Georgia Football: Midseason Grades for Each Bulldogs Positional Unit
We have hit the midseason mark for the college football season, and the Georgia Bulldogs are currently unranked and with a 5-2 record.
It’s clear they wanted to be in a better spot at this point of the season, but they have to continue to fight because if they win out, they have a chance to play for the SEC championship in December.
There have been some good moments for the Bulldogs, such as the running game and the emergence of Jake Ganus. There have been some bad moments for the Bulldogs as well, such as the Alabama and the Tennessee game. And if there was one thing that had to be ugly, it literally and figuratively has to be the Nick Chubb injury.
So with this being the halfway point of the season, it only makes sense to give out grades for each position.
Quarterback: C+
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The play of Greyson Lambert has been average at best. He did have a very strong showing against South Carolina, where he threw for over 300 yards, three touchdowns and completed 96 percent of his passes. However, in the last three SEC games Lambert has played in, which include Alabama, Tennessee and Missouri, he has thrown two touchdowns, two interceptions and has completed over 50 percent of his passes in just one of those games.
That being said, Lambert has a 149.28 passer rating, which is the fourth-best total in the SEC.
Lambert has shown signs he can make plays in the passing game, but when it comes to doing it consistently, he has come up short, and that will be something the Bulldogs will need to work on the next five weeks.
Running Backs: A
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Once again, the Bulldogs are putting up big numbers in the ground game. Even with the loss of Chubb in the Tennessee game, Sony Michel was able to step right in as he rushed for 145 yards. He then followed that up with an 87-yard performance against Missouri.
The Bulldogs might take a dip in the rushing totals with the loss of Chubb. But Michel, Keith Marshall and Brendan Douglas have shown they can keep the train going.
Wide Receivers/Tight Ends: B-
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Malcolm Mitchell is having a strong first half of the season as he has caught 35 passes for 505 yards and four touchdowns. Terry Godwin has yet to score, but he is second on the team with 17 catches for 203 yards. Reggie Davis has been able to make plays as well.
The tight ends have not been involved as much. Jeb Blazevich, Jay Rome and Jackson Harris have 12 catches and one touchdown combined so far this season.
If the pass game was more consistent, the receivers would have better numbers, and the tight ends would have a bigger role. But Mitchell, Godwin and Davis are getting better each game and show no signs of slowing down.
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Offensive Line: A
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If the Bulldogs are to do some big things the rest of the season, the offensive line will be the reason why.
John Theus, Greg Pyke, Brandon Kublanow, Kolton Houston and Isaiah Wynn are the reason the Bulldogs are averaging over 200 rushing yards per game, and they have also done a good job protecting the quarterback as they have only allowed eight sacks.
The key to any great offensive line is consistency, and this group has been the model for that. The Alabama game was the only time where the Bulldogs offensive line got beat at the line of scrimmage. Other than that, the group has been very reliable.
Defensive Line: C+
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The defensive line has played okay considering it had to replace Ray Drew, Toby Johnson and Mike Thornton. The best of the bunch is Sterling Bailey, who has 27 tackles, two tackles for loss and one sack. Chris Mayes also has been solid with 22 tackles.
The one player to watch is Trenton Thompson, who made his first start in the Alabama game. He has looked very strong as he has notched 21 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and half a sack.
Linebackers: C
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There was talk before the season that the Bulldogs have the best set of outside linebackers in the country.
That has not been the case this season as Jordan Jenkins and Leonard Floyd each have only three sacks apiece, and they have not made big plays consistently.
The biggest disappointment would have to be Lorenzo Carter, who has yet to record a sack this season. Carter tallied 4.5 sacks in a part-time starting role last years.
The inside linebackers have been really good, though. Jake Ganus leads the Bulldogs with 50 tackles. He also has one sack and two interceptions. Tim Kimbrough is right behind Ganus with 46 tackles, one sack and 5.5 tackle for loss.
Secondary: B-
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Considering the depth chart is littered with freshmen and sophomores, the secondary has done a pretty good job of limiting big plays.
Quincy Mauger and Dominick Sanders have been the top two players in the secondary all season. Mauger has five pass breakups and six quarterback hurries, while Sanders has five pass breakups and two interceptions.
True freshmen Jonathan Abram and Rico McGraw have held their own this season. Abram has 19 tackles, while McGraw has notched 13 in reserve roles.
This group is a big reason the Bulldogs rank third in the SEC in pass defense, averaging 187 yards allowed per game.
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