1. Nothing is guaranteed. It wasn’t a given that we’d get here, and each of the ten games we’re able to see is a gift. I’ve written plenty about my personal decisions regarding the season, but I’ve always been more optimistic about the season itself. That’s not because of some cold indifference to the realities. The SEC has the resources to study and minimize the risks; many other conferences and teams do not. That doesn’t mean that the league has avoided localized outbreaks. It just means that the protocols have been put in place to manage those outbreaks. In doing so the SEC is in a position to forge ahead with a compelling schedule while being in a position to take advantage of the improved testing and other advances that have allowed other leagues back in the pool.
2. I’ve been especially impressed by Kirby Smart’s navigation of the offseason. Georgia has had coaching changes, attrition, injuries, and of course positive tests. At no point did you ever get the sense that he was out of step with the moment. Smart’s statements about player safety and the program’s response to social issues have avoided the tone-deaf missteps we saw at other programs. Georgia has had its share of positive tests, but the response was to follow the protocols in place, avoid panic and hysteria, and push forward. The result is a team that has largely held together since early June and been able to prepare as much as SEC and NCAA guidelines allowed.
3. In a way, the uncertainty of this season is a bit thrilling. We’ve never done a season like this before, and there’s no analogue for what we’re about to see. There’s a single bye week but no break at all from the SEC grind. In Georgia’s case, that’s especially true through the first half of the season. Things could get wild, and that’s before we talk about more serious matters like canceled or postponed games and rosters thrown into chaos by quarantine.
4. In strictly football terms, I’m excited for this season because of the format: ten SEC games. If the league is able to make it through the schedule, we should see something special. The plan is to return to scheduling-as-usual next year, but hopefully we’ll get too much of a good thing this year to ever want to go back. People talk about an asterisk for this year’s champion, but the team that emerges from a 10-game SEC slate will be more worthy than any previous team.
5. I will miss playing Tech. I know that game means less to an increasing number of fans, but it’s a series that needs to resume after this season.
6. With several other conferences announcing their return, the playoff committee will have quite a job. They’ll have to weigh teams playing a different number of games at different times of the fall with few intersectional games to aid comparison between conferences. If we get to that point, there will be enough outrage and talking points to fuel weeks of punditry. Just enjoy the season. The ten-game SEC season is the main course. If there’s more beyond that, great.
7. D’Wan Mathis will start at quarterback.
8. I’m less confident that Mathis will finish the season as the starter. That’s not a knock on him. We’re still waiting for J.T. Daniels to be cleared. Mathis could take the decision away from the coaches ala Jake Fromm in 2017. We could see shared playing time like 2018, though hopefully Monken’s rotation would have more purpose and tactical reasoning behind it. If we do see multiple quarterbacks, the best case is that Daniels can be slowly worked in. Even if he’s cleared, he’s still a year removed from knee surgery (and has had cleanup work since.) It’s much better if he can be used when and if it makes sense and not because the team’s hand is forced. Worst case is Mathis flops and Daniels must be rushed along. Scratch that – worst case is that Mathis struggles, Daniels isn’t cleared or ready, and Georgia must turn again to a true freshman.
9. Count me among those who expects Monken to be an upgrade. I’m not looking for anything specific scheme-wise from Monken. He’s been around long enough to have a varied toolkit. I’m most interested to see how the pieces come together. Is he able to run what he wants with new starters at every position but center? Is he making the most of Georgia’s talent advantages and doing what he can to compensate for disadvantages? Does so much change on offense manifest itself in turnovers, sacks, penalties, or miscommunication with players and coaches not on the same page?
10. Monken’s not the only new coach on offense, and I’d like to see the differences Matt Luke brings to Georgia’s offensive line. For the bowl game his only concern was cobbling together a functional line. Now he’s had some time to get to know and evaluate his unit. Pittman was a wonderful coach and recruiter, but he also had a preference for a large, physical line that suited Georgia’s straight-ahead power style of play. The pendulum might swing back under Luke towards a lighter line that might work better with Monken’s more open and faster-paced offense. This isn’t so much a good/bad question as it is curiosity about how a new coach tries to solve a slightly different set of problems.
11. I’m bullish on Zeus. He has the skills and size to be a powerful SEC tailback, and the second year after an ACL surgery is almost as bankable as the second-year coach effect. I’m not as sold yet on Cook. We’re told he just hasn’t been used properly, but he’s also had several opportunities to make big plays. It hasn’t clicked yet. With the changes to the offense, there aren’t many excuses left. Hopefully he thrives, but younger backs like Milton are waiting for their opening.
12. Georgia lost six defensive linemen from last year’s roster, and there’s still more excitement about that unit than I’ve seen in years. I see why – there’s a ton of experience, bona-fide stars like Herring and Davis, and Travon Walker was one of last season’s top freshmen. Any list of newcomers to watch in 2020 leads with Jalen Carter. Tray Scott has quietly upgraded the defensive front year after year.
13. The overall talent on defense is staggering. The questions then become about roles and the best ways to deploy that talent. Roquan Smith and J.R. Reed became invaluable not only for their individual contributions but also for their roles orchestrating the defense on the field. Even among a galaxy of stars, someone like Nakobe Dean might shine brighter this year. The bright middle linebacker saw plenty of time behind Crowder and Rice as a true freshman and is in a position to become that next defensive leader.
14. One thing I’d like to see from the defense is for one or more of the outside linebackers to emerge with an all-conference season. The depth is ridiculous with Ojulari, Smith, Johnson, Grant, Anderson, and now Sherman. These are all special players with unique skill sets (just watch how Anderson is used when he’s in the game.) I’d just like to see someone have the kind of season where it’s tough to take them out of the game.
15. I’ve already mentioned Jalen Carter, but we’re also hearing good things about freshmen receivers Jermaine Burton and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint. Georgia will need early contributions from those freshmen receivers as Blaylock is out for the season and the tight end position unsettled.
16. Why is the TE position unsettled? We’re still not sure of its role in Monken’s offense. This might be one of those instances I mentioned above where what Monken wants to run is constrained by personnel. Tre McKitty is out in the short term. Seldom-used John FitzPatrick as the likely starter. Great expectations came with the signing of 5* Darnell Washington from Las Vegas. He’ll play, but he’s still getting into playing shape.
17. I’m not as concerned with the offensive line as I am other areas of the offense. There’s plenty of experience despite four new starters. It’s still a big job to replace two first-round tackles. Salyer has the pedigree to be just fine at left tackle, but there aren’t many options if he’s not up to the job.
18. “Explosive” is this year’s “havoc.” After last year’s South Carolina debacle, I noted that “not all successful plays are equal.” The explosive runs that had defined Georgia in 2017 and 2018 disappeared. Though the running game could still get nearly 5 yards per carry, the lack of explosive runs meant that the offense had to work its way down the field in smaller chunks. That was too much to ask, and we all saw the results. With no real threat to break big plays in either the running game or the downfield passing game, the offense suffocated.
19. It looks as if Jack Podlesny has won the placekicking job (again, for now.) It’s good to see some special teams coverage in among the daily QB updates. We’ve seen some spectacular special teams failures in the first three weeks, and Georgia is only replacing the placekicker, both returners, and the special teams coach. These are the areas that might seem like a nuisance at Arkansas but can turn games against Auburn or Alabama.
20. I admit it’s been tough at times to get my head around the upcoming season and to put nearly the same energy into it especially knowing that I won’t be there in person to see it. There are enough reminders that nothing, including our beloved college football, is close to business as usual. I’ve come to grips with that – there are circumstances, issues, and causes that can’t and shouldn’t go away just because the season is going forward. In a year where we’ve been forced to take things a day at a time, I’m grateful that this day is finally Game Day. May we have many more.

