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 > August
August 2008
Dogs win but lack a little luster
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Well, there you go. Georgia has defeated Georgia Southern. No surprise there. The final score, 45-21, will probably disappoint a lot of fans considering the Bulldogs are No. 1 and the Eagles are supposed to be a middle-of-the-road Southern Conference team.
In a nutshell, here’s what we saw:
Matthew Stafford and the passing looked really good. Stafford was 13-21 for 275 yards and two TDs.
Knowshon Moreno and the running game looked great while he was in there. In case you hadn’t heard, he left the game with cramps early in the third quarter but finished with 112 total yards — 59 rushing on 8 carries and two catches for 53 yards — and, of course, 3 TDs. Richard Samuel looked good besides the fumble on his first touch and Caleb King played most of the second half and finished with 95 yards on 12 carries.
The defense looked shaky. The Eagles had 290 yards offense heading into the final minutes of the game and you know Willie Martinez is ticked off about the three scores. Most of Southern’s damage was done after the outcome was evident but it did threaten twice in the first half against the starters.
Lot of injuries for Georgia, the main one being a right knee injury for defensive tackle Jeff Owens, a starter and all-star candidate this season.
And Blair Walsh looks like the kicking game is in safe hands — make that feet.
Let us know what you thought.
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Dogs need to dominate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Greetings from a steaming hot press box high above the field at Sanford Stadium. As I write, they’ve just finished a showing a very solemn video tribute Uga VI, the bulldog mascot that died this summer. The Redcoat Band has taken the field and they’re getting ready to introduce “Loran’s Best” as Uga VII.
After that we’ll finally get to see some football. Here’s what you need to see from your Georgia Bulldogs:
(1) A dominating defense. This appears to be one of the fastest, deepest and best overall groups Georgia has put together in a while. They don’t need to dicker around with a young I-AA team playing with two new quarterback, spread offense, option or whatever;
(2) Solid offensive line play: Considering it’s the first game and this is such a patchwork, youthful unit, there are going to be breakdowns here and there. But again, going against a three-man front with a 270-pound nose guard, the Bulldogs need to control the line of scrimmage from the get-go;
(3) Gotta see something out of special teams, especially from freshman place-kicker Blair Walsh. Usually the leading scorer of any team, he has to prove he can do it when cameras are rolling.
What are you hoping to see?
Now here comes Uga VII… .
REMEMBER, CONTINUOUS UPDATES BELOW THROUGHOUT THE GAME!!!
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A beautiful weekend for football
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Greetings Dogs fans. It is an absolutely gorgeous day here in Athens. Almost cool outside with a steady breeze giving off the faintest hint of fall. Hopefully it’s a prelude to what we’ll have for tomorrow’s game between Georgia and Georgia Southern.
I don’t care who you are but this time of year really stirs the senses. Driving across town yesterday and today, I’ve already spotted several RVs with Georgia flags a-flappin’ coming in on 316 and on the Loop. Even saw a couple of cars with Georgia Southern flags coming through Watkinsville from Statesboro. Word is the Eagles are going to show up in good numbers for this one. I’ve heard from a lot of their fans who are also Bulldogs’ fans so it has to be a pretty cool situation from them. Or confusing.
Last day of the week, obviously, so I want to empty out my notebook of quotes and facts I wasn’t able to get into the paper this week. I’ve also scoured the web for other Georgia and SEC stories of interest and included links here.
As for tomorrow’s game I think it’s only sensible that everybody give me their score predictions. I’ll check back after the game and see if anybody hit it right on the nose. Maybe I can get you a T-shirt or something if you do (hey, lean times, you know). Also, let me know what you’re most excited about seeing. That’ll give me a good idea of want you’re most interested in as I determine what we cover during Saturday’s game.
OK, to the leftovers and links… .
At least it’s not VanGorder
Georgia coach Mark Richt is a big fan of Eagles’ coach Chris Hatcher but he admitted he’s glad his good buddy Brian VanGorder is not still the coach.
“If Coach VanGorder would have come? Well, it’s always awkward because not only is Brian a former coach on our staff but he’s been a friend of mine for 20-something or 30-something or I don’t know how many years,” Richt said. “I’ve known Brian and his family a long time. His wife, Holly, I’ve known since I was a kid. So that’s always uncomfortable to play somebody you know. I remember at Florida State, we had a game early on [VanGorder was DC at UCF] and it seemed like a fun thing until we got down t the nitty-gritty of playing it and then it just wasn’t much fun. You certainly don’t want to lose to you friends.”
One reporter brought up a good question. He asked CMR if he’d asked BVG about the Eagles’ personnel.
“No, I didn’t think to ask,” Richt said.
Good thing as there is very little leftover from BVG’s brief tenure there.
Georgia’s D ‘pretty good’
I asked CMR to finish this sentence: Georgia’s defense has a chance to be …
“Pretty good, I hope,” he said. “You know, we’ve got as lot of returning players, a lot of returning starters. Guys that know what they’re doing, guys that understand how to play the Georgia way. I’m confident that they’ll get after it pretty good.”
Mark Schlabach of ESPN then asked if Richt thought it was the fastest they’ve had.
“I wouldn’t necessarily say it’s the fastest. It’s hard to gauge. I really think we looked faster than usual last year because I know we played more guys than usual. The more guys you play the fresher they are and the faster they look. You can go hard two or three plays. If you can get another guy going in there hard for two or three plays and another guy comes in, then other guy comes back rested and ready to go again, that’s what I think the difference is.
“I was watching us play Tennessee back in 2001 [on video[ not long ago. We counted like 15 guys on that defense that went on to play in the NFL, just on that film, guys that went in and out of that game. Almost every guy on that tape went to the NFL and played and started at one time or another. So that was a pretty good defense. That was the year we got to Georgia. The year before was when they had [Marcus] Stroud and [Richard] Seymour and Kendrell Bell and corners like [Jamie] Henderson and like five guys that started as NFL rookies. That’s some pretty good defensive players.”
Spurrier’s a softie
If you watched South Carolina’s game against N.C. State Thursday night you probably noticed the good play of tailback Mike Davis. You might have had a hard time telling that he’s suspended. Coach Steve Spurrier suspended Davis for a game recently but it’s for a game to be named later, likely one of their weak non-conference opponents according to the Columbia State. That’s showing them, Coach.
Arizona State’s tough blow
The Sun Devils, Georgia’s opponent in Game Four, proudly unveiled a new $8.4 million indoor practice facility this year. But the new digs incurred some damage from a recent thunderstorm. Hey, it doesn’t rain much but, when it does, boom!
Fan wants more passion
Here’s a guest editorial from a Georgia fan in collegefootballnews.com who wants to see the Dogs’ fans get more fired up during games at Sanford Stadium and help create more of a home-field advantage. I don’t know for sure but it seemed plenty advantageous to me during the Auburn game last year.
I WILL BE BLOGGING BEFORE, DURING AND AFTER TOMORROW’S GAME FOR THOSE OF YOU THAT WILL BE NEAR A COMPUTER. BE SURE TO LET ME HEAR FROM YOU IF YOU ARE. HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND!
