As great as Georgia’s defense has played recently, the ‘Dawgs will face a new challenge this weekend against their rival Florida Gators.

Due to poor play by redshirt junior Jeff Driskel, the Gators have switched over to a new full-time quarterback — true freshman Treon Harris. While the Miami native has little experience playing collegiate football, the mystery of what Harris brings to the offense, considering his playing time has been limited, does provide some difficulty for Mark Richt’s defense and how the unit is preparing to stop the dual-threat signal caller.

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“[Treon] hasn’t thrown the ball a lot, but when has thrown the ball he’s hit 67 percent of his passes,” Richt said earlier this week. “He’s thrown three TDs in only 18 attempts and his pass efficiency for only 18 throws is over 230, which is off the charts. When he has play and when he has thrown the ball he’s done it very well.”

With a defense as good as UGA’s, the prospects of stopping a true freshman quarterback making his first collegiate start should inherently be in the defense’s favor. Add in a rivalry game atmosphere and there aren’t too many true freshman quarterbacks that would handle the intensity of the moment like a veteran.

Still, the Gators have shown some life when Harris has been under center. In both Tennessee and Missouri, the Gators scored their only touchdowns of the game with Harris leading the offense. He led Florida to a fourth-quarter comeback win in Neyland Stadium and also impressively drove the length of the field on a 13-play, 85-yard scoring drive to end the game against Mizzou.

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A crucial aspect for UGA will be its pass rush. The Bulldogs have the talent up front with players like Jordan Jenkins and Leonard Floyd, but the real key will be getting pressure on Harris without blitzing. He’s elusive in the pocket and his speed allows him to break containment when needed. If they’re able to force him out of the pocket without rushing six or seven guys, they’ll not only be in better position to contain his running game but they would likely take advantage of some errant throws by the young quarterback.

Senior cornerback Damian Swann is confident the speed throughout UGA’s defense, especially within the front seven, is good enough to stop any quarterback, even a dual-threat guy like Harris.

“With the guys that we have up front, I really feel confident with any kind of quarterback back there,” Swann said. “I think with Leonard and Jordan and those guys on the inside, we’re able to do a good job up front to handle the quarterback runs to where we don’t really have to use an extra body to try to contain the quarterback.”

Florida head coach Will Muschamp indicated Harris will have full use of the playbook this weekend, thanks to the Gators’ bye week proceeding the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party. With the Gators down to their final shot at a possible SEC Championship, you can bet they’ll give the Bulldogs everything they have.

Harris may be a freshman making his first collegiate start, but the Gators are desperate. Anything can happen and UGA will need to keep Harris contained and rattled as much as possible in order to keep the ‘Dawgs winning streak alive.

 

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