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 > 2008 > July
July 2008
Offense where Dogs need most improvement
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Earlier this week we discussed here what should be Georgia’s priorities as it embarked on preseason football camp, which begins Monday by the way. We got a lot of responses and some really good comments. If there was consensus it was probably solidifying the lineup and rotation of the offensive line and establishing a dependable kicking game. Noticeably absent was much talk about the defense.
I’d say that means this group is made up of pretty astute observers of football. After the fact, I decided to peruse last season’s final statistics as far as where the Bulldogs stacked up nationally. The conclusion therein was Georgia was real good on defense and special teams and not so great on offense.
Just for the sake of discussion and to save you good folks of having to go to the NCAA website and hunt and pick these things out, I figured I’d just post the Bulldogs’ numbers by what I consider the most important statistical categories and then we’ll talk about how that might apply to improvements they need to make.
So here’s the data. Keep in mind there were 119 Division I teams last year:
OFFENSE
Rushing 37th (177.23 ypg)
Passing 83rd (198.4)
Total O 74th (375.62)
Scoring 34th (32.62 ppg)
Pass eff. 61 (123.46 rating)
DEFENSE
Rush D 16th (109.9 ypg)
Pass D 36th (213.31)
Total D 14th (323.23)
Scoring D 18th (20.2 ppg)
QB sacks 8th (3.23 pg)
SPECIAL TEAMS
Net punt 14th (41.42 ypp)
Punt return 26th (11.78 ypr)
Kickoff return 17th (23.78)
PR defense 7th (4.88)
OTHER
Penalties 85th (91 for 760 yards)
T.O Margin 18th (plus-.69)
So, like they say, put that in your pipe and smoke it and tell me what you think. I’ll be checking in regularly,
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Fullback a big concern for Bulldogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Today we will begin to take a position-by-position look at the 2008 Georgia Bulldogs. We won’t necessarily do this every day but fairly regularly between now and the start of the actual season.
I figured we’d start with the fullback position, since that is one of some concern due to Brannan Southerland being out for the first few games with a leg injury and Fred Munzemmaier being suspended the first two. That would be a major issue if Georgia was opening with Arizona State or South Carolina. Less so, I think, with Georgia Southern and Central Michigan. But don’t be fooled, those first two opponents can play and will be supremely motivated.
And fullback is an extremely important position in the Dogs’ offensive scheme, particularly under coordinator Mike Bobo. Remember how much they ran the ball with Knowshon Moreno and Thomas Brown last season. Go to Youtube and take a look at the highlights of their best runs. Chances are you’ll see number 36 clearing out a linebacker or safety to lead the way.
Obviously Georgia will turn to redshirt sophomore Shaun Chapas (6-2, 236) to fill in for Southerland. But “fill in” is probably not a fair assessment since Chapas played a ton of ball last year. He played in every game, finishing with 11 carries for 41 yards and 3 catches for another 22 yards. And the Dogs often lined up with two fullbacks in the backfield in short-yardage situations, with Southerland in front of the tailback and Chapas on the wing.
Based on my own observations and my conversations with coaches and players, I believe Chapas is more than an adequate replacement. I think he’s really good and very much in the mold of the fullbacks we’ve seen under Richt (Jeremy Thomas, J.T. Wall, Verron Haynes). In fact, Chapas, who has worked some at tailback the last two seasons, is probably the best runner since Haynes and supposedly has real good hands. But it wouldn’t be wise to think anyone would not be a downgrade from Southerland. That kid, who I believe will be back by Game Four, is one of the best in America.
The problem is after Chapas. With Munzemaier out, there are no other scholarship players. As a result, the Bulldogs moved walkon linebackers Benjamin Boyd and Justin Fields over to fullback. Boyd, a senior, has been a terrific and valuable special teams player for the Dogs. He is listed at 6-1, 210 but there’s no way he doesn’t weigh more than that now. You can tell they got him in the weight room and trained him as a fullback. I bet he went up two neck sizes. Fields (6-1, 244, RSo.) was already built that way. Georgia has a couple of other walk-on freshmen in Josh Sailors (5-11, 220) and Josh Bagby.
