Georgia defense adjusts to Kevin Sherrer calling plays
ATHENS -- Not too much has changed since Kevin Sherrer assumed responsibility for the entire Georgia defense.
The calls are still the same. Practices have moved according to plan. The only thing that's different is the man in charge. Sherrer is acting as Georgia's defensive coordinator for the upcoming TaxSlayer Bowl against Penn State instead of Jeremy Pruitt, who left to take the same position at Alabama.
Otherwise, it's business as usual.
"Pretty much nothing is different," cornerback Malkom Parrish said. "Same plays, same show. Same work ethic, same goals."
Sherrer is the perfect candidate to bridge the gap for the defense during this transition period. With head coach Mark Richt fired and now in Miami, and Pruitt at Alabama, Sherrer is the lone coach on staff who has a deep knowledge and understanding of the defense.
He was a director of player development at Alabama when Pruitt was on board and also coached with Pruitt on the high school level at Hoover in Alabama. He took the defensive principles he learned with Pruitt to South Alabama initially as a defensive backs coach before utilizing them as the Jaguars' defensive coordinator in 2013.
Sherrer had positive results as a defensive coordinator, ranking second in the Sun Belt in total and scoring defense at 384.3 yards and 25.2 points per game.
"Kevin is a very, very good ball coach," Georgia interim head coach Bryan McClendon said. "The thing that makes Kevin have a little leg up is, he's run this defense before, grew up in this defense and actually called it at South Alabama. He has a little more experience on that end as far as getting the calls out, knowing the situations and how they change, and being comfortable calling the plays."
Cornerback Aaron Davis said Sherrer has a different personality than Pruitt. Pruitt is intense and will gladly get in a player's face if he feels the situation calls for it. Sherrer has a more laid-back approach when it comes to coaching.
At the same time, that doesn't necessarily mean Sherrer is a pushover with his players.
"Don't get me wrong, he'll still rip you when he needs to," Davis said. "We definitely all respect him, the same way we respect Coach Pruitt or anyone on the staff."
Sherrer's knowledge of the defense has been important when it comes to the self-evaluation and preparation Georgia has done for Penn State thus far.
"He knows everything there is to know about this defense," senior inside linebacker Jake Ganus said. "You can tell he's just as knowledgeable as anybody. When we call the defense, these past couple of days there hasn't been much difference. I want to say the defense has been good the last couple of days. A lot of energy, and everybody's been flying around."
Sherrer's versatility to coach various positions is one reason he was assigned outside linebackers and the star position -- the latter of which is the nickel corner spot in the secondary.
Not only is Sherrer coaching this game, but he is one of at least two assistants who will be back on incoming head coach Kirby Smart's staff next season, the other being defensive line coach Tracy Rocker. Sherrer is a valuable assistant and someone who's helping make the transition from one coach to another a little easier.
"He can coach every position," Ganus said. "He does a good job coaching up the secondary, the d-line, the outside linebackers, the inside linebackers, whoever he needs to. He does a really good job of that. It's been a smooth transition. Obviously we miss the coaches who have left, but we wish them the best and we're moving on."
This story was originally published December 22, 2015 at 9:35 PM with the headline "Georgia defense adjusts to Kevin Sherrer calling plays ."