Blue & Gold Illustrated: America's Foremost Authority on Notre Dame Football
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www.BLUEANDGOLD.com SEPT. 11, 2017 39 ing a schedule littered with teams that struggled to throw the ball. Five of Georgia's 13 opponents ranked 99th or below in passing offense, and three more finished lower than 62nd. The top three passing offenses on Georgia's schedule averaged 287.3 yards per game against the Bulldog defense. Georgia should be more effective at getting after the quarterback in the second year of head coach Kirby Smart's defense. It finished the sea- son with an impressive five-sack per- formance against TCU, and its top three pass rushers all return. Senior outside linebackers Davin Bellamy and Lorenzo Carter com- bined for 10 sacks and 30 quarterback hurries last season. Thompson tied with both for the team lead in sacks with five, and his presence up the middle makes Georgia a formidable pass rushing unit. Notre Dame surrendered 28 sacks last season, but the change in of- fensive scheme should reduce that number by limiting how much is expected of the quarterback to set protections and the willingness of offensive coordinator Chip Long to move the pocket. Junior quarterback Brandon Wim- bush is making just his second ca- reer start, but he is surrounded by a deep and athletic group of pass catchers that should help take some of the burden off his shoulders. Notre Dame's top pass catcher remains ju- nior Equanimeous St. Brown, but the return of junior tight end Alizé Mack and addition of Arizona State gradu- ate transfer Cameron Smith both pro- vide more juice to the Irish passing attack. Advantage: Notre Dame SPECIAL TEAMS It's not often that Notre Dame will get a special teams advantage, at least based on its 2016 numbers. Notre Dame ranked 81st nationally in special teams efficiency according to the Fremeau Efficiency Index, but Georgia ranked 95th. Georgia's lone bright spot — punt returner Isaiah McKenzie — is now returning punts for the NFL's Denver Broncos. Georgia received a graduate trans- fer from former Wofford placekicker David Marvin, who nailed seven of the 10 longest field goals in Southern Conference history. He was battling with 2016 starter Rodrigo Blanken- ship for the starting nod heading into the opener against Appalachian State. Notre Dame's kicking situation is far more settled, with kicker Justin Yoon and punter Tyler Newsome settled into their roles. Advantage: Notre Dame COACHING Despite the 4-8 season last fall, Brian Kelly is still a 27-year head coaching veteran that has accumu- lated 230 wins, won a pair of national championships at the Division II level, and led Notre Dame to a 12-0 regular season and a berth the BCS National Championship Game in 2012. Smart was hired because Georgia fans were tired of Mark Richt not being able to win an SEC title, some- thing the Bulldogs have not done since 2005. Richt averaged 9.7 wins per season in his 15 years in Athens, so Smart will have to improve on the 8-5 record he put up in his first season. Advantage: Notre Dame INTANGIBLES Prior to the season, Rivals ranked teams based on how they recruited the last five years. Notre Dame ranked eighth. Few teams on Notre Dame's schedule will field more tal- ent, but Georgia is one of them. The Bulldogs were listed fifth in the Rivals rankings, and return just as many starters (15) as the Irish do. It is expected that Georgia fans will flock to South Bend, so it is unlikely that Notre Dame will have the same kind of home-field crowd advantage it might boast in other games. The Irish are the home team, but the Bull- dogs are used to playing in tough road environments. Advantage: Even GAME PREVIEW: GEORGIA Offense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. WR 5 Terry Godwin 5-11 185 Jr. 4 Mecole Hardman 5-11 183 So. LT 77 Isaiah Wynn 6-2 302 Sr. 79 Isaiah Wilson 6-7 345 Fr. LG 58 Pat Allen 6-4 295 R-So. 54 Justin Shaffer 6-4 345 Fr. C 53 Lamont Gaillard 6-2 295 Jr. 68 Sean Fogarty 6-4 295 Jr. RG 66 Solomon Kindley 6-4 330 R-Fr. 65 Kendall Baker 6-6 287 Jr. RT 71 Andrew Thomas 6-5 320 Fr. 74 Ben Cleveland 6-6 340 R-Fr. TE 18 Isaac Nauta 6-4 246 So. 83 Jeb Blazevich 6-5 245 Sr. WR 6 Javon Wims 6-4 215 Sr. 8 Riley Ridley 6-2 200 So. QB 10 Jacob Eason 6-5 235 So. 11 Jake Fromm 6-2 225 Fr. RB 27 Nick Chubb 5-10 225 Sr. 1 Sonny Michel 5-11 215 Sr. FB 47 Christian Payne 6-1 242 Sr. 43 Nick Moore 6-3 250 Jr. Defense Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. DE 13 Jonathan Ledbetter 6-4 277 Jr. 51 David Marshall 6-3 274 So. NT 97 John Atkins 6-4 305 Sr. 96 D. Hawkins-Muckle 6-4 310 Jr. DT 78 Trenton Thompson 6-4 295 Jr. 5 Julian Rochester 6-5 300 So. OLB 7 Lorenzo Carter 6-6 243 Sr. 15 D'Andre Walker 6-3 240 Jr. ILB 3 Roquan Smith 6-1 225 Jr. 44 Juwan Taylor 6-1 218 Jr. ILB 6 Natrez Patrick 6-3 234 Jr. 45 Reggie Carter 6-1 230 Sr. OLB 17 Davin Bellamy 6-5 245 Sr. 84 Walter Grant 6-4 245 Fr. CB 35 Aaron Davis 6-1 195 Sr. 31 William Poole 6-0 181 Fr. SS 24 Dom Sanders 6-0 200 Sr. 36 Latavious Brini 6-2 196 Fr. FS 20 J.R. Reed 6-1 194 R-So. 2 Richard LeCounte 5-11 180 Fr. CB 18 Deandre Baker 5-11 180 Jr. 26 Tyrique McGhee 5-10 187 So. GEORGIA DEPTH CHART Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. PK 98 Rodrigo Blankenship 6-1 191 So. 91 David Marvin 6-2 215 5th-Sr. P 92 Cameron Nizialek 6-2 200 5th-Sr. 95 Marshall Long 6-2 217 So. LS 43 Nick Moore 6-3 250 Jr. 59 Matthew Herzwurm 6-0 236 Jr. Pos. No. Name Ht. Wt. Cl. H 10 Jacob Eason 6-5 235 So. 11 Jake Fromm 6-2 225 Fr. KR 1 Sonny Michel 5-11 215 Sr. 4 Mecole Hardman 5-11 183 So. PR 1 Sonny Michel 5-11 215 Sr. 4 Mecole Hardman 5-11 183 So. Special Teams