Johnson makes the most of first Georgia start

photo Georgia defensive lineman Toby Johnson rushes against South Carolina.

Georgia defensive players experienced more frustration than jubilation in Saturday's 38-35 loss at South Carolina, but junior defensive end Toby Johnson isn't coming away unhappy.

Making his first career start for the Bulldogs, Johnson tallied three tackles, including a stop of tailback Mike Davis for a 5-yard loss. That tackle occurred on South Carolina's third offensive possession, which was also when the 6-foot-4, 300-pounder made his biggest mistake with a roughing-the-passer penalty on Dylan Thompson.

"Toby played hard," Bulldogs coach Mark Richt said in Tuesday's news conference. "Of course, he did have a roughing-the-passer one time, but he played with a lot of energy. He was in the backfield a good bit, and he probably produced the most pass rush getting matched up on a guard.

"He gave them a hard time, and we thought he practiced with the type of energy that it takes to play like that."

A hard time is what Johnson had experienced since November 2012, when he required knee surgery after a Hutchinson (Kan.) Community College playoff game. He had entered that season ranked No. 1 among junior-college prospects and had racked up 87 tackles and 17 tackles for loss before the injury.

Johnson picked Georgia over Auburn and Mississippi State last year and wound up playing a reserve role for the Bulldogs last season, tallying seven tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss in 10 games.

"Getting to start meant a lot to me, because it felt like forever since I had my last one," Johnson said this week by phone. "It meant a lot to me that people have trust in me. My teammates were rallying around me, and my coaches did a good job of motivating me and letting me know that I could do it.

"I'm a year-and-a-half off of surgery, and I'm back in good shape. I'm football-ready again."

Helping Johnson get fit for this season was new Bulldogs defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt and new defensive line coach Tracy Rocker. Georgia's defensive staff made several players lose weight, including Johnson, who said he played at 315 last year and briefly got up to 320 after the season.

"This summer was a grind," Johnson said. "I did not like having to give up hot wings."

The arrival of a new defensive staff also wiped the slate clean as far as even the most experienced players having to reclaim their starting positions. Georgia is rotating more among the defensive front and at linebacker compared to recent seasons, but Johnson isn't planning to let go of his starting spot.

For this week's game against Troy, Johnson has been named the defensive captain.

"Coach Rocker's thing with him has been, 'Show me in practice, and you'll get to play,'" Richt said. "I think Coach Rocker has done a good job of motivating Toby to do things right on a daily basis, and it paid off for him. Now he's being rewarded with being captain for the ball game."

A ball game that could serve as atonement for last weekend.

"I was pretty happy with my performance, but there were some more plays I should have made in the backfield," Johnson said. "We played decent, but not up to the way Georgia should play. You can't give up that many yards in an SEC game or in any game.

"We've got one of the best defensive coordinators in the country and one of the best defensive line coaches, so we're going to go back to the drawing board and get things done and get things right."

Odds and ends

Freshman tailback Nick Chubb (thumb surgery) sat out Wednesday's two-hour workout, but Richt told reporters he would not be surprised to see him play Saturday. ... Richt on his Bulldogs after last week's heartbreaking loss: "I see a bunch of guys moving on. It's hard to do, but it's what you've got to do." ... Richt said former tailback J.J. Green is competing for time in the secondary, though he didn't play on defense last week.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.

Upcoming Events