UGA blog finds new home
Morning all. As I’ve said a couple of times this week, we’re converting this blog over to a WordPress platform and it will be a permanent move the first of next week.
Those of you who are regulars probably know that I’m not what you’d call techno-wizard when it comes to these things. But from what I understand the technology offered in this new format should make the blogging and commenting experience better for all. Of course, I’ll be learning as we go along, too. But I’m hoping to provide more pictures and video and things like that which should bring the blog more to life.
Of course, this blog is nothing without all you guys so I want to heartily invite (read: beg) you to come over to the new site by CLICKING HERE ON THE NEW ADDRESS and save it in your browsers. As of Monday, Feb. 23rd, this will be the permanent home of the UGA blog you so love or, in the case of some of you, love to loathe. If you’d prefer to copy and paste or just memorize, the new address is: http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/.
See at the new place!
AJC > Sports > UGA > Blog > Archives > 2006 > December
December 2006
Injuries an issue for Dogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Injuries normally aren’t much of an issue for bowl games. Generally any nagging injuries players might have during the season are healed after the long layoff between games and whatever season-enders have been suffered during the season have long since been adjusted to.
However, a couple of the nagging variety could be an issue for the Bulldogs as they get set to face Virginia Tech in Chick-fil-A Bowl Saturday.
Coleman Watson has a groin injury. Now what, pray tell, is the big deal about a third-string tight end having a groin injury? This: He’s on the first-team field goal and extra-point protection units.
You have any idea how good Virginia Tech is at blocking kicks? Try five this season, try 113 in 20 seasons under coach Frank Beamer. Of those, 56 were either extra points or field goals. Watson will need to be at his best.
Also, wide receicer A.J. Bryant is still dogged by injuries. I think Coach Richt said this was a groin but it may be a hamstring which has plagued him all season. Either way, his status for the game is questionable and that’s not good. With Sean Bailey and Demiko Goodman out, Bryant remains Georgia’s most viable “field stretcher” and that’s particularly important against an opponent like the Hokies, who look for any opportunity to load “the box” with eight defenders.
I know, I know, I sound like Larry Munson bemoaning all of Georgia’s shortcomings but these are legitimate concerns. Regardless, I think this is going to be a great game and one of the best among the glutted bowl lineup the next few days.
In general, Georgia fans seem to be pretty confident despite going against a 10-2 team with the nation’s top defense. So let’s hear some more score predictions today. Come on, BuLLdawg, I know you want to write 1,000-word diatribe about the matchup, complete with links to stories and stats, explaining to everybody exactly what’s going to happen. Let’s see you go out on a limb as a prognosticator.
Meanwhile, on the hardwood, I was very unimpressed with Georgia’s effort against No. 25 Clemson Thursday night. The Dogs flat out got bullied by their hosts and I didn’t think I’d see that out of this bunch.
It doesn’t get easier either. No. 4 Wisconsin is coming to Stegeman on Sunday at 1 p.m. and then Georgia opens the SEC slate at No. 3 Florida on Jan. 6. The Dogs better get their act together or they’re going to be headed in the wrong direction fast.
Now basketball programs like Florida and Kentucky would be abuzz about getting a Top 5 opponent at home. Anybody out there planning on coming to Athens on Sunday to support the Dogs against Wisconsin? With the Badgers’ imposing front line, Georgia is going to need all the help it can get just to be competitive in this one.
As for the Chick Bowl, remember, those of you who live outside the metro Atlanta area will get our best coverage of the game – which kicks off after 8 p.m. – on our website because it will get over so late. See y’all at the Georgia Dome!
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On Dogs-Clemson, Chick-fil-A
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hey guys. About to pack up the car and head up I-85 to the Georgia-Clemson basketball tilt on the other side of Lake Hartwell. Should be an exciting game. In case you haven’t heard, Clemson is undefeated. It’ll be interesting to see if the Bulldogs can hang with them. Sundiata Gaines, who missed the Georgia Tech game with an ankle injury, plans to play. Not sure if he’ll be 100 percent but his presence should help a lot.
The game is on Fox Sports Net tonight so y’all be sure to tune in if you’re not going. Too bad this game is scheduled when it is, right in the middle of two major holidays, because I don’t expect it to be a particularly well-attended game. It should be, given the geography of and history between these two schools. Oh well, we’ll see.
Meanwhile, the Chick-fil-A Bowl is bearing down on us. The matchup between Georgia and Virginia Tech is one of the best of all the bowls games this year. Say what you will about the Chick-fil-A’s place in the bowl pecking order, they always put on a good show and seem to come up with great matchups. What do you think it says about the two leagues when they’re taking the No. 2 choice from the ACC and the No. 4 or 5 from the SEC yet they’re almost always tight matchups?
Virginia Tech is one of those programs that has a lot of parallels with Georgia even though the two seldom play. Remember, Frank Beamer was considered a candidate for the Georgia job back when Jim Donnan ended up with it after the Glen Mason debacle. Not sure if Beamer was actually interviewed. I’ll have to ask Coach Dooley or Damon in the next few days. Can you imagine if Beamer Ball had come to Georgia? Might’ve been interesting. But school’s have been trying to get Beamer out of Blacksburg for years and I doubt if it will ever happen now.
So I haven’t offered much of a blog topic today and I apologize for that but there’s plenty in the world of Georgia sports to talk about. Can the Dogs handle Clemson? What about Virginia Tech? And what the hell is a Hokie anyway? I asked Beamer and even he doesn’t know.
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The NFL beckons hopefuls
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There’s still a bowl game ahead but numerous things are taking place behind the scenes that are going to shape the way Georgia’s football team looks next season. Namely, at least three underclassmen are eyeing the NFL.
