Every year seems like it might be Michael Moore's year. The junior wide receiver came in with plenty of hype after working out with Cris Carter and Randy Moss. But it wasn't until last year that Moore hit his stride.

During a fall camp in which the wide receiver spots were wide open, Moore made a move and was a solid No. 2 receiver. Then came South Carolina and a dropped pass at the Gamecocks' 15.

Jenni Girtman/JENNI GIRTMAN / AJC (ENLARGE)

Matthew Stafford has been having a good spring but isn't expected to play much in the G-Day game.

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A year later, Moore has almost forgotten about that moment.

"I am kind of picking up where I left off during camp last year," Moore said. "I kind of slowed down during the season after the South Carolina game and kind of leveled out."

Moore finished the season with three catches for 28 yards with a touchdown. Those numbers were down because so was Moore's playing time.

"It was mainly the coach trying to see what I would do and testing to see where I was," Moore said. "I was just working hard and was fighting through it."

Now Moore feels like he is through it and out the other side.

"He has come on big time," receiver Kenneth Harris said. "He is a lot more focused than I have seen him in awhile. And he is out there making big-time plays."

And with Mohamed Massaquoi (neck) and Harris (ankle) nicked up for the spring game, Moore has a chance to prove that.

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Putting it on the line

If there is any yelling going on at Georgia practice, and usually there is, Justin Anderson is typically the subject. The redshirt freshman guard appears to take the brunt of offensive line coach Stacy Searels' tirades.

That might be because Anderson has so much potential. The guard is consistently named the hardest to beat by Georgia's defensive linemen. He may have the most agile feet on the line. Plus, he is a bruiser who can run block.

But that's not enough. Coach Mark Richt wants to see more.

"He is gradually getting better and better and better," Richt said. "He is strong. He has got size. He is the quickest guy we have got off the football."

But Anderson, who like every lineman except Chris Davis is off limits to the media, has not shown enough consistency, Richt said.

"When he gets serious about being an expert at what he does, he is going to be really good," Richt said. "He is still our No. 1 right guy [at right guard]. He may stay there. I wouldn't put it past him to stay there. We expect him to play a lot of ball for us.

"Hopefully he will be the starter for us."

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Senior has to lead

Kenneth Harris had four catches last year. That may have been OK his freshman season. But Harris was a junior. He was supposed to be one of the leaders. But he wasn't ready.

Now Harris said he is.

"Being older and just more mature has played a big role in how I see things and how I go out there and work every day," Harris said. "Whenever you are younger, you are out there and you are like, 'I have got another year to play.'

"Now this is my last year and I don't have another year. It is now or never."

Apparently it is now because Harris worked himself into the starting lineup. Coach Mark Richt has consistently commented on Harris' improvement throughout the spring. Harris is questionable for today's game with an ankle injury.

"It is pretty difficult [to go through the ankle injury now]," Harris said. "I kind of pride myself on not missing practice. I think I have maybe missed three or four practices in the five years that I have been here. Just looking out there and seeing all the guys, it is really hard because we are really kind of short on receivers right now."

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Chance to play

The depth chart has not been kind to defensive tackle Ricardo Crawford.

He had the potential to start as a freshman but has slid since those lofty days. A foot injury and the play of Geno Atkins, Kade Weston and others has Crawford, now a redshirt sophomore, stuck on the third string. Last season he played five games and had one tackle.

But this week, with Jeff Owens out because of a shoulder injury, Crawford has the chance to at least prove he can handle some playing time. How much is hard to say because of those players in front of him.

"It is very difficult because Geno, he is a great player. Jeff, he is a great player. And Kade, he is a monster," Crawford said. "It really is hard to try and get in there and get going when everybody is so far ahead of me. I have just got to work and get my technique right."

Crawford says he still needs to improve on everything.

"You have to combine everything at one time," he said. "If you don't have the strength, you are going to get thrown off the ball. If you don't have your pads down, you get blown off the ball."

If you don't do both consistently, there is no way to get playing time at Georgia. Coach Mark Richt has said repeatedly that consistency is what separates the starters from the rest of the players.

"I have seen everybody do it at one time or another," Richt said of playing proficient and sound football. "But can they do it every play?"

Crawford will have a chance to prove that he can because the snaps will be available due to Owens' injury.

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In Stafford they trust

Quarterback Matthew Stafford and running back Knowshon Moreno will be far from the spotlight Saturday. The pair has already proven themselves on the field during the season and to the coaches, so they are not likely to see extended time today.

This is Stafford's third spring and to some degree it is old hat. But the coaches still have expectations for the junior.

"The fundamentals need to be really, really solid," coach Mark Richt said. "He had maybe a day or two in there where I thought he was fair and it was after spring break and he might have lost a little focus there."

But that was just a brief blip in what has overall been a very solid spring for Stafford as he tries to improve his accuracy and consistency from around 56 percent to 60 or 62 percent.

As for the intangibles, Stafford appears to have earned his teammates' trust.

"He has been in a position where the guys can know this guy is going to perform well every day, but he is also going to be a guy that is going to lift up the group when things aren't going well," Richt said.

"He is understanding that better and doing a better job of that. He does understand that, good or bad, he is the leader and he has got to quiet the storm when things are going rough."

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Battle for positions starts at center

The center spot with Chris Davis and Ben Jones is one to keep an eye on Saturday. The pair is battling to see who becomes the starter by fall. And while that battle will most likely rage on through August camp, today could be a preview of things to come.

As it stands, Davis, a sophomore, is the starter and trying to hang on against the true freshman. But this is a new position for Davis, a guard last season.

"I enjoy having to make all the calls and I enjoy being the quarterback of the line," Davis said. "But I have got to study some more and I have got a long ways to go to improve as well."

Apparently the entire line has to improve because it allowed 12 sacks in the last scrimmage. Inconsistent play and mental mistakes have been the problem.

"The coaches obviously had the better view of that, and if that is what [they think], then it has to be true," Davis said. "We have to take that and build on it, and we have to get after it and get our effort up."