ATHENS — Georgia coach Mark Richt recently spent a lot of time bragging about the job defensive end Abry Jones was doing and how good he had looked in practice. A short time later Jones was bragging about how good his defensive teammates had looked.
From inside at least, indications are the Bulldogs’ 2011 defense is looking good.
“I look around and I see the pieces we have, and I see tremendous playmakers everywhere,” Jones said. “I see Kwame [Geathers] coming along so well and so fast. That’s going to add another element to our defense. Then we added J.J. [Jarvis Jones] flying around making plays. We moved ‘Tree’ [Alec Ogletree] from safety down to linebacker, and he’s constantly around the ball. Christian [Robinson] makes sure we have everybody set. We have our corners. When we have a DB banged up you see another come in and fill their slack. It just feels like there’s not anything missing.”
According to Richt, Jones is a big reason the defense has looked good during preseason practice. “He just seems to be in really good condition,” Richt said. “He just seems to be asserting himself a little bit more. He’s just more confident and you can see it.”
Brandon on Branden
Cornerback Branden Smith continues to draw raves for his performance this preseason.
“B-Smith has really turned his game around, just from a confidence standpoint,” fellow cornerback Brandon Boykin said. “He always had the speed and the ability, but now that he knows what he’s doing and he’s confident, he’s just shutting people down in the pass game and even coming up and making tackles, which is not really like B-Smith.”
Overall, Boykin predicted the secondary will show much improvement this season because of experience and depth.
Also, Boykin said he is back to full speed after tweaking a hamstring.
Wednesday scrimmage
When Georgia holds its second preseason scrimmage Wednesday afternoon in Sanford Stadium, the tailback position could again be thin.
Richard Samuel is sidelined with a strained left quadriceps muscle, and Richt said it likely will be next week “before we even start thinking about” him resuming practice.
As for freshman Isaiah Crowell, who has a groin injury, Richt didn’t rule him out of the scrimmage, but said that as of Monday, the most recent practice, he “still couldn’t really move quick enough to be safe and competitive.”
The scrimmage will be closed to the public and the media.
More for Murray
Quarterback Aaron Murray can add the Manning Award to his long list of “watch lists.” He already is under consideration for the Maxwell, Davey O’Brien and Walter Camp Player of the Year awards.
Murray is one of 31 quarterbacks nationwide to get early mention for this award.
The Manning Award is the creation of the Sugar Bowl and honors the college football accomplishments of Archie Manning and his son, Peyton and Eli. It is the only quarterback award that includes the candidates’ bowl performances in its balloting.
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