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 > 2007 > April
April 2007
NFL draft kind to Dogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s Monday of a new week and Georgia athletes are putting the finishing touches on their seasons and readying for exams. Today’s blog will be a potpurri. I’m just going to clean out my notebooks — and my head — and you guys feel free to jump on anything you want.
Interesting to see Georgia’s Quentin Moses go ahead teammate Charles Johnson in this past weekend’s NFL draft and even more interesting to hear draft expert Mel Kiper comment on the situation. Paraphrasing, Kiper said Johnson would have been a top 15 pick next year if he had stayed at Georgia for his senior season. Of course, he said thme same thing last year about Moses, who probably lost $1 million by NOT coming out after his junior season.
Unlike a lot of Georgia fans, I don’t see it as a disappointment that the Bulldogs had only four players drafted this year. If you ask me, it means they didn’t lose their best talent off the team. Also, I’m betting a few of those guys getting free-agent looks will stick.
The baseball team still has three series to go but it looks like it’s going to miss out on the SEC tournament. If that holds true, it will continue a strange trend under coach David Perno in which they rarely make the tourney in consecutive years and usually miss it in odd years (2003, 2005 and 2007).
I did a story on the Georgia men’s tennis team that is supposed to run in Tuesday’s paper and may be up on the website later today. Had a national tennis guy tell me that the No. 1-ranked and undefeated Bulldogs (26-0) will have to be considered among the greatest college tennis teams of all time if they run the table this year. They went 30-1 last year and have slaughtered virtually every team they’ve faced this year, including the Nos. 2, 3, 4 and 5 teams. The NCAA Selection Show is Tuesday at 2:30 p.m. (ESPN News), Georgia will host a first-and second-round regional May 11-13 in Athens and the Dan Magill Tennis Complex is the site of the championship rounds May 17-28.
Speaking of dynasties, coach Suzanne Yoculan brought home her eighth gymnastics national championship Monday even after losing two of her best gymnasts to injuries. This proves once again that Yoculan is one of the best big-event coaches of all time in any sport. There have been rumblings of retirement. Georgia can only hope not.
With the gymnastics title in the bag, Georgia has a realistic chance to claim four more national championships. The Bulldogs are ranked in the top 3 nationally in men’s golf and women’s golf and men’s and women’s tennis. All have won national titles before.
See anything worth commenting on? Have at it …
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How to handle Hebron’s off-field troubles?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, as you’ve all probably gathered by now, Georgia linebacker Akeem Hebron was arrested again Thursday night. He was charged with underage possession of alcohol for the second time in a little over two months. Hebron, 18, was booked in Athens-Clarke County jail at 12:30 a.m. Friday morning and released on $500 bond at 1:18 a.m .
Hebron was, of course, already suspended for the first two games of 2007 because of the previous arrest. As of this hour, coach Mark Richt has not announced what his punishment will be though I suspect we’ll find out about before day’s end. There is a recent precedent. Ian Smith was arrested twice for drinking-related offenses last fall — including underage possession — and he was suspended for the first six games of this coming season.
Hebron is, of course, one heck of a player. Had he not had all these off-field problems, he’d probably be in the mix to start and certainly play extensively at the outside linebacker spot. When he came out of Good Counsel High School in Gaithersburg, Md., Hebron was All-USA and Parade Magazine first-team All-American and ranked the No. 5 linebacker in the nation by Scout. Redshirted last year, he’s shown a lot of promise in Georgia’s practices.
So let’s hear from the Bulldog Nation. Would six games be too harsh? Is it not enough? Are Hebron’s arrests a reflection of Richt and the Georgia football program or just a young kid screwing up? How do you think not having Hebron available the first half of the season might impact the Bulldogs?
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Can’t spell NFL without UGA
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve been trying to size up this year’s NFL draft for the Bulldogs and, for the first time in a while, I don’t see a Georgia player making a big splash early on the first day.
