He enters the season with no starting experience.
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Georgia running back, Nick Chubb (27) turns to carry the ball upfield after receiving a handoff. The Bulldogs finished the season 10-3 (5-3 SEC), but never truly recovered from his injury at Tennessee.
“No starter has been named”, Smart told reporters. It’s rarely, if ever, a question of talent for the Bulldogs. Michel also fractured his forearm this past July, which could affect his ball protection and his presence in the game is doubtful.
Defensive end isn’t the only position with uncertainty heading into the season opener. As the season gets closer, Eason is reportedly getting more first-team snaps than Lambert, but no official decision has been announced.
The ripples of this suspension can be felt throughout the football team on many different sides of the ball. Sophomore Terry Godwin is the leading returning receiver, and he had only 379 yards last season.
Switzer is a special-teams menace as well, having already set an Atlantic Coast Conference career mark with seven punt returns for touchdowns. While McKenzie hasn’t broken out at receiver yet, he’s shown off his impressive speed as a kick return and running option for the Bulldogs over the past two seasons. Between the defensive line committee and the inside linebackers – Natrez Patrick, Roquan Smith and Reggie Carter – Georgia will have to make sure Hood is contained up the middle. The 40-year old helped run Alabama’s defense alongside head coach Nick Saban for eight years, resulting in four national championships. It is a group that is long on talent but one that is short on experience. But the Bulldogs were even better, ranking first in the nation with 156.5 yards allowed.
The one critique of Smart’s defensive philosophy is that it leaves the defense prone to the spread offense. Eason, one of the most highly-coveted pro-style quarterbacks out of last year’s high school class, is unquestionably the future, but is he the present?
April 16, 2016; Athens, GA, USA; Georgia Bulldogs running back Nick Chubb (27) on the sideline during the second half of the spring game at Sanford Stadium. Fedora enjoyed a similar breakout campaign a year ago, which was his fourth season at North Carolina.
While Georgia’s rushing defense was respectable previous year (149.46 yards allowed per game), there has been an insane amount of turnover. With Smart’s history of impactful outside linebackers, it may be Carter who has the biggest opportunity to shine against UNC.
“(The players) see where our shortcomings were; I see where our shortcomings were”, defensive coordinator Gene Chizik said. The next guy is just going to step up and we’re going to take care of business. “I think it’s the greatest asset a first-year coach could have”. He makes plays. But the way our offense works we’ll be able to find a way to make due and get the players in position to make plays. He’s got a new offensive line coach with him, but they’ve been together before in the SEC.
“You know I don’t talk about injuries”, Fedora said.
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UNC’s secondary will be chomping at the bit regardless of whether Eason or Lambert starts on Saturday. The Tar Heels lost a huge offensive weapon in QB Marquise Williams, but he will be replaced with junior QB Mitch Trubisky. The Tar Heels’ depth chart lists three potential options at punter – senior Joey Mangili and sophomore Hunter Lent, both of whom saw action last season, and Australian freshman Tom Sheldon. The Tar Heels had the most improved scoring defense in the country in 2015, but that was overshadowed by criticism of the team’s inability to stop the run.