Everybody knew it was a possibility for DE Charles Johnson and CB Paul Oliver but tailback Danny Ware is the latest to add his name to the list. Nobody will know for sure until the second week of January what these young men will decide to do (that’s when they have to submit their paperwork to the NFL) but Georgia’s coaching staff is taking the possibility of losing all three very seriously and is recruiting accordingly.
None of these guys projects particularly high in the 2007 NFL draft according to draft expert Mel Kiper. He lists only senior Quentin Moses in the first round (23rd pick) as of today.
Ware’s is the most intriguing situation. There are already three junior tailbacks that are expected to declare for the draft that will be drafted ahead of him in Oklahoma’s Adrian Peterson, Cal’s Marshawn Lynch and Fresno State’s Dwayne Wright. That’s not even taking into account Louisville’s Michael Bush.
Clearly Ware’s simply not a happy camper. His best buddy, fullback Des Williams, is not returning next season and Ware apparently feels like he may be the odd man out in what could be a five-man rotation at tailback next season. At the least, Georgia will have Kregg Lumpkin, Knowshon Moreno and Caleb King at the position. Thomas Brown has said he wants to return next year, even though he has a redshirt year that he could use to more fully recover from knee surgery. Whatever he decides could also be a consideration.
And don’t count out a transfer from Ware, who also has a redshirt year in his pocket. I don’t think it’d necessarily be a wise move but it definitely could happen.
Neither Johnson nor Oliver project to be first-round picks but both are viable pro prospects who would likely go in the early rounds and make an NFL roster. Oliver definitely helped his stock with his performance against Calvin Johnson (projected No. 2 pick) in the season finale. If I was a betting man, I’d say there’s a good chance Johnson may make the leap. Not as sure about Oliver’s situation but I could see it happening.
Forgetting allegiances to Georgia, what do you think these guys should do? And how would their possible departures affect the Bulldogs next year?
That’s all for now. I’m off to Georgia’s basketball practice to find out whether Sundiata Gaines will be ready for tomorrow night’s tilt at Clemson. If he’s not, the Bulldogs could be in for another long night.
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Stiff opponents ahead
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
While most of us have been chillin’, sitting on our butts and stuffing our faces during the holidays, the Dogs have been working hard to get ready for challenges ahead.
And boy have they got big challenges ahead.
The football team, after four days off, completed its first full-squad workout at the Georgia Dome on Tuesday. It was the last full-contact practice of the year and coach Mark Richt worked them pretty hard. He’s said repeatedly he felt like he didn’t work ‘em hard enough last year before the Sugar Bowl and thought that contributed to West Virginia jumping out to a big lead. (Big East types still talk about that game as a Mountaineers blowout and a watershed game for their league but, as I recall, it ended up being pretty close).
Georgia was a pretty heavy favorite over West Virginia going in — not so against Virginia Tech. The Dogs will need to go in with something to prove to have a chance against the Hokies (10-2), arguably the best team in the ACC as the season ended.
Meanwhile, in another ACC-SEC matchup, Dennis Felton’s Dogs are getting ready for a big tilt against No. 22-ranked and undefeated Clemson (12-0) on Thursday. It’ll be Georgia’s second straight road game against a top ACC basketball team and, as we all know, the last test didn’t turn out so well. Playing without starting point guard Sundiata Gaines, the Dogs were beaten soundly by Georgia Tech in Atlanta.
It remains uncertain whether Gaines will play but I’m guessing he probably will. Now the Tigers have hardly played a championship-caliber non-conference schedule but they do have a 21-point road win at South Carolina and beat Mississippi State by three in Clemson, so they’ve passed two other SEC tests.
With Gaines, Georgia has a good chance; without him, I’m not so sure.
Are you worried about Richt’s Dogs being in good condition after so many days off for Christmas or do you think last year’s situation was lesson enough?
Can Georgia beat Clemson without Gaines? Should Georgia bite the bullet and keep him on ice until Sunday’s game against No. 4 Wisconsin or go?
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What about Johnson as O-line coach?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Not saying it’s going to happen; just wondering aloud here. But what do you think about the possibility of David Johnson moving over to coach O-line?
Obviously he’s the only candidate known to have raised his hand for the job. Said so himself this week.
And if you look at Mark Richt’s M.O. on these things, he doesn’t appear to be one to go out and grab a big name just to appease the fan base and supporters. If he thinks somebody can do the job, he lets them do it.
Here’s another thought: Could moving Johnson over to O-line open up a spot to which he could hire Jeff Bowden? Certainly Bowden, a longtime wide receivers coach, could coach tight ends.
Another possibility for O-line would be former Tulane head coach Chris Scelfo. Scelfo, Jim Donnan’s right-hand man during his tenure in Athens, is a whale of a recruiter and is out of a job. May not need to work with his buyout settlement, though.
Just food for thought.
Meanwhile, I’m getting ready to head over to Atlanta for the Tech-Georgia basketball game. Be sure to watch (FSN, 7 p.m.) and read our coverage, which will be online after the game and in tomorrow’s paper.
This will be my last blog until after Christmas so, until then, enjoy the holidays, be well and remember to let me know what’s on your mind regarding the Dogs. Take care.
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Playing Gaines a good idea?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How effective he’ll be remains to be seen but Sundiata Gaines has been cleared to play against Georgia Tech.
That’s according to coach Dennis Felton, who was somewhat cryptic about the situation other than to say, “I think he’ll play. “It’s a sprained ankle. No serious damage.”
That’s obviously good news for Georgia against Georgia Tech, but I’m not convinced its in the best long-term interest of the Bulldogs or Gaines. Ankle injuries are very troublesome for basketball players, who play at least twice a week. If you’re not careful, they can linger for the entire season.
