UGA football: What the offense needs to do differently in 2020

Make better personnel decisions

Sometimes, a good play call is made bad by having the wrong players on the field. UGA football experienced that numerous times in 2019. The most obvious bad personnel decision was the seldom use of running back James Cook.

It’s no secret how much Smart loves to watch Cook with the football. When asked about why Cook rarely received the football throughout 2020, Smart always had a “football” answer and never eluded to an issue with Cook himself. Smart even expressed to media that he wanted to get Cook the ball more often, but calls made by the defense made it difficult to get the ball to him.

But when Cook finished the 14-game 2019 season with only 320 yards of total offense, it’s hard to believe UGA football did everything it could to get Cook the ball. A lot of Brian Herrien’s touches, especially in the passing game, would have been more productive if given to Cook.

That’s not a knock on Herrien, he was a really good pass-catching running back, but he was at his best catching the ball downfield. Herrien lacked the speed, acceleration and quickness to make big plays from the flats. Cook is speed, acceleration and quickness. His proficiency in those areas is a big reason why he was a top-50 prospect. It’s understandable that he’ll occasionally be covered on those routes, but not so much that he ends the year with only 132 receiving yards.

Cook’s stable-mate Zamir White was the victim of poor personnel choices as well. White impressed everyone on his 72 carries, probably enough to deserve more than 72 carries. Overall, Todd Monken needs to do a better job deciding which play works best for each personnel group.