Bowl game a chance for Georgia's younger players to shine

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. -- Bowl games present a good opportunity for younger players to earn valuable practice reps and more game action than they were accustomed to during the regular season.

For Georgia, there are quite a few freshman athletes who will get the chance to prove their worth in Saturday's TaxSlayer Bowl against Penn State.

One player in particular is inside linebacker Natrez Patrick, who earned his first start of the season against Georgia Tech. Patrick was a highly touted high school player out of Mays and spent most of the year as a backup behind Jake Ganus and Tim Kimbrough.

It's possible being a backup helped Patrick learn the ropes of the college game before being asked to play more against the Yellow Jackets. Patrick is slated to start Saturday and has prepared well to this point.

"He's a competitor and wants to play every play like I do and everyone else," Ganus said. "It's his time, and I think he's going to do good."

Georgia interim head coach Bryan McClendon said Patrick's earned the right to play more in the bowl game.

"He's smart enough to learn the checks and knows the defense," McClendon said. "He knows where to get lined up and where he should be -- but not just himself but what other people should do around him."

Joining Patrick as players who could see the field more Saturday are linebackers Roquan Smith and Juwan Taylor. Even if they don't receive as much playing time as Patrick, the two should get every opportunity to earn a bigger role this offseason.

Ganus said the future is bright at the position, based on the growth he has seen from those behind him on the depth chart.

"It's been awesome watching them," Ganus said. "They came in, and obviously they were big-time high school recruits, but just to see them transition from big-time high school recruits to big-time college football players has been fun. I'm glad I've been able to help as much as I can. Those guys, Roquan, Natrez and Juwan, they're all freak athletes. They all bring different things to the table. They're all different style of linebackers."

Georgia has played 22 true freshmen this season, the most of any program in the nation. Part of that had to with former head coach Mark Richt's evolved philosophy of acclimating freshmen who are projected to play a bigger role the following year. That way, those players have the needed experience instead of entering the next season not knowing what to expect.

One offensive player who has played a lot this year is receiver Terry Godwin, who could use the TaxSlayer Bowl as a stepping stone since he'll be a much more relied-upon option in Georgia's passing game in 2016.

Fellow receiver Malcolm Mitchell has been impressed with Godwin's growth throughout the season.

"I think you already know based on the way he plays," Mitchell said. "Every game he gets better. He makes more plays, and that tells you what he's been doing."

Mitchell also said he expects to see freshman receivers Michael Chigbu and Jayson Stanley make a leap going from this game through the offseason.

McClendon said the time in between the regular-season finale against Georgia Tech and the TaxSlayer Bowl against Penn State has been good for evaluating who is improving and deserves to play more.

"Bowl practices are like an early spring practice in a sense because you go back to basics and focus on fundamentals," McClendon said. "You see a big improvement during that time in freshmen, not just here but everywhere. School's out, so there's no homework, no papers, no tests, and they can really put their time and effort into what we're teaching. If the young guys keep improving and work their way into more playing time, we'll reward them."