And Gaines, he is a warrior type of player. If he gets on the court, he’s going to get after it. If you don’t dress him out for this game and perhaps the next, then maybe he’s 100 percent for No. 4 Wisconsin on Dec. 31 or, more importantly, for the SEC opener at Florida on Jan. 6.
Georgia’s got to hope this thing doesn’t end up impacting the team for three, four, five games or worse.
Is playing Gaines, who leads the SEC in steals and the team in assists and rebounds, a good move? Does the opponent being Georgia Tech make it all right? Could the Dogs not win without him?
And, come on, let’s here some scores out there. Who’s going to win this game?
Because of lack of space and some other stories we’ve got going into the paper, we weren’t able to use much of what I got from Felton on playing Georgia Tech. So I’m going to offer it up here. Y’all have a great weekend and a happy holiday and I’ll talk to you next week.
FELTON INTERVIEW
Q: How important is beating Georgia Tech?
A: “I just want to win every game so badly and I want to avoid losing every game so badly that I just have a hard time talking about any game being more important than another. I wanted to win that Jacksonville game as badly as I want to win the Georgia Tech game.
“But I do enjoy rivalries. It’s great to have rivalries bedcause it adds more interest to the game. All of us as competititors and as performers, the more attention we get for what we’re out there doing and competing in, the more fun it is and the more interesting it is. So I really, really enjoy that about any good rivalry. It adds great value to any game.”
“Obviously we enjoy having a good rival in Georgia Tech. It’s nice and it’s fun to have a rival like that in state.
“Anytime Georgia competes with Georgia Tech in anything it’s big. There’s no doubt about you get a certain degree of fulfillment for beating a rival. But, as a coach, every game is excruciatingly important and you want to win every one.”
Q: Does winning or losinig this game impact recruiting?
A: “I certainly don’t think we’re going to let one game impact our recruiting. Wwe’re going to continue to recruit hard in-state and go after the best players regardless of what happens. We’re 2-1 against Georgia Tech since I’ve been here and I don’t think it’s given us a leg up on them. “
Q: Your impressions of Tech’s team?
A: “I hadn’t paid much attention until I started watching them to get ready for this game. Now that I’ve watched them, I think they’ve got to be one of the three or four most talented teams in the country. I just think they’re supremely talented, freakishly athletic, tall and long. They’ve got two guys that are one-and-done. I don’t know of many teams that can roll out that kind of talent. They’re special.
“It’s a difficult matchup. They’ve got some scary talent. Where in the country are you going to find two freshmen like [Javaris] Crittenton and [Thaddeus] Young? They’re pros. But it doesn’t end there. We’re concerned about every position and about every part of the game.”
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Losing Gaines tough for Dogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
If you’re a Georgia basketball fan, seeing Sundiata Gaines go down to the floor in pain in last night’s win over Jacksonville was a horrifying sight.
I’m here to tell you, Mike Mercer is an incredible athlete with special gifts, Levi Stukes could shoot a fly off a deer’s butt at 200 yards and Takais Brown is a man in the paint, but Gaines is the undisputed MVP of this Bulldog basketball team and Georgia could have a tough time beating Georgia Tech without him.
Heck, they’d have a tough time beating Tech WITH him.
If you look closely you’ll see everything Gaines does for this squad. Never mind his nearly 10 points per game going into the last game. He also went into that contest leading Georgia in rebounds (5.4), assists (5.1) and steals (3.5, SEC leader, too). He’s also second in minutes played and, unofficially, probably first on the team in big plays executed, especially of the defensive variety.
Suffice it to say his absence hurts. And even if he makes it back for Friday night’s game at Alexander Memorial, he’s sure to be gimpy.
Fact is, this is the one position at which Georgia absolutely could least afford an injury. With Kevin Brophy gone to the Great Beyond, Gaines is the only pure point guard on the roster. Mike Mercer has played a lot of point guard in his life, including his entire high school career, and he managed fairly well against the Dolphins (11 assists, 6 turnovers). But Mercer was born to be a scorer and that’s what he needs to be, looking for his shot rather than trying to find one for everyone else. And Mercer can’t handle the ball every minute. For now, it looks like Billy Humphrey, another natural wing and scorer, would have to back up the position.
The good news is Gaines will be back. This is nothing close to a season ender. But ankle sprains are extremely difficult to play basketball with and can linger for weeks, even months. Too bad for Gaines and for Georgia.
Though they didn’t look great, the win over Jacksonville makes the Bulldogs 2-0 over this killer stretch in the schedule. Now comes Tech, then they travel to Clemson and come back home to face No. 4 Wisconsin on New Year’s Eve afternoon. I thought from the beginning if Georgia could win three out of these five it would be in good shape for SEC and a possible run at the NCAA tournament. After the Gonzaga game, I began to think four wins might be possible (the Badgers are tough, tough, tough). With Gaines gimpy, I just don’t know.
What do y’all think? Do they have a chance at Tech without Gaines? With him? Is this a devastating injury to the Dogs season or just a minor bump in the road? Are they an NCAA tournament team in your opinion?
By the way, if you’re into football recruiting, be sure to stay tuned in the coming weeks. We’re going to give you some awesome coverage!
Bobo gets call; O-line job open
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Mark Richt wasn’t kidding when he said he wanted to move quickly on naming an offensive coordinator. He tabbed quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo after practice Tuesday morning.