Playing with no or few fans in the stands is the ultimate noon kickoff. Schools will do whatever they can to artificially create noise and a homefield advantage, but my takeaway watching the first couple of weeks of football has been that nearly every game has the vibe of those sleepy noon starts regardless of the start time. (The exception was Notre Dame’s home opener. It’s no coincidence that Notre Dame’s ticket policy limited attendance to students and the university community.) That means that teams will generally not have a raucous home environment and must, as Kirby Smart put it before the South Carolina game last year, “get (their) ass ready to play” on their own.

We haven’t had much experience with this phenomenon in the States, but European soccer teams play in front of empty crowds occasionally – most often as punishment for unruly or abusive fans. They’ve also played without fans this spring and summer during the pandemic. An ESPN study found that empty stadiums eroded homefield advantage in the German Bundesliga. “The vibe is a little bit off to be fair,” admitted one player.

The lack of fans might even affect how the games are officiated. Refs are human and, right or wrong, can get caught up in the crowd reaction. Sports Illustrated cited a study from Sweden concluding that “the favorable calls conferred on the home team dropped by 23%–70%” depending on the type of foul. Even more, “they noted that the same referees overseeing the same two teams in the same stadium behaved dramatically differently when spectators were present.” Few calls are as exposed to fan reaction as pass interference, so it will be worth watching who does and doesn’t get those calls this year.

These studies dealt mainly with completely empty venues, and there’s not enough experience yet with crowds the size we’re likely to see across the SEC. It’s not likely that homefield advantage will evaporate, but I think the noon game paradigm is the right way to approach preparation. Georgia has been on both sides of that coin: we all remember last year’s South Carolina game or the 2016 games with Nicholls and Vanderbilt, but there’s also the upset win at Auburn in 2006 or Nick Chubb’s breakout game at Missouri in 2014. The Dawgs have generally been able to focus on the game at hand under Kirby Smart, but there won’t be the frenzied home crowds or even the road takeovers that have become the norm.

The good news for Georgia? “Without spectators, it comes down more to the quality of players,” claimed one German soccer coach. Georgia doesn’t lack for quality players. That said, those players have to be ready to go. Whether it was the horrific faceplant of the Big 12 or Tech knocking off FSU in week 1, less-talented but motivated road underdogs can knock off sleepwalking home favorites without the home crowd to wake things up. Those road teams can isolate and focus on the “business trip” routine. Preparing players to match and surpass the energy level of their opponents will be even more important this year than it usually is, and it will all have to come from inside the team.

These six probable starters might or might not end up being the best or even most important players at their positions, but they’re interesting starting points for thinking about some of the bigger issues facing this year’s team.

Tyson Campbell: There aren’t many questions on Georgia’s defense, but the secondary is seeing the most turnover on that side of the ball. Lewis Cine seems set to replace J.R. Reed at safety. Cornerback is a little less settled. Despite overall good depth in the secondary, Divaad Wilson’s transfer and an injury to Kelee Ringo leaves coaches with fewer options at cornerback. We know Eric Stokes is set on one side, but the other cornerback spot is still up for grabs. DJ Daniel has the experience to do the job, but Campbell is itching to show why he was a five-star national top 25 prospect in 2018.

Campbell lost the starting job as a true freshman in 2018 to Stokes. He was again expected to start in 2019 and replace Deandre Baker, but a nagging turf toe injury sidelined him for a good chunk of the season and led coaches to rely more on Daniel. Daniel is back, as is Tyrique Stephenson, so it’s not a given that Campbell will start as a junior. We should expect to see a lot more of him though now that he’s unencumbered by injury.

Georgia’s rush defense was among the best in the nation in 2019, and many of those front seven defenders return. The passing defense wasn’t far off; they were 8th in pass efficiency defense. Still, it might’ve been a little lucky that Georgia faced a slew of backup quarterbacks later in the 2019 season. If the rush defense is stout again, the pass defense will be the true measure of how good this defense can be. If that other cornerback spot firms up this year, that creates extra time for people like Nolan Smith, Jermaine Johnson, and Azeez Ojulari to get to the quarterback. Beyond that, success on passing downs will determine whether the defense earns its reputation. Can they get off the field on third down? Can they take advantage of down and distance to create turnovers? Can they prevent explosive throws over the top? If Stokes’s presence forces quarterbacks to look elsewhere, the opposite cornerback figures to be picked on. That’s the opportunity for Campbell. Is the third time the charm?

George Pickens: Pickens lived up to his five-star billing – you know him from his acrobatic catches, his dominant first half against Baylor, or his arrangement of a meeting between a Tech defensive back and the wall of Bobby Dodd Stadium. His flair for the spectacular and his unquestioned physical ability makes him one of the most exciting Georgia wideouts of the past ten seasons.

The question is whether Pickens is ready to go from the occasional highlight to being a more consistent and reliable leader of the receiving corps. The fortunes of Georgia’s passing game ebbed and flowed in 2019 with Lawrence Cager’s health. Pickens was able to pick up some – though not all – of the slack, and of course the quarterback had his own issues. As much as Fromm leaned on Cager in big midseason moments, Cager’s absence late in the year meant that Pickens emerged as Georgia’s leading receiver. Pickens’s 12 receptions and 175 yards against Baylor saw him run away from the pack.

Pickens was rarely dominant, but that’s a lot to ask for from a true freshman in a struggling offense. He had a single game with over 100 receiving yards and was largely held in check from the Florida game through the end of the regular season. The good news is that the trend is positive. Six of his eight touchdown receptions came in the last half of the season, and he scored in each of the team’s final four games. Arguably his best football came against quality opponents in a game and a half of postseason play. Those 16 postseason receptions are the encouraging part – Pickens had a combined two receptions against Notre Dame, Florida, and Auburn while posting better numbers against weaker opponents.

Five of Georgia’s top seven receivers in 2019 are gone or unavailable in 2020. The two who return are senior Demetris Robertson and Pickens. Robertson, another former five-star prospect, has found it more difficult to become a standout after transferring in from Cal. There’s a group of returning receivers with experience but little production. Kearis Jackson made a splash right away at Vanderbilt but injured himself on his best play. The speedy Jackson could get a look at some return duty and as a slot receiver. Matt Landers has battled some bad drops, but his size and consistent effort continue to earn him playing time. Will that cut it in the new offense? Tommy Bush is another tall target who battled injuries in 2019, and we’re not sure yet what his upside can be.

Whether or not Pickens, Robertson, and the others can step up, Georgia will still rely on one of the nation’s top receiver signing classes. The Bulldogs brought in five receivers. Four rated among the top 150 players in the nation. Speedster Arian Smith had offseason surgery, so it might be later in the season until he sees the field. Three of the others – Justin Robinson, Jermaine Burton, and Marcus Rosemy-Jacksaint – could be early contributors. They might not have the impact Pickens had but as a group could be key to Georgia’s passing game success.

Trey Hill: What an offseason of change for Georgia’s offensive line. Coach Sam Pittman is gone, three starters were drafted by the NFL, and another abruptly transferred to Tennessee. That leaves Hill as the lone returning starter from a unit that has been considered the identity of the Georgia offense since 2017. But Kirby Smart is rarely caught unprepared, and the program managed such a major transition about as well as it could.