The key here is keeping Chapas healthy those first few games and there are certainly no guarantees of that at such a contact-oriented position. So a position that would be a huge strength with everybody available is one of the Bulldogs’ chief concerns heading into preseason practices.
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More busts than stars in recruiting
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
A week or so ago we talked about the true freshmen you thought might actually get some playing time this coming season and, as expected, that was a pretty lively blog. I bring that up because I want to revisit the freshmen again today.
Like it or not, there is a huge body of evidence pointing to the fact that, in any given class, you’re probably going to have as more busts as you are true-blue stars. Case in point, check out the 2004 and 2005 classes, some members of which make up the seniors on this year’s team.
For the purpose of this little exercise, I gave the players of those classes three ratings based on the way their careers have gone to this point: OK - which means they have played and/or contributed regularly throughout their careers; Busts — which means Georgia basically got nothing out of them; and Stars — which obviously means they had exceptional careers and perhaps earned first-team, all-conference or All-America honors and/or became early NFL draft selections.
In the cases of both of those classes, the Dogs had twice as many Busts as Stars and about 10 OKs. Now I don’t label a player a star very liberally so you may not agree with my logic. But I feel like at the very least coaches are expecting the players they recruit to be starting as juniors and seniors so that’s not distinction enough to be “star.” I also don’t label somebody a bust just because the recruiting websites gave them 5-stars or whatever. The busts would be through the roof if you did that, which says more about the people doing the ratings than the recruiters or the players. Also I might consider elevating a one or two players to star status depending on how they do this season.
Here’s a breakdown so you can see for yourself:
2004 Class (20 players): OK (10) - OL Chester Adams, DB Remarcus Brown, WR A.J. Bryant, LB Dannell Ellerbe, WR Demiko Goodman, WR Kenneth Harris, S Kelin Johnson, DE Jeremy Lomax, LB Brandon Miller, TB Danny Ware; Busts (7) - QB Blake Barnes, WR Jamar Bryant, DB Michael Grant, LB Josh Johnson, DE Brandon Lang, DB Antonio Sims, OL Seth Watts; Stars (3) - TB Thomas Brown, DE Charles Johnson, FB Brannan Southerland;
2005 Class (19 players): OK (10) - DB Donavan Baldwin, DE Rod Battle, S CJ Byrd, TE Tripp Chandler, QB Joe Cox, LB Darius Dewberry, CB Bryan Evans, WR Michael Moore, LB Marcus Washington, DL Kade Weston; Busts (7) - WR Jamar Bryant (signed again after Hargrave Prep), LB Jamar Chaney, DB Antavious Coates, LB Tavares Kearney, DL Corey Moon, DL Brandon Sesay, OL Ian Smith; Stars — WR Mohamed Massaquoi, DT Jeff Owens.
So you see, while all the players teams sign seem great coming out of high school, only a very few of them actually turn out to be. That applies not just to Georgia, but everywhere. Nothing new there but it hits home when broken down.
Utilizing that same logic, which players from this class do you think will end up being certifiable stars? I’m sure none of you will admit any of these guys could end up being busts but, odds are, more of them will be than will make it big.
Here’s the list of 2008 freshmen to help you along. I’ve omitted ATH Xavier Avery (pro baseball) and DL Toby Jackson (prep school) for the moment since they won’t be on campus this fall: DB Brandon Boykin, DB Sanders Commings, LB Marcus Dowtin, OL Cordy Glenn, WR A.J. Green, DL A.J. Harmon, RB Dontavius Jackson, OL Ben Jones, WR Tavarres King, DE Jeremy Longo, OL Jonathan Owens, DB Makiri Pugh, DB Bacarri Rambo, LB Christian Robinson, TE Bryce Ros, RB Richard Samuel, RB Carlton Thomas, DL DeAngelo Tyson, PK Blair Walsh, DE Cornelius Washington, DB Nick Williams.
