When a reporter asked if he could point the finger at what took the Bulldogs so long to get their running game going against the Tigers — Missouri led 19-12 entering the fourth quarter — Smart aimed toward the culprit.
“Gettin’ yo ass whipped up front. That’s what the finger was,” Smart said. “When you put on pads and you’ve got to strike another man, and he’s across from you, and he weighs 300, and you weigh 300, somebody wins and somebody loses. So, the finger is we’re gettin’ our butts whooped, OK.”
Missouri’s defensive front set the tone for most of the game, playing a physical brand of defense for which Georgia is more known than the Tigers. Missouri had nine tackles for loss and two sacks, but the Bulldogs eventually found the keys to their rushing attack, finishing with 169 yards on the ground.
With the largest Tigers doing the dirty work up front, Smart mentioned linebacker Ty’Ron Hopper as one of the playmakers who gave the Bulldogs trouble. Hopper finished with seven tackles, a TFL, a forced fumble and a quarterback hurry.
Defense bringing the 🔥 early. Ty’Ron Hopper forces a fumble and Ennis Rakestraw Jr. on the recovery.
📺 @SECNetwork#MIZ 🐯🏈 pic.twitter.com/6EfDHgKlZh
— Mizzou Football (@MizzouFootball) October 1, 2022
As the Gators (3-2, 0-2 in Southeastern Conference) prepare to face Missouri (2-3, 0-2) on Saturday at Ben Hill Griffin Stadium, they need no introduction to Hopper.
He was one of them when these schools last played.
The 6-foot-4, 221-pound Hopper transferred to Missouri in January after playing in 13 games a season ago — starting four — and finishing with 65 tackles, 10 TFL and 3.5 sacks. He opted to transfer to Missouri to join his brother, Tigers graduate transfer defensive lineman Tyrone Hopper, who transferred from North Carolina.
First-year Gators coach Billy Napier had nothing but praise for Hopper when asked about him this week.
“I really thought he was a good player,” Napier said. “The time that I had with him, I thought he was a really good person as well. We certainly would have loved to have him on our team.”
Napier sees in Hopper what Gators fans did a season ago: a talented player ready to break out. Hopper returns to Florida Field on Saturday, leading Missouri with 7.5 TFL to go along with his 32 tackles, two…
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