UGA’s defensive injury woes open door for these Bulldogs to step up vs. potent Gators

Kirby Smart knew it right away.

After Georgia’s 14-3 victory over Kentucky last Saturday, the head coach called the win “costly.” A few days later, that price is starting to come into focus.

Heading into Saturday’s showdown with Florida that will likely decide the SEC East champion, the Bulldogs will be without stout defensive lineman Julian Rochester due to a knee injury. Junior nose tackle Jordan Davis’ availability is up in the air with an elbow injury. Several other Bulldogs, including second-leading tackler Monty Rice and starting safety Lewis Cine, are banged up but should be able to play against the Gators.

The biggest blow to the defense came after the game Saturday night. Senior safety Richard LeCounte was involved in a motorcycle accident that landed him in the hospital, likely sidelining him for at least a few weeks and perhaps the rest of the season.

“It certainly affects you,” Smart told reporters Monday. “You don’t have as many guys available, so it limits your availability and your ability to play more players. At the end of the day we have a lot of guys that practice who don’t get to play and now will get an opportunity to play.”

All these injuries have a two-pronged effect. One, it obviously brings players into the fold who haven’t seen much playing time. It also is going to result in more game reps for players who have been used in a reserve capacity, putting their conditioning to the test.

This comes as Georgia prepares to face a Florida offense that’s putting up 42 points per game. The lowest scoring output for the Gators this year has been 38, occurring against South Carolina and Texas A&M.

The decimated Bulldog front seven will face a rushing attack that, while decent, isn’t the strength of the Gator offense. At 134 yards per game, Florida ranks 73rd in the country in rushing.

The biggest name to watch for Georgia will be freshman defensive lineman Jalen Carter, the superstar prospect who will now be stepping into a featured role in the biggest game of the year. He’s recorded five tackles this season, including one for a loss.

Smart also mentioned a pair of other freshmen, Warren Brinson and Nazir Stackhouse, as players who stepped up against Kentucky in the absence of Davis and Rochester.

Perhaps the biggest concern for the defense is in the back end, which will be missing LeCounte and dealing with a hobbled Cine.

The senior LeCounte serves as the defensive signal caller, getting his teammates in the right position before the snap. He is also third on the team in tackles with 26 and leads the team with three interceptions.

“Richard, being a safety, is the last line of defense,” junior cornerback Tyson Campbell said. “He’s always that guy trying to make that play-making tackle, or if it’s in the pass game he’s a ball hawk. He really tracks the ball all over the field.”

Even with LeCounte, the Bulldogs gave up over 400 passing yards and four touchdowns to Alabama on Oct. 17. Now they have to face an equally potent Florida passing game that ranks seventh in the nation, averaging 342.8 yards per contest through the air.

Redshirt senior quarterback Kyle Trask leads the offense. Smart said it’s extremely difficult to fool a player who’s seen as much game action as Florida’s quarterback.

“They’ve seen that look, they’ve seen that two-trap, that quarters, that quarter-quarter-half, that man, that extra-overload blitz — they’ve seen it so they know how to attack it,” Smart said. “You don’t trick guys — they’ve seen it before. You have to ultimately be able to defend their people with your people.”

Trask’s people pose a multitude of problems for the Georgia secondary. Nobody in the SEC, and perhaps the country, is a bigger matchup nightmare than junior tight end Kyle Pitts.

In just four games, the Philadelphia native has reeled in 22 receptions for 355 yards and seven touchdowns. Against Georgia in 2019, he had four catches for 78 yards.

“I don’t think anybody is stopping him. It’s limiting explosives, matching up, winning some 50-50 balls — that’s what he’s best at,” Smart said. “People think you can just double cover him. You can’t do that. They put him in places where you can’t double him and you’ve got to do other things to other people. They’ve got other good players besides just him and the quarterback knows where to throw the ball to give him a shot.”

LeCounte likely would have gotten a majority of reps covering Pitts, along with STAR Mark Webb. That responsibility now falls on the shoulders of Cine and junior Christopher Smith, LeCounte’s likely replacement in the starting lineup.

“He’s a dog,” Campbell said of Smith. “He always practices hard, always runs through the line. He pushes himself, so he’s a very hard worker and very talented. I’m confident in what he can do for us. He’s played in games for us before, so I’m not worried.”

As for other options, Smart named sophomore Tyrique Stevenson, junior Latavious Brini and freshman Major Burns as players who have worked at safety in practice.

With the defense as battered and bruised as it is, stopping Florida will be a tall order. Things didn’t exactly go great against Alabama with a healthy defensive unit.

But Smart expressed confidence in the Bulldogs that will be stepping in. After all, they’re in Athens for a reason.

“Those guys work really hard for those opportunities,” Smart said. “I look forward to seeing them play, to be honest with you. That’s what they came to Georgia to do, to play in some of these big games.”

No. 5 Georgia (4-1) vs No. 8 Florida (3-1)

Time: 3:30 p.m. Saturday

Place: TIAA Bank Field (Jacksonville, Florida)

TV: CBS

Line: Georgia by 3.5