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What should be Dogs’ camp priorities?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We’re down to crunch time now. Georgia’s players report Sunday and they’ll be on the practice field by Monday.
This past week, the coaches held their annual “hideaway meetings.” That’s when they sequester themselves in a secret location and, without the interruption of phones or other distractions, basically figure out how they’re going to set up preseason camp and what kind of things they’re going to emphasize.
Say you were in those meetings. What would your priorities be for preparing for the 2008 season? Give me your top three.
Would it be establishing a rotation at defensive end? Settling on the lineup on offensive line? What about working on playing offense with the new 40-second clock? Honing in Matt Stafford’s accuracy? Establishing a dependable place-kicker?
Obviously Georgia is going to work on all those things and more. But I’m just wondering which ones you believe will be most important toward making the Bulldogs into the championship contender some folks believe they can be.
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What hype? Dogs picked second in East
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Hoover, Ala. — Pretty interesting developments here at SEC Football Media Days this week. Georgia coach Mark Richt and players Jeff Owens and Mohamed Massaquoi spent pretty much all day yesterday answering questions from media here about how they were going to deal with all the hype and expectations surrounding this season.
Yet when the preseason poll of sportswriters here was unveiled it was the Florida Gators who have all the expections. They got 36 first-place votes on the 70 ballots and are expected to defeat Auburn in the SEC Championship Game on Dec. 6. Georgia got 18 votes to win the whole thing. You can see all the voting, including the All-SEC teams, here.
Here at the AJC we don’t vote on preseason polls or in-season polls or for all-conference teams or for game MVPs. We don’t believe in being part of the news. And those of you who visit here regularly know that I’m pretty reserved when it comes to the whole prognostication process. But I must admit I was surprised the Dogs didn’t get more love from league writers. I thought for sure pick they’d Georgia to win to win just because there has been so much talk here and all summer really about whether the Dogs could stand up to the tremendous weight of great expectations.
As ever, preseason polls mean absolutely nothing. But they sure do give us a lot to talk about, don’t they? What do y’all think?
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Richt greets media throng in Birmingham
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Greetings from the Grand Ballroom at the Wynfrey Hotel. It’s Day Two of SEC Football Media Days and Georgia coach Mark Richt is up on the podium right now as we blog.
I got a few of e-mails from readers the last 12 hours or so wishing that the story on Urban Meyer’s condemnation of Georgia’s touchdown celebration last year was a blog topic. As I told them, this is always your UGA blog and you can feel free to take it any direction you want to take it. So if you have feelings on the subject, blog on.
Meanwhile, I had the opportunity to meet with Coach Richt before his main session with the entire media contingent. I got some discipline news on Trinton Sturdivant and Justin Anderson, some of his thoughts on the expectations this season and lots of other tidbits. Check back on the website regularly and you’ll see those stories pop up throughout the day.
We’ll also visit with Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee today and pass on information from those sessions. So lots to come. I’ll get back to the blog as often as possible but will be real, real busy reporting today. Until then …
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SEC meetings kick off preseason football
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I’m about to hop in the car and head to Birmingham for the SEC preseason football meetings, otherwise known as SEC Media Days.
The first four teams and their coaches to take the podium this afternoon are Florida (w/ Tim Tebow and OT Phil Trautwein), Mississippi State (w/ QB Wesley Carroll and LB Jamar Chaney), LSU (w/ C Brett Helms and DE Tyson Jackson) and Vanderbilt (w/ S Reshard Langford and WR George Smith).
I’ll be providing blog updates here of interesting news and tidbits but let me know if there is something specific you want to hear from any of these folks and I’ll try to find out.