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Richt: Dogs in title talk to stay
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I had a very enlightening interview with Georgia coach Mark Richt yesterday. It was actually for a story I’m working on for next week. But I had to conduct the interview amongst all the other press that covers the Bulldogs daily and Richt’s answers were poignant enough that I’d imagine some of them will use it before my story comes out Central Michigan week. So I figured I’d share it with the loyal readers of the UGA blog.
The crux of the story I’m working on is, as consensus preseason No. 1 this season and after finishing No. 2 last season, obviously Georgia is in the national championship picture this year. But what I wanted to know from Richt was, looking around at the talent on his practice field, at the players just gone and the ones just coming in, does he feel like he’s gotten the Bulldogs’ football program to the point that it should be contending for the national championship every year.
In a nutshell, Richt said he did. He talked about not being sure when he first arrived at Georgia from Florida State whether he could get it to this point but firmly believed so after that first season. And since then, winning two SEC titles and four Eastern Division titles and playing in three SEC championship games and finishing 13-1 another year, Richt believes that proverbial lid he referred to removing has been knocked off. Basically I gathered that he feels like, if not this year, then the next or the next or the next.
Richt pointed to recruiting as the biggest factor for why he feels this way. He said their closing rate on prospects is very, very good. One publication said the Bulldogs brought in 37 players for official visits last season and signed 23 of those guys (one ended up playing pro baseball and another’s at prep school). The point is, he said, when he talks to recruits in Georgia and, perhaps more importantly, in other states nowadays, they’re usually pretty interested in the Dogs.
I plan on talking to some others outside the program to get some more perspective before crafting my story next week. But in the meantime I’ll share a couple of his quotes and y’all let me know what you think.
Richt on if he thinks this is the way it’s going to be from how on:
“Yes, I think so. I think we’re doing a very fine job of evaluating talent and hitting on a high percentage of the ones we’re going after. I don’t know what the record is across the country but if you look at how many guys make official visits and, of those, how many commit and sign with Georgia it’s pretty good. I’ve forgotten the number now of how many you can bring in any given year but we haven’t even come close to bringing in the number of official visits we’re allowed to bring in because we’ve just really hit on a really high percentage of the guys we’re going after. If you get every other one you’re doing really good but we’re at a better ratio than that and have been there probably the last three recruiting classes.”
Richt on how prospects react to Georgia:
“The name recognition and even the response you get when you make contact with a kid across the country, that may be your best indication. Early on, some in-state guys weren’t all that interested. Now most of them at least have a high-level of interest in us. Somebody may snag them away by looking at a depth chart or maybe a family tie or something like that. And sometimes somebody might just do a better job of recruiting a kid, he just connects with a coach or something. But out of state we’re getting a lot more guys excited about hearing from Georgia than before, by a long shot.”
On not being awed about being No. 1:
“I really and truly don’t think we’re a whole lot different than the last four, five, six years. After our first season I really believed that we could win the Southeastern Conference. The first year I just didn’t know. I didn’t know what we had. Georgia hadn’t won [an SEC title] in 19 years or something. There was probably a reason why and I didn’t know what it was and I didn’t understand the league. There were a lot of things I didn’t know. So going in I didn’t know what to expect. I just wanted to try to get the thing going in the right direction. But after the season was over, I was like, ‘you know what, after close [losses] to Auburn and South Carolina, if we had won those games we’re playing for the Southeastern Conference championship.’ So I was like, why not us? I didn’t think we were very far away personnel wise. I thought it was more a matter of changing attitudes and beginning to believe.”
Your thoughts?
PRACTICE UPDATE COMING THIS AFTERNOON.
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OL Little struggling for Dogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s early yet but it would appear that Florida State got the best end of the bargain when offensive linemen Chris Little and Antwane Greenlee switched their commitments and signed with Georgia and Florida State, respectively, on national signing day in 2007.
Little had committed to Notre Dame but flipped on the Irish and signed with the Bulldogs on the morning of Feb. 8, 2007. Earlier that day, Greenlee, who had committed to Georgia in August of the previous year, shocked the Bulldogs’ coaches when he put on a Seminoles’ hat and signed a LOI with them at 8:35 a.m. that morning.
Little’s signing went a long way toward easing the outrage of Georgia fans that day, and Georgia coaches as well. But as it stands today, it would appear FSU got the better end of that deal.
Greenlee (6-6, 301), now a redshirt freshman with the Seminoles, is slated to start at right tackle this season. Like Little, he was redshirted as a true freshman (Greenlee suffered a cervical sprain and had to sit out) but has apparently really come on this summer.
Little (6-6, 330) hasn’t been anywhere close to seeing the playing field. Last year he showed up overweight and with a broken wrist. He missed all of spring practice with a stress-fracture in his foot, which required surgery this past March. He showed up overweight for preseason camp again this year (350 or 360) and then, last week, hurt the same foot again. He underwent surgery again and is apparently out for the year.
Just goes to show once again that you never know how a recruit may turn out. Both these guys earned four stars from both Rivals and Scout and, including ESPN’s ratings, had average national ranks of 12.6 (Little) and 16.3 (Greenlee).
And maybe Little will come around eventually. Once he gets his foot taken care of and gets his weight down, he could end up being all-conference or All-America. Who knows? But it’s not looking too good so far.
For diehard Dogs
For those of you that claim to bleed red and black, here’s a YouTube video called “Tradition Never Graduates” that’ll probably fire you up for the coming season.
NYT loves UGA
The New York Times is certainly showing Georgia a lot of love. After running a piece on Knowshon Moreno last week, the newspaper has come back with a story by Atlanta writer Ray Glier on how the Dogs are dealing with the hype and expectations of being a consensus preseason No. 1.
Calling Scott Howard
Here’s a Q&A with Georgia part-time play-by-play man Scott Howard in something called the Georgia Sports Blog. I actually talked to Scott for a while yesterday and was going to include a note in this evening’s notes but you’ll get a little more here.
REMEMBER PRACTICE UPDATES BELOW LATER TODAY.
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NFL beckons for Moreno, Stafford
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s a big day in the sportswriting biz. It’s Tuesday, game week, which means it’s time for us to get really busy.
Georgia has its weekly luncheon and news conference later this morning. Georgia Southern is doing the same thing down in Statesboro. The SEC begins its weekly coaches teleconference tomorrow.
In the next few days we’re going to be inundated with information and commentary and, likewise, we’re going to filter that all back out to you guys.
Coach Mark Richt is up on the podium (in auditorium inside Stegeman Coliseum) at noon. That will be followed by interviews with various players. I’ll provide a quick synopsis and update here shortly thereafter.
Practice follows this afternoon but, with the weather like it is, there is no telling right now when and where they might hold it. Maybe I’ll ask Richt about indoor practice facility he wants again.
All that said, let me know what it is you want to know heading into this first ballgame and I’ll do my best to find out.
