Season 4 Volume 3: Arkansas State

Intro

I’ve always been so proud to be a Dawg fan. As a kid, being a Dawg meant sharing one of life’s passions with my dad. In high school being a proud Dawg suddenly meant a sense of panic and motivation to do all that I could to gain academic acceptance. As a student, being a proud Dawg meant living in awe of Athens and the talented people that surrounded me in class and on campus. As an undergraduate assistant for the team, being a proud Dawg meant long days, hard work and getting cussed out daily. As an Alum, being a proud Dawg meant being provided with opportunities I would have never thought possible. My pride has grown even further over the past few years as Kirby Smart has elevated this program to the position it is meant to hold in college football.

The Football and academic aspects of being affiliated with the university are great, but the stories of the heart and soul of Georgia shows the best of who we are as a community. The #WearPinkforWendy movement, honoring the life of Wendy Anderson, wife of Arkansas St head coach Blake Anderson, is the type of tribute and small heartfelt gesture that makes me most proud to be a Georgia Bulldog. To use the power and loyalty of those proud to be Georgia fans to support others in devastating and challenging situations is a beautiful thing. For a group of fans that naturally deals with a lot of football related cynicism, we are also a source of support and optimism to people inside or outside the Georgia community that are struggling.

Wear Pink this Saturday, Dawgs. God Bless Wendy, Coach Anderson and their family. May this weekend be a source of strength for them for years to come and may they always know that Dawg Nation is forever in their corner.

High Ceiling Guys I am Excited About

Mark Webb- Webb leads this team in tackles and is laying the wood when he gets a chance. He looks confident in run support and pass defense. Really good looking player on defense for a converted WR

Devonte Wyatt- Wyatt is creating considerable interior pressure and stoning the run. He was my defensive lineman to watch coming into the season and he is living up to the billing. His solid play is allowing OLBs as well as other defensive lineman such as Tyler Clark and Jordan Davis to flourish.

Entire OLB room- the “Havoc Package” with Adam Anderson, Jermaine Johnson, Nolan Smith and Azeez Ojulari is deadly. I can see it being a major 3rd down asset for Georgia throughout the season. All of these players are also playing very well individually. Really talented group that is translating to the field

Freshman WRs-we got two really good ones in Pickens and Blaylock. Both are super talented but have opposite game styles. Pickens is the go get it gamebreaker. Blaylock is the route running, shifty quantity receiver. Both are excellent and have massive ceilings

Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports

Guys I am Concerned About

Richard Lecounte- I am hard on Lecounte and it’s only because I think he has way more potential than what he shows on the field. He is still not wrapping up on tackles. Maybe you get away with that against Vandy and Murray St but you don’t against LSU, Bama. I won’t pretend to know the exact coverage we were playing on Murray St’s long passing touchdown. However, it certainly looked like Lecounte bit hard on run fake and left the corner alone on an inside breaking route. There is plenty of room for Lecounte to improve

Tae Crowder- I think overall, he’s been running the defense well. But he’s also been missing a good amount of tackles.

Monty Rice- Rice has a speed ceiling and it’s showing a bit. He’s a consistent tackler...6 yards down field. Nakobe Dean is the highest ceiling player at ILB but the starters are a bit limited. It’s not visible against bad teams but these 6 yard runs will turn into 15 yard gashes against elite rushers

Bucky’s Easy Money of the Week

Speaking of guys I am concerned about, how does Chris Falicia (The Bear on college gameday) have a job? He has been horrendous to start the season for both his live college gameday picks and his podcast picks. I am talking 3-11 bad. 3-11!!!!! Meanwhile, ya boy is starting the season hot as I normally do and I am not planning to slow down this week. Get in before Vegas catches up.

2019 Season: 7-3, 70% Win Percentage

Overall: 97-84-3, 54% Win Percentage