Best I can tell from perusing all the mock drafts and such, defensive end Charles Johnson will be the first Dog off the board and that might not be until the second round. In all, I’d say at least six Georgia players will probably be drafted and roughly in this order: Johnson, DE Quentin Moses, TE Martrez Milner, RB Danny Ware, LB Tony Taylor and OL Daniel Inman. Add to that LB Jarvis Jackson, OL Nick Jones, DB Tra Battle and P Gordon Ely-Kelso and that’s 10 Dogs likely to get at least a free-agent tryout.
That would have to be considered a down year for Georgia in the draft. In fact, the Bulldogs have one of the more rich NFL traditions, especially when it comes to the quality of careers. In 2006, there were 49 Dogs in the league. Four played — Champ Bailey, Richard Seymour, Mack Strong, Marcus Stroud — played in the Pro Bowl. Missing from that group was Hines Ward, who made the Pro Bowl a regular stop from 2002-05. In all, Georgia has put an impressive 27 players in the Pro Bowl. But of course the most impressive NFL stat for Georgia is it is the ONLY college in the nation to have three Super Bowl MVPs: Jake Scott (VII), Terrell Davis (XXXII) and Ward (XL).
So that’s a thumbnail sketch of the past. Let’s talk about the future. Which of this year’s Bulldogs in the draft do you believe will have the best shot of becoming an NFL all-pro? Do you think I have the order right that they’ll be selected? And what about Georgia’s current team? What players on the Bulldogs’ roster for next season do you see as the most likely to continue their careers and flourish in the NFL? Mel Kiper already has tabbed Matthew Stafford as a future No. 1 pick. Anybody else have stardom in their future?
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Evans happy, wants more
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I touched on this a little last week but I thought I’d bring it up again in light of the events of this past weekend and because I had the chance hang out with Damon Evans for a short while Monday afternoon.
As you may or may not have noticed, Georgia captured three SEC titles on the same day on Sunday. The Bulldogs won tournament championships in men’s and women’s tennis (which had already clinched regular-season titles) and in women’s golf. Georgia’s No. 1-ranked men’s golf team had a tough first day in St. Simons Island and finished only sixth in the conference tourney, otherwise the Bulldogs could have recorded four championships on the same day for the second time since 2001.
I talked to Damon for a while about that today and brought up the same debate we had on this board last week with regard to nobody cares about the sports other than football and basketball. Here’s what he had to say:
“First of all, I’m proud that we have good football here at the University of Georgia. It’s outstanding,” Evans said. “But I don’t want people to look at us as just a football program. I want them to see that we’re the total package, that we’re a total athletics program. When you get to this time of year and you look at our spring sports and look at our coaches, it’s phenomenal. These sports are the ones that help us place high in the director’s cup each year and give us a shot at winning the [SEC’s] all-sports trophy. A lot of people might not notice but I hope they understand that Georgia is good at almost everything we do and we’re striving to be the best at everything we do.”
That said, Evans makes it clear that his philosophy applies to every sport Georgia competes in, football and basketball included. He’s VERY plugged in to what the men’s basketball team is doing and was going over with me how he thinks Dennis Felton’s team ought to be very competitive next year and move up in the league and the recruits they’ve got coming in, etc. Coach Mark Richt has had the football team in three SEC championship games the last five years — winning two titles — and Evans expects the Bulldogs to continue to have a say in the race year in and year out.
So again, do the average Dawg fans put much stock in these spring sports championships? And what are your thoughts on Evans. He’s been the top Dog now since December of 2003? Do you like the way he’s running things? What have been your observations about the program under his leadership? Does this continued run of overall athletic success have anything to do with him?
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Lumpkin talks about the tailbacks
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
There has been a lot of talk about redshirt freshman tailback Knowshon Moreno since the end of last season and his performance during spring practice and the G-Day Game ( 11 carries, 68 yards, 2 TDs) did nothing to quell that. But, lest we forget, junior Kregg Lumpkin is solidly entrenched at the No. 1 position in Georgia’s backfield and, with Thomas Brown sidelined (at least heading into preseason practices), stands to be the Bulldogs’ primary ballcarrier this fall.
I recently talked to Lumpkin, a junior who led Georgia with 798 yards rushing last season, and asked the soft-spoken Lithonian to size up the Dogs’ tailback situation.
