Georgia’s 2024 Spring Game displayed either better defense or sloppy offense

Georgia’s spring game finished with a 20-20 tie.

The absence of explosive offense could be ascribed to excellent defensive performance or significant offensive rust.

The 2024 Georgia spring football game was, by all accounts, quite successful. The weather was ideal, and despite the fact that half of Sanford Stadium was closed due to construction, an enthusiastic throng gathered to see the 2024 Bulldogs for the first time.

The Georgia Red and Black teams concluded the afternoon tied at 20-20 in a “game” that appeared to be dominated by defense. Many people breathed a sigh of relief after Kirby Smart mentioned early in the spring that he wasn’t sure how good this defense would be.

“Either we’re maybe a little weaker on the defensive line or we’re really good on the offensive line,” Smart told reporters at the start of spring practice. “The offensive line has done an excellent job, as evidenced by my observations during practices. That is not to suggest we were poor on the defensive line last season. We simply weren’t excellent. We didn’t have a great player, but we’ll always be strong on defense. I’m not sure if we’ll be great this year, but I believe we have a chance to be excellent offensively.”

While Smart later clarified that he was not upset or unhappy with the defensive line play, he left a major question mark hanging in the wind.

Following the spring football game, many fans and analysts appeared to be confident that Georgia’s defense would be fine.

Hey Man, @GeorgiaFootball's Defense looked good an nobody got hurt, sounds like a good G Day. We'll talk to @Kconnorriley at 4 on @DukesandBell929

— MikeBell929 (@MikeBellATL) April 15, 2024

The story of the first half of Georgia's G-Day game for me:

the depth of the Bulldogs' defense

— Dayne Young (@dayneyoung) April 13, 2024

Carson Beck, G Day:
25/46 54% 301 yards 2 TDs 2 INTs 39 Long

Beck didn't have a multiple-turnover game against any defense last year. He also didn't have a completion percentage below 65%.

Georgia's defense deserves their flowers for what they were able to do Saturday.

— The Bulldawg Report (@ReportBulldawg) April 15, 2024

While the Georgia defense appeared to have performed admirably, forcing 10 punts and three turnovers (along with one turnover on downs) on combined squads, it could also be viewed as a rusty and out-of-sync offense that failed to capitalize on certain opportunities.

Carson Beck, Georgia’s current starting quarterback, threw two interceptions and had five passes deflected at the line of scrimmage. He also missed wide-open targets on many pass attempts. It’s difficult to tell if these missed targets were due to Beck’s poor delivery or the receivers’ faulty routes.

Beck was only forced to rush out of the pocket twice and received adequate protection for the majority of the afternoon. Despite some strong line play, the attack appeared disorganized.

On offense, it was evident that Beck was missing his two favorite targets, tight end Brock Bowers and wide out Ladd McConkey, both of whom left for the NFL Draft this year. Dominic Lovett and Rara Thomas combined for 11 catches on 16 targets for 162 yards and one score, although there were no genuinely explosive plays other than Lovett and Thomas’ 34 and 39-yard throws, respectively.

In the first quarter, backup quarterback Gunner Stockton connected with Anthony Evans III for 54 yards, the longest pass of the day.

The combined attacks carried for 103 yards and one touchdown, with both teams taking a running-back-by-committee style.

All of this must be kept in perspective, since this is really a glorified practice scrimmage for the sake of fans and recruiters. Much of the playbook was not even looked at, and procedures are in place to ensure player safety. At maximum speed and 100% impact, you may notice a different story on both sides of the ball.

The finest stat from this year’s spring game is that there were no injuries at all. A win is when you scrimmage a full-clock game without losing anyone to injury.