ATHENS, Ga. - In their biggest game of the college football season so far, the Georgia Bulldogs turned to their biggest receiver when it mattered most.
Lawrence Cager, a 6-foot-5, 220-pound graduate transfer from the University of Miami, was Jake Fromm's top target last Saturday night during the 23-17 victory over Notre Dame at Sanford Stadium. Cager caught five passes for 82 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown reception early in the fourth quarter that provided the Bulldogs a 20-10 lead.
Four of Cager's catches came in the second half, when the Bulldogs erased a 10-7 deficit at the break.
"Jake and I have been building this relationship since the start of summer and all through camp, and now you're seeing that it's paying off," Cager said after the game. "As any newcomer, when you feel like your quarterback has your trust, that brings a lot to your confidence. There have been a lot of times lately when I've known what the coverage was, and Jake just throws it up and lets me make a play.
"That just builds more and more trust."
Cager and his imposing frame occasionally got overlooked in the weeks leading up to this season, when much of Georgia's receiver rebuild focused on returning players such as Demetris Robertson and Tyler Simmons or the heralded freshman tandem of Dominick Blaylock and George Pickens.
It has been a position of incredible balance through four games, with Cager (10 receptions for 139 yards) and Robertson (10 for 92) leading the Bulldogs in catches and with Blaylock (nine for 179) and Pickens (nine for 162) leading them in yardage.
"Both of those young guys are willing to work," Cager said. "They haven't come in with egos. They've come in willing to work and willing to do what the coaches ask, whether that's to block or play on special teams.
"They're putting in the work, and they're reaping the benefits."
Cager's jump from one Power Five conference program to another has been equally impressive.
In his last two seasons with the Hurricanes, Cager compiled 37 receptions for 611 yards and nine touchdowns. He announced Georgia as his transfer destination in February.
"It was a no-brainer for us," Bulldogs coach Kirby Smart said. "You go play with a quarterback who's played at a place that has a deficit of receivers. It was a great match."
That Cager has competed for Smart and Mark Richt, who was Georgia's coach from 2001 to 2015 and Miami's coach the next three seasons, puts him in the company of Georgia's fifth-year seniors such as kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, defensive tackle Michael Barnett and middle linebacker Tae Crowder.
"With Coach Richt having come from Georgia, he taught the same things Coach Kirby does," Cager said. "He talked about discipline and doing your job and being physical. It's really the same, but playing SEC ball is just a little bit tougher."
Cager had two catches for 41 yards in the opening 30-6 win at Vanderbilt, and he collected his first touchdown for Georgia late in the first half of the 55-0 drubbing of Arkansas State. The Bulldogs would have survived just fine without him in those first three games, but last Saturday night provided a very different setting.
After Notre Dame capitalized on a Georgia fumble to take a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter, the Bulldogs drove to the 23-yard line of the Fighting Irish, where they faced third-and-9. Fromm threw a back-shoulder pass that Cager hauled in while falling out of bounds for a 14-yard gain to the 9, and a 3-yard touchdown run by D'Andre Swift two plays later tied the game.
Cager had a 38-yard reception on the first play of the fourth quarter and scored moments later to give the Bulldogs a 10-point lead, reflecting Georgia's most meaningful aerial stretch of the season. His effective blocking has been recognized by Smart all season, offering further proof that Cager's transition has been a smooth one.
"It hasn't really been tough," Cager said. "It's just a matter of getting acclimated to stuff here and how we practice here now as opposed to how we practiced at Miami. I've got things under my belt now and am rolling and just doing what the coaches ask me to do."
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6524. Follow him on Twitter @DavidSPaschall.