Steele's guidance

[aubiefifty 18,231]

Steele's guidance keeps Auburn from worrying about Georgia QBs

ByNathan King 106 minutes ago

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USC transfer JT Daniels (knee) has been medically cleared to play for Georgia on Saturday against Auburn, though there’s no way for Tigers defenders to know whether he’ll be at the controls.

The Bulldogs cycled through QBs in their season opener against Arkansas, benching D’Wan Mathis for Stetson Bennett IV. Daniels was more heralded in the preseason than the two incumbent quarterbacks as a high-profile addition, but Georgia coach Kirby Smart said the former five-star still needs to “show him” he can operate at a high level within the offense this week at practice. Even 2018 four-star prospect Carson Beck will get his chances to run the first-team offense, Smart said.

So Auburn will trudge forward in its game prep without a clue of who will take the first snap — or the majority of snaps — under center.

That won’t bother the Tigers. Some situational looks will change during game action, yes, but Auburn defenders won’t need to pay any attention to UGA’s quarterback debacle this week. They know “the mastermind” has them covered.

“There’s no challenge because we have Coach Steele,” defensive tackle Daquan Newkirk said Sunday when asked about the challenge of preparing for multiple quarterbacks. “He’s the best of the best. He knows what he’s going to do. He’s going to put us in the right position to make the right plays.”

In the early stages of his fifth season directing Auburn’s defense, veteran coordinator Kevin Steele has his unit confident about its coaching and preparation following its stout, second-half showing against Kentucky in a 29-13 win over the weekend.

(Photo: Mark LoMoglio / Icon Sportswire, Getty)

The Wildcats played ball control in the first half and played it well, holding possession for more than 21 minutes. Though the ‘Cats only scored in their first drive, all four of their first-half drives went at least nine plays, and three took at least 4:30 off the clock.

Auburn got a pivotal stop with seconds left in the half, as cornerback Roger McCreary snagged a 3rd-and-goal pass attempt in the end zone, running it back for a pick-six before the play was called back due to a targeting foul on Derick Hall.

The turnover didn’t lead to points, but Auburn’s stone-walling of UK at the goal-line gave it added confidence heading into the break. After a jolt of self-assurance blended with Steele’s adjustments in the locker room, Auburn upped its efforts and played a better half defensively, dropping Kentucky’s third-down conversion rate, limiting chunk plays and forcing two additional turnovers to pace Auburn’s victory.

“We knew we had some mistakes, some misfits, busted coverages and all of that in the first half,” linebacker Owen Pappoe said postgame. “But in that second half we’ve got to come out even stronger. Nobody panicked. We got on the board, saw what we needed to fix, went out there and executed.”

With only one game played in September for SEC teams, there’s so little film available, especially for a team like Georgia, having played multiple quarterbacks in Game 1, not to mention in a brand-new offense under Todd Monken.

So Gus Malzahn will do the same as the Tigers defenders: Prepare accordingly, observe, then recalibrate as needed.

“It's kind of like playing a first game like [Saturday],” Malzahn said. “We're just going to have to adjust and be ready to make changes if needed as the game goes on.”

A talented Playoff contender like Georgia is obviously built on more than just the quarterback position, even for an offense that struggled in the early going against the Razorbacks. One-time Auburn commit George Pickens is one of the conference's top pass-catchers in a deep wide receivers room, and Zamir White is set to lead the rushing attack in 2020. And the Bulldogs' struggles didn't last forever; once Bennett (20-for-29, 211 yards, two TDs) got into a rhythm, they scored three touchdowns in the second half in Fayetteville.

Georgia's offense continued to be an asked-about topic when Newkirk met with reporters Sunday evening via Zoom. But Newkirk's thoughts never varied. He felt bad repeating himself, so when asked about White and the running game, he smirked and shrugged his shoulders. He knows who really holds the answers for Saturday.

“We've got to listen to Coach Steele,” Newkirk said again. “He puts us in the right position, honestly. He's the mastermind to it all. He coaches us, and we just perform.”

“He knows everything that's going to happen.”