DawgNation will offer this report after every game which focuses on the freshmen who played and what they did. No one will lose a redshirt amid the new rules of the 2020 pandemic-affected season. Check out the Georgia football edition from another 41-24 loss to the Crimson Tide of Alabama.
When it comes to Alabama, the DawgNation freshmen reports do read differently. They are compiled differently, too.
That’s because the entire playing time flow of the Georgia roster looks different when it faces Alabama.
The Bulldogs played a season-high total of 13 true freshmen against Tennessee in its previous game. They played a season-low eight against Alabama in Tuscaloosa.
Let’s tick off the things that seemed to go against the norm:
- Georgia only played 51 players against Alabama on Saturday night. That was five fewer players on the participation report than in any other game this year and also during the 2019 season.
- The Bulldogs even played 61 total players against LSU in the SEC title game a year ago, including 14 redshirt or true freshmen. They played nine freshmen (redshirt or true) against the Tide.
- Alabama played 10 players off its roster against Georgia that classify as freshmen.
- Georgia played 51 total players at the end of the season the last time these teams met in the SEC Championship Game. The Bulldogs put 12 true freshmen and another two redshirt freshmen on the field that night.
- The Bulldogs started three freshmen (Jake Camarda, Trey Hill, Jordan Davis) and two redshirt freshmen (Eric Stokes and Isaiah Wilson) against Alabama in 2018. Isaiah Wilson is now in the NFL, but those other four Bulldogs also started on Saturday night in Tuscaloosa.
- Georgia started a pair of true freshmen (WR Jermaine Burton and Darnell Washington) on Saturday night and another redshirt freshman (OT Warren McClendon) in the 41-24 loss.
Burton scored his first career touchdown against Alabama in Tuscaloosa. That’s not too bad for a freshman starter on a very big stage.
Does data like that intrigue? If so, then the weekly DawgNation “Freshman Report” is filed every week to track that sort of information and meet that level of reader interest.
Those plays – and the young Georgia football team members who made them – are what the weekly DawgNation “Freshmen Report” is all about. It was created to move the needle forward on all the elite recruiting classes the program signs.
Do those young players that get hyped up make an impact on the team during their first season?
The Bulldogs deployed 51 players against Alabama, including nine redshirt and true freshmen. That’s based on DawgNation’s pregame and postgame observations, the TV copy, social media postings and finally the official postgame participation chart.
Those numbers varied greatly (20 percent decline) over the first few weeks.
- Week 1 at Arkansas: 59 (18 redshirt or true freshmen
- Week 2 vs. Auburn: 60 (16 redshirt or true freshmen)
- Week 3 vs. Tennessee: 63 (17 redshirt or true freshmen)
Burton started the fourth consecutive game of his UGA career. He delivered his finest and most impactful performance of the season to show he is deserving of those starting nods.
True freshman TE Darnell Washington returned to the starting lineup this week. It was his third start of the year. He was one of two starting TEs this week with FSU graduate transfer Tre’ McKitty.
The Alabama game is a different level of program and degree of difficulty compared to the rest of the 2020 season up to this point. Georgia had been playing a lot more players and freshmen against an ALL-SEC schedule this year than it had in 2019.
RELATED: Did you read what Nick Saban had to say about Georgia?
