UGA Football's Plan to Play With or Without Starting DB Kyron Jones

UGA Football coach Kirby smart says the Dawgs must be ready to play with or without the program's starting safety.

Georgia DB Kyron Jones (31) returns an interception for a touchdown against the Tennessee Martin. Dale Zanine / USA TODAY Sports | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

ATHENS - At first it was hard to know what was going on - had Auburn scored to go up 17-0? SEC officials did not signal a touchdown for the .

Then, from the rubble, emerged Kyron Jones streaking the length of the football field with the ball in his hands. Had Georgia just scored an improbable touchdown?

After all, Jordan-Hare is known for producing improbable touchdowns (if you know you know).

In this case a touchdown was awarded to neither team. Jones’ run to the opposite end of Auburn’s stadium resulted in… well, nothing. The Dawgs had recovered a fumble. SEC officials had not stopped the play for any reason or no reason at all. After a lengthy delay, UGA was awarded the ball at its own one-yard line. Auburn fans were beside themselves. Hugh Freeze threw his hands over his head for in disbelief.

12 plays and 88 yards later, Georgia kicked a field goal to cut into Auburn’s lead.

Jones’ fumble recovery was largely ignored after the game; partisan outrage from Auburn fans dominated discussion of the moment. But Jones’ play could have, and perhaps should have been a scoring play.

A game later Jones was out for the season with a foot injury. He had accumulated 24 tackles in the first six games of the season. Now the former starter is gunning to take back the starting spot he lost to injury a season ago. Georgia coach Kirby Smart said the program is watching Jones’ progress this fall.

“He's been on a little bit of a pitch count,” Smart said. “We’ll have to rotate and play guys with him. But he's done a really nice job. He’s an older player. The more you play in football period, but the more you play in this defense, the better you play.”

UGA’s first two games of the season, Tennessee State and Western Kentucky, will give Jones and the rest of the program a chance to get back into the swing of things before SEC play starts in week three at Arkansas.

Smart says that UGA will continue to use the beginning of this season to see what Jones can do as he recovers from the foot injury he suffered last fall.

“He had a scrimmage last year, where he flashed and played well,” Smart said. “He earned kind of the ability to be considered a starter and a rotating player. The injury has not changed that. It's just changed the volume with which he could practice, and the volume with which he could play. And we had to prepare as if he was not there, because we don't know what he's going be able to give us.”