Former Ole Miss coach Matt Luke was brought in before the bowl game to replace Pittman and did well to assemble a shorthanded group. It might be more important that Luke was able to hold onto another impressive recruiting class of linemen. Georgia saw a single defection from the class, and key commitments at tackle and center remained on board. That group of signees is part of another reason why Georgia can survive so many changes from a year ago. The losses hurt, but the cupboard isn’t bare. Consistent quality recruiting along the offensive line over the last several classes means that Georgia won’t be scrambling and rushed to play those true freshmen. Though four starters must be replaced, all but one of the replacements have starting experience.

Though Ben Cleveland, perhaps the lone Mark Richt commitment left in the program, has started games since 2017, Hill’s 18 starts are tops among Georgia’s linemen. He wasn’t a natural center and has had shaky moments, but he’s grown into the role and will now have to lead a new group of linemen playing for a new position coach protecting a new quarterback in a new offense. Georgia has signed other centers since Hill took over. Clay Webb and, most recently, Sedrick Van Pran are available in reserve, but the stability and experience Hill brings to an important position is one of the few elements of continuity on an overhauled offense. Georgia will face some of the more difficult defensive fronts in the conference early in the season, so this reconfigured line won’t have long to get it together.

Zamir White: Who was Georgia’s leading returning rusher heading into the 2012 season? Isaiah Crowell (850 yards) was dismissed. Carlton Thomas (361 yards) graduated. That meant that Brandon Harton, whose 247 yards just edged out Richard Samuel’s 240, was Georgia’s top returning tailback heading into 2012. Harton had seen mostly garbage time duty in 2011, but injuries to Crowell and Samuel thrust Harton into the spotlight against Kentucky. He responded with 101 yards against the Wildcats to help Georgia clinch its first SEC East title since 2005.

Georgia’s tailback situation changed dramatically in 2012. Gurley and Marshall arrived to begin a run that arguably surpassed the 1980s as the golden age of Georgia tailbacks. Over the next seven years Georgia didn’t only have standout tailbacks; they weaved a depth chart that ensured there was a proven and productive back in place for the following season. The Gurley/Marshall era overlapped with the Chubb/Michel era which overlapped with the Swift/Holyfield era.

The next transition seemed to be set up with the 2018 signing of Zamir White and James Cook. A series of knee injuries delayed White’s debut, and Cook never really found his role in Georgia’s power offense. White eventually got his chance in 2019, but carries were tough to come by, and coaches were slow to place much of a load on someone coming off two knee surgeries. With Swift and Herrien sidelined for the Sugar Bowl, White posted his season high in carries (18) and yards (92) with one touchdown against Baylor. White ended the season with 408 rushing yards – the fewest yards for Georgia’s leading returning tailback since that pivotal 2012 season.

As with 2012, the tailback position is at a crossroads entering 2020. White and Cook are expected to lead the pack, but they won’t be the only options. Kenny McIntosh earned some tough yards as a freshman. Five-star Kendall Milton will arrive from California as the next heralded Bulldog tailback prospect. Daijun Edwards stood tall in the meatgrinder of south Georgia prep football. It’s less likely that 2020 will follow 2012 though. Milton and Edwards, while solid prospects, don’t carry the expectations of Gurley and Marshall. More to the point, White and Cook are better than the returning backs in 2012. White is ready to step into the lead back role and can hopefully follow Chubb’s lead of a strong season two years after knee surgery. Cook has the tools to thrive in a more open offense. He’ll also be a receiving option out of the backfield, and he is expected to be in the mix to return kicks.

Georgia has had a 1,000-yard rusher every year since 2014. There are two or three backs capable of continuing that streak, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s Zeus.

Malik Herring: It’s been a while since the Georgia defensive line has produced a star. In fact, Georgia hasn’t had a defensive lineman drafted since John Jenkins in 2013. Promising prospects like Trenton Thompson and Tyler Clark had to go the free agent route. That drought should end soon, and it is likely to start with Herring. Herring really began to make a name for himself in dismantling Tech’s option attack in 2018, and he quietly became an important – and consistent – standout on Georgia’s improved defensive front in 2019. Georgia’s linemen tend not to get a ton of stats in the 3-4 scheme, and Herring is no exception. But the advanced stats say that Herring does his job well. ESPN considers him the top returning edge defender in the SEC.

Jordan Davis is the plug in the middle. Travon Walker is poised to move from a third-down role to an every-down matchup problem on the opposite side. It’s going to be tough to keep freshman Jalen Carter off the field. It’s Herring though and his ability to control the edge that could set Georgia’s defensive line apart. The defensive line could and should take a step forward in terms of visibility this year, but the real value is the opportunities that a disruptive defensive line create for the wealth of havoc-creating talent at linebacker.

Jake Camarda: Right…Monken’s offense is never going to punt. Just in case, Camarda deserves a bit of scrutiny as one of the more veteran members of Georgia’s special teams. He wasn’t quite able to shake his inconsistency as a sophomore; a 27-yard punt shanked out of bounds a midfield was nearly disastrous against Notre Dame. Even with that inconsistency, Camarda might be the one area of special teams that’s fairly stable.

The big question is placekicking. Camarda might not only figure in punting. He’ll be looked at, along with incoming freshman Jared Zirkel, to replace Rodrigo Blankenship as placekicker. Camarda handled PK duties in high school and was more than competent. If Zirkel isn’t quite ready yet, Camarda could become twice as important. Walk-on junior Jake Podlesny is another option at placekicker.

Georgia will also see new returners in 2020 after a very unremarkable 2019. A stingy defense meant there weren’t many kicks to return, and Brian Herrien was the most productive kick returner. Most punt returns were handled by Dominick Blaylock or Tyler Simmons. Neither return unit scored in 2019, and there were very few explosive returns to help a struggling offense with good field position. James Cook returned four kicks in 2019, and he seems to be the leading candidate to handle the job in 2020. Punt returns might be even more wide-open. Kearis Jackson is the only returning player with punt return experience, but some of the speedy newcomers could also get a look.

We don’t really think much about specialists until things go wrong or unless they have special moments like Blankenship or McKenzie. Let’s hope for the latter.

The pandemic has served to hasten the move across sports to digital ticketing. Tickets at Georgia and other schools will be delivered to and managed on the ticketholder’s phone. From a public health standpoint it makes sense. Digital tickets are contactless at the gate, and selling/transferring tickets on the secondary market doesn’t require a face-to-face meeting.

It’s necessary but unfortunate that the days are numbered for the paper ticket. The arrival of the sheet of season tickets in August was a day many fans anticipated. Each year’s design was a little different and more elaborate. The bigger point is that the ticket was a tangible memento of the game and our presence at it.

I was reminded of Scott Duvall’s (of the Waitin’ Since Last Saturday podcast) table project that showcased his collection of ticket stubs. You can point to any spot on the table and dive into the history, stats, stories, and memories represented by that ticket. I expect many of us have a collection of stubs whether tucked away in a box in the closet or even turned into a showcase like Duvall’s. Most of the tickets are run-of-the-mill home game tickets, but the 2007 Blackout game or the 2013 LSU game is worth highlighting. Maybe there’s a special place for that Rose Bowl or Notre Dame ticket. That 2002 Alabama or 1997 Florida game? That’s in there too.