Georgia, which is bringing Mohamed Massaquoi and Jeff Owens, is up tomorrow morning. Also up on Thursday are Alabama, Ole Miss and Tennessee. Auburn, Kentucky, Arkansas and South Carolina round it out on Friday morning.
We’ve got a lot of good stuff coming from Tony Barnhart and me the next few days so be sure to stay tuned. With this, preseason football is officially off and running.
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How many freshman should Dogs play?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In about 10 days, Georgia’s players will officially report to Athens for preseason practices (I don’t call it fall camp like a lot of the coaches because it will be 100 degrees and there are no tents or sleeping bags or even bunks). By all indications, all but two of the 23 signees will be present and accounted for.
Toby Jackson, a terrific defensive line talent out of Griffin, wasn’t able to meet academic entrance requirements. He’ll attend Hargrave Military Academy in Virginia and enroll at Georgia for the winter semester if he’s able to raise his test scores. RB/DB Xavier Avery was drafted and decided to embark on a pro baseball career.
As for the other 21, it will be interesting to see how many actually take the field for the Bulldogs this fall. Georgia has a lot of talent returning among its lettermen and it redshirted a lot of last year’s freshmen. The Dogs signed 23 players last year, too, but four of them were JUCO transfers. Out of the 19 freshmen, 14 were redshirted. The five that played were OL Clint Boling, DB Vance Cuff, LB Rennie Curran, TE Bruce Figgins and OL Trinton Sturdivant. Only the decision on Cuff, who was limited to special teams play, could be questioned.
Which brings us to this year’s newbies. How many of these guys do you think will contribute this season?
There are a few certainties. OL Ben Jones, PK Blair Walsh and WR A.J. Green are pretty much sure things and you get the idea WR Tavarres King will also get some looks. But some others may be tough calls. I’d put running backs Richard Samuel, Carlton Thomas and Dontavius Jackson in that category along with maybe Statesboro DL DeAngelo Tyson.
It’s always a tough call but my experience has been that Richt and his staff usually play about a half-dozen frosh every season. But, like I said, they may need even fewer this year. Your thoughts?
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‘Take One’ on the 2008 Bulldogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s time. No sense putting it off any longer. The ACC football meetings started this weekend at Reynolds Plantation and I’ll be at SEC Football Media Days in Birmingham on Wednesday. The preseason football magazines are months old and even more irrelevant now the day they came out and players report next week for preseason camps at many schools (Georgia on Aug. 3).
Time for what, you ask? Time to let you know what I think about the Dogs this coming season.
A couple of qualifiers first. This will be Take One. I’m a veteran beat guy and realist. I’m not going to sit here and pretend like I have all the answers more than a month before the season starts. I’ve seen too many times what can happen in those four weeks before the opener. So I’ll closely monitor what happens in camp, whether there are any significant injuries, how the young studs like A.J. Greene and Ben Jones and Blair Walsh develop, exactly when Brannan Southerland might be back, etc., and we’ll recast the week of the opener.
Also, I’m not going to proclaim in late July what record I think Georgia will finish with and certainly not whether or not they’ll win the national championship. Besides, that’s what our columnists do. I call this the “Silly Season” because so many so-called national experts inundate you football fans with that every year and they do it earlier all the time. My buddy Mark Schlabach of ESPN has already slotted the bowl games and even our own Mark Bradley has anointed Georgia as the 2008 national champions. Smart fellas, both of them, but doing that in July is akin laying down a 20 on black at the roulette table. Hit it and you look great. Miss it and you’re out 20 bucks.
That said, here’s what I think:
I think Georgia is going to be really good. I think the Dogs have as much talent as I’ve seen them with in a long time. What makes them particularly impressive is not just the various stars sprinkled throughout the lineup but their depth. I don’t like just No. 1 offense and defense, I like their first 44 or so players. This is particularly important in a season and with a schedule such as this.
