Georgia finding attractive offensive identity in 2022, Todd Monken to thank

In Kirby Smart’s eyes, ‘ABC’ stands for ‘Always Be (Re)’Cruitin’.’ Smart isn’t one to pass on an opportunity to recruit the next generation of Georgia Bulldogs, and he did just that after his current team beat Oregon 49-3 to open its 2022 season on Saturday, saying that the Georgia offense that showcased its skills in the dominant win over the Ducks was one that people watching at home ‘want to come play in.’

Smart said that the Georgia offense that showed out on Saturday is one that people at home want to come play in.

We want people that want to come play in this offense, and I think when you watch what they did today, if you’re watching from home, you’re saying, ‘Man, I’d love to play in that offense. They throw the ball around, they toss it around,’ 30 for 37 for how many yards? I don’t know, but he threw the ball really well. Passes, he threw a lot of passes for a lot of yards. I think that’s a credit to the offensive staff or the planning they had.

Kirby Smart

Saturday was far from the only time that Smart has spoken on the offensive identity of Georgia under offensive coordinator Todd Monken. In fact, two other times this week he has carried that same attitude into speaking on the offense, giving Monken credit for the way things look on the offensive side of the ball.

“Number one, the skill was showcased to get on the perimeter and do some things with the ball,” Smart said in a Wednesday morning radio interview on 92.9 The Game. “You’ve got to be elite blocking on the perimeter to be able to do some of those plays. The tighter the space in coverage, sometimes those plays are much tougher and you have to get more vertical and less horizontal. Our guys bought into that in the offseason and really during camp in how can we spread the ball around and get it to more people, get it to the people who can make people miss and are dangerous. The tight ends bought into that. The tight ends catch is just as valuable as the tight ends block on the perimeter to spring somebody else. I thought those guys did a great job with that.”

“You have to be very fair and honest. They make decisions based on what’s best for them, the team, and the program. I’m here to protect the University of Georgia. I promised to develop them. That’s what we promised them to do along with Coach Monken and our staff,” Smart also said this week on Tuesday, speaking on the difficulty of recruiting quarterbacks and keeping them in an era where the transfer portal and other opportunities is just a click away. “There’s not a lot of places you can go to play for an offensive coordinator that coached quarterbacks and receivers in the NFL. Every kid wants to go to the NFL. Never has a scout come asked me how many reps or plays he got his freshman, sophomore, or junior year. They want to know what the finished product is. The end game is the goal. If guys want to stay and be a part of that, that’s great.”

He might be right, but if the players don’t believe it, the words are worth nothing. Lucky for him, the players on Georgia’s roster back up what he had to say about the offense too. And as it pertains to how the players feel about playing in a Monken-guided offense, there might not be two better spokespeople than running back Kendall Milton and wide receiver Adonai Mitchell. Milton led the team in rushing and scored both rushing and receiving touchdowns this week. Meanwhile, Mitchell is a go-to target in the passing game.

“Coach Monken, he has the ability in an offense where it’s not just passing or it’s not just running. He has the ability to put the ball into multiple different players’ hands and let the players show what they can do,” Milton said. “Coming off of that Oregon game, a lot of players got to touch the ball and everybody made plays. That’s really the most exciting thing about football, when you and all your brothers, the ones you grind with, when everybody’s really eating. That’s when it’s more fun because at the end of the day, you want to see everybody eat. So this offense, I would say this is an offense where everybody can showcase their talents.”

“The way we do things, Coach Monken always preaches doing it better than they do it. We focus on the details and we just buy into our roles,” Mitchell added. “It’s hard to game plan an offense like that where everybody’s getting their fair share and everybody’s explosive. I love it.”

Milton, Mitchell, Monken and the rest of the Georgia offense will have another chance to showcase their skills this Saturday as the Bulldogs return home to Sanford Stadium – where recruits will be on hand – as they take on FCS opponent Samford. Georgia’s put up an average of 42.5 points in its last 14 wins. The Bulldogs put up 49 against a top-15-ranked Power Five opponent in Oregon on Saturday. You can throw all numbers out the window this season with the kind of offensive talent Georgia has. It seems Monken and company are here to impress, lighting up the scoreboard in the process.

“Mr. Mitchell, what’s the ceiling for Georgia’s offensive potential in 2022?”#GoDawgs @DawgsHQ @JakeMRowe @Wes_nship @ReuseRecruiting @JackMathison9 pic.twitter.com/heI5gNTtWX

— Palmer Thombs (@palmerthombs) September 8, 2022