Missouri’s weapon expected to cause issues in Georgia’s road test

Elijah Holyfield’s responses in front of an assemblage of media Monday came as quickly as his cuts through a defensive line. Then suddenly, a question unrelated to football gave him pause.

He was given a test: Try and spell Albert Okwuegbunam, the name of Missouri’s tight end and fourth-leading receiver. His last name is of Nigerian descent.

Holyfield’s reaction likely mimicked that of everyone else. His eyes got big and his jaw started to drop. It was a two-second effort, then an ear-to-ear grin began to appear. No chance.

“I’m not even sure of the first letter,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you.”

New player, same result. If this were the Scripps’ Spelling Bee, go ahead and ring the bell before the attempt starts.

“I, 100 percent, cannot spell his name,” said Georgia defensive end Jonathan Ledbetter.

Okwuegbunam is a name that reporters, players and Georgia head coach Kirby Smart didn’t even try to pronounce. The game notes even state, “Try it once. ‘Albert O is fine for all other reference.’ ”

So, Smart said “call him Albert for shortness’ sake,” but Georgia is well aware of his difference-making ability on Missouri’s offense.

Okwuegbunam has 100 yards and two touchdowns entering Saturday’s matchup (Noon, ESPN) and had a touchdown last season in Georgia’s 53-28 win.

“Albert is a tremendous athlete, and they put him in receiver locations,” Smart said. “They do things with him that they do with receivers, so that creates an issue for us. You don’t have many defenders that match up as well with 6-foot-5, 265-pound out there on the perimeter.”

Georgia’s effectiveness in defending tight ends has been hit-or-miss throughout the last season plus. Along with Okwuegbunam, former South Carolina tight end Hayden Hurst collected 93 yards at Sanford Stadium in 2017.

Kendall Blanton complements Okwuegbunam at the Tigers’ tight end spot, and Smart said he “looks like an offensive lineman” at 265 pounds. As a lot of talk is centric upon Georgia’s tight ends, Missouri’s group may be comparable.

“They’re speedy and can run past anybody,” Georgia safety J.R. Reed said. “We have to stay true to our technique and not let them get big plays.”

The tight ends don’t even top the list of weapons for Missouri, either. Its biggest playmaker, Emanuel Hall, leads the SEC in receiving yards with 430. He got past the Bulldogs’ secondary multiple times last season and exposed a few weaknesses with 141 yards and two touchdowns. Georgia’s leading cornerback, Deandre Baker, will have another tough challenge in Hall. His first, against Deebo Samuel, was passed with an interception and 33 yards allowed.

Oh yeah, the guy running Missouri’s offense has his case, too. Drew Lock leads all SEC quarterbacks with 1,062 yards and 11 touchdowns through three games. While some names may be hard to spell or pronounce, Georgia is well-aware of the challenges it may face.

“They have a lot of threats, and Drew Lock will make them right,” Ledbetter said. “We have to lock in and go about it in a rigorous way.”

This story was originally published September 17, 2018 at 6:04 PM with the headline "Missouri’s weapon expected to cause issues in Georgia’s road test."