As Duvall predicted, “the proliferation of electronic and print-at-home tickets will surely slow the pace of collecting more (stubs.)” That proliferation hit the afterburners this year, and there’s no going back. There are too many benefits to the issuer to go digital: digital tickets are harder to counterfeit, easier and cheaper to produce and deliver, and they can be tied to a team-managed gameday experience.

Pro teams are well out in front of this trend. Tickets are tied to a team app that manages everything from parking to concessions to movement throughout the arena or stadium. Alabama made news last year for using this location tracking to monitor how many students stayed until the bitter end.

Once tickets and the gameday experience are routed through a team-controlled app, marketers will have plenty of data to mine. As the CEO of the group that owns Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz stadium put it, “I will know when you come in, and what you buy and when.” That sounds more menacing than it’s meant to, but the truth is that there’s a lot of valuable information wrapped up in the preferences and behaviors of top-dollar customers. As Georgia caters more to Magill-level fans and seeks to move more fans into that tier, data is key to reaching those people.

For now it’s just ticketing that’s moving to the digital platform. It won’t be seamless; older and lower-income fans might not have the technology to use these tickets, and accommodations will have to be considered. During the pandemic it might mean that some people are unable to attend games. For those of us who have that box of stubs, we won’t be adding much to it. Sports fans are still sports fans, and our deep attachment to nostalgia won’t disappear. We’ll just need something a little less tangible to trigger it.

In April I posted a few thoughts about my decision to renew season tickets for the 2020 season during the early stages of the pandemic. I concluded that “renewing season tickets now bought me time to watch and wait and make a more informed decision months from now.”

The time for that decision is now. Georgia and the SEC plan to play football. The league is leaving attendance policies up to the individual schools based on local regulations, and most schools, including Georgia, will be at around 20% capacity. With a month or so to reallocate tickets under the new arrangement, Georgia had one question for its donors and season ticket holders: are you in or out? Fans had until yesterday, August 26th, to decide whether to opt in to the pool of applicants for tickets or opt out for the 2020 season.

It was a difficult decision, but I have opted out and will miss home games for the first time since 1990. In my April post, I outlined a few criteria I had in mind for attending games, and I don’t believe that we’re there yet. I’m encouraged by the trends in Georgia as we come down from a summer peak, but there is still considerable community transmission. Our therapeutic toolkit has improved since the spring, but the most promising treatments are still in trials. It’s possible (and likely) that the numbers and available treatments will be even better in a month’s time as we kick off, but we’re being asked to make a decision now based on information at hand.

There’s more to it than just the medical risk. For many of us the social element of gameday is as important as the action on the field. It’s an opportunity to bring together friends and groups from around the state (and beyond) and rekindle family bonds and traditions that span generations. It’s a cliché that football is a religion in the South, but gameday sure does seem like a ritual.

We don’t know yet whether tailgating will be allowed. (On-campus tailgating, that is. Off-campus tailgating won’t be under the University’s control but will still have to follow state and local regulations for gatherings.) It’s safe to say though that the social element of gameday will be disrupted. You and your friends could receive tickets to different games. You won’t be sitting in the same location around the same group with whom you’ve gone through the highs and lows of each season. You will park, go to the game, maybe catch a bite in town, and head home. We’ve all probably gone to a game in that way before, and it’s pretty much how I attend basketball games. It’s not how most of us prefer to spend a football Saturday. Those changes are understandable and necessary just to have anyone in the stands this year, but for the trouble, the risks, and the uncertainty of seat location and game, the at-home setup – or watching the game at a private and distanced tailgate – sounds pretty good this year.

Georgia’s refund policy made the decision easier. The policy allows us to convert this year’s sunk costs into priority points or a refund. More importantly, I’ll keep my seat location and priority going forward regardless of my opt-in/out decision. I chose to convert my donation since it is meant to support all of Georgia’s programs and not just football. Others need the refund, and it’s the minimum of decency to offer that option without penalty for the 2021 season.

Much has changed since April. We’ve learned a tremendous amount, but that’s led to other questions. One thing that’s remained unchanged is this: as things reopen and events resume, we can control our participation. We each have our own risk tolerance and financial situation, and its our responsibility to make our own decisions based on the best available information. I’m glad that Georgia’s policy allowed some flexibility with very little downside, and I would have been disappointed with the program had a less generous policy been offered. I’ll very much miss attending games if they’re played – I’ve been to every home game since I enrolled. I’ll miss just as much seeing the usual crew and reuniting with my extended family inside and outside of the stadium. I see those as small sacrifices for myself and my family to navigate safely through this pandemic. You might disagree, and please bark twice as loud for me.

With my decision over and done with, I just hope they can play safely. Wear your mask.

If I had one issue with the ticket plan, it’s this: I was disappointed to see that only 3,000 tickets will be reserved for students. I understand why: the first half of Greg McGarity’s letter outlining the new ticket policy clearly laid out the financial stakes, and as many people as possible need to be paying the full $150/game. Students also won’t contribute as much to the struggling Athens economy that depends on home games. There are still some very good reasons why students should get a larger share:

• Students are in a much lower-risk group than the typical fan. Of course COVID-19 has affected all age groups, but on average those around college age are much less likely to face severe disease or worse if there is transmission among the crowd.
• Donors will be able to be right back in their same seats next year and beyond. Students, on the other hand, have a limited time to enjoy the experience of attending a game as a student. Student tickets are already constrained by a lottery. Alumni can recall how their passion for watching Georgia football and their lifelong relationship with the program was cultivated in the student section. Even fewer students will have that experience now.
• Students are more likely to make noise. With attendance limited, you want to maximize the impact of those who are in the stands.
• If tickets were limited to students, groups of fans without tickets would be less tempted to come to Athens to tailgate or score a ticket.
• Perhaps most importantly, students won’t have to travel to the game. By the first home game, students will have been in Athens for at least six weeks. Their loose networks of contacts will have stabilized. Local initial outbreaks might have settled down. Other fans will travel in from areas with varying levels of outbreak. Tens of thousands of people descending on Athens from all corners of the state four times during the fall will establish potentially new networks of transmission when those fans return home.

I trust that a lot of thought has been put into keeping the gameday experience as safe as possible for those who are able to attend. Of course any policy comes down to compliance and enforcement, and we’ll see how that goes.

They’re going to try. We know what the modified SEC-only schedule looks like, and now we know that a limited number of fans will be able to see it in person. The SEC will allow each school to set its own attendance policy subject to state and local regulations. The only common guideline is that only 500 visitor tickets will be allocated for each game, and those tickets will likely be held in reserve for the visitor’s family members and official traveling party. In other words, road games won’t be part of the new ticket application.

Georgia’s policy is similar to others we’ve seen. Tickets will be kept to 20-25% of capacity with social distancing enforced. Masks will be required outside of the seating area. Tickets will be allocated in blocks of four. This means roughly 20,000 tickets will be issued for each of Georgia’s four home games, and that figure includes tickets set aside for visitors, students, guests, faculty, administration, and all of the other usual uses. The rest of the tickets will be offered to donors, and they’ll have the option to request from one to four games based on contribution level with no guarantees. The general public will not be able to order tickets directly through Georgia.

Of course with capacity reduced, the policy also includes information about refunds and options for 2020 Hartman Fund donations and season ticket orders. Fans will have to decide to opt in or out of the new ticketing system to help UGA gauge demand and allocate the tickets. Fans will also have to decide what to do with the money already deposited for the 2020 season. Fortunately there are options regardless of the decision to opt in or out.

