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Georgia coach Kirby Smart talks about unusual late-game ‘sky kick’ in loss to Vols
By Adam Spencer
Published:
Those watching Tennessee’s miracle 34-31 victory over Georgia in Athens yesterday may have questioned the Bulldogs’ decision to use a “sky kick” on the final kickoff of the game.
The kick was returned by Vols return man Evan Berry to give Tennessee the good field position they needed for the Hail Mary finish.
After the game, coach Kirby Smart discussed the kickoff decision with reporters:
“We didn’t squib. We called a sky kick, and that’s the kick, but that kick was more of a get-it-away-from-the-best-returner-in-the-country,” Smart said. “Who had been returning it almost every play, was breaking out for a touchdown. So if we could have kicked into the end zone, I would have obviously loved to have done that.”
Penalties after the go-ahead touchdown pushed the Bulldogs back for the kickoff, which led to Smart’s decision.
At the end of the day, though, Smart said the special teams execution needed to be better on the play that was called:
“We put our best players we could put on kickoff coverage and we challenged them — that’s broke my heart on special teams, guys,” Smart said. “We challenged them all week to go out special teams these guys because they are good. They are good at what they do and they still got us.”
It was a tough situation for K Rodrigo Blankenship and the kickoff team, but it doesn’t excuse the missed tackles and big return by Berry.
Smart and his coaching staff will likely take a long look at the kickoff unit during film this week.
Adam is a daily fantasy sports (DFS) and sports betting expert. A 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri, Adam now covers all 16 SEC football teams. He is the director of DFS, evergreen and newsletter content across all Saturday Football brands.
