DEL.ICIO.US2009 NCAA FOOTBALL
Future of Georgia and Georgia Tech football
What’s in store for the Dogs and Jackets next season?
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Friday, January 02, 2009
Before and after Georgia’s and Georgia Tech’s bowl games, coaches Mark Richt and Paul Johnson said the game was partly about finishing well and partly about getting the 2009 season off to a good start.
Part II kicks off in earnest now.
Pouya Dianat / pdianat@ajc.com
A lot could change for Mark Richt and Georgia next season, if quarterback Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno decide to head to the NFL.
Johnny Crawford/jcrawford@ajc.com
Jonathan Dwyer,the ACC’s leading rusher, returns for his second season in Paul Johnson’s option offense.
2008 IN REVIEW
2009 Schedules
RELATED UGA LINKS
RELATED STORIES • More UGA coverageRELATED GA. TECH LINKS
RELATED STORIES • More Tech coverageNow it’s time to cast an eye toward how both teams might look next fall.
Georgia will return 16 of 22 starters from a 10-3 team that will likely end the season ranked in the Top 15. But that number includes quarterback Matthew Stafford and tailback Knowshon Moreno. How Georgia is perceived next season will depend largely on what that duo decides to do by January 15, the date by which underclassman have to declare for the NFL draft.
Georgia Tech finished a surprising 9-4 and will return 19 of 22 starters — everyone except defensive linemen Michael Johnson, Vance Walker and Darryl Richard — along with kicker/punter Scott Blair.
Other key losses include corner Jahi Word-Daniels (who missed the last six games with injury), linebacker Tony Clark and defensive tackle Elris Anyaibe.
When spring practice starts, expect a lot of competition on the offensive and defensive lines for Johnson’s squad.
Following are five of the young players to watch next season for each team. Some of them saw the field only briefly as they played backup roles to established players and on special teams. Others were redshirted and/or sidelined all season either due to injuries or crowded depth charts.
GEORGIA
Nick Williams
Linebacker (6-2, 207 pounds, freshman)
Williams started the season as backup to strong safety CJ Byrd, who rarely left the field, but became a linebacker as injuries decimated that position. He had 10 tackles over the last few games of the season but Georgia coaches particularly like his ability to cover receivers from the strongside or weakside positions.
“Nick really stepped it up for us when we needed him late in the year,” Richt said.
Cornelius Washington
Defensive end (6-5, 240, Fr.)
This position was clearly the most ineffective of all for the Bulldogs this season. Georgia had 24 sacks all year — it led the SEC with 42 last year — and D-ends had just 10.5 of those. The Bulldogs feel like Washington should be more productive than that.
Washington came to Georgia from Burke County at a scant 217 pounds and was redshirted. A shoulder injury sustained in practice required surgery and his arm remains in sling. But, according to Richt, Washington has put on “20 to 30 pounds” during this redshirt year and has been able to retain his speed. He famously recorded a 10.6 100 meters in high school.
“He’s very fast and has good size for the position,” Richt said. We’re excited about seeing what he can do.”
Tavarres King
Wide receiver (6-1, 170, Fr.)
Fans got a brief glimpse of what the 6-foot-1, 170-pound wideout could do when he played sparingly in the first four games of the season. He had a 41-yard catch and run at set up a score at Arizona State. But an ankle injury sidelined King after that and the Bulldogs have applied for a medical redshirt. When healthy, Georgia believes King can provide an effective threat opposite flanker A.J. Green. With Mohamed Massaquoi and his 58 receptions graduated, there should be some ball-catching opportunities available.
Baccari Rambo
Safety (6-0, 195, Fr.)
Rambo is one of several young defensive backs about whom the Bulldogs are excited about. Rambo gets the nod here because he plays the position at which there should be the most opportunity — strong safety. Rambo showed toughness and a nose for the football before a minor injury set him back early in the season.
Richt said he has also been impressed with the play of redshirted safeties Sanders Commings and Makiri Pugh. “We have high hopes for all of those guys at safety,” he said. “There should be some good competition at that position.”
