WATCH: Darnell Washington hurdles Oregon defender to set up impressive Georgia touchdown drive
Georgia is rolling early on against Oregon. The Bulldogs scored on back-to-back drives to start the game — and the second one had an impressive play by Darnell Washington.
Washington caught a pass from quarterback Stetson Bennett and proceeded to hurdle the defender as he got the first down. That was the first play of a drive that ended with a touchdown by Bennett after a beautiful play-fake to coast into the end zone and give Georgia a 14-0 lead over Oregon early in the second quarter.
But the play by Washington was pivotal as the big fella showed his athletic ability.
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It’s a marquee game for both teams as Georgia is coming off its first national championship in 40 years last season. However, the Bulldogs are facing a familiar face in Oregon coach Dan Lanning, who served as the defensive coordinator in Athens for the last four years.
Dan Lanning explains the difficulty of facing Brock Bowers, Georgia tight ends
Tight end might be the most loaded position on Georgia’s roster, and that’s saying something given the depths of the Bulldogs talent. And new Oregon head coach Dan Lanning, formerly the Georgia defensive coordinator, has the unenviably task of scheming against Brock Bowers and the rest of the tight ends.
Lanning knows the challenge he’s facing. Because of the versatility of Bowers and the other tight ends — namely Darnell Washington and Arik Gilbert — a defense can matchup one way, only to get gashed in another.
“I think it’s arguably one of the best groups in the nation. It’s hard to find a group that has as much talent in their room, their tight end room. Obviously we really love our tight ends here, but they’ve got a great group. A lot of talent,” Lanning said. “And you could call them tight ends, but the reality is they’re a matchup issue as a wideout as much as they are at tight end. So it’s something that we have to be conscious of in our gameplan and where we put our guys in position to be successful. They do a great job of using them in a lot of different ways.
“One of the big decisions is how are you going to match their personnel. If you decide to go big and play physical, which Georgia obviously can do, you might be outmatched in how you can cover. And if you decide to go smaller and put yourself in position to cover, well now they might outmatch you when it comes to bully-bully ball and they’re able to run it. They do a great job of mixing it up.”