Like most everybody else I think Georgia’s offense is going to be good and balanced but I like the Dogs’ defense even better. Nobody’s talking much about it but Willie Martinez’s unit has a chance to be the best he’s fielded yet, IMO. Think about it: Talented, seasoned secondary deep with speed; depth at linebacker with studs in Dannell Ellerbe and Rennie Curran; a nasty and mean interior defensive line that rolls in Jeff Owens, Geno Atkins with Kade Weston and Corvey Irvin (Owens, by the way, told me the other day that Irvin, a former JUCO transfer. may be the best among them). The main concern is at D-end but I’ve watched Georgia reload there since Pollack and it has continued to recruit strong at the position. I like the talent there and, quite frankly, it isn’t the end-all position some folks would have you think.
Offensively, I like quarterback Matthew Stafford but I need to see him live up to his billing, which is lofty. If he’s a 60-plus percent passer with a 2-to-1 TD to INT, look out. I also have reservations about the O-line. I can see how it may be better but also how it may not (C Fernando Velasco, folks, was way better than he ever got credit for). But there’s impressive young players there. The Dogs match or surpass any team in the league at tight end, tailback and fullback (particularly with a healthy Southerland) and I think they’re a lot better at wideout than they’re given credit for, especially if they get anything out of the freshmen A.J. Greene or Tavarres King.
Specials teams is a huge unknown. Dependability like Brandon Coutu brought is a precious commodity, so Blair Walsh better be the real deal. Likewise, kickoff, punt return and kickoff return are question marks. This is not a minor detail.
I get tired of hearing and reading about it, too, but the schedule IS a factor. That said, it doesn’t blow me away like it does some pundits. Yeah, it’s hard and it doesn’t fall ideally as far as off games and road dates. But CMR is supposed to have been building for this for years and games like they have this season is why these kids showed up. However, the attitude the Dogs take on the road will be key.
All that said, I’ll just say at the moment I’m a little closer to Phil Steele, who picked Georgia ninth, than Bradley, who’s among the many slotting the Dogs No. 1. I, like many of you, saw every snap of every game last year and I know how close that season could have been 9-4 rather than 11-2. But they definitely have what it takes to be in the championship picture.
So that’s Take One. What do y’all think?
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Football tidbits heading into weekend
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Couple more football notes heading into the weekend… .
Talked to Brannan Southerland yesterday. He said he will get the the cast taken off his left leg on Monday. Recovery going real well… .
Players you can plan on reading something about in the coming week: Jeff Owens, Quentin Banks, Tripp Chandler… .
I know some poo-pooed the tribute garden Georgia decided on to honor Vince Dooley for being too little and not at the stadium. But construction is well underway and, from the sight of the giant cranes on the site, it is going to be anything but a modest display… .
I tried to give you guys a story on the new EA Sports NCAA 2009 video game, which features Georgia as the No. 1-ranked team. But the Bulldogs’ compliance office decided it might be against NCAA rules regarding endorsement for any of their players to answer questions about. Anyway, the student newspaper The Red and Black managed to ask a couple of players about it before NCAA censorship could get in the way and, of course, a lot of the players play it and like. The game is slightly flawed, however, as notably pointed out by The R&B’s Jason Butt, who played it. It doesn’t have Rennie Curran as a starting linebacker (Akeem Dent instead) and it gives quarterback Logan Gray a 70 score for mobility, which is BELOW Matthew Stafford… .