Who played against the Tide (by classes):
- Freshmen: 7 (-6 from last week)
- Redshirt freshmen: 2 (-2 from last week)
- Sophomores: 7 (-1 from last week)
- Redshirt sophomores: 7 (-2 from last week)
- Juniors: 10 (+ 1 from last week)
- Redshirt juniors: 3 (-4 from last week)
- Seniors: 8
- Redshirt or graduate seniors: 5
- Touchdowns by true or redshirt freshmen: 1 (Same as last week)
- True or redshirt freshmen among the leading tacklers: 0 (-1 from last week)
Alabama game freshman focus
Georgia played 10 redshirt or true freshmen. The big picture tallies up to 20 percent of all the Bulldogs who played on Saturday. That equates to:
- 0 of 1 QBs (1 of 2 last week)
- 2 of 5 RBs (2 of 4 last week)
- 2 of 6 WRs (2 of 7 last week)
- 1 of 5 OLs (4 of 9 last week)
- 1 of 3 TEs
- 1 of 6 DLs (4 of 9 DLs last week)
- 0 of 5 ILBs (0 of 6 ILBs last week)
- 1 of 5 OLBs
- 0 of 9 DBs (2 of 14 DBs last week)
- 0 of 1 PKs
- 0 of 1 Ps
- 1 of 2 LSs
FRESHMEN BULLDOGS IN 2020
What’s more important? Snaps or starts? Both are important, but there is a reason why certain players start the game and stay on the field for the biggest plays. That’s because the coaches trust them to play winning football by what they have seen on the practice field.
There are common instances where the scheme fit based on each opponent allows for a different starting rotation as well. Georgia has started out games in “12” personnel this season.
Here is the weekly list of the true freshmen and redshirt freshmen that have started games in 2020.
- Freshman WR Jermaine Burton (4 games)
- Redshirt freshman QB D’Wan Mathis (1 game)
- Redshirt freshman OT Warren McClendon (3 games)
- Freshman TE Darnell Washington (3 games)
Who started against Bama (all freshmen): Burton, McClendon and Washington
How many different Bulldogs have played in 2019: 71
How many of those have been freshmen or redshirt freshmen: 21 (30 percent of all participation)
Of note: Georgia has seen six of its true freshmen play in every game this year. That’s out of the 15 freshmen who have played so far in 2020.
Freshman Game Ball
WR Jermaine Burton
(Calabasas HS/Calabasas, Calif.)
Hgt./Wgt: 6-0/195
Burton earns the weekly “Freshmen Report” honor for the first time this season. He does so after scoring his first career touchdown off a 5-yard pass from Stetson Bennett IV to give the Bulldogs their last lead. He has started every game this season, but his work against Alabama was his best career performance to date.
True freshman tailback Kendall Milton was also under consideration for this week’s honor after his six carries for 44 yards, including a career-best 24-yard romp against the Tide.
Burton also came down with a 36-yard catch against Alabama. That was also his career-long reception.
The true freshman wideout clearly falls in line with his preseason label as one of the most likely impact performers in the DawgNation preseason “Freshman Report” for 2020.
- The stat line: Burton had four catches for 58 yards and a touchdown. He made two of those catches on third downs to move the chains. The true freshman was targeted 12 times in the game.
- Of note: That touchdown came on a third-down call. It gave the Bulldogs a 24-17 lead.
- Final 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings: Nation’s No. 15 WR/No. 82 overall prospect. Burton was the 11th highest-rated recruit in the 2020 class.
- Bet you didn’t know: Burton has been trained by former Georgia all-time great WR Terrence Edwards and was a former high school teammate of Chris Smith II at Hapeville Charter and Nolan Smith at IMG Academy.
- Bet you didn’t know, Part II: He was a late flip in the 2020 class from LSU.
- Bet you didn’t know, Part III: He traveled 5,663 miles on his road from prep prospect to future Bulldog. It was at least that many miles on Google Maps. That how all the turns along his high school career add up on his way to coming home to sign with UGA in the 2020 class.
- Why Burton chose Georgia: When he thinks of the 15 people he loves the most in this world, they all live in Georgia. When he planned to catch his first career touchdown, he was going to look up in the stands. His eyes will track down those people. “Of course,” this year before he enrolled at UGA. “That’s it. 100 percent. That by just saying that it will give me the chills right now.”
- Former All-American? Yes. He was an Under Armour All-American but did not attend the game and practices that week.