The big takeaways of the policy were:

• Your seat location and priority level won’t be affected if you choose to opt out. This is very important for those who might have reservations about attending games.
• 2020 donations and season ticket payments won’t roll over to 2021 but can be refunded or turned into a tax-deductible donation for 3x Hartman Fund points.
• Unless your annual donation is over $5,000, you will be able to request at most one home game this year, and it’s not a sure thing. They’ll use the same system used for road games and postseason tickets, and demand at the top levels will determine how many tickets are available lower down the priority system.

I’d like to see who actually ends up using the tickets. Tailgating and games likely won’t be the elaborate social and networking opportunities we’re used to. No one will get more than four seats, and they won’t be in the location you’re used to around the same people. If (on-campus) tailgating is limited or prohibited, you’ll park, go to the game, and leave – maybe after grabbing a bite to eat. Will attending a game be less appealing with the social element stripped down?

Certainly there are some younger donors in the Magill Society, but a large share of Georgia’s top donors are older fans in more vulnerable age groups. Will they simply distribute their tickets to younger relatives or try to make some money reselling their tickets? Will they simply pass and open up tickets for donors at lower priority levels? I’m interested to see how that secondary market develops. Will there be much excess demand for those scarce 20,000 tickets? With Auburn and Tennessee coming to town, I expect there will be.

It’s also worth pointing out that even this revised policy is subject to change. It’s not likely that more tickets will be issued, but it could certainly go the other way if conditions merit. Venerated events like the Kentucky Derby and the Masters have announced that they’ll proceed this fall without fans or patrons. The schools would prefer to salvage as much ticket revenue as possible, but if it comes down to holding a game with no fans versus no game at all, the stands will be empty.

Georgia’s revised conference-only 2020 schedule was released Monday night. It’s surreal to write about a schedule that stands a fair chance of further revision or outright cancellation, but it’s what we have for now.

Even if it ends up never taking place, the 10-game SEC slate looks mighty attractive, and it’s going to be tough going back. Give me Tech and maybe another P5 nonconference game, and you’ve got a compelling schedule in the years to come. The revised home schedule isn’t great, but the original schedule wasn’t much to look at either. Tennessee and Auburn are still on there, and a visit from Mike Leach’s MSU Bulldogs replaces Georgia Tech and a couple of forgettable contract games.

Here’s the complete SEC schedule, and here’s Georgia’s slate:

Sept. 26: at Arkansas
Oct. 3: Auburn
Oct. 10: Tennessee
Oct. 17: at Alabama
Oct. 24: at Kentucky
Oct. 31: Bye
Nov. 7: vs. Florida (Jax)
Nov. 14: at Missouri
Nov. 21: Mississippi State
Nov. 28: at South Carolina
Dec. 5: Vanderbilt

• Attention will be focused on the front of the schedule, and consecutive games against Auburn, Tennessee, and Alabama jump out. What might be more important to Georgia’s season is the midseason stretch from Alabama through Florida. There will be three straight games requiring out-of-state travel, and Kentucky has proven to be a credible threat in the division. Alabama and Florida need no hype. By that point in the season, you’ll also have the early wear and tear begin to take their toll – remember how much the fortunes of 2013 changed from September to October.
• In 2019, Georgia’s November SEC schedule was widely described as a “gauntlet.” The four-game stretch from Florida to Texas A&M featured three opponents ranked in the top 16 of SP+, and Missouri was still a respectable #36. That doesn’t seem to be the case this year. Missouri and Mississippi State will still be working through first-year coach issues. We know better than to overlook South Carolina, especially on the road, but Georgia should once again be favored. If Georgia comes out of Jacksonville on top of the division, they’ll be heavy favorites to finish the job.
• Yes, that’s only four home games out of ten. It’s Georgia’s turn as the home team in Jacksonville, and the Bulldogs won’t have any of the nonconference games that would have filled out the usual home slate. Georgia will have to travel out-of-state for six of its ten games.
• That itinerary means that Georgia will go six weeks in the middle of the season without a true home game. That’s not unusual; the game in Jacksonville often means an extended road trip during October even in normal seasons. There will also be the usual pre-Florida bye week during the road trip.
• Since this is all improvised, several traditional dates were sacrificed. Georgia-Auburn moves to the beginning of the season, but that was expected in the original schedule. The Iron Bowl is no longer the last game of the season. Alabama’s “Third Saturday in October” opponent is now Georgia rather than Tennessee. Georgia-Florida won’t be a Halloween trick or treat, but the November 7th date is more in line with when the game was played prior to 1992.
• A schedule release usually leads us to think about travel plans. Georgia hasn’t been to Fayetteville since 2009. For the first time in years, the Kentucky trip is in October. Keeneland’s Fall Meet will run through October 24th, though attendance details haven’t been released yet. Columbia, SC might even be pleasant in late November, and it will be nice to avoid the furnace that is a mid-September game over there.
• It might be best to hold off planning elaborate road trips. The SEC will limit visiting teams to just 500 tickets, and there almost surely won’t be tickets sold to the general public.
• I hope your WLOCP reservations were refundable. Maybe you’ll just extend your plans another week.
• The Jacksonville NFL schedule wasn’t much help in divining the date of the WLOCP. Jacksonville will host the Georgia-Florida game and an NFL game on consecutive days. That’s quite a long night for stadium operations people, but it would be made easier if organizers aren’t expecting many people at either event.
• It’s small potatoes in the scheme of building a schedule from scratch during a pandemic, but I do hope Georgia’s administration at least tried to preserve the date in Jacksonville. It’s the only neutral-site game in the conference, and so it’s the only game for which both sets of fans would travel. Even if fans aren’t allowed at the game (or are limited), a lot of people have money wrapped up in the weekend of October 31st.
• When schedules began moving around in the spring and summer, a tantalizing possibility was a double-header with a big Georgia home game and the Masters. Now we know that Georgia won’t host a home game on November 14th (they’ll play at Missouri), and Augusta National won’t have patrons at the Masters. You’ll be watching both events from home.

Our sports networks are digging into the archives for content, and for that we’re grateful. It’s just about all we have for now in the way of sports programming. The Georgia Bulldogs Radio Network even got into the act during the month of May with radio calls featuring Larry Munson on Saturday afternoons.

The thing is that when the TV networks do a classic Georgia game, it’s often from the same pool of 4 or 5 games. I love the Rose Bowl win like a family member, but by now I can recite it by heart. So let’s create a day of wall-to-wall Georgia football viewing with some memorable games from the past 30 years that aren’t in heavy rotation.

(Most of these are on YouTube – links included where possible.)

Midnight-3am: 2000 Tennessee. It wasn’t a particularly thrilling game (Georgia won completing 8 of 18 passes for 134 yards,) but it was a significant win. Georgia ended the decade-long losing streak to the Vols. It took a fourth down stand by, as Larry Munson called them, the “beautiful defense.” It featured the ground game and arguably launched the fan-favorite status of Musa Smith. Then there was the bizarre ending with Georgia fans rushing the field with time left on the clock…

3am-6am: 2009 Georgia Tech. “We Run This State” has been in the Georgia fan’s lexicon for over a decade now. See the game that started it. It’s not often that Georgia Tech and Georgia are in a position for a Bulldog win to be a big upset, but this outcome surprised even me.

6am-9am: 1997 Florida. Let’s end another streak. Georgia entered as 20-point underdogs to the defending champs, but Georgia came out firing and built a 14-3 halftime lead. This wasn’t the cakewalk indicated by the 37-17 final score. Florida came back and took the lead in the third quarter. It wasn’t over until Robert Edwards tightroped down the sideline with less than six minutes remaining. Olandis Gary put the cherry on top minutes later. It was an entertaining back-and-forth game with great performances by Edwards, Bobo, Ward, and you even get to watch Kirby Smart notch two interceptions.

