The continuing adventures of throw the damned ball

We all know there are holes at receiver that have to be filled this season.  One hope is that Demetris Robertson is ready to step up.  There is more involved with that than just catching passes, of course.

Robertson arrived on campus in mid-July, and got off to a quick start. After scoring on a 72-yard speed sweep in the opener against Austin Peay, it appeared the former Savannah Christian star was certainly going to be one watch.

It didn’t quite work out that way. Robertson did not catch a single pass for the Bulldogs before a concussion limited his play over the final third of the year. Hence the question, what’s next? Is Robertson still the player most projected he would be when every major program in the country was pining for his services three years ago?

Short answer, yes.

Teammates will tell you he’s the same player he was as a freshman at Cal when he caught 50 passes for 767 yards and seven touchdowns. However, at Georgia, it’s not just about how well you run your routes.

If you want consistent playing time under Kirby Smart, you’ve got to learn how to play physically, and how to block. He arrived at Georgia at the same time summer strength and conditioning drills were coming to an end. This also put Robertson behind, a fact he pointed out during a post-game conversation after the SEC Championship.

“For me, it’s really just been learning the offense. This is the third offense I’ve had to learn,” Robertson said. “Plus, I wasn’t here over the summer to get my chemistry and work out with the guys.”

It was obvious early on last year that nobody at Cal expected Robertson to block when he was there; he looked lost trying to do so here.  How much difference will a year in the program make?  Let’s just say I’ll be curious to see if we get any clues at G-Day.

Beyond Robertson’s progress, this is Kirby Smart’s team we’re talking about, so you know that, if nothing else, Georgia is exploring all available options, like this one:  “Coley was my coach my freshman year, he knows how to use me…”

Pressure is a privilege, y’all, and the best way to create pressure is with competition… and that takes numbers.