- RELATED: Check out the definitive DawgNation profile on Burton from this year
- DawgNation’s Connor Riley also wrote about Burton after the Alabama game
Georgia football: Freshmen Report “Game balls” for 2020
- Freshman WR Jermaine Burton: 1
- Freshman DT/FB Jalen Carter: 1
- Redshirt freshman OT Warren McClendon Jr: 1
- Freshman TE Darnell Washington: 1
FRESHMEN SUPERLATIVES FOR 2020
- Catches (game): 4 (Burton)
- Catches (season): 8 (Burton)
- Longest catch: 36 (Burton)
- Longest TD catch: 5 (Burton)
- Longest run: 43 (Burton)
- Longest TD run: N/A
- Most receiving TDs: 1 (Burton and Jalen Carter)
- Receiving yards (season): 111 (Burton)
- Rushing yards (season): 134 (Kendall Milton)
- Sacks (game): N/A
- Sacks (season): N/A
- Tackles (game): 3 (Carter)
- Tackles (season): 5 (Carter)
- Tackles for a loss (game): 1 (Carter)
FRESHMEN ON SOCIAL MEDIA
There a few big plays to share from Saturday’s loss at Alabama.
FRESHMEN TO PLAY IN EVERY GAME
The following true or redshirt freshmen Bulldogs have played in every game so far this season:
- DT Warren Brinson
- WR Jermaine Burton
- DT Jalen Carter
- RB Daijun Edwards
- Redshirt OT Warren McClendon
- RB Kendall Milton
- Redshirt LS William Mote
- WR Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint
- TE Darnell Washington
2020 Freshmen participation
The Bulldogs who have seen action so far in 2020.
- S Major Burns (2 games)
- WR Jermaine Burton (4 games)
- DT Warren Brinson (4 games)
- DT Jalen Carter (4 games)
- Redshirt ILB Rian Davis (2 games)
- RB Daijun Edwards (4 games)
- OT Broderick Jones (1 game)
- CB Jalen Kimber (3 games)
- Redshirt QB D’Wan Mathis (3 games)
- Redshirt OT Warren McClendon (4 games)
- RB Kendall Milton (4 games)
- Redshirt DT Tymon Mitchell (1 game)
- Redshirt LS William Mote (4 games)
- Redshirt DE Bill Norton (1 game)
- OT Tate Ratledge (1 game)
- WR Justin Robinson (1 game)
- WR Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint (4 games)
- Redshirt TE Brett Seither (1 game)
- OLB MJ Sherman (3 games)
- DT Nazir Stackhouse (1 game)
- Redshirt OT Xavier Truss (3 games)
- OC Sedrick Van Pran-Granger (2 games)
2020 signees who did not play this week: QB Carson Beck; OL Austin Blaske; DB Daran Branch; DB Major Burns; CB Jalen Kimber; OL Broderick Jones; OL Cameron Kinnie; OL Chad Lindberg; WR Ladd McConkey; OL Tate Ratledge; CB Kelee Ringo (out for year/shoulder); WR Justin Robinson; WR Arian Smith (knee/wrist); DT Nazir Stackhouse; OL Sedrick Van Pran-Granger; OL Devin Willock and PK Jared Zirkel
2019 signees who did not play this week: Sophomore WR Dominick Blaylock (out for year/knee); Redshirt freshman ILB Rian Davis; Senior CB DJ Daniel; Redshirt freshman TE Ryland Goede; Redshirt freshman DT Zion Logue; Sophomore ILB Trezmen Marshall; Redshirt freshman DT Tymon Mitchell; Redshirt freshman DE Bill Norton; Redshirt freshman TE Brett Seither; Redshirt freshman WR Makiya Tongue; Redshirt freshman OG Clay Webb.
2018 signees who did not play this week: Redshirt sophomore WR Tommy Bush; Redshirt sophomore OT Owen Condon; Redshirt sophomore OG Warren Ericson.
2017 signees who did not play this week: Redshirt junior OLB Robert Beal; Redshirt junior DB Latavious Brini; Redshirt junior WR Trey Blount; Senior Walter Grant; Redshirt junior OL Netori Johnson; Redshirt junior WR Matt Landers; Redshirt junior DB William Poole III