Meanwhile, a couple of topics for discussion:
(1) I get asked all the time if I think Matthew Stafford and/or Knowshon Moreno will turn pro after this season. My simple answer is this: If Georgia lives up to most of the expectations that are out there for this season, yes, they probably will. If not, Stafford probably won’t. If Moreno has a big season individually, you can probably wave bye-bye. Am I off here?
(2) Ticket demand is so great this season that a big portion of Georgia student ticket distribution had to be split. That means many students got tickets to only three of the six games. I really hate that for these kids, the ones going to class with these guys and paying for tuition, books and lodging. Should they figure out a way to guarantee a ticket for all? Is that simply impossible?
(3) Let me know if you’re going to the game Saturday, watching it on pay-per-view, listening to Munson on the radio. Let me hear about any special plans you might have.
OK, like I said, all kinds of updates here all day so stay tuned.
NEWS CONFERENCE UPDATE COMING BELOW LATER!
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Bobo: Young O-line ‘kind of scary’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
We haven’t been able to get offensive coordinator Mike Bobo pinned down very often this preseason (he’s a little busy) but he did sit still long enough to answer some questions over the weekend. So here’s some of that:
On whether the offense will be able to pick up where it left off last season:
“I’d like to pick up where we left off but to say we’re going to walk out and execute the way we were at the end of last year, you’d like to think so, but it’s a new team, a new offense, a new identity. We feel like we got a certain identity but we still have to establish that on Saturdays, find out what kind of football team we’re going to be offensively.”
How long does it take for offensive lines to start clicking?
“You like for guys to redshirt, play a year as a backup and then by their third year, redshirt sophomore, get in there and play and then have two-to-three years to play together. Our situation on offensive line, we have had to play freshmen. We’re going to have to play another freshman this year starting and two will play (Cordy Glenn, Ben Jones). I think it takes time but you’ve just got to find a way to get things done in season and hopefully we can keep this unit, these young guys we’ve got, together for the next couple of years. Maybe next year we’ll have a chance to be a pretty dominant offensive line.”
Are you uneasy having to play freshmen offensive linemen?
“It’s kind of scary sometimes… . They might be physically-gifted enough athletic-wise. But I think strength wise sometimes that’s not where they need to be. [You’d like them to] have a year, two years in the weight program. They’re not as big and strong as they should be. Nowadays you do get some big guys, like Cordy Glenn, who come in and are just naturally gifted. Mentally, there’s a lot of stuff. Some people think offensive line, you just line up and play ball and block the guy in front of you. There’s a lot of things they’ve got to know. I’d say next to quarterback, that’s probably the position that’s got to be the most knowledgeable of what you’re doing offensively. They’ve got to be extremely sharp… .
“It’s our job as coaches to not put too much in, to do what they can do. If they’re confused, they’re not going to play fast and they’re not going to play to their ability. Like Cordy Glenn, we believe he has ability. But if they’re confused and thinking about what they’re going to do, they’re not going to be able play fast.”
Do you have any idea what to expect of Georgia Southern defensively?
“There’s a lot of rumors going around of what they’re playing defensively. It’s tough on us. It’s same thing last year: New coordinator at Oklahoma State. First games, it always seems like you’re playing a defense that has either got a new coordinator or supposedly going to a new defense. It’s going to be an adjustment. We might come out and they might give us something we haven’t seen or haven’t practiced and we’ll have to make adjustments during the game.”
UGA students upset over tickets
Good story in The Red and Black, UGA’s independent student newspaper, about scores of UGA students being upset over football season tickets. Seems that a great number of students ended up with split-season packages, which means you get tickets for only half of the six home games and which ones are determined by the ticket office. I’ll look into it myself later today.
Know your Knowshon
It’s been interesting to see all the national stories popping out on Knowshon Moreno as the beginning of the season approaches. You’ll note, and our Mark Bradley pointed this out today as well, that Moreno is usually least-quoted individual in any of his stories. Not that anyone should care but, for all his personality on the field and on the sidelines during games, Moreno is one of the worst interviews in the business. But the New York Times did a nice piece on him where they were able to visit his grandmother in their New Jersey home.
REMEMBER, PRACTICE UPDATES COMING LATER TODAY.
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Georgia’s well represented in NFL
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
One of the biggest differences in Georgia football today and 10 years ago is the number of players the Bulldogs are pumping into the NFL.
Now Georgia has always produced NFL players. But the quality and the quantity has increased dramatically in recent years. Credit needs to go first to former coach Jim Donnan, who started to bring in a different breed of Bulldog in the late 1990s. But coach Mark Richt took the baton and has really run with it over the last several years.
In 2007 Georgia led all SEC schools (and the SEC led all other conferences) with 37 former players on NFL rosters. FWIW, the Dogs were followed by Tennessee (36), LSU (33), Florida (31), Auburn (30), Alabama (21), South Carolina (19), Ole Miss (17), Miss. State (17), Arkansas (12), Kentucky (6) and Vanderbilt (5). Perhaps Georgia’s most impressive stat regarding the NFL is 15 former Bulldogs have helped their teams reach the Super Bowl in just the last five years, including Super Bowl MVP Hines Ward. Ward is one of three Super Bowl MVPs UGA has produced, including Terrell Davis and Jake Scott.
Numbers for 2008 haven’t been calculated yet because rosters haven’t been determined yet but, the point is, Georgia puts a lot of players in the NFL. Which brings us to this weekend’s topic.
Everybody knows quarterback Matthew Stafford and tailback Knowshon Moreno are destined to end up on NFL rosters and we talked about fullback Brannan Southerland’s prospects just yesterday. But what other players on the Bulldogs’ current roster do you think will end up having pro careers? Let’s not limit it to seniors and draft-eligible juniors and sophomores. Let’s go ahead and include everybody all the way down to true freshmen.
Obviously you’d have to put somebody like freshman wideout A.J. Green in such a group. But what about Tavarres King and Mohamed Massaquoi? Who’s the better NFL running back prospect, Caleb King or Richard Samuel? Who’s the best prospect on the offensive line? What about the defense? Free safety Reshad Jones, who is draft eligible because he’s a redshirt sophomore, looks like he may be a great pro prospect.
I’ll say this: Georgia looks to have a lot of pro prospects on this year’s squad. Of course, there are always surprises both ways, some that you didn’t think would make it and some can’t-misses that whiff. Let me know what you think.
REMEMBER, PRACTICE UPDATES COMING LATE THIS AFTERNOON.
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Southerland a flawed NFL prospect?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Don’t know if you’ve had a chance to check out the newly formatted daily online paper the Sporting News is producing but it’s definitely worth a glimpse if you get a chance. Our former college editor Jeff D’Alessio is running the show over there now and it really is a neat concept.
That said, I’m not sure I’ve ever read more horse-patooie than I did when I perused Russ Lande’s draft projection on Georgia fullback Brannan Southerland. Lande projects Southerland as a fifth-round pick and I have no qualms with that. That’s probably a reasonable slot for a fullback as far as I know but I have never been able to figure out what in the world NFL scouts are thinking and I’m not going to try now.