9am-noon: 2002 Alabama. Are you man enough to watch this game? The start of the 2002 season featured several close calls. Four of Georgia’s first six wins had a margin of no more than six points. We could feature the Clemson game with the Tiger field goal that came up just short. There’s the “Pollack game” at South Carolina. But for the 2002 team to prove its worth, it had to win in Tuscaloosa. Pat Dye didn’t think they had it in them. Georgia fans who made the trip remember this game for the heat, but from the comforts of home it was an extremely entertaining watch. Enjoy some spectacular Fred Gibson catches, tense up during the Alabama comeback, wince at the pick six that put Bama on top, and exult as Billy Bennett’s game-winning field goal established Georgia as an SEC and national contender.

Noon-3pm: 1991 Clemson. Take the charged atmosphere of the 2013 LSU game. Make it at night. Add the excitement of the worst-to-first Braves clinching the division (yes, fans of both teams joined in the tomahawk chop during pregame.) Top it off with a convincing upset of a rival who happened to be the #6 team in the nation. A deep pass and score just before halftime put Georgia out in front, and things only got better in the second half. Eric Zeier put an end to the quarterback controversy of the early 1991 season, and we began to see the shape of the team that would have a pretty nice run from 1991-1992. Bonus: you get the classic ’90s broadcasting duo of Franklin and Gottfried.

3pm-6pm: 2007 Florida. A genuninely fun game in which Georgia’s offense outperformed the eventual Heisman winner. It started strong with Georgia’s bench-emptying celebration, but this game had four quarters of high-scoring action. Florida even led in the second quarter, and Georgia managed to claw back on top by halftime. The second half was back-and-forth with Georgia extending its lead and Florida fighting back to stay within a score. It wasn’t over until a late Tebow fumble within striking distance of Georgia’s endzone allowed Georgia’s fans to enjoy their second win of the Mark Richt era over Florida. Knowshon Moreno was brilliant, Stafford threw two long touchdown passes, and the 2007 team that seemed dead in the water turned the corner to become a national title contender.

6pm-9pm: 1998 LSU. Ease into the evening with a great game from Baton Rouge. Georgia and its “freshman” quarterback faced a night game in Death Valley against #6 LSU. It looked as if we were headed for a shootout: the teams traded blows en route to a 21-21 halftime tie. Georgia broke the tie in the third quarter and held on for dear life as LSU inched closer and closer with a pair of field goals. They sealed the win with a perfect over-the-shoulder catch by Champ Bailey on a risky third down pass. The Dawgs were able to run out the clock and earn the upset win that set up the program’s first visit by ESPN Gameday a week later.

9pm-midnight: 2002 Auburn. As important as this game is in the history of Georgia football, you don’t see it very often – if at all. Without this win and the miracle Greene-to-Johnson pass, there is no breakthrough SEC championship for Mark Richt. 2002 becomes just another nice 10-2 season. How we look at that entire early-2000s run changes. Greene and Pollack are never champions. Georgia, without some of its top receivers, had to find a way to manufacture offense against a good Auburn team. The Dawgs trailed throughout the game and only managed a field goal in the first half. The offense came to life in the third quarter sparked by a long run by Musa Smith after Georgia found itself pinned against its own goal line. Georgia pulled to within four points, and the teams traded fourth quarter possessions as the clock ran down. A deep sideline pass to Fred Gibson set Georgia up in Auburn territory, and you know how this one ends.

Honorable Mention / Day Two: 2007 Auburn, 2002 Arkansas, 1997 Tech, 1999/2000 Purdue, 2006 Auburn, 2006 Virginia Tech, 2016 UNC, 2017 Mississippi State, 1992/3 Ohio State

Georgia’s players and staffers have made their way back to Athens in time to begin voluntary workouts on June 8th. Before the workouts, everyone received a SARS-CoV-2 test regardless of symptoms. There’s a protocol for positive tests, and players will be divided into smaller groups during workouts to minimize exposure. There’s always a risk in any group activity during a pandemic, but Georgia’s staff and administrators have clearly put thought and effort into minimizing the risk.

Georgia’s policy to test everyone is in line with many programs seeking to resume activity, but there is no universal policy or requirement to test across college football. Conferences will try to establish some loose frameworks, but member schools are still governed by state and local orders.

It shouldn’t be alarming or surprising to discover that some players test positive. We’ve seen confirmed cases in just about every sport that has resumed activity. European soccer teams, MLS teams, and Japanese baseball teams have all reported positive tests. We shouldn’t expect college football to be different, and it would be no surprise to learn that Georgia’s testing discovered a couple of cases.

Several college teams (Marshall, Oklahoma State, Arkansas State, and Alabama) have already identified new cases through their initial testing. Tellingly, the majority of these cases are described as asymptomatic. It’s possible that the infections would have gone undetected had the players remained at home. It’s also realistic that these hidden infections would have been unknowingly transmitted to teammates had all players not been tested. Programs that only test symptomatic individuals risk that scenario.

Another consideration for universal testing is the communities to which these players are returning.

Clarke County has had just over 300 confirmed cases, and there have only been two COVID-19 deaths reported since April 16. With the University largely shuttered and the students sent home, Athens is smaller and more isolated than we’re used to. Athens isn’t a waypoint on major trade and travel routes; the closest interstate highway is 20 miles away. You have to want to go to Athens. Ordinarily that’s not an issue. Now the events, concerts, and culture that draw us to Athens are canceled or limited in capacity.

That isolation left Athens to serve primarily its full-time residents as well as the surrounding counties. The healthcare system in Athens is the hub of a 17-county system, and several of those counties don’t even have a hospital bed. The concern early in the pandemic was that outbreaks in those counties would overwhelm the hospital capacity in Athens, but that hasn’t happened. Larger northeast Georgia outbreaks in Hall and Habersham counties were handled within other systems, and the Athens area has dodged, for now, the fate of southwest Georgia.

Now student-athletes from across the state (and out of state) will descend on Athens. Isolating any who test positive right away will help prevent the possibility of a larger outbreak in an area that has avoided them. The positive cases can be isolated, monitored, and safely returned to activity without risk to teammates, staffers, or others out in the community with whom they’ll come in contact. These cases can be cleared or treated now – three months before the season is scheduled to start.

Of course a positive or negative test this week is just a snapshot in time. Players will begin to interact with each other, staff, and people around Athens – each with their own contact history. If the University reopens for on-campus instruction, you’ll have the same issue of importing cases on a much larger scale. It’s not realistic for a similar testing protocol to cover the entire UGA community. Players will need to continue to be tested throughout the summer. As the season approaches there will need to be more formal standards as teams begin to travel and compete. A positive test at any time brings the same risks as it does now. That volume and frequency of testing is necessary but expensive.

Summer workouts aren’t practice, and policies for that phase are still to be determined. Certainly the experiences of schools during this first phase will inform what comes next. The preseason period might even be lengthened to allow for re-acclimation after the long downtime. For now, the Dawgs are all back on campus and doing a modified form of what they’d usually be doing this time of year. It’s a necessary and positive small step towards a season this fall, and we’re glad to see this milestone.