Here are some of the former Dogs set to be at UGA’s Countdown to Kickoff Saturday: Thomas Brown (Atlanta Falcons), Kregg Lumpkin (Green Bay Packers), Brandon Miller (Atlanta Falcons), Jon Stinchcomb (New Orleans Saints), Scott Woerner (1980 Nat’l Championship Team, “Woerner the Returner”), Robert Edwards (New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins), Randall Godfrey (Washington Redskins), David Jacobs, Matt Stinchcomb (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Oakland Raiders), David Greene (Kansas City Chiefs), Steven Herndon (Denver Broncos, Atlanta Falcons), Tony Taylor (Atlanta Falcons), Dennis Roland (Tampa Bay Buccaneers), Tony Gilbert (Jax Jaguars), Orantes Grant, JT Wall (Pittsburgh Steelers), Martrez Milner (Atlanta Falcons), DeMario Minter (Arizona Cardinals), Kedrick Golston (Washington Redskins), George Foster (Detroit Lions), Charles Grant (New Orleans Saints), Brandon Coutu (Seattle Seahawks), Frank Ros (capt. nat’l champ team), Bill Stanfill (miami dolphins undefeated team Outland Trophy winner).
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Cleaning out the ol’ notepad
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s incredible how fast football season is bearing down on us. At this point it’s like a locomotive running downhill. It will be just about on top of us when Countdown to Kickoff kicks off this weekend. That will be followed very shortly by SEC Media Days, which start Wednesday in Birmingham. As of now next you can expect a new blog here every day of the week. Regular stories and features and news on Georgia will be coming as well. As always, let me know what you’re interested in finding out about and I’ll do my best to get it for you.
OK, let’s get down to it. I need to clean out the ol’ notebook so we’ll touch on a number of things. In fact, let’s number them… .
(1) Countdown to Kickoff: I’m curious to find out how many of you good folks plan on attending this third annual event Saturday on the UGA’s Woodruff Practice Fields. (more info here). This fan event, created by Matt and Jon Stinchcomb and co-hosted by David Greene, has grown into a pretty big deal. I talked to Matt this week and will have a profile on him for Saturday’s paper (should be online Friday) that will include some update on Jon and Greenie, who are still competing in the NFL. Three of the nicest guys you’ll ever meet.
(2) Got a chance to talk to basketball coach Dennis Felton — and several other SEC basketball coaches — on the SEC summer basketball teleconference Wednesday. Felton, as ever, remains incredibly upbeat despite the recent losses of two of his players (Billy Humphrey dismissed and Jeremy Jacob transferred).
Felton said his Bulldogs, who won the SEC Tournament this past March, are “in the best place that we’ve ever been” in terms of their ability to compete at the highest level and said their talent level has increased to the point that they should be able to absorb the recent losses. “As we’ve progressed every year, part of that progression has been our recruiting classes,” he said. “I believe this class will prove to fall right in line with that.”
There has been a lot of buzz coming out of summer workouts about freshman Trey Thompkins and the Dogs also added point guard Dustin Ware, 6-8 forward Drazen Zlovaric and athletic wings Travis Leslie and Ebuka Anyaorah.
But the real key to me is going to identifying some core leadership within the team. Georgia lost a ton with the graduations of Dave Bliss and Sundiata Gaines and Humphrey appeared to be the best candidate to pick up that role. It will be interesting to see if the usually quiet and reserved Albert Jackson can pick up the slack.
(3) One last basketball note: I was surprised to hear Felton say he’d be in favor of shortening the basketball season to make it a one-semester sport. I’d definitely be for it.
(4) Interviewed DT Jeff Owens this week and had an enjoyable discussion as always with the jovial South Floridian. Believe it or not he’s even bigger than usual this year, “too big,” he told me as he hopes to lose 10 or so pounds during preseason camp, which I’m sure he will. Writing a Q&A for the coming days so stay tuned.
(5) Coach Mark Richt spoke to the Jacksonville Bulldog Club this past week (he’s in Macon tonight) and acknowledged to the big crowd that this year’s team “has a lot of star power.” But, as ever, his message continues to be to temper expectations and keep them realistic with the challenging schedule that is before them.
“You show them the schedule and let them know that every year we have to earn our way,” Richt told the Florida Times-Union. “I don’t think any SEC team can just pump their chest out and think they’re going to run through the league. It’s just a battle royal every time you go out… . All we can do is win the SEC East,” he said. “We’re just trying to beat Georgia Southern, really.”
