Scout team not a slight at Georgia, rather an opportunity to develop

There’s been plenty of discussion this week ahead of Georgia-Kent State about the scout team, and when you are talking about players that don’t typically play, that’s pretty telling. Some see scout team as a slight. It could even be a reason that some players enter the transfer portal. But at Georgia, it’s seen as an important step in the development of a young player.

Just ask guys like Zion Logue. He looks back on his time on the scout team in 2019 fondly. Going up against an offensive line group that started eight different future NFL Draft picks that season (Andrew Thomas, Solomon Kindley, Trey Hill, Ben Cleveland, Isaiah Wilson, Cade Mays, Jamaree Salyer and Justin Shaffer) shaped the player that Logue is today.

“2019, that was the year that molded me,” Logue said. “When you look across from you and you see that line, there’s nothing more that can prepare you to play SEC football. So I feel like that really played a big role in my life. That’s what I tried to make myself the first two years, a run stopper, and that’s what kind of built me into who I am today.”

Having that experience in his history, Kirby Smart couldn’t help but think of Logue when watching two of Georgia’s current scout team defensive linemen. Bear Alexander and Christen Miller are both true freshmen that are getting some opportunities to play. Smart has said that Georgia will need them to continue to grow and eventually be contributors for the Bulldogs. Right now, that growth is happening down on the scout team and going up against a talented first team offense.

“I was laughing today because we had Bear [Alexander] and Christen [Miller] going down against the one offense and getting just drilled,” Smart said. “I was telling Bear and Christian, ‘You got to do it to get better,’ and Zion was just sitting there, and I said, ‘Ask Zion, he spent three years down there.’ He had three years of going against Jamaree [Salyer] and Justin [Shaffer], just every day. And now, he goes against the scout offensive line, and he’s over there making those guys better. But those young guys have to go over and rep.”

When asked about specific scout teamers that have impressed him so far this season, Georgia tight end Darnell Washington named Marvin Jones Jr. Like Alexander and Miller, Jones was a highly touted player coming out of high school. But coming on to a talented team like Georgia, there isn’t necessarily a ton of opportunities for him to play in games behind the likes Nolan Smith and Robert Beal. That’s why scout team is an opportunity to grow.

The same goes for offensive players on scout team. Gerogia safety Dan Jackson said this week that freshman quarterback Gunner Stockton has been giving Georgia’s defense fits with what he’s been able to do down there. It was reminiscent of comments previously made about guys that are currently contributors like Stetson Bennett and Ladd McConkey. Kearis Jackson is another player that made a name for himself on scout team, and he shared about that experience, thinking back to 2018.

“I loved being on scout team. I will always remember my freshman year, I think we were getting ready to play Alabama in the SEC Championship Game, our scout team we had Justin Fields at quarterback, I was at slot receiver, we had Matt Landers outside, we had Trey Blount, we had Willie Erdman, we had some guys on scout team,” Jackson said. “We took that week so seriously because we wanted us to win that game so badly. And just being able to go against our defense, we had Deandre Baker, Eric Stokes, Tyson Campbell, all these different guys that have been first round, second round picks, it molded me into the player I am because I was able to go against first rounders every day being on scout team.”

Going up against talented players is always going to be a big part in the development of Georgia’s younger players and scout team gives opportunities to do that each and every day in practice. So, while conventional thinking might see scout team as a slight, players within Georgia’s walls get excited about the chance that they have to go get better by being with the group and maybe even flash for the coaches.

“It’s their (scout team’s) opportunity to shine too, because if you make a play or something on that scout team, Coach Smart, they look at all the film. They’re going to be able to see what you can do and how you can help us as a team,” Jackson said. “I feel like our guys here don’t take that for granted because, like I said, it’s their resume. Whatever you put on tape, that’s who you are as a player, so if you’re going out there playing hard each and every snap, that’s what’s going to come back for you. You can earn an opportunity to play in a real game.”

Georgia takes on Kent State Saturday at Sanford Stadium. Kickoff time is schedule for 12:00 p.m. ET, streaming on SEC Network+.