USA TODAY Sports Columnist Dan Wolken breaks down why SEC teams are improving their schedules. USA TODAY
HOOVER, Ala. – Transferring from Tulsa meant Georgia safety J.R. Reed was ineligible in 2016, destined for scout team and practicing in the background, far from the prominent spotlight he occupies now.
So, as Reed admits now, “I was slacking off for like the first two weeks.”
Some head coaches won't take the time to watch scout team practice footage, but Georgia’s Kirby Smart is not one of them. Smart, then in his first season with the Bulldogs, made an example of Reed’s effort in front of his new teammates.