Alabama coach voices strong opinion on Georgia Bulldogs wide receivers ahead of premier SEC rivalry game
Heading into the 2024 college football season Kirby Smart voiced his concerns about the depth of skill position talent and weapons around Carson Beck, and through three weeks the results from the wide receivers have been a bit of a mixed bag.Against Clemson five different wide receivers caught multiple passes. Tennessee Tech's defensive backs didn't […]
Heading into the 2024 college football season Kirby Smart voiced his concerns about the depth of skill position talent and weapons around Carson Beck, and through three weeks the results from the wide receivers have been a bit of a mixed bag.
Against Clemson five different wide receivers caught multiple passes. Tennessee Tech's defensive backs didn't stand a chance. But then against Kentucky only one player eclipsed 20 receiving yards. So, is wide receiver a strength or a weakness moving forward for the Georgia Bulldogs? And how will they fair against Alabama's elite secondary?
If you believe Alabama's defensive backs coach, Georgia's wide receivers are going to be a huge challenge amid next week's huge SEC rivalry game. When asked about Georgia's receiver group this week, Maurice Linguist (Alabama DB coach) had some strong opinions to share.
"You know they have athletic guys. There's a lot of guys with 21 [miles per hour] on the GPS…They can run. I think that's the first thing you notice. They've got explosive guys on the outside. The slot receiver (Dominic Lovett) is a playmaker. They've got receivers on the outside that can make contested catches. They can also make over the shoulder catches. They can make the challenging across the middle catches…There's not too many things that they don't do. They give you a lot of personnel groupings. They line up in all formations…We're very aware of how good they are."
This could come off as just "coach speak", but Alabama's defensive backs' coach clearly isn't taking the matchup against Georgia's wide receiver group lightly.
Georgia's trio of wide receivers in Dominic Lovett, Arian Smith, and Dillon Bell have all accounted for some great plays so far this season. All three have at least 13 targets on the year, making it difficult to decide which one to attempt to take away as a defense.
This past week it was Dominic Lovett out of the slot who impressed the most with 89 yards on six catches. The week before it was Arian Smith, who said his mentality has changed in this breakout season for him.
Arian Smith's track speed on the outside, Dillon Bell's versatility to line up and win from anywhere, and Dominic Lovett's shifty skills out of the slot make them a tough trio to match up against. However, Alabama's defensive back group will be the toughest Georgia has faced all year.
Domani Jackson and Zabien Brown look like they matchup well against both outside options via their top tier athleticism and range. Then Keon Sabb and Malachi Moore both offer enough versatility line up across from Lovett in the slot or drop to center field taking away deep shots. Sabb already has four total passes defended. Moore, Jackson, and Brown are surrendering a collective passer rating of just about 40 (elite lock down coverage).
If Alabama's defensive backs shut down the wide receivers similar to what Kentucky did, Carson Beck is going to struggle to have a productive game yet again. This game will mark the beginning to the Kirby Smart vs. Kalen DeBoer era, and it's likely going to be decided by how well Georgia's wide receivers play against a secondary that might just be better than they are.
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