There were a lot of impressive highlights from Georgia football's week one win over Marshall last Saturday. But those big plays that will be replayed all week by Georgia fans is not what stood out to Kirby Smart.
Smart was asked during his postgame press conference what his favorite moments were from this game, and he chose two plays that Georgia fans probably didn't even notice.
"You know, my probably best moment was when Thomas Blackshear caught the ball, there were 12 receivers on the sidelines celebrating that catch," Smart shared via 247sports.com. "We had 15 defensive linemen hugging a walk-on defensive lineman, [Clinton] Barlow, who's taken 1,000 snaps on the scout team and never gotten to play really in a game and make a tackle, and he made a tackle. So the connection, the energy, and the enthusiasm on the sideline of cheering for others, what we call Mudita, I thought that was the best part of the game."
Georgia has a special bond this season
When asked what his favorite moments from this game were, Smart could have chosen the big plays Gunner Stockton made with his legs. He also could have mentioned the three massive receptions transfer wide receiver Zachariah Branch hauled in. But that's not what Smart mentioned. Smart chose to share two pretty insignificant moments to the game itself because it showed how close his team already is to each other.
Thomas Blackshear hauled in just one catch against Marshall, but every wide recevier on the sideline celebrated like they just won the Super Bowl when he came down with the ball. Even better was when defensive lineman Clinton Barlow recorded the first tackle of his career after living on the scout team the past few years and seeing the reaction from the entire defense.
While these moments didn't have any impact on the outcome of the game, these reactions showed Georgia fans just how connected this team is this season. And that could be the difference between winning championships this season or falling short of their goals.