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I, too, would rather write about football
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Let me preface my remarks today with one statement: I don’t like writing about arrests.
I didn’t get into the business of sports writing so I could spend every day perusing the police blotter for names of the athletes I cover. I got into it because I enjoy sports and the spectacle of it and writing about the people, places and personalities that encompass that world. My father was a youth-league football coach and played football and baseball and soccer pretty much from the time I could walk until I went to college. And I probably started writing about sports then mainly because I could no longer compete in them.
So that’s just to make it clear to anyone out there who thinks we relish times like those that have befallen Georgia this summer. In fact, I can’t think of any sports hack (affectionate term within the business) that enjoys that side of the job.
That said, it is a necessary part of our work these days. The Internet Age we live in makes for a 24-7 news cycle and virtually all information nowadays is public. So every day I click on a little icon in my browser toolbar that says “jail log” and check to see if any of the athletes that we effectively glamorize daily has fallen off his pedestal (nothing today by the way). I do so with the hope I’ll see nothing. Most of the time, however, the news of an arrest of a football player has already gotten out before I have a chance to click.
That’s been too many times this year. Seven Georgia players — or an average of one per month so far — have found themselves on that jail log. The latest, and the saddest, was Michael Lemon.
By now everybody knows Lemon is accused of slugging a UGA student much smaller than himself and apparently in a defenseless position over a misunderstanding about a girl. That momentary lack of judgment cost Lemon dearly. And while I feel sorry for the victim in this case, DeMarius Jackson, I also must confess I also feel sorry for Lemon.
Lemon, lest we forget, just a year and a half ago lost his mother in a terrible, senseless tragedy. Phaba Lemon, 39, was killed by an ex-boyfriend who burned down the Lemon’s house to conceal the crime. On top of that, in high school, Lemon saw his best friend die in a car wreck. It was way more than any teen-ager should have to bear.
And who knows how much all that hurt may have contributed to Lemon’s actions? That in no way justifies anything Lemon did on that Saturday night in Athens. But you can never be sure how grief and pain may manifest itself in young people. And this story is nothing but sad. For the moment, Lemon has lost a college education and the football opportunity of a lifetime and Georgia has lost a good player.
We also live in a much more litigious society today. Confession: I was attending college in the mid-1980s and was at a party where there were a lot of football players (OK there might have also been some beer). One of them didn’t like the fact that I was dating a girl that he used to date (or was dating, that was never made clear). He confronted me about it and punched me square in the nose when he didn’t like my response. Never once did I consider calling the police or even his coach. Perhaps I should have but it just wasn’t how we handled things back in those days. A short time later he apologized, I accepted and we left school as friends.
The point is, I’d much rather be writing about football. And if we can ever get out of these dog days of summer I hope to be doing nothing but that.
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Football season never ends for players
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For us football season is three intense months in the fall followed by a brief bowl season. But for today’s football players it is truly a year-round endeavor.
I say this after spending yesterday afternoon over at the Georgia football complex. While it’s just the second week in July, these guys were going at it like it was the middle of September. Of course, there are no pads involved and no footballs either, for that matter. This time of year it is about pure conditioning.
On that note, I ran into quarterback Matthew Stafford and spoke with him very briefly. From my perspective, he appears to be in the best condition he’s been in since he’s been at Georgia. All I could go by was looks but there was virtually no sign of the pudginess that’s always been part of Matt’s physique. He actually looks taller.
Anyway, I interviewed Prince Miller and Chris Davis while I was over there for some things I’m working on and asked them about staying in Athens all summer and working out and running daily.
“Other than a full schedule of classes, it’s not too bad,” Miller said. “It’s the time when you really get to know your teammates and kind of build a bond with each other”
Davis said the summer is beneficial academically. “It’s a time to help your grades,” he said. “Classes aren’t as big and you can get a lot of help from professors one-on-one. I look at it as a GPA booster. In general, you can be looser and freer. It’s not as intense. I like the summer.”
