Boykin should get chance

One site I frequently use to check out how UGA is stacking up against the SEC and to look for opponents strengths and weaknesses is cfbstats.com. While doing my first look over on Mississippi State I found one stat that I love. Mississippi State's kicker Brian Egan is averaging 63 yards per kickoff meaning the ball generally is caught by the other team at the 7 yard line. He also has ZERO touchback's in 25 kickoffs. If that holds true for Saturday's game then Boykin should get a chance at a big return anytime State has a kickoff, which will hopefully only be once. By comparison Walsh is averaging 67 yards per kickoff with 10 of his 25 kickoffs going for touchbacks. Boykin averages 25 yards per return while Mississippi State averages about 16. Between the kickoff distance and the average return that is about 15 yards of starting field position. Hopefully the right Dawgs will take advantage of this.

Production replacement - secondary

The corners are all back except for Vance Cuff. He started a few games and played a good number of snaps last year but at his best he was an average player and never a dominate one. Boykin, Commings and Smith are the top options at cb but there is a ton of young talent joining them this summer. Corner should be experienced, athletic, and deep. So deep in fact that if the young players come along quickly I expect to see Smith playing a lot more offense than last year and possibly even Boykin getting a few touches on that side of the ball.

Safety has a lot more question marks. Rambo is settled in at one spot but with Oglegtree moving to linebacker the other safety position is wide open. Last year Shawn Williams and Jakar Hamilton both had their shot at starting but neither locked it down. Coming out of spring Williams has a slight lead but that could change over the summer. Both have the athleticism and size to play the position, the question is will either of them get it together mentally. If not look for incoming freshman Moore to push for snaps and possibly the starting job. To replace last year’s production at safety shouldn't be that hard, the problem is last year’s production simply was not good enough. I expect the play to improve if for no other reason than the experience gained by Williams and Hamilton last year.