This is one of the formatted deals we do for the print section. Every week I have to designate a player who is "on the spot" in the upcoming game. This week I chose junior inside linebacker Ramik Wilson. Let me know your thoughts.
ON THE SPOT: GEORGIA
Linebacker: Ramik Wilson
Bio: Wilson is a junior inside linebacker who starts at the “Mike” position for the Bulldogs. The 6-foot-2, 232-pound resident of Tampa has been tremendously productive in his first season as a starter. He’s second in the SEC in total tackles with 31, or 10.3 a game. Wilson this season stepped into the position opened with the graduation of Christian Robinson and Mike Gilliard. Amarlo Herrera also played it last season but switched to the “Mo” position after Alec Ogletree left for the NFL.
Why we’ll be watching: Wilson – and Herrera as well – with have a big job on Saturday. They’ll be primarily responsible for the containment of LSU’s formidable rushing attack. The Tigers are, of course, led by sophomore Jeremy Hill (6-2, 235), who’s averaging 117 yards and has six touchdowns in three games. But there’s more where Hill came from. Fellow tailbacks Terrence Magee and Alfred Blue also have 100-yard games in their LSU careers. Wilson had 13 stops in the opener against Clemson, 8 against South Catolina and he should be in position to have at least that many against the Tigers.
Scouting report: Probably the closest Georgia has come to facing a team that can run the ball as effectively as LSU was when it faced No. 6 South Carolina on Sept. 7. The Bulldogs prevailed 41-30 but the Gamecocks managed 226 yards and tailback Mike Davis had 149 on on 16 carries. If Hill or one of his mates does that Georgia will have a hard time winning the game.
What Mark Richt says: “Last week we gave up seven points on defense. We held them to seven yards rushing and only about 200 total. We’ve played some good teams. You just have to fight like mad and do what you need to do to win the game as a group.”
What Wilson says: “They’re a physical team. They run the ball. That’s what they do. They’re a run-first team and we know we’ve got to stop the run. We’ve got to pressure the quarterback Mettenberger, too. We got to get them in third-and-long to do that. But watching them against Auburn and they were just running ball. They just kept running it and running it. That’s what they did to us last time we played (in 2011). I remember that clearly. So we know what we’ve got to do.”
Tailback J.J. Green said he can’t say for sure how many times he has heard “you’re one play away from playing” from Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo and running backs coach Bryan McClendon.
Here is a clue that your trip to sunny south Florida may not be a carefree vacation: You’re a football team, and you lose one of your starters during warm-ups.
If nothing else, Georgia has ensured at least one thing about its season. Regardless of where the rest of the schedule takes them, whether its to an SEC championship, a BCS bowl bid or a national title, there will be no claims from outsiders that this team received too many breaks and escaped health issues, no suggestions that the road to success was lined with lollipops and unicorns.
Having been at Georgia four seasons now, soccer coach Steve Holeman doesn’t weird out nearly as much as he once did about playing Ole Miss, where he coached for 15 years.
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