DEL.ICIO.USSun Devils get dose of A.J. Green
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Sunday, September 21, 2008
The Bulldogs finally saw the impact of A.J. Green.
And Arizona State felt it.
Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com
Freshman wide receiver A.J. Green had eight catches for 159 yards and a touchdown.
One of the top-ranked wide receiver prospects in the country while at Summerville (S.C.) High School, Green had his coming-out party against the Sun Devils. The 6-foot-4 true freshman had eight catches for 159 yards and a touchdown with four minutes remaining.
To put that into perspective, no Georgia receiver had a 100-yard game last season. The last wideout to break the 100-yard barrier was Kenneth Harris on Oct. 21, 2006, against Mississippi State.
“I was never told I’d be as big a part of the offense,” Green said of his breakout game. “My job is to catch the ball and make plays and that’s what I did. I was surprised they had single coverage on me for the first half.”
Green had only one catch for nine yards in the second half.
“They were a little soft in the first half and we saw that,” Richt said. “They rolled a defensive back toward him in the second half. As a result we didn’t go to him as often.”
Green’s production was the most for a Georgia wideout since Fred Gibson had 169 yards receiving against Arkansas in 2004.
Georgia coaches said they wanted to get the ball into Green’s hands more after his three-catch, 61-yard performance at South Carolina last weekend. He had eight catches coming into Saturday’s game.
The Bulldogs proved they were serious on the first play from scrimmage when Green went deep. Green was open but quarterback Matthew Stafford overthrew him.
Green also ran a reverse in the second half. The play was nullified by a clipping penalty, though.
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