Kirby Smart shares why it’s important for Brian Herrien to be a ‘big brother’ to George Pickens
By Keith Farner
Published:
After the win over Georgia Tech on Saturday when Georgia WR George Pickens was ejected for fighting Tech DB Tre Swilling, veteran RB Brian Herrien made comments about being Pickens’ “big brother.”
Pickens will be suspended for the first half of the SEC Championship Game against LSU because of his ejection following the fight.
Georgia coach Kirby Smart said what Herrien said he would do is something the coaching staff encourages.
“It’s important to have a big brother,” Smart said at a Monday press conference. “We all have mentors and you grow as a young player. Young players across the country. You have to grow up. When you have an older player that’s able to help you with that, I think it’s always a benefit. We’re always trying to get our guys to help out the younger players in every facet.”
Pickens, a freshman, is Georgia’s leading receiver with 33 catches for 498 yards and 6 touchdowns. He had one catch for a 41-yard touchdown against Tech.
Without another receiver, Lawrence Cager, who’s injured, Smart was asked about his message to the receivers on the field this week.
“It’s very similar to last week,” Smart said. ‘Guys, you’re going to get an opportunity to play, step up and make plays.’ We had some guys do that. We had some guys catch balls that haven’t caught balls in a long time, or very little all year, and they made some good plays. You’re going to get one-on-one opportunities when you play in our offense because of the run game. So you’ve got to win your 50/50 opportunities, you’ve got to take advantage of it.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
