Why Georgia opts to play its best athletes on special teams coverage units

When analyzing the performance of special teams’ units, Georgia head coach Kirby Smart looks at the numbers.

He surveys the conference as a whole with a composite ranking, based on different performance factors that range from kickoffs to field goals. When Smart was at Alabama, the Crimson Tide was ranked first or second in eight of nine seasons with the program.

But when Smart finished his first season at Georgia, the final ranking was far from the same.

Georgia was No. 14.

“We were dead last in the composite,” Smart said. “That wasn’t all because of the coverage units or the players.”

Alabama made a point to play its best athletes on special teams’ units, in addition to allowing younger players to get acclimated to the game. At Georgia, the lack of buy-in early on was a factor.

Then, the culture began to change and more experienced players stepped up. Not just more experienced players but the stars and future coveted draft picks — Lorenzo Carter, Sony Michel and Roquan Smith, to name a few.

Along with the one-year addition of punter Cam Nizialek and the famed surge of place-kicker Rodrigo Blankenship, those composite rankings flipped. Georgia had gone from worst-to-first and back to what Smart was used to seeing.

The big plays were abundant on special teams as a daunting punt return unit of Smith, Michel and Carter was complemented by Mecole Hardman and Jayson Stanley — the speedy “gunners” on punt coverage who would quickly meet an opposing returner.

“There’s a created culture where guys want to play on special teams because we will win games that way,” Nizialek, the former Georgia punter who was the ninth-best nationally in 2017 based on average, said in a phone interview with The Telegraph. “There’s a realization that every job is important. As a punter, it brought me confidence knowing I had those guys covering for me.”

Those major special teams contributors, most of them anyway, are no longer with the program, and Smart has started to reload the group. There’s no hesitancy, which was shown when freshman Zamir White tore his left ACL on punt coverage.

Both the players and coaches know special teams importance and don’t see an issue.

“I look at it as another opportunity for me to make plays,” said Stanley, a wide receiver. “So shoot, I’ll take it.”

Georgia gets the buy-in from players before they sign their national letter-of-intent to play for the program. Along with the upperclassmen, it allows the first-year talents to get valuable on-field action, and it will continue to be a starting point.

The newcomers, many of whom would play in all three phases at the preps level, have an easier transition to the role by making plays on coverage units in the past.

“It’s a third of the game, and there’s a lot of talk about top-flight starters playing it,” said Troy Hoff, head coach at Eastside High School in Covington. “We approach it the same way. That’s something (Eric Stokes) was used to doing and had a knowledge of it — we ran it the same way. It’s a way to create competition.”

Smart may base his philosophy off of numbers and metrics, but when he placed Carter on the field goal block team and it gave Georgia its Rose Bowl win over Oklahoma, the Bulldogs’ head coach feels a rush.

As long as it continues to bring success, Georgia will continue to use its best when other teams may take a safer approach.

“Those kids love it,” Smart said. “They buy into it, and it’s fun to play (special teams) here at Georgia, we make it fun.”