Kudos to Bobo. Whether you know it or not, Bobo is a hot commodity in the business. If Georgia didn’t make him a coordinator, somebody else would have and soon. Now others won’t have that carrot to dangle in front of him to lure him away from the Bulldogs. And I know Bobo, whose peers are Auburn defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and Miami Dolphins assistant Kirby Smart, has always wanted this.
Now he got it and that’s nice (as is the $30,000 or $40,000 a year bump in pay). But, lest we forget, Bobo is a young man (32) and this is a cold, hard business based on one thing — winning. Bobo clearly knows what he’s doing but now he’s got to prove it on the field of play. And coordinators are kind of like quarterbacks: They get a lot of credit and they also get a lot of blame. Just ask Jeff Bowden down in Tallahassee or Randy Sanders, once of Tennessee.
The truth is, I don’t think this hire markedly changes Georgia at all. Bobo had already assumed play-calling duties and, even though Richt hasn’t officially extended that duty beyond the bowl game, logic dictates he will keep doing that. The fact of the matter is, Richt is still the one who creates the play list, or at least has final approval of it. So I don’t see the Dogs’ offense looking much different (for what it’s worth, Matthew Stafford told Carter Strickland he likes Bobo’s playcalling and that’s probably a good thing).
To me, offensive line coach remains a more critical hire at this juncture. It’s been my experience that you’ve got to have a master commander and motivator leading the men in the trenches. And it’s a no bullcrap position. You better know what you’re teaching in terms of technique or these defensive line beasts in the SEC will eat your quarterback and backs alive.
It’s my understanding that Richt already made a couple of calls to Hugh Nall at Auburn. If ever there is a time Nall may feel compelled to answer a “call home” you’d think it’d be about now. But who knows?
A few other names being batted around: Clemson’s Brad Scott, Texas’ Mac McWhorter, Art Kehoe of Ole Miss (by way of Miami) and Bob Connelly, who for the moment at least is employed by Alabama. Any of them would probably be a good get.
Bobo’s ascent really makes me feel old. Heck, not only did I cover him when he came to Georgia to succeed Eric Zeier, I remember writing about this young, hotshot coach’s son from Thomasville who may or may not come play for the Dogs. Boy, did he show up!
So let me know what you think about Bobo’s appointment and the O-line situation. And I’m sure I’ll see about 5,000 or 6,000 of you guys at the Georgia-Jacksonville basketball game at Stegeman tonight. Right?
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Replacing Callaway
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I apologize if this is getting up late on the site. Been a crazy day. There’s so much going on around Georgia at the moment, then you’ve got the Christmas holiday bearing down on top of that.
But enough about that. Let’s talk about the Bulldogs, and boy is there a lot to talk about.
First of all, obviously Georgia is in need of an offensive coordinator and an offensive line coach. Neil Callaway (yeah, the desk fixed the headline with the earlier mistake), who filled both duties before, was named the new head coach at UAB on Sunday. Callaway will stick with the Dogs through the bowl, but coach Mark Richt hopes to have his vacancies filled by then.
Richt said promoting quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo to OC was “very plausible.” Do you think that’s the best move or should they go outside? I can’t imagine Richt hiring his old friend Jeff Bowden as offensive coordinator, for perception reasons alone. The man was run out of town on a rail in Tallahassee.
Personally, I think whomever coaches the offensive line is the more important hire. I know everybody wants Hugh Nall, the ol’ Bulldog who helped open running lanes for Herschel Walker in the glory years. But I’m not confident Georgia could pry Nall away from Tommy Tuberville.
On another subject, what’d you think of Ian Smith’s situation? I was surprised he was not suspended for next semester after all the trouble he’s been in. But UGA allowed him to remain in school (putting him on probation the rest of his daysinstead) and it looks like he may only be suspended 3 games next year.
Y’all OK with that? You think a regular student’s discipline would have been handled the same way?
Do Dogs have a chance against Zags?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You know, it never ceases to amaze me but there is one thing you can absolutely count on with these blogs. If my topic happens to be on Georgia basketball, I’ll get about half the responses I would otherwise.
That’s just the way it is, I guess. Maybe one day you’ll care. I suppose it’s up to Dennis Felton, ultimately, to make sure the Bulldogs win enough to gain the interest and the passion of UGA fans and alumni.
Felton could take a big step in that direction if Georgia can somehow pull out a win over Gonzaga in Duluth tomorrow. The Bulldogs (6-1) play 16th-ranked Gonzaga (9-2) at the Gwinnett Arena. Gonzaga, of course, is the little Catholic school from eastern Washington state that has won more games than any other Division I basketball program over the last seven-plus years. This was supposed to be somewhat of a down year for the Zags but they’ve already knocked off No. 2 North Carolina and No. 13 Washington this season. They have, however, lost to Butler and Washington State.
We actually don’t really don’t that much about Georgia other than they appear a whole lot better than in recent years. Tomorrow’s game is the first of five over the next six against teams ranked among the nation’s top 26 (10-0 Clemson has the most among others receiving votes in the Top 25 poll).
A win over Gonzaga would be a catapult of a kickoff to that stretch for the Bulldogs and, who knows, could propel them to great things this season. After the Zags, they get Jacksonville at home, then they’re at Georgia Tech (12/22), at Clemson (12/28), get Wisconsin at home (12/31), then open the SEC schedule at defending national champion Florida (1/6).
Pretty grueling stretch, and one that should be very telling of the Bulldogs fortunes this year.
Now I’m hearing they’re expecting a pretty good turnout in Gwinnett for Saturday’s game. Anybody out there going? Anybody out there expect Georgia to win? Let’s hear some score predictions.
Georgia’s had an 11-day layoff since its last game. Will that help or hurt?
