Spring football statistics can be misleading on occasion, but that isn’t tempering the optimism Georgia receivers are expressing for the upcoming season.
While Saturday’s announced attendance of 93,000 at Sanford Stadium was anything but inflated given that some fans left when there were no more seats available, the passing totals were a bit extravagant. The Bulldogs averaged just 185.1 passing yards per game last season but had 657 aerial yards at G-Day, with talented freshman quarterback Jacob Eason alone throwing for 244.
Enhancing the passing game is among the many goals for new Georgia coach Kirby Smart, who was Alabama’s defensive coordinator last October when the Crimson Tide held the Bulldogs to 106 yards through the air and collected three interceptions in the 38-10 cakewalk.
“We did a good job of executing the offense for the most part,” Smart said Saturday. “I challenged both offenses to throw with some timing, and I thought they did that.”
The Bulldogs are having to develop a passing attack without a decided starting quarterback and without a reliable veteran at wide receiver. Malcolm Mitchell is preparing for next week’s NFL draft after a senior season with 58 receptions, which were more than the next three wide receivers – Terry Godwin (35), Reggie Davis (12) and Isaiah McKenzie (10) – had combined a year ago.