SEC Nation crew previews Georgia-LSU in SEC Championship Game

ATLANTA, Ga. — We’re just about 24 hours to kickoff of the 2022 SEC Championship Game from Mercedes-Benz Stadium, and SEC country is ready to see this showdown. No. 1 Georgia puts its perfect record on the line against the upset-hungry LSU Tigers, ranked No. 14 in Tuesday’s College Football Playoff poll. While a spot in the final four is out the window for one team and potentially already sealed for another, the conference crown is on the line, and that’s got people talking.

Among those in Atlanta for the showdown are all the members of SEC Network’s pregame production crew including SEC Nation’s Laura Rutledge, Roman Harper and Tim Tebow. Harper and Tebow played in the conference while Rutledge has been around the league long enough to know what championship football looks like, and it’s safe to say that all three have been impressed by the Bulldogs in 2022. Below are select comments from each ahead of Georiga-LSU.

Roman Harper

On Georgia’s defense

“So their secondary play – their two safeties are outstanding, the way they play, their eyes, they’re smart, they’re physical. They make plays all over the place. Their cornerbacks are good as well and I love the nickel No. 22 (Javon Bullard). He’s really good. They know what they’re doing in the secondary.

And the linebacker, Jamon Dumas-Johnson, oh my gosh. I’ll say in front of everybody, I think he’s actually better than Nakobe Dean as far as an NFL prospect. He’s bigger, the dude has just as much speed, and if you watch this guy he’s flying around sideline to sideline making every single play. I love Nakobe Dean and I say this with all due respect but he’s just better. He’s bigger. He makes more plays and he’s an outstanding NFL prospect in due time. But right now, those are the things that jump off the tape to me.

They’ve also got a couple of young guys up front that have continued to play and have gotten better over the season. Georgia’s defense, what am I going to say? Kirby talks about it, he says it in the locker room, physical football travels, and when you watch Georgia play, they hit people with body shots and they don’t want to see Georgia in the fourth quarter because of the way they play and the way they hit you. It’s constant, and it’s never ending wave of relentlessness. They play physical football and take away what you like to do. They’re smart, they’re physical and they’re tough.That’s the type of brand of football that I love, and if my son was of age right now, I would send him to Georgia. I know what he’s going to get, I know what they’re teaching him and those are the things that matter. That’s what wins.”

On Jalen Carter

“When he’s healthy and he wants to play, he’s the most dominating lineman in the country. We knew that coming into it, and now he’s knowing that and putting it on tape. I’ve been really impressed with some of the games he’s put on the last few weeks. He reminds me a lot of Ndamukong Suh with his power and his ability to stop all the run plays and still give you pass rush too because of his brute strength the the ability to come out of his hips and shed guys. I’ll be honest with you, most of these college linemen don’t want to see Jalen Carter. I don’t care if it’s a guard, center, tackle, it doesn’t matter. He destroys them all, and it really does remind me of Suh. That’d be a great comparison and it’s who I think of when I see him.”

Laura Rutledge

On Kirby Smart, what’s impressed her the most by Georgia in 2022

“I mean, I think it starts with Kirby Smart. We were saying this last week on ‘SEC Nation’: We’re not giving Kirby Smart enough credit. All the conversation’s been around Saban and Alabama’s not in the playoff and all this, and it’s like, Kirby Smart’s quietly over here becoming the dominant force from a coaching standpoint in the country but also in the SEC. It’s not to diminish anything that Saban and Alabama’s done and, you know, some of these other coaches, but we need to give some more credit to Kirby and what he’s built. I think it’s more the consistency. I mean, how many of us said, ‘Well, Georgia will be OK this year, but they lost all those players to the draft.’ I was in the room when they were all drafted, and I’m looking around thinking, ‘Every single Georgia player has been drafted. What are they even going to look like this year?’ They have found ways to just have success that I think goes back to not only being a team that’s bought in but also the coaching. So, I think it’s the consistency and maintaining of success that really deserves a ton of credit this year.”

Tim Tebow

On Stetson Bennett

“Well, I think for so long he (Stetson Bennett) was just underrated and people were all wrapped around just game manager. I’m sure that probably just really irritates him, and I think he’s so much more than that. I think he’s someone that brings a lot of energy and swagger and moxie to it. I think sometimes because their style of play. He also doesn’t put up some of the stats that other offenses would, and I think it’s important to understand that based on your scheme, based on the time of possession, how they play, stats don’t always tell the full story, right? And so, how do you best manage that offense, and I think he does a really good job. I would say in a few games you could see him maybe trying to create some big plays when he didn’t necessarily have to, but I think that’s the human element of someone that’s trying to, you know, go out there and let it rip. But I think — Look at him in so many of the big games. He’s really stepped up and played some of his best in some of the best moments, and isn’t that what you want out of a quarterback? So, he’s someone that’s earned a lot of respect from me and a lot of people. You know, he’s just not someone that I would underestimate in a situation like this.”

On Georgia’s tight ends

“Yeah, gosh. I mean, I don’t think they’re going to be a surprise to anyone because if LSU hasn’t been preparing for them then you missed some of the most talented guys in the country. I don’t know if anybody’s going to miss Darnell Washington, how big he is. It’s a matchup nightmare whether they make a bunch of catches or not. That’s not the only thing that they’re a mismatch in. It’s formations, it’s that they can go to the huddle and you can be two tight ends but then they could go to the line of scrimmage and you could be in empty formation. It’s a nightmare for a defense — what personnel do you call? Are we treating them as base? Are you treating Darnell as an offensive lineman? Are we going to go big personnel? Then you could also treat it as nickel. That’s a nightmare. How do you match up against it? So, no matter how many catches they have — which I’m sure they’ll be targeted quite a bit — it’s just being able to get the right personnel and the right placement and then how do you treat Brock (Bowers)? Do you treat him as a receiver? do you treat him as a tight end? I mean, that’s just a nightmare that teams have to have great communication, you have to be able to understand what personnel. And I think already going into it that’s kind of an advantage they have of when you’ve got two tight ends that are so versatile, and I think that’s something that’s Georgia has done a really good job of utilizing.”

“Oh, it’s awesome. I mean, it’s awesome for being able to understand when you go, you know, two tight ends to a side and a receiver’s over, you’re ability to gain information, gain knowledge, understanding man [or] zone, how they’re going to try to play you, how are they playing these tight ends. It’s helpful in that way. It’s helpful when you can hit a tunnel screen to your tight end and he can take it 80, you know? Not many tight ends — most can take it 8, you know? You have Darnell Washington — someone that big, and then you see him hurdling dudes. It’s like, that’s just not supposed to happen. I mean, it’s got to be pretty fun to have tight ends like that.”