Dooley Field in order?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been really, really busy today so I haven’t had a lot of time to contemplate today’s discussion on the UGA blog. So I’ll have to give credit to RODAWG for helping me come up with today’s topic.
First of all, I had to laugh when I saw all the responses to yesterday’s blog in which I wrote about the newspaper not reporting rumors. Predictably, y’all took the opportunity to throw out the most outrageous rumors you could think of and some of them were downright hilarious. Good job.
RODAWG, however, brought up something that is less about gossip and more a legitimate query. He (or is it she?) wondered if or when Georgia is ever going to honor Vince Dooley by either putting his name on Sanford Stadium or the field the Bulldogs play on there.
That’s a darn, good question and one I haven’t looked into for a while but I promise I will real soon.
I had almost forgotten about it but I was taken aback when I was at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium for Georgia’s game last month. I was on the field before the game and looked up to see in giant letters over some luxury suites — “Welcome to Pat Dye Field.” Heck, I hadn’t even heard they’d named it for the Tigers’ retired coach before that moment.
Now I admire Dye as a coach and have always found him to be very accommodating and friendly and helpful whenever I needed help with stories and such. But he never accomplished at Auburn anywhere close to what Dooley accomplished at Georgia, starting with winning a national championship. And they named the field after him?
Dooley is the second-winningest coach of all-time in the SEC with 201 wins (the Bear had 292) and Dooley won six SEC championships to Dye’s four. Oh, yeah, and then there’s that undefeated season and national championship.
The political red tape that has tied up any proper homage being paid to Dooley, who as a coach and administrator oversaw almost every expansion to that stadium, borders on the absurd.
Is it just me or does that make no sense? If not should Georgia’s fans do something about it? Have any of you ever voiced any opinions on this to university or athletic administrators or state legislators? Or is it just much ado about nothing?
Meanwhile, speaking of rumors, coach Mark Richt confirmed that one was a reality: Neil Callaway talked with UAB about its head coaching job yesterday. Could be some interesting shakeout if he left, don’t you think? But I’ve heard LSU’s Jimbo Fisher all along for that job.
Rumors don’t fly here
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This is not only the holiday season. In college football, this is the rumor season.
There are rumors flying around about everything, about recruiting, about transfers, about coaching hires and firings.
In regard to that, I’ll say this: Sometimes what you DON’T read in the newspaper is as telling as what you do.
For the most part, we try not to write about rumors in the newspaper. It’s our duty and responsibility to report the news, and rumors are not news. You’ll recall the Alabama head coaching search recently. It was “rumored” that Rich Rodriguez had been hired as the Crimson Tide’s new coach. The reality was that he had been contacted and interviewed about it. We reported only that. As we all know now, he didn’t take it and a few media outlets came out crimson-faced because they reported that he had.
Closer to home, Internet chat rooms have been abuzz the last couple of days about former Florida State offensive coordinator Jeff Bowden joining Georgia’s staff as wide receivers coach with current Bulldogs receivers coach John “Doc” Eason taking an administrative position at UGA to make room.
The fact that you never read that in the newspaper should tell you about the validity of it.
Were we aware of the rumor? Yes. Did we check on it? Yes. Did we report on it. No.
As you guys know, the Internet along with the advent of chatrooms and blogs and the like have dramatically changed our business in recent years. The main way it affects us is the way we report the news. I’m here to tell you, if something happens regarding Georgia athletics, you’re going to be able to read about it on our website as soon as it is humanly possible to get it up there.
Now I’m not professing that we know all and see all. Certainly not. And with their vast networking capabilities in which so-and-so knows so-and-so and so on, these team forums occasionally know about things before we do. But we constantly keep our ears to the ground and you can rest assured that it’s been checked out and double-checked if you read it on our website or in our paper.
Does that make us better? No. Does it make us different? Absolutely.
Recruits on Dogs’ wish list
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s getting close to Christmastime — or should I say the “Winter Holiday?” — and that means we’re all having to get serious about completing our shopping lists and making sure our loved ones know our wish lists.
Which brings us to Georgia. Just guessing but I’d say some of you who post here are the most passionate and ravenous UGA fans there are. So what does a real fan want from their Dawgs for Christmas?
I know what the football coaching staff wants. They’ve got some big-time uncommitted recruits dangling out there that they’d love to secure by Christmas (or at least national signing day). Georgia’s recruiting class already looks good as it is but could you imagine how it might look with the additions Eric Berry, Allen Bailey, Morgan Burnett and Cameron Heyward, their main targets at this juncture? Let’s see ‘em put a bow around that?
Here’s a question: What would you rather see, the Dogs beat Virginia Tech in the Chick-fil-A Bowl or the aforementioned prospects all signed with Georgia? How about a win and two of the four? How about a loss and all four?
If Georgia could get only one of those guys, who should it be?
I’ll tell you what coach Dennis Felton is wishing for – at least three more Ws in 2006. If the Hoop Dogs could go 3-2 against Gonzaga, Jacksonville, Georgia Tech, Clemson and Wisconsin, they’d be primed for big things this season. A sweep? Are you kidding me? If that happened, go ahead and clear your calendar for some late-March Madness.
Me? I’m just wishing for good stories and late deadlines. Oh, and good health for you and yours and me and mine. And world peace.
Permalink | Comments (89) | Categories: Basketball
Dogs need fans to get past Zags
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the things I’m looking into this week is the saga of Alabama center Jermareo Davidson. It’s been a tough year for the senior from Atlanta. He was ruled ineligible at the end of last week for missing too much class time. Of course, that’s because he was involved in a car accident in Atlanta in November that killed his girlfriend, Brandy Nicole Murphy. They were in Atlanta because Davidson’s brother was in the hospital recovering from a gunshot wound.
