No, it wasn’t iconic. And, yes, there were moments of greater drama. Heck, it wasn’t even in the national championship game.
But, for my money, this play exhibited what Georgia football at its peak was all about this season.
Look at it from Michigan’s standpoint. The game is early, but it’s close to being at the getting out of hand stage. UM needs to put together some sort of drive there. They’re already in a big third down hole. But they call a good play to get the hands into maybe their fastest offensive skill player. And the play is even set up well — the pass hits the back in stride; downfield, each receiver has engaged their defender one-on-one with blocking. The play should result in a decent gain.
But it di’int. In fact it loses yardage. Because, Nakobe Dean.
The message was sent. Georgia knew everything Michigan was going to pull and had the better players to take advantage. The end result was as soul crushing a moment as I saw in the playoffs. Or, as Kirby might put it, will imposing.
It was 2021 Georgia football at its best.
Get The Picture 
I had to order an Orange Bowl shirt with the score on it because I have hated Michigan for 60 years!!!!
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My Dawg!
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Inject it, inject it, inject it. I can never get enough.
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I stopped and rewound the dvr to point out the same exact thing to my wife when it happened. Just great coaching, instinct, and execution. I agree 100% Senator.
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I remember several plays this year where I was just amazed watching the cross-field speed to make tackles- Tindall, Jordan, Dean, all of them. But this play is such a thing of beauty because of how you can watch the entire thing play out. No telling how many times I’ve hit the replay button on it.
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Nakobe is a heat seeking missile, PERIOD.
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I agree with you Senator. That very play I said to myself “this game is OVER”. I was amazingly calm throughout this game, which is only usually the case against directional schools, which was very odd.
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That and the Pickens block in the Orange Bowl
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There is another video of this that is behind the offense that shows Dean run completely from the right side of the field to the left to make this play.
I was checking the Michigan 247 feed on occasion durning the game. And your right. And thought they had of getting back into the game evaporated with that play. They could not get over just how big and fast Georgia was and that play put a stamp on it.
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I was watching a little of the Michigan game last night. I turn it on, and the first thing my wife says is how small the Michigan players look compared to our guys … that was at the coin toss.
This play was one of my favorites as well. Here are a couple of others:
Dial this one to :11:
And this:
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Thanks EE.
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I love the 2 play sequence of Dean getting in Tindall’s face and then Tindall immediately responds with a huge play, maybe one of the biggest stops of the postseason! Followed by Dean going straight to him after the play with props. Man, I love this team!
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I think Young was surprised to get run down by Tindall.
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Then he’s a dumbass.
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Excellent work ee.
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I couldn’t find it on YouTube, but the other play in OB that was beautiful was how we turned a flea flicker intended to hit a big play into a check down for 4-5 yards. Lewis Cine just shuts down the receiver who is going deep.
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Sec speed is best illustrated with a guy like Jordan Davis. It is not about speed at skill positions. It is that our fat people are faster than your fat people.
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Dean is as instinctive player as we have ever had in my time of watching ga football.
Maybe Smith as well
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N is just as athletic as R.
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He seems to see the plays unfolding before everyone else.
Combine that with his speed, work ethic and leadership skills you have a defensive monster. The look on his face during the coin toss in the NC game would make Mike Tyson proud.
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He looked like he was ready to rip a Wolverine’s head off at the OB coin toss.
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“He seems to see the plays unfolding before everyone else.”
^This 100x. As fast as he is, no human can go 30 yards to shut down that play unless he has a head start. Looks to me like he is breaking before the ball is even handed off, and then he picked the angle that gave him the quickest way to get there. We are going to miss his smarts.
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Just a beautiful play from every angle and aspect. Coaching and execution were perfect!
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I know everybody likes a dynamic offense these days, but my GAWD I love a smothering defense!
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I was sitting in the end zone behind the Michigan O on the play, saw Nakobe going from my left to my right like he was shot out of a cannon as the play started. The Michigan fans around me were shocked, but SEC speed, baby! 🙂
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UGA speed
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Stunning play. It’s difficult for me to place Nakobe in the pantheon of Dawg ‘backers. Probably top three. Def top five. Jarvis, Roquan, Goldberg, Houston, who am I missing?
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Bailey, Brantley, Thurson, Ros, Gilbert, Davis, Zambiasi, and many, many, more.
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Linebacker U!!!
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Sylvester Boler
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I’d put Rennie Curran on the list, as well.
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I was watching the game with my best Dawg and he said Nakobe just made a bunch of money with that play. Not that he hadn’t excelled his whole career but that was one of those plays like when Clowney took that guy’s helmet off.
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Think I have watched that play 20 times, notice nobody else on defense moves or worries about the guy in motion, they all know that’s Dean’s guy and his alone!! He Also seems to be a fine all around student with a true love for our school! DGD You can be sure he will still be the leader when they come back for the 10 year reunion! Sure hope I make that!!
Go kick ass in the NFL Mr Dean
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I so thoroughly enjoyed the Orange Bowl that I had to get a shirt for that event mixed in with the national title gear.
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Dammit! Now I need to order one, too! I’m still kicking myself over not going to the Orange Bowl. Would have given me the Big 4 (Sugar, Cotton, Rose and Orange) plus it was a beatdown of a good Big 10 team.
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Travon Walker’s chase and catch was impressive too.
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That’s the play they will show over and over when discussing his draft prospects and during the actual draft. He’s the closest to Roquan we’ve had.
There was a play late in the Rose Bowl where R made a tackle from the side, inches from the 1st down line on 3rd down, and I still don’t know how the momentum of the OK runner didn’t carry him far enough. Sheer athletic superiority. Oklahoma punted (4th and 2 inches), we went down and tied the score (iirc), squeaking into OT and the win.
N and R made those kind of plays where a hidden inch or 2 made all the difference.
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My favorite play was in the 3rd quarter of the championship game when Georgia was 1st and goal from the 2. Out comes the 88/99 jumbo package so everyone in the stadium knows what play is coming. Ball snapped, bama blown off the ball and Zamir gets 6. Man ball on steroids.
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I am with you on that G R.
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It sure beats seven snaps from the goal line at the WLOCP.
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My favorite play was the 40 yard pass to Mitchell with James Cook making the crucial block behind Stet. I liked the attacking mentality, the recognition it was a free play, the pick up of the blitz, and of course the catch by Mitchell. I’ll even credit the refs for not throwing a flag on either the defender Or the receiver. This play told me Georgia was not going to fold- that we were superior.
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Yea that pkay was heat seak8ng missile, that was roquanesque indeed. But mine was Pickens long dive catch. To that point we hadn’t gotten anything going & it jusr seemed like a spark that ignited the dynamite we needed. It was a punch that cut Bama’s eyelid.
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Just before that play ro Pickens you can hear Kirby speak to headset let’s test them deep.
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Dear Roquan,
You were great. An all-time favorite Dawg of mine. Thought it’d be a while before we saw another like you. Turns out, it wasn’t that long.
Peace,
Truth
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That’s the play that told me Michigan was done for.
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