The January commitment of 5* quarterback Brock Vandagriff seemed to solidify the Georgia QB room for the next several years. Todd Monken had an upperclassman starter with P5 experience (Newman), younger talent to develop (Beck and Mathis), and now adds a blue chip prospect waiting in the wings.

We know Kirby Smart is never done recruiting, and he’s not going to pass up the opportunity to improve even a deep position like quarterback. Adding J.T. Daniels might seem like gilding the lily, but we know that you never want to be without options at quarterback. In terms of fitting into the room Daniels falls between the experienced Newman and the underclassmen. He has starting experience at Southern Cal, but his progress has been put on hold with a knee injury. He has a couple of years of eligibility remaining, so he can be developed with a longer-term outlook.

It’s important to continue to improve the position because there are reasons to have reservations about all of the available quarterbacks:

• Daniels: He’s less than a year from an ACL injury. We’ve seen players return from ACL injuries in a year, but we’ve also seen how it can take some time to rebuild the confidence that allows someone to perform at a peak level. Chubb had a decent 2016 after his 2015 injury but wasn’t his explosive self until 2017. Zamir White was only just beginning to round into form at the end of 2019. Daniels can’t redshirt, but would he benefit from a year as the backup? There’s also a risk his transfer waiver could be denied in which case he’d have that extra year of recovery regardless.
• Newman: He’s a favorite of the analysts, but it’s tough to make a splash at a place like Wake Forest unless you’re putting up Heisman-like numbers. His stats dropped off as the competition became tougher and key receivers were injured. Is his success dependent on a strong surrounding cast, or will he be able to elevate an unproven group of skill players?
• Mathis: Mathis hasn’t played in a college game, but he has spent some time on the practice field. At this point only Bennett has more time as a member of the team. He’s been cleared to resume activities with the team, but brain surgery is nothing to mess around with. The program has, and will continue to be, appropriately cautious with Mathis’s well-being.
• Beck: Inexperience is the obvious knock. Georgia struck true freshman gold with Fromm, but that’s rare. The depth and experience at the position means that Georgia won’t have to rush Beck along.
• Bennett: He’s been a career reserve and has yet to break through. Coaches might have confidence in his experience and ability if their hand were forced, but there haven’t been any indications of Bennett moving past that reserve role.

Newman will likely start the season, but the depth chart could go any direction after that. A lot of it will depend on the fitness of Daniels and Mathis especially early in the season. Setbacks to either could reshuffle the order or even force Beck into action, but you’d hope that Georgia can find the kind of production and stability they need from among those five.

This year’s unusual NFL Draft was a welcome gulp of water while we are parched for live sports. It was hardly a return to normalcy, but it did give us a reason to look ahead to a time when sports and football would be back. I kind of liked the virtual format. Seeing all of the prospects in their homes surrounded by family gave the event a more raw and humanizing touch relative to the slick production the league had prepared in Las Vegas.

The Bulldogs had seven players drafted including two first-rounders. The seven players selected matched 2019’s total, and Georgia had one more player selected in the first three rounds this year than a year ago. Georgia’s draft showing could be called…fine.

A second straight season with seven draft picks seems like good news, but at the same time expectations might have been a little higher. The hype factory at the AJC speculated about a record draft, tying or surpassing the program-best eight picks. Instead it was a tough night for some of Georgia’s higher-profile draft entrants. Jake Fromm slid from high-round projections to the fifth round. He won’t be a lock to make the Buffalo squad. The lack of scouting opportunities outside of the combine due to the pandemic surely hurt Fromm as well as injured players like Lawrence Cager. Fan favorite and Lou Groza award winner Rodrigo Blankenship seemed like a lock to sneak into the late rounds, but he remained undrafted as other specialists came off the board. Defensive leader J.R. Reed also went undrafted.

Georgia’s defense might have relished the “no-name” label applied to the squad that led the nation despite no superstar standouts, but that anonymity also continued into the draft. Tae Crowder, selected with the draft’s final pick, was the only member of the productive defense to be drafted. In fact, let this sink in: Georgia has had more offensive linemen (4) drafted in the past two seasons than defensive players (3).

(How fantastic and improbable was it to see Crowder drafted? He was a converted tailback best known for his recovery of a squib kick in the Rose Bowl, earned a starting job at inside linebacker, and held off several 4* and 5* prospects as he became a Butkus Award semifinalist. Now he’s the only player drafted from the nation’s top defense. Kindley is a similar story. He didn’t switch positions, but as Georgia got better and better at recruiting offensive linemen, it was always assumed that the 3* Kindley would give way. He didn’t, and his left guard spot was one of the more stable positions on the offensive line.)

If there was a sure winner based on Georgia’s 2020 draft results, it was someone no longer associated with the program: three of Sam Pittman’s offensive linemen were among Georgia’s draft crop. Four of the five starting offensive linemen on the 2018 team have been drafted. That’s a testament to what everyone saw with their own eyes: Pittman was able to harness the resources available at Georgia to elevate the program’s offensive line recruiting. Kirby Smart identified that as a need from his opening press conferences, and the draft results speak to Pittman’s and Smart’s success. It also sets a bar going forward for Matt Luke.

When a program leans as heavily as Georgia does on its production of NFL players as a selling point for recruiting, the draft is the scoreboard. Numbers will be scrutinized especially relative to Georgia’s peers. National champion LSU had a record-tying 14 picks. Alabama, after a “disappointing” season that left them out of the playoff, produced nine picks – all in the first three rounds. Georgia’s seven selections placed fifth among all schools, tied with Clemson, Florida, and Utah.

The drafts of the past two seasons saw a large drain of talent from the offense at all positions. The pendulum should swing back towards the other side of the ball in 2021 as the offense retools and younger players from the 2018 and 2019 defenses become draft-eligible. Georgia has had three consecutive recruiting classes rated #1 by Rivals, and they’ll begin to become draft-eligible in 2021. Fans expect to see that influx of talent pay off in wins and titles, but it’s also important for Kirby Smart to see those top-rated classes turn into not just draft picks but *high* draft picks.

Georgia’s 2020 NFL Draft Picks

• Andrew Thomas (1st – NY Giants)
• Isaiah Wilson (1st – Tennessee)
• D’Andre Swift (2nd – Detroit)
• Solomon Kindley (4th – Miami)
• Jake Fromm (5th – Buffalo)
• Charlie Woerner (6th – San Francisco)
• Tae Crowder (7th – NY Giants)

Marc Weiszer wrote a piece last week about season ticket renewals during these times, and I was happy to contribute my perspective. I was surprised to see renewal rates so high, and I expect Greg McGarity is also (pleasantly so). As I shared with Weiszer, our decision to go ahead and renew came down to a couple of points:

• We considered ordering tickets as a moderate-risk bet that there would be football this fall.
• The possibility of a refund if the season were canceled (or played without fans) lessened the risk.
• We like our location(s) in the stadium and didn’t want to be displaced after 20+ years.
• We are grateful to be able to place that kind of a bet right now.

The last point is difficult – I know so many are struggling right now either with immediate needs or with crippling uncertainty hanging over them. That renders any other consideration meaningless. Georgia has been flexible with dates and payment options, but in the end season tickets are an expense that’s suddenly become an extravagance for many people. Even if the season is canceled and refunds issued, many can’t tie up money for that long.

There’s one scenario for which we had to accept some risk: what if they decide to open the stadiums and we aren’t comfortable returning?