I tried to talk to Davidson’s high school coach, Doug Lipscomb of Wheeler High, and he was emphatic in saying the media had no place inquiring about such a personal, family situation and he didn’t want to comment (he commented a little nonetheless).
I respectfully contended with Lipscomb’s assertions, telling him that Davidson is a high-profile star athlete that has benefitted greatly from media exposure and that he’s different that regular folks in that there are a great number of people who are interested in him and in the University of Alabama. He didn’t agree and we left it at that.
What about you? Are we crossing a line when we start asking how a star athlete is coping with the death of his girlfriend and how it may or may not have affected his play and/or his eligibility?
I’m also working on a piece on Gonzaga’s basketball program for later this week. Georgia gets the Zags (Bulldogs is their actual nickname) in the Gwinnett Arena on Saturday. They’re ranked 16th in the latest AP poll after knocking off No. 8 Washington this past Saturday, so this will be the most formidable and telling test for the Bulldogs’ basketball team by far.
Georgia will need to have a jam-packed, homecourt-like crowd to have a chance, in my opinion. I’m not confident they’ll get that type of atmosphere though. As a college hoops enthusiast and knowing they’ve got a couple of Gwinnett products in Mike Mercer and Billy Humphrey, I think they should. We’ll see.
Meanwhile, as promised, here’s the postseason awards handed out at Georgia’s Football Gala this past Friday. You guys hit most of them:
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Tebow doesn’t belong beside Stafford
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For the most part, you have to take postseason awards with a grain of salt. Let’s face it, it’s not scientific at all, is based mostly on publicity and notoriety and is very, very subjective. But when I saw that Georgia’s Matthew Stafford shared the quarterback spot with Florida’s Tim Tebow on the SEC Coaches’ All-Freshman team, I almost had a stroke.
Now granted, Tebow is a good player. He’s exciting to watch and has a neat little niche in the Gators’ offense as a designated short-yardage, singlewing halfback (that’s what it is, guys, the same thing they’ve been doing in football since the 1930s).
But the key word here is “niche.” The dude is a backup, or specialist at best. Do you think Florida is in the national championship game if Tebow is the full-time starter at quarterback? Chris Leak is the Gators’ quarterback. Tebow’s nomination to the All-Freshman team is a slap in the face of Stafford AND Arkansas’ Mitch Mustain, if you ask me. Let’s look at the data:
Player GP/GS C-A-I Pct. TDs Yards Rush TDs
Mustain 11/8 64-122-8 52.5 10 853 13-(25) 0
Stafford 12/6 126-235-12 53.6 6 1,620 40-188 3
Tebow 13/0 21-32-1 65.6 4 357 79-430 7
You’ll note that Tebow never started a game. He attempted 32 passes all season and 21 of those came against Western Carolina and UCF in mop-up duty.
Meanwhile, Stafford engineered SEC road wins at South Carolina and Auburn and recorded Top 15 wins over Auburn and Georgia Tech. He passed for 1,200 MORE yards than Tebow and attempted 7.3 times as many passes. Granted, Stafford threw twice as many interceptions as touchdowns. But he did it while learning on the job in the heat of SEC battle after taking over for Georgia’s injured starter. It was a radically different situation.
Judgment on Tebow has to be reserved until next season when he is the full-time starter. All we know now is he is a very good single-wing halfback in short-yardage situations. But to put him in the same category as Stafford, a true freshman starter who became his team’s primary offensive weapon, is ridiculous.
While Tebow sharing All-Freshman quarterback honors with Stafford clearly is a travesty, does anybody have a problem with Percy Harvin’s designation as SEC Freshman of the Year? Obviously he meant a lot to the Gators (25 catches, 367 yards, 2 TDs; 36 carries, 406 yards, 2 TDs). But his 773 yards offense pales to Stafford’s 1,808. Is there any argument for Stafford as SEC Freshman of the Year?
For what it’s worth, here’s the entire All-Frosh team so you can make your own arguments:
2006 FRESHMAN ALL-SEC FOOTBALL TEAM
FRESHMAN ALL-SEC — OFFENSE
Pos. Name School Ht. Wt. Hometown
TE Ben Cleveland Arkansas 6-4 235 Springdale, Ark.
OL Andre Smith Alabama 6-5 315 Birmingham, Ala.
OL Ciron Black LSU 6-5 314 Tyler, Texas
OL John Jerry Ole Miss 6-5 350 Batesville, Miss.
OL Justin Jeffries Kentucky 6-5 300 Louisville, Ky.
OL Craig Jenkins Mississippi State 6-4 319 Pearl, Miss.
C Josh McNeil Tennessee 6-4 290 Collins, Miss.
WR Percy Harvin Florida 5-11 180 Virginia Beach, Va.
WR Brandon LaFell LSU 6-3 194 Houston, Texas
WR Damian Williams Arkansas 6-1 188 Springdale, Ark.
QB Matthew Stafford Georgia 6-3 228 Dallas, Texas
QB Tim Tebow Florida 6-3 229 Jacksonville, Fla.
RB LaMarcus Coker Tennessee 5-11 205 Antioch, Tenn.
RB Anthony Dixon Mississippi State 6-1 235 Jackson, Miss.
FRESHMAN ALL-SEC — DEFENSE
Pos. Name School Ht. Wt. Hometown
DL Ricky Jean-Francois LSU 6-3 281 Miami, Fla.
DL Sen’Derrick Marks Auburn 6-1 287 Mobile, Ala.
DL Kade Weston Georgia 6-5 315 Red Bank, N.J.
LB Prince Hall Alabama 5-11 253 Moreno Valley, Calif.
