Georgia football put together one of its best defensive outings in the Kirby Smart era in its 30-15 win at then No. 1 Texas Saturday, but it came with a cost with two secondary starters ejected in the fourth quarter for targeting.
That comes with safety Dan Jackson and Star nickel back Joenel Aguero having to sit out the first half of Georgia’s next game on Nov. 2 against Florida in Jacksonville, but coach Kirby Smart indicated an appeals process could still be ongoing on that that change their availability.
“I’ll be honest with you, I’d rather not talk about it,” Smart said after practice Tuesday. “It’s one of those things that I don’t really know the process to be honest with you. So we’ll see how it goes.”
The SEC must appeal Jackson or Aguero having to miss the first half of the Florida game to the national coordinator of football officials to review the targeting and make a determination, according to an ESPN story Aug. 29 on ejection and suspension rules.
Jackson and Aguero were part of a defense that limited Texas to a season-low in points and in yards with 259.
Jackson is second on the team with 37 tackles while Aguero is eighth with 19.
Jackson also has an interception, fumble recovery and blocked field goal.
Jackson was called with targeting with 11:48 to go for using the crown of his helmet on a tackle on Texas receiver Matthew Golden.
Aguero’s targeting call came with 6:47 left for dropping his head and hitting running back Quintrevion Wisner.
“I can’t get into the commentary, but both of those were really close, unfortunate borderline situations,” Smart said. “One came from an offensive player lowering his head and Dan mirrored it. And then Joenel’s is really tough. He’s trying to avoid helmet-to-helmet. He’s trying to avoid going high which most NFL offensive players would rather you hit them high than hit them low because their legs are their careers. They’re tough calls in both situations. Everybody’s trying to work on the safety of the game. That’s the focal point.”
Freshman KJ Bolden stepped in for Jackson at safety while junior JaCorey Thomas moved in for Aguero at the Star position.
Safety Malaki Starks has also lined up at the Star this season.
Bolden has played 291 snaps this season, according to Pro Football Focus. That’s nearly the same as Jackson’s 292.
“We look at KJ as a starter,” Smart said.
Aguero has played 228 snaps while Thomas has logged just 65 across five games.
“JaCorey started and played against Clemson the whole game,” Smart said. “We’ve got other guys that are capable of the packages and things that we can play. …We’re not really worried about that right now.”
This article originally appeared on Athens Banner-Herald: What Kirby Smart said on targeting penalties on DBs vs. Texas, appeals