There’s no question that things are going to be muddy for a while even after this first wave of infection passes. There will be no clean break and no “over”. Until there is a vaccine, the job will be playing whack-a-mole against isolated outbreaks of an easily-transmitted virus. Meanwhile, much of the nation is under intense pressure to reopen. Sports will be a big part of that reopening. There’s a symbolism to the return of sports, but there are also real financial considerations. We’ve seen the panic of schools faced with the loss of the football season that funds the whole operation. We’ve heard about the campaigns to support arena and stadium staff. We know what kind of economic impact sports has on small towns like Athens.

I don’t suggest (Mike Gundy aside) that leagues would willingly put athletes or fans at risk, but their standards and risk aversion will necessarily be colored by the pressures they face to play ball. Gabe DeArmond pointed out that it’s not news that coaches want to play. It will be news when someone with a financial stake in the game says that we shouldn’t play. Blutarsky recently touched on a question I’ve been thinking about for a couple of weeks. Coaches and administrators want business as usual – or at least to get back out there as soon as possible. Fans sorely miss sports. The real question though is much more personal: when will you be comfortable being packed shoulder-to-shoulder with 92,000 random fans who have traveled in from across the southeast?

The change of the past month has been swift. In early March, I was sat among fans from Tennessee to South Carolina to Mississippi at the SEC women’s basketball tournament. Sure, we knew to wash hands a little more carefully and be suspicious of coughs and fevers, but the games went on. A little over a month ago Georgia played a men’s basketball game in Nashville. It all ended abruptly that week: first the NBA pulled the plug. (Rudy Gobert was irresponsible, but how many lives did his recklessness indirectly save?) College conference tournaments began postponing and then finally cancelling games. The NCAA tournament wasn’t going to take place. Within a week the SEC had ended spring sports. Now we’re separated from friends and loved ones, and a simple trip to the grocery store is fraught with peril. That’s a severe and sudden psychological and behavioral shock, and it’s not easily reversed.

I told Weiszer that I wouldn’t attend games under current conditions. That implies limited testing and an unproven toolkit of therapeutic responses. The hope (and the assumption) is that we’ll be working under a different paradigm later this year. That means more widespread testing to identify and contain outbreaks, contact tracing, and more proven therapeutics that will reduce the risk of mortality or even severe illness for those who are infected. Most every plan forward outlines those elements as requirements along the long road from shelter-in-place to a vaccine. The extent and effectiveness of those remedies will determine which pieces of society can safely resume and at what level.

The “how” of sports returning doesn’t concern me so much. It’s something I’d like to see very much, but it’s not really under my control. Whether it’s an abbreviated schedule, a delayed start, a season without fans in the stands – those are all just ideas based on our current understanding of how things might work. It’s good to think about those things now, and you’d expect any decent organization to have an array of plans available in order to be flexible when the time comes to reopen. Certain administrators and pundits have taken heat for pessimism about playing this year, but a lost year is a possibility that can’t catch anyone off-guard. Time (and the virus) will help to instruct us about under which circumstances sports may return. The same applies to travel, retail, tourism, entertainment – any activity that brings people into shared spaces.

What I can control is my participation. That’s the agency any of us has in whatever comes next. You’ve likely seen the survey that found that over 60% of fans wouldn’t be comfortable returning to the stands until a vaccine is available. It’s possible that many respondents were spooked by the sudden onset of the pandemic and might moderate their views as time goes on. It’s still very likely that fans will be slow to return in person even as games get underway. I expect we’ll see the same in other areas of life as things are allowed to reopen.

Public health regulations might allow games to occur. Students might return to campus, and other necessary conditions might be met. Each of us will still have our say in whether we feel safe enough to attend. At most I’ll lose the cost of a ticket. It would hurt to miss something I love dearly. Fortunately I don’t have to make that decision right now. As Weiszer writes, we’ll “now have the months ahead to see what a Bulldogs football season might look like in 2020.” It’s foolish now to make forecasts whether or not there will be a football season and what form it might take. Renewing season tickets now bought me time to watch and wait and make a more informed decision months from now. I hope progress is such that there’s an easy decision to make.

While most public statements are optimistic about a normal college football season in the fall, we also know that most every sport is kicking around alternative plans. There’s too much money at stake; games will be played in some form if authorities give the go-ahead. That might mean games with no fans in the stands. It might mean a delayed start to the season. Coaches have raised alarms and proposed solutions to the amount of time necessary to prepare for the season. One suggestion even moves the season to the spring of 2021.

That idea does raise plenty of questions and issues, but, again, there will be desperation to fill the coffers. The implications of a “season-ending injury” are certainly worth thinking about. I wonder what a roster for a spring season might look like:

• How many top seniors and draft-eligible underclassmen will skip all or part of a season that extends into spring semester? Unless the NFL also delays its 2021 draft date, the first three months of the year are dedicated to focused draft preparation once the college season ends. Workouts, combines, all-star games for draft-bound players, pro days – all of these pre-draft activities occur early in the year. Basketball (especially women’s basketball), baseball, and softball have drafts much closer to the end of the season – sometimes even before the college postseason is over. Those players play complete seasons, but we know that the physical demands of football make it a different animal. Who will want to go from the grind of a college season straight into NFL OTAs if the lack of a recuperation and conditioning period hurts their chances of making a roster spot?
• Would early enrollees be eligible to play in spring games? Currently they may participate in bowl practices before classes begin, but they can’t play in bowl games. If they’re enrolled and taking classes at the start of the season, what would distinguish them from any other member of the team?

Interesting piece from Seth Emerson about the resources (and limitations) of keeping Georgia’s football program up and running while we are all asked to be at home. Athletes, along with all other students, must rapidly adapt to online courses. They won’t have access to on-campus facilities for meals and conditioning (unless they are rehabbing an injury.) Communication between staff and players is governed, and detail-obsessed coaches won’t have the kind of oversight they’re used to. At this time of year before spring practice the contact with players is primarily done by the strength and conditioning staff. Even that contact is regulated.

There are some exceptions, as (Georgia compliance director Will) Lawler explained: “If they ask and say: ‘Hey, I’m here at my house, I don’t want to go to a gym, can you give me some body-weight workouts?’ or something like that. You could provide it to them. But you can’t require it. There’s no reporting back. There’s no any of that. There’s some flexibility. This thing kind of moves pretty quickly.”

My first thought on reading that quote: it sure is nice to have not one but two experienced strength coaches on staff now. Both Scott Sinclair and Scott Cochran have years of experience developing individualized offseason workouts for football teams. Now that’s all Georgia, or any team, is allowed in terms of player development. With gym equipment likely limited or unavailable altogether, creativity will be tested. I know Cochran was brought in to be an on-field coach, but I would expect him to be a valuable resource for Sinclair in this unusual time.

Cochran’s expertise could be valuable in another way. The offseason program requires steady monitoring and accountability even for the most self-disciplined athletes. Now at home and isolated from that support structure, it’s easy for things to slide and bad habits to form. Cochran hasn’t had much time to get to know the team, but one of his key roles at Alabama was as the motivator and the guy that kept players pushing past their limits. His energy and constant reinforcement will help keep things moving in the right direction.

Did you see the video featuring several coaches encouraging students to finish out the spring semester? An appropriate and necessary message for the student body of course, but there’s a self interest too. The NCAA might come up with all sorts of waivers and exceptions by the time students return to campus, but for now they’ll have to be in good academic standing and on track. With the spring and summer semesters moving online, much of the academic calendar will have passed by the time football players report back. Without on-campus tutoring, class checks, counseling, and other academic resources, the need for academic discipline and self-motivation while in isolation will be as great as it is for player development.