What I disagree with is most of what Lande writes under “weaknesses” for Southerland. This is a subscription deal so I don’t know if y’all will able to follow the link so here’s what Lande wrote under that heading:
“Weaknesses: Is not a premier athlete. Struggles to bend knees for low lead blocks, limiting movement. Tends to stop moving his feet after initial blow and will fall off the block. Shows stiff hip movements, struggling to block moving targets in the open field. Is not a strong and powerful runner inside - gets tripped up by low arm tackles.”
I have to assume this guy Lande has seen Southerland play in person or at least on video because how else could he possibly write authoritatively on this subject if he didn’t spend time doing that. But “struggles to bend knees for low lead blocks, limiting movement? and “shows stiff hip movements?” Are you joking?
Tell that to Auburn linebacker Tray Blackmon as he’s knocked out of the play on this long run by Thomas Brown. Perhaps Lande should consult the two Yellow Jackets taken out by Southerland on this TD run last fall.
And maybe Southerland is not the greatest runner in the world but Georgia doesn’t ask him to do it much other than around the goal line. That’s where most of his 21 career TDs have come from, five of them on receptions. Last time I checked NFL teams are drafting tailbacks to do the running and fullbacks to do the blocking.
These draft “experts” crack me up with their references to “hip movements” and “knee bend.” It’s like they all go to Mel Kiper Jargon School to learn how to verbalize the tiny flaws only they can see. Never mind that Southerland is a little over 6-feet tall, weighs 248 pounds, runs a 4.6 40-yard dash and is the third-strongest player on Georgia’s team, linemen included. Never mind that he’s a model student. Never mind that he’s the consummate football player.
NFL GMs be warned: Southerland has stiff hips!
PRACTICE UPDATES COMING LATE THIS EVENING IN COMMENTS BELOW.
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Do Eagles have any shot vs. Georgia?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The start of the season is right around the corner and, as a result, Georgia is shifting some of the focus off itself and putting it on its opponent, in this case Georgia Southern.
The Eagles are an interesting first-game opponent for the Dogs. Of course, they’re in Division I-AA (I don’t care, that’s what it is to me, not “Football Championship Subdivision”). So that effectively makes it a no-win situation for Georgia. Win big and you were supposed to. Let them keep it close and you’re overrated. Lose and you might be run out of town on a rail (see Appalachian State-Michigan and Lloyd Carr).
But to UGA’s credit it has agreed to play its good neighbors to the South every four years or so. It’s represents a financial bonanza for Georgia Southern, which receives several hundred thousand dollars for the game, and gives the program some exposure it otherwise might not receive.
I haven’t delved deeply yet into what all the Eagles will be bringing to Athens. But I’ve seen enough to know Georgia shouldn’t be in grave danger. I know I’ve always felt Chris Hatcher was one of the great up-and-coming coaches around, and he’s been up-and-coming for a while now. I know they bring nine starters back on defense from the team that finished 7-4 last season and tied for third in the Southern Conference. I know they lost eight starters on offense, including the quarterback.
In fact, a pretty good quarterback race has been going on in camp this preseason. According to Chad Bishop in the Statesboro Herald, redshirt freshman Lee Chapple is the current starter but Ohio State transfer Antonio Henton is closing in on him hard. Sounds like there might even be a chance the Bulldogs see both of them.
Meanwhile, Georgia Southern does very little like anybody else. They run a derivative of West Virginia’s 3-3-5 defense and Hatcher has been running a Hal Mumme-style spread offense for years, way before the spread became vogue offense in college football.
That said, I don’t expect Georgia to struggle quite as much with Southern this year as it did last time they played in 2004. The Dogs won 48-28 but were ahead only 13-7 at halftime and gave up 348 yards offense. I counted 70 freshmen and sophomores on the Eagles’ roster in their media guide and that’s not generally the makeup of an underdog team getting ready to pull an upset or even a scare.
So what do y’all think? You believe Georgia Southern can make a game of it? Will you be disappointed if Georgia doesn’t win by at least 50 points? Or do you just not care and want to hurry up and get this win and get it over with without injuries regardless of score?
PRACTICE UPDATES COMING LATER IN COMMENTS SECTION BELOW
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Richt on A.J.: ‘We’ll get him in the game’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This just in: A.J. Green will play this season. Probably in the first game. Probably a lot eventually.
OK, that’s probably not breaking news. It has been pretty evident since Green committed to Georgia nearly two years ago that he was probably going to see the field the first time he trotted through the gap in the hedges the day of a game. But coach Mark Richt removed all doubt yesterday when asked about the long, tall wideout from Summerville, S.C., who has been sidelined much of the preseason with a hip flexor injury.
“He’s just missed so much, you know?,” Richt said at first, making you think he was about to say something different. Then …
“All I can tell you about him is we’re going to get him in the game. I don’t know when but we’ll get him in the game.”
Here’s the deal: Green has struggled a little with grasping the offense. The thing is, in Georgia’s system, when Matthew Stafford calls a pass play in the huddle, it’s not as simple as the split end (Green’s position) runs a deep post on said play. Once they get to the line of scrimmage, the coverage that the secondary is in will dictate the route. Both the quarterback and the receiver have to recognize that and agree on it silently. Often, the quarterback may check out of one play and into another based on the defense. Now another whole set of options is introduced.
Said Richt: “[Green’s] still got a long way to go. There’s still some things he just does naturally extremely well. But there’s still that learning curve to try to understand the offense, a particular route, how we want it run, how we want it run against different coverages. There’s lot of nuances he’s got to get comfortable with. But it’s good to get him back going.”
That said, it’s still just football and there’s nothing stopping offensive coordinator Mike Bobo from just calling specific plays for Green on occasion. You can pretty much count on the Dogs, trying to hit him deep a couple of times in the first couple of games. But by the time they get to South Carolina in game three, the sophistication of the defenses will jump 10-fold. It’ll get more complicated.
But something tells me you’ll see the Dogs go to Green a lot in Columbia. The Gamecocks went after Green hard, especially after he committed to Georgia. I’m sure the Bulldogs would love to showcase him.
We’ll see soon enough.
Sing it: SEC better than Big Ten
You have to check out the song — and accompanying video — written by college football enthusiast Ryan Parker. The title says it all, “SEC Is Better Than the Big Ten.” …
CBS schedule leaked
Wondering what games may end up on CBS later this year? It’s normally a closely-guarded decision not finalized until the last possible moment. But apparently it intentionally or unintentionally leaked its tentative schedule on the Internet. You can see a copy at SouthernSaturday.com.
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No. 1: Harder place to finish than start
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Consensus No. 1. That’s one heck of a note for Georgia.
It was a big deal when the Bulldogs were tabbed the preseason top team by the coaches. It’s an even bigger deal that that they’re No. 1 in both major polls. I have to admit I was surprised when the writers seconded that vote in the AP poll over the weekend. These are, after all, some of the same writers that picked the Dogs second to Florida in the SEC East at Media Days last month.
