Georgia looks to make statement as SEC play starts, intensity turns up
ATHENS, Ga. — The start of SEC play means intensity is turned up a notch in the Georgia Football building, and it’s on the Bulldogs to play that way come Saturday. Kirby Smart’s top-ranked squad welcomes South Carolina to Sanford Stadium for the SEC Game of the Week as they look to build upon the new nation’s longest home win streak.
“I would say we have to flip a switch whenever we start playing in the SEC just because league play is different,” cornerback Kamari Lassiter said. “The SEC is different, you know? We pride ourselves on being one of the best conferences in the country, so we’re going against the best teams in the country. So whenever that happens, you have to turn your level of play up a notch just to be able to compete at a high level.”
Lassiter, who started all 15 games for Georgia last season, is viewed as a leader on the defense. Another one of those leaders called this “a statement game” for the Bulldogs.
“Of course. Whenever you play an SEC opponent it’s different. The mindset is different, the practice is different, the grind is different,” linebacker Jamon Dumas-Johnson said. “Especially for the older guys who have seen it already, going into an SEC opponent matchup, it’s just different. Especially the first one, it’s kind of like a statement game right now. Sending everybody a message about what we’re about.”
What is it that the Bulldogs are about? Well, it’s all the things Smart and the coaching staff preach on a daily basis – and all the things that have helped Georgia win back-to-back national championships.
Toughness and physicality. Competition each and every day. A focus on improving themselves instead of on the opponent – or as has been said before, not preparing to beat anybody but preparing to beat everybody. Those are the things that Georgia is about, and it’s those things that make the Bulldogs one of the top teams in the country. That’s what the statement is about.
“Relentless,” offensive lineman Jared Wilson said when asked what the statement was that he and his teammates want to make on Saturday. “”We’re one of the best teams in the country. We are the best team in the country. Just want to come out and attack and prove who we are.”
Listen to these Georgia players enough and you’ll hear a lot of the same things. That’s a sign of a team and a program that’s all on the same page. That page this week? Making a statement with SEC play starting and turning the intensity up a notch from where it has been against a pair of non-Power Five opponents.
Kickoff time for Saturday is set for 3:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