I also got a chance to talk linebacker Marcus Washington for a few minutes. Marcus is recovering from shoulder surgery after injuring it again in spring practice. Originally he was expected to miss the whole season but he told me Tuesday he’ll be coming back in October. That’d be a bonus for the Dogs if he does.
That’s all for now. Like I said, we’ll start having some regular features on football a couple of times a week now. I’ll have a short Q&A with Prince Miller that should be up online later today and will run in tomorrow’s newspaper and I have something planned for Sunday’s paper as well. And, as always, we’ll be on top of news as it breaks.
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Football season just around the corner
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, it’s about two months until Georgia’s football season starts. To many of you that may seem like forever before it gets here. For me it’s like it’s just around the corner and there is a ton of work to be done between now and then.
Later this month the “preseason” officially gets started as I will be off to Birmingham, Ala., for SEC Football Media Days. That will be shortly followed by freshmen reporting, then the entire team, then daily practice.
I know there’s some whining for a little more daily football information here on the blog and from here forward I’ll be trying to drum up some for you. But, just so you know, we’re already well at work on football. Right now is the time of year that we’re gathering information and doing interviews, etc., for our preseason football special section and also planning out a lot of our preseason coverage.
Meanwhile, most of the Georgia football players are in Athens and in school and working out. There’s not a ton to report on that but I’ll be getting by there regularly to check in with players and coaches and see what’s going on.
On that note I ran into fullback Brannan Southerland late last week as he left the Butts-Mehre Building. He was still on crutches and sporting a patriotic red, white and blue cast on his surgically repaired left foot and leg. Southerland was actually coming from a rehab workout. Southerland’s recovery period at first was expected to last at least five games into the season but he told me he’d be surprised if it went as long as three games. He even said he’s shooting for the first game but it’s been my experience all athletes are optimistic that way and I’m sure the training staff will be very careful with Southerland, who already has created a lot of NFL draft buzz.
So there you go. There’s a little football fix to get you through your Monday. Like I said, I’ll be monitoring the team much more closely from here on. C-ya!
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Latest arrests bad for Bulldogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
All right, I’m about to settle in for the night with my family. But I know the latest arrests of these two Georgia football players and the imminent arrest of a third is fresh on everybody’s minds and I’m sure everybody has an opinion on it.
So I’ll tell you what I know and what I don’t know and a little about what I think and we’ll have at it. Most of my responses to your questions won’t come until tomorrow (Wednesday), however.
First of all, the allegations against Michael Lemon are going to end up being much more serious than the ones against Justin Anderson and Trinton Sturdivant. I spoke to the victims in both cases and the guy who claims Lemon punched him out Saturday night is pursuing felony charges and claims to have gotten them. If Lemon is arrested on felony charges, which the guy says is going to happen Wednesday, UGA will likely have to suspend Lemon indefinitely until the case is resolved. Who knows when that might be?
Anderson and Sturdivant are accused of misdemeanor offenses. This is one of those things that will come down to whether the court believes what the victim says or what the offenders say. However, the victim claims that cameras at the dorm captured the incident. If that’s the case the whole thing may be resolved very quickly because cameras don’t lie.
As for the fact that three more Bulldogs found themselves in trouble with the law, there’s not much to say about that. That’s seven arrests in seven months (that we know about) and that’s not good. I know UGA and coach Mark Richt lecture their athletes a constantly about their behavior and the consequences of their actions. But they seem to continually find themselves on the wrong side of the law. When you add the recent alcohol-related driving arrests of basketball player Billy Humphrey and baseball player Ryan Wooley it looks even worse. Say what you want but Georgia needs to get a handle on all this and I’m sure it will.
As for me, I think I can speak for most reporters in saying that we don’t relish these types of stories. I wish these kids would behave year ‘round and never run afoul of the law. I can’t remember a year that has ever happened though.
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