The Clemson Insider didn’t want Clemson’s mammoth Sept. 4 clash with Georgia to arrive without first getting some perspective from the other side of the matchup. So TCI recently caught up with Jake Rowe, who covers the Bulldogs as a beat writer and team insider for Dawgs247.
Rowe hit on a number of topics with TCI during the following question-and-answer session, including Georgia’s injury situation, the lingering uncertainty surrounding LSU transfer Arik Gilbert, strengths (other than the defensive line) and question marks for the Bulldogs and more heading into game week.
Note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
Based on what you’ve seen and heard over the last month, what’s your assessment of where Georgia is heading into game week? Are there questions the Bulldogs still need to answer?
I definitely think they’ve had a really productive camp. And one of things they talked bout going into the year was connection. If you talk to people that are close to the program, the team has gelled really well, and I think this is a very tight-knit group. But they’ve also got question marks with injuries right now. (Tight end) Darnell Washington is probably not going to play in the opener. (Defensive back) Tykee Smith, a transfer from West Virginia, is not going to play in the opener. Arik Gilbert is not even with the team, so he’s almost certainly not going to be available in the opener. (Wide receiver) Georgia Pickens is banged up. (Receiver) Dominick Blaylock is banged up. There’s a list of things going on, but they’re all things that Georgia has known for a little while. That’s something that they’re probably able to kind of scheme around, but they’ve got depth issues at other places, too.
The secondary, there is just not a lot of quality depth there, especially at safety. They don’t have any depth at safety right now, especially with anybody that’s played any meaningful snaps. The cornerback opposite Derion Kendrick, that’s a position that is going to feature somebody that hasn’t played a ton of football whether it’s a fifth-year senior in Ameer Speed or whether it’s a redshirt freshman in Kelee Ringo. So those are probably the biggest question marks is the secondary and the injuries.
And then third, I would say offensive line. I think they’ve kind of settled into a group there. Had a really good second scrimmage, but it’s the unit that took them a little while, a couple weeks into camp, before I think they found their best five.
Speaking of Gilbert, he’s taken a leave of absence for what have been deemed personal issues. Is there any update on when he might rejoin the team?
There’s no timeline there as far as we know. He could be at practice on Monday or he could he not return to the team until midseason or later. You just really don’t know. It’s just one of those things that Arik, maybe his family and the Georgia coaching staff are really trying to put their heads together and figure out when the best time to return is and when he can kind of make his way back.
If Gilbert and Washington aren’t available for the Clemson game, what does Georgia do at tight end?
Well Gilbert actually came in as a receiver and they were counting on him to kind of play receiver, but he was going to have his own role. He was going to be a guy that they played probably at the flanker, split end, the H-back, tight end, the slot. They were going to move him around. Washington being out changes some things because that’s a bigger impact on the run game than the pass game because he’s such a big, intimidating blocker on the edge. He’s almost like having an extremely athletic sixth offensive lineman out there and a guy that you’ve got to also cover.
I think John FitzPatrick should be able to go. He’s a guy that got a lot of experience last year, and he’s a big guy at 6-foot-7 and 250 pounds. I do think his snap count will probably be limited because he’s been banged up for them during practice and has missed some time. His conditioning probably won’t be where they want it to be.
They are super high on true freshman Brock Bowers out of Napa, California. They believe he’s going to be a big-time weapon, but the problem there is you’re looking at a 6-4, 235-pound guy, and he’s not a true in-line tight end. He’s more of a flex tight end. More of the Clemson-style tight end, so to speak. So he’s not going to provide that two-way threat as a blcoker and a route-runner that Darnell Washington would or even John FitzPatrick would. So that’s kind of how they’ll have to handle it.
What’s your take on Georgia’s offensive line, particularly on the interior where the Bulldogs are less experienced?
Warren Ericson, their starting center for the last two games last year, suffered a hand injury to his left snapping hand. He’s trying to snap with his right, but the guy that’s going to step in is probably Sedrick Van Pran. Sedrick Van Pran is probably going to get the start. He was the No. 1 center in the country in the 2020 recruiting class. A talented guy who’s 6-4 and 320 pounds. A really good athlete but just not a whole lot of experience. Ericson didn’t have a ton of experience either.
I think if you’re looking at talent, Van Pran is clearly a more talented player. Ericson is also a very good player, but he gives you a higher floor. And you may want that if you’re playing a team like Clemson with two interior (defensive linemen) like Tyler Davis and Bryan Bresee. You definitely want a guy that’s going to bounce back from getting beat a couple of times because you’re going to get got. That’s just the way it is playing college football. So I think Sedrick Van Pran is Georgia’s most talented, highest-ceiling center. But you don’t know where that floor is until you get a chance to watch him play.