Q: With Brown out of the rotation this spring and Caleb King still not on the scene, did you feel like you got a lot more repetitions this spring with just you and Moreno back there?
A: Yeah, I guess so. But when Thomas comes back it’ll be a competition between all three of us again.
Q: Do you feel like, with the circumstances as they are, this is the your year to be The Man in Georgia’s backfield?
A: I mean, we still have an awesome backfield. We have a lot of talent. Whenever we get out there and whoever gets out there, we have to play as one. It’s a team game.
Q: Obviously most of the talk this spring has been about your freshman backfield mate Moreno. So give us the scoop from a players’ perspective. Are you as impressed as everybody else?
A: Whew, yeah, I am. He’s a mixture of Thomas Brown and Danny Ware and me. He has their speed and my power. He brings a lot of energy to the field. He brings a lot of smiles, too. We have fun all the time. He’s just another character on this team.
Q: Is there anything he needs to improve on to become a better tailback?
A: Coaches harp on us all the time about pass protection for the quarterback. That’s one thing that the whole group has to work on. He still has a lot to work on with that but he’s picking up on it well.
Q: Is there anything in particular you’ve worked on or plan on working on this summer, like losing weight, improving your speed, getting stronger, anything like that?
A: Just trying to stay healthy, stay focused and working hard to get better.
So there you go. If you’re looking for trash-talking and chest-beating, you’ll have to look for another player other than Lumpkin. The truth is, some coaches have told me Lumpkin had a great spring and has responded well to the challenge Moreno represents. He appears a tad bit leaner and looked a little quicker, too, though I don’t have any tangible data to support that at this moment.
What are your thoughts on the subject? Do you think this is going to be Lumpkin’s year or is he just holding down the spot until Moreno takes over? What do you want to see? And what about the X factor that is Thomas Brown? Every indication is he is going to be back in time to participate in preseason practice. CMR has always said a player won’t lose his position because of an injury. So does Brown just slide right back in ahead of Moreno? And what about King? Is there any option other than redshirting?
Meanwhile, I’ve been asked to remind you Georgia fans of the Michael Lemon Fund. UGA got clearance from the NCAA to raise money to help the Bulldogs’ redshirt freshman defensive lineman and his little brother in light of the horrible tragedy that befell his family earlier this year. Go to www.georgiadogs.com for more information.
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Any interest in top-ranked Dogs?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Spring football practice is behind us and basketball is long gone. But that doesn’t mean we simply stop providing coverage of Georgia sports. One of the biggest misconceptions of covering a college beat is that things slow down in the spring. On the contrary, especially where the Bulldogs are concerned.
For whatever reason, UGA almost always excels in its spring sports (baseball being the unfortunate exception this year). At this writing, the Bulldogs are No. 1 in men’s golf and tennis. The women are No. 3 and No. 6, respectively, in those sports and the Lady Dogs’ tennis team was undefeated and ranked No. 1 for a while. Georgia Tech’s women’s tennis team, which won the national indoor championship, is ranked No. 4. UGA, by the way, will host both the men’s and women’s national tennis championships May 17-28. I will, of course, be providing coverage.
Those sports enter into their conference championships later this week and you’ll be able to read some profiles and previews on them online and in the paper. My question is, WILL you read them? That’s something that has long been debated by our editors and editors at other papers. Generally their events are not well attended. Does that mean you college fans don’t care enough to read about them?
I say that realizing at least some of that is up to us writers. We need to find storylines and “angles” compelling enough to pique your interest. But even when we unveil great stories and tales they are not always well read. In this interactive age of the Internet, it’s pretty easy to gauge reader interest and some of the best pieces on tennis or golf or track won’t generate as much traffic as an update on a redshirt freshman backup guard.
Let us hear your thoughts and feelings on these “other sports” and whether you’re into either watching or reading about them. Let us know what you might be interested in reading with regard to them.
In the meantime, don’t fret. We’ll be staying on top of football and basketball now and all the way through the summer. We’ve heard you loud and clear on that!
