The thinking is that defense will be the primary concern for Georgia during spring practice, which gets under way on Saturday. And the competition will be intense, for sure, with at least seven starting positions open for the taking.
But the Bulldogs will be grappling with some issues on offense as well. As it turns out, they will be without tailback Keith Marshall for at least the first half of spring ball. The sophomore from Raleigh pulled a hamstring running track. That leaves fellow sophomore Todd Gurley to share snaps with Brandon Harton and a few walkons.
“We’ve got one tailback, so I don’t know how well we’re going to do there this spring either,” Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said during a conference call Wednesday. “(Marshall) pulled his hamstring playing football last spring and missed nine practices and still did pretty good in the fall. So I don’t get too beat up about (Marshall pulling his hamstring running track) as long as he’ll be ready to go in the fall. Keith’s the kind of guy you don’t worry about. He’ll be into every practice even if he’s not practicing.”
Marshall (759) and Gurley (1,385) combined to rush for 2,144 yards and 25 touchdowns as true freshmen last season. Their backup Ken Malcome transferred to Southern Illinois after the season due to lack of playing time. Georgia signed A.J. Turman and Brendan Douglas in February but neither will report to campus until June.
Bobo said Marshall might be able to return to the field after spring break, which comes midway through spring practice. In the meantime, the Bulldogs will be left with Gurley, Harton and Kyle Karempelis to share carries.
“That’s something we’re going to have to talk about as a staff and hash out, how much contact we truly give those guys, because depth really is a concern there,” Bobo said. “That’s one of the goals of spring, to build depth there. . . . We’re going to try (wide receiver) J.J. Green at that position as a scatback-type guy, and Tramel Terry is another guy I’ve mentioned that could dual-train at that position. But he’s got an ACL (injury). So it’s going to be a touchy situation in spring ball.”
Georgia also has an injury situation on the offensive line. Starting right tackle John Theus (foot) and starting right guard Chris Burnette (shoulder) are both out while they recover from offseason surgeries. Bobo said the Bulldogs would open the spring with regular left tackle Kenarious Gates at right tackle, Austin Long at right guard and Mark Beard at left tackle.
Other notes gleaned from the 55-minute call with head coach Mark Richt, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham and Bobo:
- Richt pronounced himself as being without limitations for spring practice. Despite Feb. 2 hip-replacement surgery, Richt said he won't be on crutches or use a golf cart or anything else during the 14 practices
- Richt would not elaborate on the "medical issue" that ended the career of fullback Zander Ogletree.
- Richt said Malcolm Mitchell will work exclusively at wide receiver and he's looking forward to seeing what junior college transfer Jonathan Rumph (6-5, 215) can do at that position.
- Grantham said he's not worried about replacing seven starters off last year's defense. "That's the reason you coach, for moments like that," he said. He said the Bulldogs will return "eight or nine" players who have started games in their career on that side of the ball.
- Grantham said junior Ramik Wilson will work exclusively at inside linebacker during spring. He also played outside linebacker the previous two seasons.
- Grantham said sophomore Josh Harvey-Clemons will work both with the safeties and outside linebackers during spring practice.
- Grantham described a wide-open competition in the secondary with the exception of Damian Swann, who "played terrific last year." He's looking for Sheldon Dawson, Reggie Wilkerson and Devin Bowman to "show what they can do during spring" because more competition will be joining the ranks in the summer.
- Bobo said the Bulldogs are confident with Merritt Hall and Quayvon Hicks in the fold at fullback. He said Hicks, a 6-2, 270-pound sophomore, needs to learn how to "play like he looks, and that's physical. UGA announced on Wednesday that rising senior Zander Ogletree had been medically disqualified.
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