Georgia freshmen thrown into the fire

Following Saturday’s 45-7 season-opening win over Marshall, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart made it clear that he wants to play as many players as possible this season.

“We want to lead the country in snaps over 100,” Smart said of how he approaches rotating players.

Saturday’s game certainly helped the Bulldogs make inroads toward making that goal a reality, as they rotated players in early and often on both sides of the ball. Juan Gaston, the freshman from Westlake, made his first career start at right guard before exiting the game in the first half with an ankle injury.

“Don’t know much. We took him to do an MRI, it looks like an ankle,” Smart said post-game of Gaston’s injury. “We don’t know if it’s a high ankle or not in terms of that.”

Gaston and tight end Ethan Barbour were the only true freshmen to start on Saturday, although they weren’t the only ones to play significant snaps. On the defensive side, defensive tackle Elijah Griffin rotated in along the defensive line, while JJ Hanne, Isaiah Gibson, Zayden Walker, AJ Kruah, Dominick Kelly, and Rasean Dinikins also played.

Offensively, it was the young receivers like Talyn Taylor, Thomas Blackshear, and even freshman tight end Elyiss Williams who had snaps.

“Yeah, those kids got a lot of growing up to do. I think, you look across the board, each one of them got a little taste,” Smart said of his freshmen. “The wideouts got some taste.”

Despite not recording his first career reception, Taylor did receive praise from Smart for his work on special teams as a gunner.

“I thought Talyn played an outstanding game at gunner, made a huge play on special teams,” Smart said.

Meanwhile, both Williams and Blackshear recorded their first reception in a Georgia uniform. Both came on the same drive and back-to-back plays, as Ryan Puglisi hit Blackshear for a 14-yard gain before connecting with Williams for a 23-yard touchdown.

“Elyiss worked on the scout team all week against our defense, and he’s gotten better, and was able to make a play,” Smart said. “I mean, I can’t mention them all, but I was really proud of all those guys. And they gotta get confidence, and they’ve got to prove in practice that they consistently perform and execute at a high level.”