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Bobo making mark
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’ve got to admit, when Mark Richt made Mike Bobo his offensive coordinator late last fall, I thought of it more of a token move and a new title for Bobo rather than an actual job. Bobo assumed playcalling duties late in the 2006 season, so I saw him simply as a mouthpiece for Richt, but still using the same call sheet.
But having seen the Bulldogs go through the bowl and spring practice, it’s clear Bobo is very much making an impact on Georgia’s offense. It first became apparent in the playcalling. When the Dogs went on that game-winning drive against Georgia Tech, that was clearly not Richt calling the shots.
Then came the restructuring of the offensive system. Gone was Neil Callaway (and Richt’s) system of lining up on the split and tight sides. In was Bobo’s (and new line coach Stacy Searels) preferred left and right system with even and odd numbered holes.
Then, you talk to quarterback Matthew Stafford and some of the backs and receivers, and they all say you’re going to see a lot of new wrinkles this fall. Apparently Bobo’s trying to utilize a little more motion and shifts to get his best playmakers into the open field and one-on-one situations. Even Richt has talked about how impressed he’s been with Bobo and how it has freed him up to pay attention to more things. Suffice it to say, Bobo’s presence as O.C. is going to give some of Georgia’s opponents — and certainly those early ones — a little more to think about and prepare for.
Is it just me or do you see Bobo making a significant impact this fall? Of course, Stafford and everybody else is having to learn new terminology and some new plays. Any potential setbacks as a result of that?
By the way, now out of basketball season and with spring football practice, we’re going to a Monday, Wednesday, Friday format for updating the blog. That is, unless there’s some breaking news or something we might want to initiate a discussion on.
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Never too early for football predictions
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s only April but, as we’ve seen increasingly in recent years, it’s never too early to start making football predictions. I saw one today that really threw me for a loop. A guy (out of South Carolina, of course) predicted the Gamecocks to finish first in the East and had Florida FOURTH! (Also, Tennessee second and Georgia third, for what it’s worth.)
I’m not even going to pretend to have a strong conviction about what’s going to happen in the SEC next fall. It’s way too early for us hacks. I think Georgia may be a little better than a lot of people think and I have a suspicion Kentucky might be better than usual. But I’ve still got to study a lot more data and see what all happens this summer to even come close to making preseason predicitions.
That said, I know it’s never too early for you guys either. So how about sharing some of the insights you may have gathered as impassioned football fans as the SEC wraps up its spring practice sessions. Am I missing something about South Carolina? Is there any reason at all to believe Georgia might be in the thick of the SEC race?
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Who’ll be Dogs’ breakout star?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Realizing that we have enveloped our loyal readers with all this award-winning Final Four coverage, I offer a respite for those die-hard college football fans out there, specifically you guys who covet all discussions regarding the Georgia Bulldogs.
Today’s topic is short and sweet. Which Georgia player do you think will be the breakout star in 2007?
Now to specify, we’re not talking about somebody like Matthew Stafford, who most of us agree is on his way to stardom, or Mohamed Massaquoi or Paul Oliver or probably not even Kregg Lumpkin, all of whom have had their “shining moments” (couldn’t resist the basketball reference) on college football’s big stage before.
No, we’re talking about guys more like Brandon Miller or Dannell Ellerbe or or Kelin Johnson or Quintin Banks or Knowshon Moreno or Tripp Chandler or Fernando Velasco. You know, guys that have been around a little while but may have been redshirted or injured or buried behind stars on the depth chart and biding their time for a chance. Certainly I may have overlooked somebody so feel free to offer up a player I haven’t mentioned. You get the gist. Tell me who they are and what you know about it. Perhaps there’s something about them you know that might make a nice story down the line.
Meanwhile, I’m always interested in what the Dawg Nation thinks about everything so feel free to tell me who you think will win the Big Dance tonight and why? That’s where I’ll be. Beautiful weather in Atlanta today and there’s a lot going on around the Georgia Dome, the World Congress Center and Centenniel Olympic Park tonight. Anbody coming downtown to enjoy the festivities tonight?
Anyway, football talk first, then hoops. I’ll be checking in.
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