VALDOSTA – I had the pleasure of going to Georgia’s spring game this past Saturday and it has gotten me more excited for the 2019 season.

After a disappointing season for the Dawgs last year, they knew they had to make some changes and do some things differently on both sides of the ball. First thing that they did, that I liked, was they got rid of offensive coordinator Jim Chaney.

The offense still looked the same on Saturday as it has the last couple years but it seemed they went downfield a lot more than normal. They also ran a trick play with the freshman quarterback, D’wan Mathis. His speed is unreal for a young guy.

Junior quarterback, Jake Fromm, looked a little off. He opened the game with a pick-6 and just couldn’t get his timing right on a lot of throws. Mathis could be a real threat for the starting job this year. He’s already faster and shiftier than Fromm. That could play a real role in whether he gets the starting job or not.

All the running backs got some playing time and there is definitely no drop-off from one back to the other. Deandre Swift, Brian Herrien, James Cook and a few freshmen running backs looked in total control of what they were doing.

On the defensive side of the ball, you can tell they got a lot better this off season. They were more physical and looked more comfortable in this new scheme they were playing. After the departure of former defensive coordinator, Mel Tucker, a lot of guys were going to have to step up and they did.

As I mentioned earlier, the defense opened up the game with a pick-6 by Eric Stokes. They wouldn’t allow the running game to get going up the middle at all. Defensive backs Stokes, Tyson Campbell and Richard LeCounte looked amazing. It’s like they knew what the offense was going to do and where they were going with the ball. Granted they are playing against their own offense but they were fast to the ball and could’ve gotten a lot more turnovers than they had.

This spring game gave me a lot of optimism for the 2019 season and I can’t wait to see how they do against a tough schedule.