Which Georgia freshman will stand out?

By TIM TUCKER

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Athens — Marlon Brown hears it all the time, the buzz about whether he might have a similar impact on Georgia’s football team this season as another highly touted freshman receiver — one A.J. Green — had last season.

“I like it,” Brown said of such talk, “but I’m just trying to focus on being Marlon Brown right now and learn the position.”

And there is one important group of people from whom Brown never hears any suggestion that he might have a Green-like freshman season.

“From my coaches and stuff, no,” Brown said.

They figure that is too much to ask from Brown or tight end Orson Charles or any of the Bulldogs’ other highly touted incoming freshmen.

“You don’t see that come along too much in a lifetime,” John Lilly, tight ends coach, said of Green’s fabulous freshman season.

“It’s really not fair to compare anybody to A.J. Green right now,” Michael Moore, a fifth-year senior receiver, said.

Still, Brown’s high-school accolades — Parade magazine All-American, Tennesssee’s “Mr. Football” and Scout.com’s No. 2-rated wide receiver nationally — have combined with Georgia’s need for immediate help at the position to fuel expectations.

After losing second-round NFL draft pick Mohamed Massaquoi from last season’s team, Georgia is looking for a new threat to emerge to complement Green, and the player getting the most looks is probably the 6-foot-5, 200-pound Brown, who is from Memphis.

“I saw him going up strong on a catch,” coach Mark Richt said after a mid-week practice, “and guys were trying to rake the ball out of there and couldn’t do it because he’s got such strong hands.”

Brown, for one, doesn’t dismiss the possibility of a freshman season like Green’s.

“Oh yeah, it’s possible,” he said.

As Georgia urgently seeks playmakers on offense, Brown is one of several freshmen who could have substantial impacts this season. Others include:

WIDE RECEIVERS

● Rantavious Wooten, WR, 5-10, 173: He is not as big or as touted as Brown, but the speedster from Belle Glade, Fla., is also being counted on to bolster Georgia’s depleted stock of receivers.

“The opportunity is there,” Wooten said, “and I’m looking to take full advantage of it. At the same time, I’ve just got to prove myself.”

Teammates and coaches have been impressed by Wooten’s route-running and good hands. Wooten said he has gained 11 pounds since he began working with Georgia’s strength-and-conditioning staff this summer.

RUNNING BACKS

● Washaun Ealey, RB, 5-11, 205: Ealey, a Parade magazine All-American who set the Georgia high school career record by scoring 133 touchdowns for Emanuel County Institute, is among the five Bulldogs battling for playing time at tailback.

“Hopefully, I’ll play,” Ealey said. “The coaches just told me to work hard and give 100 percent and compete with the other players.”

Ealey described himself as a “downhill runner” with a hunger for the end zone.

TIGHT ENDS

● Orson Charles, TE, 6-3, 230

● Arthur Lynch, TE, 6-5, 240: In the same recruiting class, Georgia brought in two of the top-rated tight ends in the country: Lynch, from Massachusetts, ranked No. 2 by Rivals.com and Charles, from Florida, No. 3 by Scout.com.

“I think Orson and I both have a good chance to play early,” Lynch said, “but at the same time we don’t know that yet.”

Charles is more the pass-catching threat. A teammate of Georgia freshman quarterback Aaron Murray at Plant High in Tampa, Charles caught 75 passes for 1,440 yards last season. As Georgia seeks weapons on offense this season, it could turn to him quickly.