But that wasn’t the main thing. Sure as the world I thought the media masses would take into account preseason injuries and the schedule and drop Georgia down a peg or two. By the way, I should interject here that no AJC employees vote on the AP poll. A bunch of us used to vote on that and the Heisman Trophy and other things but stopped voting on all polls and awards shortly after the AP poll became a part of the BCS formula. Of course, it isn’t anymore but we still stay away from that stuff just the same.
So anyway, the poll came out and Georgia was No. 1 in AP, too, and the die has been cast on the 2008 season. There’s really only two ways for the Dogs to go from here: Either it will be the greatest season ever — considering the expectations and the schedule, et al — or short of playing in the BCS title game, a colossal disappointment.
I’m not going to get into whether I think they can do it or not. We have plenty of eloquent columnists that get paid to do that. But you probably won’t be surprised to know that very few preseason No. 1s finish the season with that ranking.
In fact, according to the AP, out of the 57 polls it has produced since 1950, only 10 preseason No. 1s went on win it all. That’s 17.5 percent, or 1.75 chances out of 10. By the way, the ones that managed to go wire-to-wire are: Southern California (2004), FSU (1999), Florida State (1993), Oklahoma (1985), Alabama (1978), Oklahoma (1975), Oklahoma (1974), Oklahoma (1956), Michigan State (1952) and Tennessee (1951). You’ll note that coach Mark Richt was was on the staff of the two FSU teams that did it.
So that’s just some food for thought going forward. Grab onto something folks because I can promise you it’s going to be on wild and crazy ride this season. We’ll be with you every step of the way.
The Knowshon Zone
I don’t know much about its genesis but you’ve for to check out the new fan site for Knowshon Moreno called The Knowshon Zone. Pretty simple really but let me know what y’all think… .
Tate gives up football
According to the Cartersville Daily Tribune, prospect Donavan Tate, the son of former Georgia standout Lars Tate, has given up football to concentrate on his baseball career. He’s supposedly a top 10 draft candidate in baseball. I’m sure it was a tough decision for the kid. I always think of George Lombard when I hear about these kinds of things… .
Trouble in Gatorland?
Real interesting “podcast” from the Miami Herald reporter that covers the Florida beat. At the paper’s sub-site known as Gator Clause Joseph Goodman states flat out that Percy Harvin is a bad team guy and blames him as the instigator of a recent sideline fight with teammate Chris Rainey. Listen for yourself… .
Eyeing No. 120
Great story in the New York Times about a guy that has seen all 119 Division I-A teams play in person. He plans to make it 120 when Western Kentucky moves up in 2009… .
Behind the curtain
You probably always hear those of us covering Georgia mention the name Claude Felton. Well the Bulldogs’ Hall of Fame sports information director was recently honored at an event in Augusta and the Augusta Chronicle chronicled it. Pretty much anybody in the business will tell you Claude’s the best.
REMEMBER, PRACTICE UPDATES COMING IN COMMENTS SECTION BELOW DURING MONDAY AFTERNOON’S WORKOUT.
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Knowshon back deep IS intriguing
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Reggie Bush did it. Desmond Howard did it. Will Knowshon Moreno do it, too?
I’m not talking about winning the Heisman Trophy, which those first two guys did. I’m talking about returning punts and kickoffs. But I can tell you this — the two things aren’t mutually exclusive. Returning kicks helped win those first two guys those two Heismans.
Now that’s not the reason Georgia should have Knowshon return punts this season. If I know anything about coach Mark Richt or the Bulldogs, I’m sure they wouldn’t attempt something of the sort to help a player garner votes for an individual award.
But you’ve got to admit the idea of Moreno returning kicks of any sort is very intriguing. Richt revealed yesterday that Moreno has been handling punt returns (along with freshman Carlton Thomas and quarterback Logan Gray) during preseason practices. Not surprisingly, Moreno has looked the best so far.
Think about the excitement a home crowd would feel after the Georgia defense has stoned an opponent and No. 24 comes trotting in from the sideline and wanders back there all alone as the deep safety. You’ve seen what he can do with a little daylight on a toss sweep. Imagine what he can do if he really has some room to run.
I know, I know. The risk of injury is certainly greater fielding a ball out of the air as 11 players barrel full speed down the field after you. But is it significantly greater than when you’re carrying the ball 25 or 30 times out of the I-formation? I’d say Bush was pretty valuable to Southern Cal, as he is to the New Orleans Saints today. And Howard was pretty important to Michigan, too. And if special teams are truly as important as Georgia claims they are to its success and Moreno is the best at this, why have anybody else do it?
It would be a bold move, for sure. But I think I like it. What about y’all? …
Speaking of Knowshon
There was a nice piece on him in ESPN The Magazine’s college football preview issue. There’s not a lot folks around here didn’t already know or have heard about Knowshon. But certainly interesting seeing it told again to a national audience… .
Most powerful: Saban
Surely by now most of you have heard — or seen on the cover of the magazine in stores now — that Forbes Magazine has declared Alabama’s Nick Saban as the “most powerful coach” in all of sports. I haven’t read the whole article myself but between the amount of money he makes, the structure of his contract (no buyout I think) and the way he runs his program, the business-oriented magazine’s editors have determined Saban’s the man. Perhaps the clincher between him and Bill Belichick and was going 6-6 last season and not ending up on the hot seat.
PRACTICE UPDATES COMING LATER IN COMMENTS SECTION BELOW!
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Don’t forget about Jones on O-line
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s getting late in the week. Time to empty out the notebook… .
Lost in all the talk of about how Georgia is going to deal with loss of Trinton Sturdivant at left tackle is the development of some of the young inside guys.
You’ve heard a lot recently about true freshman Cordy Glenn of Riverdale and how he’s come on lately to take over the top spot at right guard. But don’t forget about Ben Jones, the freshman from Centreville, Ala., who enrolled back in January. Coach Mark Richt and his staff certainly haven’t. Richt was bragging on Jones after practice yesterday.
“Practicing very hard, knows what to do,” Richt said. “He’s competing very well. I just think he’ll play. Chris [Davis] we know is going to play. Ben will play.”
It sounds like it’s the coaches’ hope that Jones will eventually start at center.
“Ben’s probably more comfortable at center,” Richt said. “I think center is more natural for him and guard would be a more natural transition for Chris if we needed to do that. I’m not talking starting five necessarily. But let’s get him in there and let him play and maybe bump Chris out a little bit as we go. I think Ben has proved that he’s ready to play.”
ELLERBE’S SI DECISION
Georgia linebacker Dannell Ellerbe was especially thrilled about being on the cover of the Sports Illustrated with teammates Knowshon Moreno and Matt Stafford. But it almost didn’t happen.
Richt explains.
“All summer long he had this goatee and in the summer we don’t have the [facial]hair rule,” Richt said. “But if you’re going to be on the cover of Sports Illustrated we want you in the grooming regulations. I think he resisted it a little bit and [sports info] came to me about it. I said, ‘Well, Dannell doesn’t have to cut off the hair off his chin if he doesn’t want to but if he doesn’t cut the hair off his chin, he’s not going to be on the cover of sports illustrated. So it’s up to him.
“He showed up the next day all clean-shaven with a big smile on his face. That’s pretty exciting for him.”
