It appears that the honeymoon phase is over for new University of Georgia defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.

After the season opener against Clemson University — where the Tigers were held to an impressive 15 yards total in the second half — Pruitt’s star was officially born (after receiving a lion’s share of hype in the spring).

When you factor in that Pruitt was following departed DC Todd Grantham (whose approval rating read “N/A” at the end of his tenureship), and was coming off a one-season stint in which he oversaw a national championship defense at Florida State, one could easily derive how he could generate such fanfare.

But after Georgia’s demoralizing loss to the rival South Carolina Gamecocks, where it seemed as though Grantham snuck back in for one last hurrah, some of the skeptics are already breaking out the degreaser in an effort to remove the anointing oil off Pruitt.

But, not so fast my friends. Pruitt, and the Georgia defense, is just getting started.

Buckle up.

Background/Philosophy

It must be noted that Georgia didn’t stray all that far from the stylings of Grantham. Both Pruitt and Grantham derive their philosophy from their time spent under renowned defensive guru Nick Saban — Pruitt at Saban’s current stop (Alabama 2007-12), and Grantham at Michigan State (1996-98).

Both run a multi-front hybrid defense that is based out of a “34” alignment; both are known to scheme quarterbacks into mistakes.

In fact, on film, it looks like the same exact defense. But that’s because it is.

Georgia head coach Mark Richt may have been looking for a change in voice opposed to a major tweak in philosophy. When Grantham was hired, some believed Georgia was copying Alabama — who made a rapid turnaround after being an SEC doormat for a few years.

Georgia abandoned its highly successful 4-3-based, area coverage read-and-react defense (under former DC Brian Van Gorder and later on Willie Martinez) instead opting for an organized chaos-type, dictate-to-the-offense unit Bama has become recognized for under Saban.

So it made sense to maintain continuity and bring in, perhaps, Saban’s hottest defensive assistant coach ever — with all apologies to Florida head coach Will Muschamp (who coached under Saban at LSU and with the Miami Dolphins).

Coming on the heels of having the No. 1-ranked defense in the entire country at FSU, it appeared that a rapid turnaround was in Georgia’s favor. It was inevitable that Georgia would have a solid to spectacular offense at it would lean on the best player in country, running back Todd Gurley.

All that was needed was for Pruitt to restore UGA’s defense much like he did at Florida State. But there’s one discernable difference between the two rosters that wasn’t taken into account: talent level.

While it may sound asinine to say that FSU and UGA have a major discrepancy in talent, unfortunately, it’s the truth.

Georgia Is Suffering From A Lack Of Talent On Defense

FSU’s defense was chock-full of nothing but NFL talent: Timmy Jernigan (Baltimore Ravens), Lamarcus Joyner (St. Louis Rams), Terrance Brooks (Ravens), Christian Jones (Chicago Bears) and Telvin Smith (Jacksonville Jaguars) are already in the NFL.

Jalen Ramsey, P.J. Williams, Ronald Darby and Mario Edwards, Jr. are certain to be high draft picks in the not-so-distant future.

As far as Georgia goes, a lot of the personnel that was expected to dominate hasn’t quite lived up their billing — most notably defensive lineman Ray Drew and defensive back Damian Swann.

And it didn’t help that a few key players were jettisoned in the offseason because of off-field transgressions.

The loss of starting safeties Josh Harvey-Clemons (transferred to Louisville) and Tray Matthews (transferred to Auburn), in addition to losing starting corner Shaq Wiggins (Louisville), was the straw that broke the camel’s back as far as talent goes.

While Georgia’s secondary was absolutely horrific last season, you still got the feeling that with Pruitt’s defensive back background he would mold those talented players into something special.

I was waiting with baited breath to see how Pruitt would use the 6’5″, 215-pound Harvey Clemons in his scheme. My hope was that JHC would play the “Star” position (hybrid DB/linebacker position) with the aforementioned Swann being moved to free safety where his area-coverage ability would be fully utilized.

Instead, Swann is forced to play outside corner (where he has struggled mightily) — while moonlighting at a few different positions — with the rest of the secondary being comprised of inexperienced players and/or lesser talented ones.

The front seven has NFL talent — most notably edge-rushers Leonard Floyd and Lorenzo Carter — but outside of them everyone else is just decent.

Drew (6’5″, 284 lbs) undoubtedly has NFL talent, but has been inconsistent for the majority of his career. He produced six sacks last season and will need to replicate that production (and more).

But no one else on the line jumps off the page, which is very un-Georgia like.

Inside linebackers Amarlo Herrera and Ramik Wilson are a very good duo. But both have limitations that will be exposed in Pruitt’s style of defense.

Why Did UGA Struggle To Stop The Pass Against USC?

As an Alabama writer I’m extremely familiar with what Pruitt is trying to convey to his defense: He wants them playing fast, physical and smart.

He wants to wreck the offenses’ pass-protection by threatening to bring fabricated pressure from anywhere. Which means all linebackers and defensive backs are a threat to blitz. But it also means that all LBs and DBs must be adept in zone- and man-coverage principles, respectively.

Depending on what look the offense gives, the defense will check into something beneficial. Sometimes it’s window dressing in an effort to get the offense to audible into something Pruitt wants.

But it can be confusing to players just don’t have the aptitude to adjust. I ran out of fingers (and toes) trying to count how many times I saw confused looks amongst the secondary against the Gamecocks.

I also needed more digits to count how many times players were on different pages with their respective assignments.

Cover3Fail

Here we see the Bulldogs operating from a Cover-3 shell with underneath zone principles. The mishap came between Wilson (ILB) and Swann (boundary corner) when both ended up covering the running back who leaked out to the flat.

Wilson had shallow-zone responsibilities but vacated it to cover the back. If he would’ve stayed with his responsibility he may have forced the QB into a turnover.

Furthermore, the lack of an organic rush was very apparent on this play. Had the QB been under pressure he may not have had time to wait for the TE to uncover in the void of the zone.

It’s imperative that Georgia generates an organic pass-rush so Pruitt doesn’t have to leave his secondary players on an island during Southeastern Conference play.

With the lack of experience, especially in the secondary, it will be hard for Pruitt to unfurl his full scheme.

As the seasons wanes on, expect an improvement in all phases of defense. While the restoration of the defense probably won’t happen as fast as it did for him at FSU, it will eventually happen soon rather than later.

So relax, UGA Nation; that defense is in fine hands.


Note: Check back for my next installment which will be a film study examining certain coverages/manufactured pressures Pruitt will be cooking up for offenses.