LB Rodney Paulk South Carolina 6-0 200 Columbia, S.C.
LB Micah Johnson Kentucky 6-2 255 Ft. Campbell, Ky.
LB Rico McCoy Tennessee 6-1 215 Washington, D.C.
LB Wendel Davis Arkansas 6-1 205 Sweeny, Texas
LB Jamon Hughes Mississippi State 6-0 221 Rolling Fork, Miss.
DB Trevard Lindley Kentucky 6-0 175 Hiram, Ga.
DB Emanuel Cook South Carolina 6-0 205 Riviera Beach, Fla.
DB D.J. Moore Vanderbilt 5-10 180 Spartanburg, S.C.
DB Aairon Savage Auburn 5-11 187 Albany, Ga.
DB Jerraud Powers Auburn 5-9 184 Decatur, Ala.
FRESHMAN ALL-SEC — SPECIAL TEAMS
Pos. Name School Ht. Wt. Hometown
PK Lones Seiber Kentucky 5-9 180 Knoxville, Tenn.
PK Joshua Shene Ole Miss 5-9 170 Oklahoma City, Okla.
P P.J. Fitzgerald Alabama 6-0 196 Coral Springs, Fla.
RS Brandon James Florida 5-7 180 St. Augustine, Fla.
Handing out postseason awards
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia will hold its annual Football Gala tomorrow night (Friday) at the Classic Center in downtown Athens. If you’ve never been, it serves as a postseason banquet for the team but it’s very much a fan-oriented event that features a silent auction for some pretty exclusive prizes (such as having lunch and going to practice with Mark Richt). For what it’s worth, tickets are still available ($75) by calling Ann Hunt at 706-542-1307.
Today you’re going to hand out your own postseason awards for the 2006 Bulldogs. We’ll see if ours matchup at all with Georgia’s over the weekend.
Some are going to be pretty easy, such as special teams player of the year. Return specialist Mikey Henderson in a runaway, right? If Brandon Coutu stays healthy, I’m sure this would have been his to lose.
What’s not going to be so easy is figuring out who was Georgia’s most valuable player overall. Who do you like? Linebacker Tony Taylor. What about safety Tra Battle or center Nick Jones?
Is Matthew Stafford the offensive MVP or is it Jones or Brannan Southerland or Kregg Lumpkin? Maybe its Mohamed Massaquoi for the Tech game alone?
Let’s use the following categories and I’ll get us started:
Overall MVP: C Nick Jones.
Defensive MVP: LB Tony Taylor
Offensive MVP: FB Brannan Southerland.
Special Teams MVP: Mikey Henderson
Best DB: Tie — Paul Oliver and Tra Battle.
Best LB: Taylor
Best DL: Charles Johnson
Best OL: Jones
Best RB: Lumpkin
Best receiver: Massaquoi
Best rookie: Stafford
Feel free to add your own categories.
High-scoring hoopsters
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How many people caught Georgia’s basketball game last night against Gardner-Webb? Georgia won 96-67. I know, I know, it was only Gardner-Webb for gosh sakes. But Dennis Felton’s Dogs (6-1) clearly have a great deal of potential.
Afterward, both Felton and G-W coach Rick Scruggs, a UGA graduate who has taken his team up against No. 2 North Carolina, Texas Tech and N.C. State, sang Georgia’s praises.
Scruggs said you can’t compare Georgia to the Tar Heels, who beat his team 103-50. “North Carolina is so good it’s unbelievable,” he said.
But he said the Dogs are probably better than Bobby Knight’s Texas Tech team and N.C. State and hinted that they might well be a tournament team. “I think Georgia’s inside game is better than Texas Tech and N.C. State and they’re probably more athletic than both,” Scruggs said. “I think Georgia has a chance to be very good.”
Felton does, too.
“I don’t expect to score 90 points a game all year long but there are reasons we’re scoring like we are,” said Felton, whose team has averaged 95 points in its six victories and leads the SEC with an overall scoring average of 91 a game. “We’re pushing the ball, playing really fast, playing high-possession games, developing good chemistry and playing off of each other real well to score efficiently. “It’s fun to see the way we’re growing, without a doubt.”
On his post-game radio show and in his comments to scribes afterward, Felton made an open appeal to Georgia fans to please come out and support the team in the coming weeks as the schedule ratchets up considerably. In particular, he’s hopeful the Bulldog Nation will come out in force for the Dec. 16 tilt against No. 18 Gonzaga at the Arena at Gwinnett Center. Technically it’s a Georgia home game and tickets are still available through the UGA ticket office (706-542-1231).
So with football on the shelf until the bowl game against Virginia Tech on Dec. 30, do you plan to answer Felton’s call and come out and support the basketball team? Do you think all this praise for the Hoop Dawgs is merely delusional based on a relatively soft schedule to date (though that win at Wake Forest was pretty impressive)?
Meanwhile, just to fulfill your insatiable football appetites, I was glad to see Georgia tight end Martrez Milner earn first-team All-SEC honors from the coaches and thought it was inexcusable that linebacker Tony Taylor wasn’t voted first team by either AP or the coaches.
Big offensive line concerns
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ll say this about Georgia football next year: Those offensive linemen that were redshirted this season better be REAL good. Same goes for these JUCO transfers and those guys on ice up at Hargrave Military.
In contemplating the Bulldogs’ prospects for the 2007 season, that is by far the biggest area of concern. At first glance, I’d even say odds are Georgia is going to be in for a long season.
Covering college football all these years, it has been my experience that you often need to look no further than a team’s respective lines of scrimmage to get a fairly accurate picture of what its prospects might be. I didn’t like the picture I was getting coming into this season and I like the picture even less for next season.