And for his family. Ellerbe is from North Carolina but he has a lot of family in New York. The SI covers were regional so those folks got editions with Ohio State on the cover. So Ellerbe said he is desperately seeking extra copies to send to his uncles and aunts up north.
“I got a copy, but I need about 50 more though. Everybody I know wants one,” he said.
Speaking of Ellerbe, he’s being held out of contact because of a shoulder injury but Richt said it isn’t serious.
SEC IS INJURY CENTRAL
No doubt you’ve taken notice that the injury bug hasn’t been limited to Georgia.
In fact, it has been far worse at the first major football-playing university down from Georgia Tech on I-75. (That’d be the University of Florida, not Georgia State. The Panthers aren’t quite D-I yet).
Anyway, the Gators have had five - count ‘em, five! - players suffer season-ending ACL injuries so far. There is a good write-up about it that quotes coach Urban Meyer in the Tampa Tribune.
In addition to losing safety Aaron Savage for the season to a knee injury, Auburn has encountered more injuries to the offensive line, secondary and wide receivers. There was a breakdown in the Dothan Eagle this week.
MEYER ON DISCIPLINE
Those of you pining some more information on Meyer’s decision to let lineman Ronnie Wilson back on the team - despite charges of discharging an AK-47, punching and spitting on a person and getting caught with pot - there’s an in-depth piece on it on Sports Illustrated’s website. I understand Andy Staples’ take on it and Meyer’s explanation echoes some of Mark Richt’s sentiments as far as you can’t help somebody if you kick them out the door. But Wilson’s indiscretions are pretty extreme for remaining on the football team, in my opinion. Meyer claims the kid, a starter on the national championship team, still might not play. We’ll see.
NO PRACTICE UPDATES THIS AFTERNOON BECAUSE IT’S CLOSED TO MEDIA
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UGA’s Evans competitive as ever
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Little late getting the blog out to you today. I’m at our office in downtown Atlanta today and, ironically enough, was unable to update earlier with a new blog because I was getting some technical training regarding blogs. Nothing fancy mind you — I’m far from what you’d call a techno geek — but we’ve got some nice plans for this space and I’m hoping to make it even more useful and enjoyable for you guys. So, as always, I’m open to you suggestions for ways to improve it and things you might like to see here.
Meanwhile, it was always my intention to blog today about Georgia athletics director Damon Evans. It wasn’t necessarily to get your thoughts and feelings about Damon, though I’m sure you’ll offer them and I’ll welcome them is always. Really I just wanted to share some observations from a recent visit I had with him.
One thing is clear: Evans is now a man very much comfortable in his job and his position. Not that he didn’t always, but four years in he’s noticeably smoother moving through the many different aspects of the job, from speaking to large groups to chairing various committees to interacting with student-athletes and, finally, to dealing with coaches. And look out if you ever get Evans talking about the business and finance aspect of sports. He’ll bowl you over with facts and figures regarding long-term debt and revenue and the like.
But the thing that stood out most to me from a recent meeting is more intangible than that. Evans is very, very, very competitive. It’s easy to forget that it wasn’t that long ago that Evans was an elite athlete himself battling for playing time at Georgia with Andre Hastings and Hassan Graham and the like.
Anyway, like I said, you can still see a lot of that competitive fire in Evans. And that extends especially to football and basketball. One of Evans’ good friends is Florida AD Jeremy Foley. And like all of us, he wants to one-up his buddies. If you haven’t noticed, the Gators have won some basketball and football national championships lately. Georgia hasn’t. This burns up Evans to no end.
Evans is obviously pleased with the progress Georgia has made in football under coach Mark Richt. But he longs for a day when the Bulldogs aren’t just hoping to win championships but absolutely expects them.
But Georgia football has always been a big deal. Evans is a consummate basketball man and that’s an area in which he clearly believes he could make a profound impact. He’s the main reason why the Bulldogs now have a $30 million practice and training facility. And he has some ideas regarding Stegeman Coliseum, too, though he’s hesitant to share them at this point.
Anyway, it was just interesting to listen to Damon to talk with such passion about his hopes and dreams for Georgia athletics. All of which boiled down to one sentence in particular he said to me. “Chip, I can’t tell you how bad I want to win.”
He wasn’t referring to tennis and gymnastics.
JENNA MARINA WILL PROVIDE A PRACTICE UPDATE BELOW LATER THIS AFTERNOON.
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Dogs have many options on O-line
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
It’s official - Bulldogs left tackle Trinton Sturdivant will miss the 2008 season with a knee injury.
So now your No. 1-ranked Bulldogs have to make a major adjustment. Obviously Sturdivant was their best option there at left tackle. I’ll be getting into this today as a followup story but what do you think is the best way for the offensive line to adsorb his loss?
The easy answer is to simply elevate Josh Davis to first team. Davis (6-6, 293, RSo.) was a very highly-touted prospect out of Jayess, Miss., but has played very little to date, perhaps because Sturdivant has been so good. Davis got Sturdivant’s reps in Monday’s scrimmage.
Another option is moving left guard Vince Vance outside to tackle. Vance (6-8, 320) came to Georgia as a tackle and repped there a lot last season but has played mainly inside. Together with Sturdivant they formed a formidable left side of the line. CMR was also talking about moving guard Clint Boling out to left tackle but Boling is suspended for the first game.
One of the best options in my opinion may be to move right tackle Kiante Tripp over to the left side. The redshirt sophomore from Atlanta is the Bulldogs’ most athletic lineman. He told me in a recent interview that he set three O-lineman records this summer: 40-yard dash (4.82 seconds), back squat (645 pounds) and power-clean lift (370). He said he was aiming for the bench and vertical leap records but didn’t get a chance to attempt them. Last time I checked that was the type of athleticism coaches are looking for at left tackle, which protects quarterback Matthew Stafford’s blind side.
I know, I know. It’s not that simple. There’s a lot more that goes into learning such an important position. But the coach Stacy Searels has 18 days to make it happen. The best thing for Georgia is it has recruited a lot of O-lineman the last couple of years so it has a lot of options. But clearly Sturdivant was the best one.
So what do you think? Devastating blow or bump in the road?
PRACTICE UPDATES COMING THIS AFTERNOON.
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Is Richt ‘great’ without national title?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
In Birmingham for SEC Media Days a couple of weeks ago there was a big front-page spread in the Birmingham News on the great coaches in the league. They ran a big focal-point picture of Alabama’s Nick Saban — of course — and then four other smaller pictures down one side of the page of Tennessee’s Phillip Fulmer, Florida’s Urban Meyer, LSU’s Les Miles and South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier.
There was no photo of Georgia’s Mark Richt but he was mentioned in the story… .
In the 17th paragraph.
The story asked the question, “is this Golden Age of Coaching in the SEC?” and compared this current time to the period when there was Bear Bryant, Vince Dooley, Johnny Vaught, Bobby Dodd and Shug Jordan. Considering the focus of the story was on the five coaches in the league who have won national championships — the ones in the photos — the lack of attention given Richt is understandable. But I often find when I travel throughout the league that Richt doesn’t command the “great coach” distinction quite as readily as he does here in his home state.
