In ‘elite’ matchup of special teams, Kirby Smart declares Georgia ‘ready to go’
By Keith Farner
Published:
One of the areas that many people believe Georgia has an edge in against Alabama is with special teams.
Georgia K Rodrigo Blankenship is one of the best in the country, and third in the SEC in field goal percentage at 86.4 percent, while punt returner Mecole Hardman averages nearly 22 yards per return, which leads the SEC. Alabama’s Jaylen Waddle, meanwhile, averages 13.5 yards per punt return, while Alabama K Joseph Bulovas connects on just 75 percent of kicks. Georgia P Jake Camarda averages 42.3, while both Alabama punters have averaged less than 38 yards per punt.
At the pregame press conference on Friday, Georgia coach Kirby Smart was asked about the importance of special teams in the SEC Championship Game.
“Well, I always say the closer two teams are, the more special teams has a bearing,” he said. “I certainly think that special teams is going to be critical in every game, not necessarily more important in this game than any other game previous. We spend a lot of time and energy, and we put a lot of our best players on special teams units, so do they.”
While the quarterbacks, and even the defenses get a lot of attention because of the young talent on both sides, and NFL potential, special teams may be overlooked.
“When you look across the board, I think those plays you’ll see elite talent matched up against elite talent,” Smart said. “You’ll see a lot of really good matchups that may be the game within the game. A lot of people don’t notice, but we think our special teams are ready to go. We work really hard on them.”
Being a roughly two-touchdown underdog, it seems Georgia would need a big play from special teams to be a difference maker in the game.
“I’m excited to give the guys an opportunity to go out and play,” Smart said. “They’ve got a really great challenge. Their punt returner is incredible. Their kickoff returner is incredible. They have really good returners, and they have good people blocking for them.”
A former newspaper veteran, Keith Farner is a news manager for Saturday Down South.
