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Home > Terence Moore > Archives > 2008 > August > 21
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Georgia’s punt return guessing game
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Surely this punt-return talk involving Knowshon Moreno is just a tease. You don’t replace the No. 24 on the back of somebody who can run you toward a national championship in college football with a gigantic bull’s-eye.
So Moreno as Georgia’s Reggie Bush will never happen.
I think.
Have you ever heard political pundits use the term “October surprise?” Well, maybe coach Mark Richt is planning a “November surprise,” when his Bulldogs are scheduled to meet the hated Gators on the first Saturday of that month.
This is how that “November surprise” would work: You do what Richt just did, and that is, you mention out of nowhere that you’re using splendid runner Moreno on punt returns in closed practices. Then you suggest it is doubtful but possible that Moreno would perform such a role in games. After that, you never use Moreno on punt returns from August through October, but you keep your SEC opponents guessing along the way. South Carolina. Alabama. Tennessee. Vanderbilt. LSU.
Now it’s Nov. 1 in Jacksonville, and it’s the Florida game, and it’s one more thing for the hated Gators to fret over instead of blocking and tackling: When will they use Moreno on punt returns? Will they use Moreno on punt returns?
Of course, Georgia never does.
“Well,” said Richt over the phone from Athens, with his pause suggesting that Moreno as Georgia’s Reggie Bush just might happen, “I would think we would do it before [the Florida game]. Yeah. We might have more than one guy [returning punts]. If we gain some confidence in somebody besides Knowshon, that guy might be our man, you know, and we won’t have to talk about it anymore.
“There are some others who have some talent back there, but Knowshon is certainly fielding the punts well. He’s shown that he can make people miss, and he has a knack for weaving in and out of these blocking schemes. So we definitely like what we see back there.”
Translated: Moreno as Georgia’s Reggie Bush will happen. That means he is destined to become more than that driving and twisting tailback who rushed for more than 1,300 yards last season as a freshman. That means he is going to get a slew of touches during Georgia’s attempt at becoming one of the few to remain No. 1 from the preseason through the end of the ultimate game of the Bowl Championship Series.
That means Caleb King, Richard Samuel and the rest of those behind Moreno on the depth chart should start eating all of their Wheaties. They may get more work than expected this season. With Moreno returning punts, foes on return teams will run faster and hit harder. If the evil Gators are involved, you can multiply everything we just said by a bunch.
“Let’s face it. Anybody who has the ball in his hands, all 11 folks on the other team are trying to knock him out, you know?” Richt said. “At least on a punt, there’s space. A guy might be able to get a shot on him, but most defenses across the country are going to have an unblocked safety at the line of scrimmage trying to take a shot. When you get the ball inside on a handoff, there’s all 11 coming around.
“[Moreno] is an impact player, and it’s not very often you can get your best runner out in that much open space. I imagine that could scare the heck out of opponents.”
Yeah, and Bulldog fans.
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