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 > November > 26
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
MoMass grows on, off field
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Time flies. That’s the general consensus of all the Georgia seniors I’ve talked to this week.
Every year about this time we interview a bunch of the seniors as they prepare for their final home game and Senior Day. Ultimately you’re looking for someone’s story that will serve as a good “senior spotlight,” but it’s also nice to catch up and talk about how much has changed since they first arrived on campus. Over four and five years, us beat guys get to know some of these players pretty well during their careers. Some of them we talk to almost every week of every season.
Mohamed Massaquoi is one such person. I can remember when MoMass first showed up on Georgia’s campus, a tall, skinny, wide receiver from Charlotte with an impressive football resume from Independence High. I remember how shy he was and how uncomfortable he was talking to the media. And I remember how he kind of shut down on us his sophomore season when he had a couple of drops and drew some criticism.
To talk to him today is to recognize a young man who has grown both on and off the field. He’s the consummate captain for the Bulldogs nowadays: An eloquent spokesperson articulating the team’s thoughts and feelings heading into and coming out of contests and the ultimate leader and warrior on the football field, making the tough catches on third down and the big catches when games are on the line.
As sports journalists it’s important that we remain unbiased when it comes to the team but you can’t help but root for guys like Massaquoi to do well. You’ve seen up close how hard they’ve worked and how far they’ve come. I felt the same way about Eric Zeier and Hines Ward and Verron Haynes and Jon Stinchcomb and Thomas Brown and many other Bulldogs over the years.
Following is a snippet of a brief interview I had with MoMass this week.
Q: It seems like yesterday you were showing up as a freshman.
MM: Yeah, it goes by fast. I can remember being recruited and the Georgia coaches first coming through the doors at Independence. It’s funny how fast time goes by. You don’t realize it ‘til you get a little bit older. It’s not until you actually get here that you understand.
Q: Who came to Independence that first time?
MM: Mike Bobo. I was actually in the 9th grade and he was recruiting Mario Raley. He kind of just looked at me and laughed because I was kind of a skinny kid.
Q: Did he know you were a prospect then?
MM: No, he didn’t care two cents about me [laughs].
Q: The first couple years you seemed pretty shy or guarded?
MM: I’ve always been a quiet guy. If you see me out you’d probably think the same thing. I’m really not a guy who you’ll see all the time making a bunch of noise. It was probably a mix of both, being a quiet guy and not really understanding the whole media aspect. I guess the older you get the more comfortable you get with it.
Some links:
Here’s an in-depth into Auburn’s scoring woes, if you’re interested… .
With Florida’s Cam Newton suspended due to his burglary arrest, among those getting looks at backup quarterback for Tim Tebow is Percy Harvin… .
A golf leaderboard look at Tennessee’s coaching search by Knoxville columnist John Adam.
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