That’s the focus of our discussion here today. Should Richt be considered a “great coach” because of what he’s done at Georgia (72 wins in seven seasons, four SEC East titles, three SEC Championship games, two SEC titles, three BCS bowls, two BCS bowl victories). Or must we reserve the “great” moniker only for those that have won national championships?
In the meantime, I’m here in the Butts-Mehre Building waiting for Georgia’s special teams scrimmage to wrap up. I’ll give you a brief rundown here after talking to the players when they get back from the stadium. We’ll have more details later this evening — there’s a full-squad scrimmage this afternoon — in our daily practice notes package.
Meanwhile, there’s a lot other Bulldog information floating around… .
In case you missed it, our Michael Carvell did a nice piece on Mark Richt’s oldest son Jon being at Clemson this morning. It gets into the difficulties parents experience when their kids go off to college… .
Macon Telegraph writer David Hale did a brief Q&A with true freshman tailback and kick returner Carlton Thomas in his daily blog over the weekend… .
For you video buffs, here is a compilation of Georgia’s quarterback sacks from the Florida game on last season on YouTube. It’s set to Soulja Boy, of course, so you may want to mute it like I did.
That’s all for now. REMEMBER TO GET YOUR PRACTICE UPDATES HERE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION THROUGHOUT THE DAY.
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Dogs strap on the pads, prepare to hit
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Preseason practices are about to get a lot more interesting. Today will be the No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs’ first day in full pads. They’re actually not allowed to tackle until the sixth practice (today is No. 5) but CMR says they’ll utilize the day to “get used to carry their pads,” which can take some getting used to sometimes.
Tomorrow will be the first day of two-a-days and full-fledged, full contact. That will be followed by the first scrimmage on Monday (actually two, a special teams scrimmage in the morning and a full-team scrimmage in the afternoon). Essentially it will be from Saturday until the next Saturday (Aug. 16, which is Fans Picture Day) that it will be determined who’s going to play and not play in the opener against Georgia Southern. After that the Dogs will start getting down and dirty with their game plan.
So this is when it starts getting fun folks. Be sure to pay attention and visit us often because I’ll be continually bringing you football news in this space.
On that note, we’ve decided to make this blog more of a one-stop shopping experience for our loyal readers. So like I do every morning I’ll be checking out all the different sites that cover Georgia. Only now I’ll be sharing links here to the ones I think might be of interest to you, may have something we don’t or maybe had something that I feel may be worthy of discussion here. The hope is that you’ll visit us regularly throughout the season knowing that most of what’s pertinent about all things Georgia can be found right here.
So …
My buddy Scott Michaux of the Augusta Chronicle wrote a great column about PGA Tour player Bubba Watson returning to Georgia to finish his degree. It’s another story in the continuing efforts of UGA to get all its athletes, past and present, to graduate whether they count toward the schools graduation rate or not, which Watson won’t… .
I’ve gotten to know Frank Ros, captain of the 1980 national championship team, pretty well over the years as I’ve continually had to call on him for perspective pieces. Anyway, it was nice to be able to reminisce with him on the sidelines yesterday as he watched his son Bryce Ros practice from a considerable distance away. Frank explained that he didn’t even want Bryce to know he was there, understandable considering the rather long shadow he could cast on his son. I’m not planning on writing anything about Bryce, who is playing tight end, anytime soon but here’s a nice piece from Anthony Dasher over at Rivals’ Georgia site (WARNING, this is a pay site so I apologize if you can’t get in).
Proving it’s never too early to rate players — well, actually it IS too early IMHO — our good friend Dean Legge over at Scout’s UGA site has decided to give (pay site warning) letter grades to the incoming freshmen so far. From my perspective I haven’t seen nearly enough of the freshmen four practices in to recite their jersey numbers much less give them a performance grade. But, hey, he was willing to do it so you might as well see what you think.
You think Georgia has been having injury issues? Check out what’s going on at Auburn and Florida. Both have already lost starters for the season to knee injuries. But don’t start counting the Dogs’ good fortunes. It’s early in camp and what comes around usually goes around in SEC football.
Well, that’s all for now. Hope y’all like the new philosophy.
REMEMBER, PRACTICE UPDATES COMING FROM TODAY’S AFTERNOON WORKOUT RIGHT HERE IN THE COMMENTS SECTION BELOW! vvvvvvvvvvv
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Any All-America candidates on D?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sorry that I’m just getting a new blog up today. The truth is, we’ve got a college football special section coming out soon and I’ve been having to give that copy most of my attention this morning. Our colleges editor Doug Roberson has a cool section planned that should provide some historical perspective to the challenge the preseason No. 1-ranked Georgia Bulldogs are about to embark on this season.
I have many more in-depth subjects I plan to delve into in this space in the coming days and weeks but, since time was short today, I figured I’d throw a little debate out there for you guys.
Everybody knows Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno are the undisputed stars of Georgia’s offense. In fact, they’re usually introduced that way, as in the Bulldogs’ star quarterback Matthew Stafford. But such a distinction is far less evident when we turn our attention to the defensive side of the ball. Of course, linebacker Dannell Ellerbe was on the cover of Sports Illustrated along with Stafford and Moreno and was a preseason All-SEC first-team selection by both the coaches and media. But at this point at least I’m not sure if you fans regard him as a “star player.”
One thing that is not in question, at least in my mind, is that this is a very good and maybe a great defense Georgia’s going to put on the field this season. Maybe one of its best in a long time. Just for the sake of discussion, who would you say are the two or three players on defense that have the best shot of earning POST-season All-America honors? Ellerbe, CB Asher Allen and DT Geno Atkins immediately spring to mind for me. But there are several others I know Willie Martinez is expecting to get big years out of.
Have fun with that. Meanwhile, in case you missed it, Katie Leslie, one of our features writers, did a terrific piece on former Georgia coach and AD Vince Dooley’s passion for gardening. A lot of diehard Dogs fan were probably aware of Dooley’s hobby but Leslie got some great details from Coach Dooley and there are some really nice pics and video as well. Following are the links if you didn’t see it on our site or in the print edition:
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King not guaranteed No. 2 tailback
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
As it turns out, one of the better competitions of preseason camp might be at backup tailback.
Coach Mark Richt was asked after practice Tuesday what the competition was looking like at No. 3 tailback. He responded with, “There’s still competition at No. 2.”
It’s generally been assumed that the No. 2 spot would be held down by heralded redshirt freshman Caleb King and that’s how the depth chart was set coming into camp. But Georgia has continued to recruit at the position and two of its signees from last year, Richard Samuel and Dontavius Jackson, were early enrollees and went through spring practice. Carlton Thomas of Frostproof, Fla., joined the group this summer. And you can’t forget about walkon sophomore Kalvin Daniels, who has often drawn the praise of coaches.
