ATHENS — Mike Bobo was once again talking about the direction of the Georgia offense. But Hutson Mason isn’t handing the ball off to Nick Chubb, as was the case the last time Bobo was calling plays for this offense in 2014.
In the time since Bobo left and bounced from Colorado State head coach to Auburn and South Carolina offensive coordinator, Kirby Smart has built Georgia into the top program in college football.
And while the offensive coordinator for Smart has changed, with Bobo taking over for Todd Monken, Bobo made it clear the offense plans to be as potent as it ever was.
“As a play caller, it’s about players and not plays. That’s your number one job as a play caller,” Bobo said. “If a guy’s got a unique ability to make plays and plays that turn into explosives, we’ve got to do a good job as a staff of finding plays and designing plays.”
Georgia averaged 41.1 points per game last season. That will be the mark by which Bobo is judged in 2023, as points are always a premium for Smart and Georgia.
Bobo, also the team’s quarterbacks coach, will have a significant role in picking Georgia’s starting quarterback. He works with Carson Beck, Brock Vandagriff and Gunner Stockton at practice, advising, praising and critiquing them as they try and replace Stetson Bennett.
“I’ve been pleased with all the quarterbacks,” Bobo said. “We’ve been focusing on the process and each install and what we can control in that moment. Those guys have done a great job. There have been ups and downs but they’ve been focused. They come into every meeting ready to go, prepared before the meeting.”
Saturday’s scrimmage will go a long way in helping determine who will be Georgia’s next quarterback. Bobo and Smart will be eager to see how the quarterbacks look on third down and in the red zone. The scrimmage is the closest Georgia gets to playing a real game and while the quarterbacks can’t get hit, it will be a helpful simulation of what live action will look like.
Beck, Vandagriff and Stockton are competing to replace Stetson Bennett. He’s not the only key piece that will be different on Georgia’s offense in 2023. Georgia has to replace Darnell Washington and Kenny McIntosh as well, foundational pieces to what Georgia did in 2022 under Monken.
With all those player pieces gone, Georgia’s offense was always going to look different in 2023. Bobo acknowledged that on Thursday, even if Monken was still calling plays.
“Each year you try to figure out your identity as an offense,” Bobo said. “Whether I was sitting there at coordinator or Coach Monken came back, you have to figure out what pieces of the puzzle fit to what things that we did well last year and figure out what changed. Darnell was such a big impact for us, not necessarily just blocking in-line but also being able to block on the perimeter, Stetson’s ability to move - we’ve got to figure out the pieces that fit best for us offensively and that’s part of what fall camp is about.”
Georgia is dealing with injuries at running back, but the Bulldogs have a strong offensive line and a great group of pass-catchers, spearheaded by tight end Brock Bowers. There’s still a ton of talent on this offense, and Bobo is tasked with getting the most out of it.
But he won’t be doing it alone. The entire coaching staff will contribute to the offense, as was the case under Monken.
“He was a sponge under Coach Monken. He’s going to do a tremendous job for us,” running backs coach Dell McGee said of Bobo. “I think the way we’re geared and structured under Coach Smart, we didn’t change a lot from a philosophical standpoint. We’re still status quo on what we’re going to do.”
Bobo is back in a familiar role for Georgia, as he was the offensive coordinator from 2007 through 2014. And while much has changed around Georgia, Bobo understands the challenges and pressure that come with being the offensive coordinator at Georgia.
He knows how important it is to pick the right quarterback and more so, get the absolute most out of the offense.
“There’s pressure that comes with this job,” Bobo said. “I’ve sat in this chair and I understand those pressures. I think I’m older and have more experience now to handle those pressures and focus on our football team, especially our offense - what I’m in charge of - to get them ready to practice on a daily basis and play on Saturdays.”
