ATHENS -- Isaiah Crowell the high-profile recruit has become Isaiah Crowell the scrutinized Georgia football player over the past four days, and early reports are the Bulldogs like what they see.
Crowell's energy and focus remind running backs coach Bryan McClendon of what drew the Bulldogs to Crowell in the first place.
"I went to a practice, [and] it may have been his sophomore year in high school, and I saw then how much he loved just to practice," McClendon said. "He's out there clapping and being excited about playing and having fun just going out there and playing football. That's one of the things that excited me the most -- to see a guy that talented [who] didn't take practice for granted."
Georgia completed a quarter of its 29 preseason practices through Sunday, enough to let McClendon know that Crowell is in the environment he enjoys most.
"He's just a great humble kid who wants to be good in football, and that's what he's going," McClendon said. "He's doing everything he can to make sure he's doing that. He's doing a good job of studying. He's doing a good job of learning it. That stuff comes pretty quick to him."
Teammates say Crowell's speed and quickness are apparent, and he has exceptional cutting ability. The coaches will reserve comment until they get a look at him in full pads, which happens Monday.
Andrews, Dantzler emerge
With just five experienced offensive linemen on the roster, Georgia is looking to young players to provide depth. The first two freshmen to emerge are David Andrews and Watts Dantzler.
Andrews, a 6-foot-2, 280-pound newcomer from The Wesleyan School in Norcross, has become the No. 2 center. Dantzler, a 6-7, 310-pounder from Dalton, is getting work at both guard and tackle, and looks poised to work his way into the rotation.
"We haven't been out here a week, but I think the guys that have played the best so far are Andrews and Dantzler," offensive-line coach Will Friend said. "They're probably a little ahead of the new guys. But we've had four days and their heads are spinning. I've seen some good things in the whole group, but those two have done some good things."
Sanders works at CB
Chris Sanders was considered one of the best safeties in the state when he signed with Georgia out of Tucker High School, and now he's shown how good he can be at cornerback.
"We've talked about that really since we signed him, that potentially he might be a guy we could look at at corner," secondary coach Scott Lakatos said. "Size-wise he looked pretty good there, movement-wise. He might be able to help us from a depth standpoint. He's physical enough, he plays hard, he's quick. He could be a guy who could be a safety as well."
The emergence of Sanders and freshman Damian Swann at cornerback have the Bulldogs giving serious consideration to moving Sanders Commings back to safety. Commings is working at both spots.
Geathers ahead of Jenkins
It sounds as if defensive-line coach Rodney Garner would give the early edge to Kwame Geathers over John Jenkins at nose guard.
"Kwame is definitely continuing to pick up where he left off this spring," Garner said. "We've got to get Jenkins to keep coming and get him more up to speed."
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