The defensive line gets a lot of attention – and rightfully so – but what’s another position group that you think could be a strength for UGA that nobody’s really talking much about?
Outside linebacker. There’s not a great deal of depth there, but Adam Anderson and Nolan Smith, and I guess that could also be lumped in with the defensive line depending on how you think about it. But with Adam Anderson and Nolan Smith, you’re looking at two guys that are freaky talents. They’re big-time guys. They’re very different players.
Adam Anderson, if you look at metrics and stuff, he has a ridiculous pressure rate. He has yet to start a game in his career at Georgia but had 6.5 sacks last year because he was kind of a pass-rushing specialist. He’s gotten a little bit bigger, and I think you’ll see him a little bit more this year. But he’s kind of natural at that, and he’s very good at bending the edge and making things happen. And then Smith is kind of just a really physical, powerful pass rusher. He’s a guy that’s had a really good preseason. So that outside linebacker group paired with that defensive line, I think that gives Georgia a chance to protect its secondary a little bit if they’re not confident.
On the flipside of that, if you’re Dabo Swinney and that Clemson coaching staff, what is an area where you think you might be able to exploit Georgia?
One of the things you’ve got to look at is getting the ball out quick (in the passing game). Not necessarily because Georgia is this dominant pass-rushing team but because you’ve got some guys who haven’t played a ton of football in that secondary, and you want to make them tackle. Clemson’s receivers are big guys, and you can get some big ole guys out there. Georgia’s also very big defensively, and I think you want to try to get the ball out quick. (Freshman running back) Will Shipley, you’re splitting him out, flare screens, stuff like that to get it to your more explosive wideouts and then making Georgia’s defensive backs tackle and making the defensive front seven chase. Because if you can do that, you can wear down that front seven a little bit, get some yardage and get Georgia mindful of that horizontal, sideline-to-sideline game. I think that kind of frees some stuff up to attack downfield.
Which matchup are you most intrigued by in this game?
I think I’m most intrigued by Clemson’s offensive line against Georgia’s defensive line. I say that because — and I said this going into the Florida game last year and it didn’t materialize exactly this way — but I feel like if Clemson can run the ball effectively at all, Georgia’s going to have a really hard time in this game. But the problem is running the ball effectively against Georiga is also extremely difficult. Georgia is allowing well under 3 yards a carry for the past two seasons and basically still have all the same guys that they’ve defended the run with the last two seasons. So I think looking at that, Georgia has to stop the run. And Georgia has to play well up front and pretty much decisively win that matchup if it wants to take pressure off this offense because if Clemson can get Georgia blocked in pass protection and against the run, then the offense is going to have to come out and have an absolutely amazing day against a really talented defense.
I think that’s a battle both teams should be worried about because I think the potential is there, if you look at Clemson’s offensive line from late last season, especially that game against Ohio State and how decisively they lost that battle up front, if Georgia is able to win that battle as close to as decisively as it was in that game, it’ll be really tough on Clemson. But if Clemson gets a stalemate or wins that matchup up front, Georgia has got a really steep uphill climb.
What’s the scouting report on Georgia QB J.T. Daniels?
It’s kind of funny you asked that because we have no (practice) access. We’ve seen J.T. Daniels once since New Year’s Day throw the football, and that was at (Georgia’s spring game). He got off to a little bit of a sluggish start this preseason but has kind of come on the last couple of weeks when you talk to people close to the situation. I thought it was really interesting that (Georgia coach) Kirby (Smart) talked about his physical gains this offseason because Kirby has always talked about mental this, focus this and mental that. But he talked about how J.T. had gotten bigger, stronger and more mobile. And I think if that is actually true, then that’s good for Georgia because Georgia needs J.T. to be more elusive in the pocket.
They need him to be more accurate. They need him to be more confident. And he’s a guy that in the intermediate-to-short range is very on point. Great ball placement. But he has to do a better job of taking advantage of the downfield opportunities created for him because he seems to be a little enthralled at times with making sure his receiver has a chance at it rather than maybe giving the ball to a guy in stride to make the really big play out of it. He just has to be more accurate with his downfield throws and, if he can — those throws of 25 yards or more — if he can be a little bit more accurate and hit more guys in stride and give guys a chance to run after the catch, I think Georgia’s offense has got a lot of potential.
Football season has finally arrived. Time to represent your Tigers and show your stripes!