Now let me qualify this by saying I put more stock in this theory on the D-line than the O-line. In general, I think great defensive linemen – guys that are 6-foot-4, 300 pounds, athletic and quick on their feet — are simply harder to come by. Depending on whether or not Charles Johnson turns pro, Georgia is not in awful shape up front on defense next year but not great either. But that’s a topic of discussion for another day.
The situation on the O-line is abysmal.
If I’m figuring this right, the Bulldogs have six offensive linemen returning for next season, three of whom have played (Chester Adams, Fernando Velasco and Seth Watts). The other three are redshirt freshmen Chris Davis, Josh Davis and Kevin Perez. That’s right, I’m not counting Ian Smith and do not expect him to be available.
Then you have 2006 signees Justin Anderson and Ben Harden at Hargrave. It is yet to be determined whether they’re going to be admitted to UGA. Even if they are, how good can they be as first-year freshmen?
Hence, Georgia’s rare recruitment of junior college players this year (Carter Strickland is working on a story about UGA revisiting this policy, etc.). Vince Vance of Georgia Military and Joe Blaes of Coffeyville (Kan.) are on their way to help on the O-line. For the Bulldogs’ sake, they better be all-world.
So quarterback Matthew Stafford looked great at the end of this season and Georgia is set at all the skill positions. But, as I said, you’re only as good as the men you have up front.
Now maybe I’m too pessimistic and getting all Larry Munson here. Maybe these young guys are truly special and will be awesome linemen. Many of them, such as Perez and Anderson, have very impressive credentials. Some of you “recruitniks” may have a stronger opinion on these guys than I do.
Do you think the Dogs can get the job done with what they’ll have on hand next year? Am I over-emphasizing the impact of line play? Is Stafford so great that he doesn’t need more than adequate line play to be successful? Let me know what you think.
P.S. Georgia’s basketball team looked pretty darn good against Wake Forest. They might surprise some people this year, guys. They’ve got Gardner-Webb at 7 p.m. tonight but some huge games await later this month. Y’all plan on attending any of the games?
Gators’ effect on Dogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
OK, everybody was loud and clear about their feelings toward Florida in the SEC Championship Game. But what about now?
Like it or not, the Gators are in the national championship game with Ohio State. Doesn’t your Southeastern Conference and regional pride compel you to root for Florida? Quite a quandary isn’t it?
The bigger question is this: How do you think the Gators’ participation in the BCS championship game affects Georgia?
This could be a major crossroads year for the SEC and the Eastern Division in particular. Without question, the Bulldogs were the class of their division and, arguably, the entire SEC for four years from 2002-2005 (LSU and Auburn had some pretty good seasons in the middle of that).
Now the Gators have stepped up and find themselves as the league’s most prominent team. This could mean trouble for the rest of the conference and Georgia especially.
In only his second year, Urban Meyer has Florida on top. His system, flawed though we all believed it was, has been validated. Evidently he is recruiting very well. And he’s doing it at a time when Florida State and Miami are struggling mightily and in a season when the Bulldogs had a major slip. If there was ever a year Georgia needed to stay on top, this might’ve been it.
With its resources and recruiting base, Florida is and always will be either a sleeping giant or one that is wide awake. Clearly the Gators have answered the bell this season. But does this mean another juggernaut is a-brewing in Gainesville such as the one Steve Spurrier oversaw in the 1990s? Can Georgia hang with the Gators? And do you think the Gators can hang with Ohio State? Does it blunt their progress if they go out to Arizona only to get steamrolled?
Let’s hear what you think.
Will there be a hoops postseason?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Georgia’s football regular season is over and the bowl game (against Virginia Tech in the Georgia Dome) is not for another 28 days. So it’s time to talk some hoops.
This is going to be a very, very interesting month for the Bulldogs and perhaps one of the most important spans in coach Dennis Felton’s tenure.
Say what you will about the schedule to date but the Georgia is going to make up for it big time in the coming weeks. Six of the next eight games for the Bulldogs will be against so-called “heavyweights,” including four against teams ranked in the current AP Top 25 (No. 4 Florida, No. 12 Wisconsin, No. 21 Georgia Tech and No. 22 Gonzaga). Only the Dec. 31 Wisconsin game will be played in Athens and they also play at Clemson.
Georgia’s scoring margin of 35.4 points leads the SEC but of course he came against teams with a combined 13-17 record. But coach Dennis Felton gets a little annoyed at people trying to diss his schedule.
“We’re not playing a schedule any different than anybody else,” he says. “Most teams have played a schedule similar to ours. It’s just that some of them who might’ve played in Maui or Alaska have had some tougher games up front. But there’s no doubt about it, ours picks up from here and it’s about as tough a schedule as anybody in the country.”
After Wake Forest on Saturday — a 5 p.m. game that will be televised online via webcast at www.ACCSelect.com — Georgia gets a brief reprieve with Gardner-Webb on Dec. 5. Then we really find out what the Dogs are made of versus Gonzaga in Gwinnett Arena (Dec. 16), at Georgia Tech (Dec. 22), at Clemson (Dec. 28) and at home against the Badgers. Then their first SEC game is on the road against the defending national champion Gators.
Power forward Takais Brown didn’t play in the Bulldogs only loss against Western Kentucky. They scored only two points in the last six minutes to blow a 10-point lead in that one. Otherwise, as Felton said, they’ve played nine good halves out of 10 so far this season.
Georgia was 15-15 last year but I think they can be can significantly better this season.
What do you guys think? Have you seen them play much? Are you going to try to see them much in the coming months? Do you think they’ll make the NCAA tournament this year? How about the NIT? Do you think the postseason is a must for Felton?
