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Remember when most or all of a team’s signing class got redshirted?
It seems those days are gone. All around the SEC, first-year players are carving out roles for themselves on the field.
Especially in Athens, though. Head coach Mark Richt and his staff have not shown any hesitation to put them on the field either.
“I think you see it around the league and around the country,” Richt said, according to the Athens Banner-Herald. “High school players are more advanced than they used to be.”
Gone are the days of an athlete playing basketball during the winter and baseball or track during the spring. Kids these days choose the sport they love and train for it year-round. The advancement of this type of mindset is reflected in all that’s offered to a top-tier football player. 7-on-7 camps, personal training facilities, programs like the Elite 11 and top-shelf high school programs enable today’s generation of players to be game-ready when they step on campus in the fall.
“90 percent of them are bigger, faster, stronger and even more skilled at some of the things we’re going to ask them to do,” Richt said. “In the past you might have to train a guy on certain things in the passing game, especially, whatever it is. A lot of these high school teams are very outstanding passing teams and concepts and things that you used to have to teach from ground zero, you don’t have to do that anymore.”
Case in point; The Bulldogs have a running back whose name is in the thick of the Heisman Trophy conversation. They also have two true freshmen running backs behind him averaging nearly 10 yards per carry. Sony Michel is averaging 10.3 yards per rush and Nick Chubb is averaging 9.5 yards.
Newcomers have also logged significant time in the secondary. Dominick Sanders has recorded six total tackles and a tackle-for-loss. Rico Johnson has registered five total tackles and a forced fumble.
The Bulldogs have put its freshmen on the field without blinking an eye. You practice well, you play more.
Sometimes guys arrive on campus needing some work, but when their name is called, they step up.
“[It’s] kind of a situation we’ve been in here at Georgia with injuries,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “It seems like we’ve had them at the skill positions the last few years and freshmen had to step in, and I think guys are more prepared when they come to college [with] what they do in high school. Guys are doing more at every level. They know more football when they get here.”
After living in Birmingham, Ala., Jordan left the ground zero of SEC Nation to head south to Florida to tell the unique stories of the renowned tradition of SEC football. In his free time, his mission is to find the best locales around.