Samuel, in particular, continues to generate positive commentary from coaches and apparently is a very cerebral player. Richt was talking about how all of them look very impressive carrying the football. The key, he said, was going to come down to how they perform “when Coach Ball walks away and goes to the sideline.” In other words, when the players have to think for themselves and carry out their assignments not only correctly but handle them excellently. That, of course, goes deeper than carrying the football.
Again, the general thinking is that Georgia will operate with three scholarship tailbacks and the other two will redshirt. Not necessarily, Richt said.
“We’re not saying it’s etched in stone that two are going to redshirt,” he said. “Special teams are very important. Our feeling is if a player can maybe start on three special teams, that’s worth playing.”
Meanwhile, I talked to Caleb on Monday for a story I’m doing later and was asking him about goals for this season. I asked him if he was hoping for 10 carries a game this season. He grinned widely and said “at least that many.”
Clearly, he’ll have to prove he’s worthy of that many.
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WR Green has Georgia camp abuzz
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Funny how things work out.
After Georgia’s first practice ended yesterday, coveted freshman wide receiver A.J. Green came into the team meeting room and was immediately swarmed by the assembled media there. If there was any doubt as to whom was the most anticipated new player on the Bulldogs’ roster this year, it was removed at that moment as I watched Green sit down and disappear into the middle of a huddle of a dozen or so reporters.
I stood just outside the circle so I could listen and pipe in if needed (reporter Jenna Marina, who is helping us out on Georgia in August and writing a story on Green today, was right in the middle of it). As I observed the scene, it got me thinking, “funny how things work out.”
I thought back to February of 2005. Coach Mark Richt was experiencing one of the more challenging periods of his career at that time (anything is second to this current one). Defensive ends coach and special teams guru Jon Fabris decided to leave Georgia for Oklahoma about the same time that defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder left for the NFL and running backs coach Ken Rucker left for Texas. Not long before then Richt had talked D-line coach and recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner out of leaving Georgia for a coordinator’s position at LSU.
Anyway, Fabris had left and was gone for a short while before having a change of heart and asking Richt if he’d take him back. Of course, Richt did.
Good thing for Fabris and for Georgia that Richt had not already hired a replacement. So Fabris comes back and a year and a half later, he goes to Summerville, S.C., and convinces A.J. Green to commit to the Bulldogs in October of 2006. And, perhaps more remarkably, despite some of the most intense recruiting efforts ever by Georgia rivals, Fabris managed get Green to stay true to that commitment (for the record, Fabris gives Green all the credit for this).
I recount all of this because — and I’m trying not to overhype this situation — I think Green may turn out to be one of Georgia’s most significant signees in a while. I know, I know, it’s been only one practice and Green “tweaked” a groin injury in that one. But folks, sometimes it’s just very evident when a player is the real deal. Not only does Green look the part of a dominant wide receiver (6-4, 200 pounds), he illustrates it every time he runs a route and hauls into his big strong hands a torpedoed pass like it was a little Nerf ball. And he appeared a lot faster than I had originally expected. Any time fellow players, upperclassmen no less, come in from practice buzzing about the “new kid” like they did Green yesterday, you know you may have something special on your hands.
And Green talks the talk. Though he’s not a braggart by any stretch, Green is clearly confident and not at all overwhelmed by mass of attention and expectations. That can be as important as what one can do on the field.
Of course, as Fabris did in 2005, Garner stayed on and Tony Ball came in as running backs coach and the next year the two of them helped convince a running back out of New Jersey named Knowshon to come South to play football.
Funny how things work out… .
PRACTICE UPDATES COMING LATER IN COMMENTS SECTION!!!
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Summer’s over and Richt rejoices
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Bells were chiming, confetti was falling from the ceiling, doves were being released. That was the scene in the second-floor office of Georgia coach Mark Richt Sunday night at Butts-Mehre Heritage Hall.
Metaphorically speaking.
One of the longest offseasons in recent memory officially ended at 5 p.m. Sunday when 105 players checked in to begin preseason practices. Richt had to be the happiest man in Athens. Now there can be no more stories of “offseason arrests.”
We can’t be sure about Richt’s feelings because he hasn’t been taking calls the last couple of days. Seems he’s been a little tied up between preseason coaches’ meetings and legal briefings.
I kid, of course, but I’m sure CMR is not finding much humor from this trouble-riddled summer. Eight of his players - or an average of one a month - managed to get themselves arrested and thrown into jail since the Bulldogs’ Sugar Bowl romp against Hawaii. By all accounts that’s the most in the SEC.
The latest arrest (and indefinite suspension) came this past Saturday when snapper Jeff Henson was popped for public intoxication and urinating in public and two other players wound up in the hospital after getting smashed in the head with beer bottles in a barroom brawl. One of those players, safety Donavon Baldwin, was indefinitely suspended because he was already on probation for a January DUI. Seems a couple of players tore up some property at the hospital while waiting on their teammates to get treated. The hospital has chosen not to prosecute.
That it all happened two days before camp had to have chapped Richt to no end.
At least now those young men will be under the full-time control and supervision of Richt and his staff. There will be very little idle time for players between now and the first week of December. But you’d have thought the mere prospect of having a team good enough to compete for the national championship and wanting to focus every ounce of energy to that end would have been cause enough to avoid an embarrassing streak like the Dogs put together this summer.
Now Georgia has five players suspended or dismissed. Think their absence will adversely affect the Bulldogs in 2008? And what about intangible effects? Does this mean the Dogs will be an undisciplined team on the field as well? Is it an indictment of Richt’s leadership style or coaching ability?
Let me know what y’all think. I’ll let you know what Richt has to say when I cover his press conference around lunchtime.
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No. 1 distinction a mixed blessing for Dogs
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Let the hype begin!
Obviously by now most of you have heard that Georgia was selected preseason No. 1 in the USA Today/Coaches poll that was released at 6 a.m. Friday morning. This is significant for a couple of reasons.
Chiefly, it’s important because the coaches poll is a third of the formula for determining what two teams play in the BCS Championship Game. Starting high in the poll can be a factor in finishing high, particularly if a team stumbles somewhere along the way. Just ask LSU, which started last season No. 2 in the coaches poll and managed to get into the BCS championship and win the national title despite two losses.
Secondly, this is the opinion of college football coaches. And it is a well documented fact that the coaches are much more diligent about making their selections since it became a legitimate part of the BCS formula for determining a champion. Coach Mark Richt himself has talked often about how he sits up late on college football Saturday nights watching ESPN’s SportsCenter so he can be sure to see all the highlights of all the teams and make an informed decision when he has to turn in his poll on Sundays in the fall.
On the other side of things, any team to be tabbed No. 1 in the preseason will have a target on its back the rest of the year and opponents will be supremely motivated to take them down.
By the way, Richt did NOT pick the Bulldogs No. 1 on his poll. At SEC Media Days last week he said he was going to choose according to the consensus of all the preseason polls to that point. According to a composite poll compiled by the SEC media relations office, Ohio State was the consensus No. 1, followed by Southern Cal and then a tie between Georgia and Oklahoma.
So what’s your reaction about Friday’s news? Big deal? Much ado about nothing? Do you agree with it?
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