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 > 2009 > February > 12
Thursday, February 12, 2009
Here’s your Georgia football fix
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
How ‘bout a little football?!
I know, I know, you guys can never get enough regardless of the time of year. Certainly we don’t write as much as we do during the season and there’s not as much going on right now. But both Tim Tucker and I have been over at the football complex a couple of times each the last two weeks as the Bulldogs go through mat drills and offseason workouts and such. We’ve been gathering interviews and information for stories we’ll be providing weekly all the up until spring practice starts next month.
Unfortunately we’re writing only a couple of stories a week for the paper, so a lot of commentary and info we’re collecting is stacking up. I’m here to empty that out a little bit today.
On Wednesday I interviewed Jeff Owens, Logan Gray, A.J. Green and Joe Cox. Some of this stuff you’ll see in the paper in the coming days.
- I was talking to Owens, the senior defensive tackle, about his new blog called “Jeff Owens: The Real Deal” (his latest entry is a Q&A with Cox). Unfortunately just about every other reporter that covers the Dogs was interviewing him at the same time, so you may read some about it somewhere else before my story appears. Nevertheless, Owens was his normal jovial self and went on and on about his blog and how well it’s taking off and how much he enjoys doing it. He said he started it because he wants “to let people know the real inside scoop of the college athlete and our everyday lives and what we go through from time to time.” He admitted to being totally obsessed with it and trying to write something every day. Anyway, I’ll have more details in the story I write that’ll appear online Friday.
In the meantime, the football scoop on Owens is his right knee is healing right on schedule. He said it’s at about 50 percent of full strength now and he started running about three weeks ago. I happened to catch a glimpse of Jeff through a window in the weight room and he was doing step-ups on a box about three feet off the ground without any trouble… .
- Logan Gray was another guy I wanted to talk to because I feel like he has kind of been overlooked by the Joe Cox anointment and all the attention that has gone to the two freshman signees. The most pertinent news regarding Logan is that he is no longer going to play on any special teams for the foreseeable future. Or at least as long as he remains at quarterback and he plans to stay there for the duration. In fact, Logan told me the special teams were fun, important and helpful for getting used to the speed of the college game but probably held him back as a quarterback.
“I definitely think so,” Gray said. “We do a lot of our quarterback stuff warming up and throwing the ball and going through practice reps. That’s all going on while special teams practice is going on. Missing that every single day you just, when you’re losing out on reps it just kind of catches up to you. I think that’s probably why I — I don’t know if I regressed — but I wasn’t getting better at the rate I thought I should have been during the season last year. I’m just excited now to just be focusing on quarterback and getting back into it.” …
- With A.J. Green, I just wanted an update on his groin injury and find out what he thought about Marlon Brown signing on as a receiver mate. Green had a good laugh when I asked him how it felt to be asked, “how’s the groin?” every time somebody talks to him. For the record, he said “a lot better” and “getting better every day” and that he’s moving around better than he did all last season. As for Brown, Green said he got to him “pretty well” during the recruiting season and has watched some tape on him. He thinks they’ll make a pretty lethal pair.
“They’re not going to be double-teaming me all the time,” he said of opposing defenses. “[Brown] can stretch the field, too, with his size and speed. He attacks the ball whenever it’s in the air. He’s a basketball guy like me. That always gives you an advantage to go up and attack the ball like you do on the basketball court. He’s good.”
- I talked to Joe Cox mostly for some of these other stories but he did tell me that they’ve been doing a little bit of 7-on-7 drills out on the practice fields. “The ones we’ve done have been real productive,” Cox said. “Everybody’s been out there, a lot of young guys who are having to step up this year. And they’ve been doing good. Everybody wants to learn and that’s been good to see.”
So there’s your football fix. Feel better now.
If not, there’s a little more in these here links… .
Here’s a good detailed look at the oversigning trend by rivals.com.. Apparently Ole Miss didn’t get the award for most greedy. That goes to Troy, which signed 40… .
Oklahoma State football proclaimed its 2009 schedule as “one of America’s most daunting,” due in large part because it opens the season against Georgia on Sept. 5. By the way, the Georgia game has been designated the season’s ‘premium game’; by the Cowboys, meaning other than 5,000 tickets, only season-ticket holders will be allowed to purchase tickets… .
We couldn’t go a day without a story on something that came out of the mouth of Tennessee’s Lane Kiffin now could we? …
This is a little farther away from home but I thought this story on former Arizona standout Jay Dobyns was really cool and ought to make an awesome book, which he has written. He was a stud receiver for the Wildcats before going on to become an ATF agent who went undercover and infiltrated the Hells Angels motorcycle gang. Can you say “tough?”
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