands with Robertson in the slot. Both could run deep routes on the same side of the field and put a lot of pressure on a safety to make the right decision or give up a touchdown. Robertson can also run jet sweeps from the slot.

Georgia also has running back James Cook who played a lot at slot last year. He brings another dynamic to the position. Like Robertson, he can run jet sweeps. But since he’s a running back, he’s expected to be a strong blockers. With four solid receivers on the team, Cook will certainly play a lot in the slot.

Those are the guys working at the position right now. When the team returns to practicing later this summer, they’ll have the nations No. 5 wide receiver Dominick Blaylock on campus. Like Robertson and Godwin before him, Blaylock is a prototypical slot receiver. Speed and quickness for quick routes and yards after the catch, and Blaylock has the deep threat potential of those players as well. Georgia may have only slot receiver spot locked in at the moment, but when the 2019 season begins, that position might be among the deepest on the field.