Georgia receiver Godwin 'up and down' according to Smart

Sophomore Terry Godwin is Georgia's top returning receiver after catching 35 passes for 379 yards and two touchdowns last season.
Sophomore Terry Godwin is Georgia's top returning receiver after catching 35 passes for 379 yards and two touchdowns last season.

Terry Godwin had a nice freshman season as a Georgia receiver, but he has a new coach who has worked in practice against the likes of Julio Jones, Amari Cooper and Calvin Ridley.

So forgive Kirby Smart for not heaping praise this month on the 5-foot-11, 174-pounder from Hogansville, Ga.

"To be honest, I've seen Terry up and down," Smart said this week in a news conference. "I know the athlete Terry is, and I know the athlete Terry can be. Terry needs to get a little more consistency, and I tell him that every day.

"He needs to block with the same vigor he runs a route with, and he has to do take-offs and all the little fundamentals just as hard as he does when he's getting the ball."

Godwin is Georgia's top returning receiver after catching 35 passes for 379 yards and two touchdowns last season. The nation's top athlete prospect in the 2015 signing class according to Rivals.com also had seven rushes for 47 yards, including a 28-yard touchdown sprint against Kentucky, and he threw a 44-yard touchdown pass to Malcolm Mitchell in the 24-17 win over Penn State in the TaxSlayer Bowl.

His scoring throw and a 17-yard touchdown reception from Greyson Lambert earned Godwin bowl MVP honors that could serve as a springboard to this season, but the change in coaching staffs did have him feeling like a freshman again at the start of preseason camp.

"Earlier this month it was kind of the same thing, because we were getting new terminology," Godwin told reporters this week. "Now everything is kind of slowing down for everyone. We're all out there to do one thing, and that's to get the job done."

Mitchell, who is currently sidelined with a dislocated elbow as a member of the New England Patriots, was Georgia's clear-cut top receiver a year ago. In fact, his 58 catches were more than the team's next three receivers - Godwin (35), Reggie Davis (12) and Isaiah McKenzie (10) - combined.

Davis and McKenzie are back along with sophomores Michael Chigbu and Jayson Stanley on an offense that is deep at tight end and has proven pass-catchers in the backfield with tailbacks Nick Chubb and Sony Michel. The Bulldogs averaged 185.1 passing yards a game last season, which was the lowest for the program since averaging 184.4 in 2006, when Joe Tereshinski, Joe Cox and freshman Matthew Stafford took turns as the starting quarterback.

"We have good talent in the receiving room and in the team room," Godwin said. "We're just trying to come together as one, but I feel like we have talent everywhere."

Whether Godwin can be an elite talent in the neighborhood of that Tuscaloosa trio of Jones, Cooper and Ridley remains to be seen.

"Terry can't be a great player until he does all those little things," Smart said, "and he's not doing all of them right now."

Readying Rochester

Bulldogs freshman defensive lineman Julian Rochester's biggest claim to fame since enrolling early was getting arrested in April for shooting a BB gun in a campus dorm. The 6-5, 327-pounder from the Atlanta suburb of Powder Springs could be on the verge of making more positive headlines.

"We're getting Julian ready to play," Smart said. "Julian is a guy who is going to provide great depth for us. He's lost a lot of weight and works really hard. He's done everything we've asked him to do since the incident."

Odds and ends

Freshman quarterback Jacob Eason was working with the first team for a second consecutive day in the portion of Thursday's practice that was open to the media. Thursday's practice barely lasted 30 minutes due to thunderstorms. Smart has been impressed with how quickly Rhode Island graduate transfer offensive tackle Tyler Catalina has picked up the offense.

Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@times freepress.com or 423-544-4749.

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