FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — Arkansas fans might want to send a thank-you card to the Georgia football program after their win over South Carolina.
Former Georgia players Latavious Brini and Matt Landers played key roles in a 44-30 win over the Gamecocks on Saturday at Razorback Stadium as Arkansas has won back-to-back SEC openers for the first time since 2003-2004.
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Landers led the Razorbacks with 45 yards receiving on four catches on Saturday and also carried the ball for 6 yards on a reverse.
Brini, who started 11 of 13 games for the Bulldogs last season, made the most of his first start at Arkansas with four tackles, a QB hurry and a key forced fumble at the start of the fourth quarter.
“Brini, you have to look back and he started several games for Georgia last year,” said Razorbacks coach Sam Pittman, who watched safety Jalen Catalon suffer an injury last week against Cincinnati, bringing Brini into more prominent action .
“So it’s kind of hard for me to say ‘woe are we,’ when we’ve got a guy that started a lot of games for the national champions,” Pittman said “(Brini) had to come in and play our system and play it well.”
Brini, who transferred after Georgia’s CFP Championships season, persevered through an ankle injury that led to him going in and out of the game against South Carolina.
“I appreciate all the people here, the DBs and coaches, because when I first came in from Georgia it was a little rocky,” Brini, one of four starters who transferred out of the Bulldogs’ program after last season, said after the game on Saturday.
“But they took me in with open arms and showed me nothing but love, making sure I was accountable for everything I did, and making sure I push my skills.”
Landers’ route was a bit more circuitous, as he transferred out of Georgia following the 2020 season and spent a season at Toledo before Pittman brought him to Fayetteville.
“Actually, when Matt first got in he called me and told me to come to the facility, and right then and there we got to work,” Arkansas quarterback KJ Jefferson said after Saturday’s win over South Carolina.
“I was watching him run routes and trying to get the timing down as quick as possible,” Jefferson said.
“The team loves him, and having a guy like Matt with that speed and versatility is big. You put the ball up and let him make a play.”
There was one play Landers didn’t make on Saturday — an over-the-shoulder catch attempt that upset the former Bulldog, according to Pittman.
“Matt carries his emotions on his shoulder, and he dropped a pass that could have been a touchdown and he has to get over that,” Pittman said. “That’ s not going to be the last pass he drops.
“Matt’s going to be a heck of a player for us, he already is.”
