ATHENS, Ga. – Georgia will be facing Tennessee’s fourth offensive coordinator in as many seasons Saturday night when the No. 3 Bulldogs challenge the struggling Volunteers in Neyland Stadium.
This one will be a bit different.
Recent Vols offensive coordinators Mike DeBord, Larry Scott and Tyson Helton never had coached in the Southeastern Conference before arriving in Knoxville, but current Tennessee play-caller Jim Chaney spent the past three seasons at Georgia before switching league locales in January. Chaney became Georgia’s first offensive coordinator to work immediately at another SEC school since George Haffner, who coached the Bulldogs from 1980 to 1990 before guiding LSU’s offenses in 1991-92.
Tennessee second-year coach Jeremy Pruitt lured Chaney with a $1.5 million annual salary, instantly adding a unique angle to Saturday’s showdown.
“We’re kind of prepared on defense,” Bulldogs fifth-year senior inside linebacker Tae Crowder said this week. “We know Coach Chaney will probably come out and show us a lot of unbalanced stuff and mess with our defense, just because I know he’ll try to out-scheme us. We’re just going to stick with what we know and execute.”
Chaney had true freshman starting quarterbacks in each of his first two seasons at Georgia, with Jacob Eason grabbing the reins in 2016 and Jake Fromm the following season, when Eason went down with a knee injury in the opener. The Bulldogs were mediocre offensively for much of 2016, averaging 384.7 yards a game, but produced a notable uptick during the 2017 season, when running backs Nick Chubb and Sony Michel returned for their senior seasons.
Both Chubb and Michel rushed for more than 1,000 yards two years ago, when Georgia averaged 435.3 yards per game in winning its first SEC title in 12 seasons and reaching the championship game of the four-team playoff. Chaney may have been even more impressive last season, when D’Andre Swift and Elijah Holyfield became another 1,000-yard tandem on an offense that averaged 464.9 yards a game.
Fromm finished ninth nationally in passing efficiency as a freshman and fifth as a sophomore, but his superior those two seasons is now wearing orange.
“It will be interesting,” Fromm said. “It should be really good for our defense, because they know a lot about what he does in his system, but he also knows a lot about us and what we do here. We just have to do what we do a little better than what they do.”
Georgia fourth-year coach Kirby Smart replaced Chaney by promoting quarterbacks coach James Coley, who coached receivers during the 2016-17 seasons before switching to quarterbacks last year. Chaney oversaw quarterbacks in 2016-17 before moving to tight ends last year in addition to his coordinating role.
When Smart was asked about the Chaney dynamic this week, he responded by saying it’s an overblown storyline.
“I think there’s a lot more to it in your guys’ stories than there is in real life,” Smart said. “It’s going to boil down to which guy blocks properly and which guy covers properly, because there are no secrets. We know what they do, and they know what we do, and that’s the case every week. That’s what the tape is for.
“At the end of the day, the players have to go out and execute. They have to play with a passion and energy and enthusiasm to beat the guy across from him and not make it about what our defensive coordinator calls or what their offensive coordinator calls. I just don’t think that matters a whole lot.”
Ojulari family
Redshirt freshman outside linebacker Azeez Ojulari is among Georgia’s bright, young stars, having started all four games this season and having totaled 11 tackles, nine quarterback pressures and 1.5 sacks.
His younger brother, BJ Ojulari, is a four-star defensive end from Marietta who is among Tennessee’s top three commitments for its 2020 signing class.
“It’s going to be a good one,” Ojulari said, smiling, when asked about BJ’s plans this weekend. “I know he is going to be there, and my parents are going to be there. We’re still trying to change his mind.
“I know he’s going to be rooting for me and the Vols. We’ll see how it plays out.”
Odds and ends
Sophomore cornerback Tyson Campbell (foot) was unable to practice again Tuesday, and Smart said it will be more of a mental than a physical challenge for redshirt junior left guard Solomon Kindley (ankle) to get significant playing time in Knoxville. … Smart on whether he views Tennessee as a dangerous team: “I think every team is dangerous. When I’m watching college football every Saturday, every team is dangerous. You’re dealing with 18-to-22-year-olds whose minds are not where your mind is. My mind is there 98% of the time. Their minds are there probably 5 to 10% of the time. Every team is dangerous, starting with Tennessee.”
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524.