DeAngelo Tyson
Defensive tackle (6-2, 300, Fr.)
Tyson played more than any other freshman defensive player — all 13 games — despite the fact the Bulldogs already has some quality and quantity at his position. After Owens went down with a knee injury in the first game, Tyson became the fourth man in the four-man rotation of Geno Atkins, Corvey Irvin and Kade Weston in the interior defensive line. Charged with plugging up the middle, Tyson finished with 11 tackles.
GEORGIA TECH
T.J. Barnes
Defensive tackle (6-7, 355, Fr.)
Cornbread might be the only thing that keeps Barnes from making an impact in 2009. Coaches want him to hit a playing weight of 330 to 340 pounds.
“It’s doable,” Barnes said. “It just takes hard work, extra running, things like that.”
What about diet?
“Eat more greens, drink more water instead of soda and juice. Cornbread — that’s the one thing that’s killing me right now.”
With defensive tackles Vance Walker and Darryl Richard departing, Barnes will get a chance to play.
Left tackle Nick Claytor is eager get Barnes off the scout team so he doesn’t have to block him.
“Mount Barnes, he’s a beast,” said Claytor, a reference to Alabama nose tackle Terrence “Mount” Cody. (Barnes, out of Enterprise, Ala., also goes by “Big Baby” and “Bossman.”)
Richard Watson
B-back (6-1, 225, Fr.)
Jonathan Dwyer rarely got a breather this season. In 2009, depth at B-back shouldn’t be a problem.
Watson, Anthony Allen and Quincy Kelly, who missed six games with a non-football medical problem, will compete for snaps behind Dwyer.
A north-south bruiser out of Tallahassee, Watson had a valuable redshirt season, according to B-backs coach Brian Bohannon.
“Because of depth he practiced a lot with us, not on the scout team, so he’s gotten a little head start in terms of knowing where to go and what to do,” Bohannon said.
Robert Hall
Defensive end (6-3, 250, R-So.)
“Probably the toughest guy on the team” enters 2009 as a likely starter.
So says defensive line coach Giff Smith.
“Nobody messes with Robert,” Smith said. “He’s very physical. He’s country strong, from Hawkinsville. He’ll bring some toughness and leadership, which we’ll need because we’re losing all those seniors.”
Hall (13 tackles, 1.5 for loss) should start opposite sophomore defensive end Derrick Morgan.
“I’m a veteran so I know it’s my responsibility to step up next year,” he said. “Naturally, people are going to think [there will be a big dropoff] because we’re losing great players, but we have talent and we have depth and I’m looking forward to it.”
Omoregie Uzzi
Guard (6-3, 291, Fr.)
Co-offensive line coach Mike Sewak would not promote Uzzi over any of his other redshirted linemen. But it’s clear Uzzi, who chose Tech over Georgia and Alabama, has the tools to compete for a starting spot.
“He’s one guy who will fit into our system because of his athleticism,” Sewak said.
A-back Roddy Jones, who played with Uzzi at Chamblee High, said he ran behind him a lot because “he caved in holes.”
At Tech, Jones said, Uzzi “can do everything we ask him to do.”
Tech returns its entire offensive line. With Uzzi and fellow freshmen Zach Fraysier, Nick McCrae, Mike Johnson and Phil Smith pushing the starters, Sewak said Tech will have “exactly what we’re looking for — some competition.”
Anthony Allen
B-back (6-0, 225, R-So.)
Ineligible after transferring from Louisville, Allen spent 2008 learning the offense.
“They’re two completely different offenses so I think I gained a lot from this year,” said Allen, who rushed for nearly 700 yards and seven touchdowns in 2007. “I also got bigger, faster, stronger.”
Asked what he’ll bring to Tech’s offense, Allen said, “They’re getting touchdowns. They’re going to get a hard-nosed player who plays every down.”
In scrimmages before the season, Allen ripped off more long runs than anyone. He may be versatile enough to play A-back, too.
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