Spring Opponent Review: Georgia
Following both teams' bye week, Florida and Georgia will clash again at EverBank Field in Jacksonville on Oct. 28 at 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS for the "World's Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party."
It's a rivalry that Florida has dominated over the past 25 years, with 19 wins during that span. Following last year's 24-10 victory over UGA, the Gators have now won three straight contests against the Bulldogs.
In Kirby Smart's first year as head coach, Georgia went 8-5 (4-4 SEC) and finished tied for second in the SEC East standings with Tennessee and Kentucky, as Florida reached Atlanta for the second consecutive year. However, the Bulldogs lost just one player (Isaiah McKenzie) to the NFL Draft and return a host of talent on both sides of the ball for 2017.
Inside the Gators interviewed UGASports.com editor Anthony Dasher to get his take on Georgia coming out of spring practices, which concluded April 22. (You can follow Dasher on Twitter @AnthonyDasher1.)
After the spring, which positions do you think Georgia feels best about on the roster heading into the 2017 season and why? On the flip side, what positions do you see as the Bulldogs' biggest concerns?
Dasher: Probably the backfield and the front seven.
When Nick Chubb and Sony Michel elected to return it ensured that Georgia's backfield will be in good hands for another year. Now two years removed from his knee injury, Chubb showed a lot more burst than he did last year, and appeared to be back to his old self as in before the injury occurred. As for as Michel goes, the Miami native was Georgia's fourth-leading receiver last year out of the backfield with 22 receptions along with rushing for over 800 yards.
Sophomore Brian Herrien impressed as a freshman and it will be interesting to see how coaches use incoming freshman D'Andre Swift, the nation's 35th-ranked player last year by Rivals. Up front, Georgia returns its entire front seven, including Trenton Thompson who won MVP honors at the Liberty Bowl with his three-sack performance against TCU. Linebackers Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter eschewed the NFL to return for their senior years, while the the team's top three inside linebackers - Natrez Patrick, Roquan Smith and Reggie Carter also return. Overall, Georgia loses just one starter (Star Maurice Smith) from last year.
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