ATHENS — Georgia senior tight end Charlie Woerner said the first-team offense let the heat effect their performance at Sanford Stadium on Saturday, when asked what led to the sub-standard performance.
“I think we let the heat get to us a little bit, it was pretty hot out there,” Woerner said. “But we should be used to it. We’re going to have to pick it up for this next scrimmage on Saturday.”
No doubt, Coach Kirby Smart made it clear last Saturday’s scrimmage performance was a not acceptable.
Woerner said it’s as much a matter of mental toughness, as anything.
“It’s all mental, you’ve got to beat your mind, and you can’t succumb to the heat,” Woerner said. “You’ve got the helmet on, you’ve got another 15 pounds on you that’s hot, and you’ve just got to fight through it and bring the younger guys along with you.”
Mental toughness is an area Smart has tried to build on in the offseason.
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Georgia failed to come from behind and win any of the three games they trailed in last season.
The national narrative has been that for all of the Bulldogs’ well-documented talent, it can’t get past the mental hurdle of beating Alabama even after building two-score leads the past two meetings.
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The Bulldogs have been focused on improving themselves in the offseason, lead by third-year quarterback Jake Fromm.
Fromm and the pass team had its share of struggles in Saturday’s scrimmage, and Woerner said the run game was also off kilter
“He was a little on us in the pass game, but as a unit, run and pass, we didn’t do as well as we should have,” Woerner said. “It goes hand in hand, honestly, the entire offense is responsible, not one person or one unit.
“We just have to get after this week, and we brought it today, it was a really good practice for the offensive unit, so we’re looking forward to this Saturday.”
Woerner said the Georgia offense is different in some ways, but the same in others.
“After Saturday, you could say just the way (James Coley) calls plays makes it seem different,” Woerner said. “It’s different in a lot of ways, but its the same in a lot of ways, it’s hard to explain.”
What’s easy to understand is how Woerner and the offense will make the most out of the tape from Saturday’s scrimmage.
“You’re going to have those scrimmages, that’s what camp is for, that’s what scrimmages are for, to really start meshing as a unit,” Woerner said.
“You need scrimmages to mess up, to fail and to learn from them, so it’ll only make you better when you mess up, so you can learn from your mistakes.”
Georgia tight end Charlie Woerner
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