ATHENS -- One decision has had ripple effects at three positions during spring practice for the Georgia football team.
Alec Ogletree's shift from safety to inside linebacker bolstered his new position, created competition at his former position and freed Jarvis Jones to play outside linebacker.
"The moves we made are good moves; I think we're going to benefit from [them]," defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said. "Those guys are doing good jobs in their new spots. The reason we made the moves was to create depth [at linebacker] and to get some guys that we feel can make plays closer to the ball. It's also created an opportunity in the secondary for someone to step up and take that position.
"The other thing is: Anytime you can show players that [the lineup] isn’t etched in stone and that if you work hard you’re going to play, that’s a good thing.”
At inside linebacker, Grantham said, Ogletree is a natural fit who is picking up the position quickly because of the play-call knowledge he gained starting five games at safety as a freshman last season.
“Even though he didn’t play this position last year, he knows what he’s doing based on what the safeties did last year.” Grantham said.
Ogletree came to Georgia as a safety and an open mind.
“I wanted to come in and start out playing safety, but over time I didn’t mind moving to linebacker if the opportunity was there and [the team] needed me to move,” Ogletree said. “Honestly, I didn’t think it was going to happen this soon. But the coaches called me into the office [before spring practice] and talked about it, and I came back with a decision to go ahead and move.”
Jones, who was redshirted last season after transferring from USC, likely would have been needed at inside linebacker if Ogletree had remained at safety. But Jones now works exclusively at outside linebacker, where Grantham expects big things.
“I’m excited about him,” Grantham said of Jones. “He’ll make plays for us. ... We’ll be glad he’s out there next season.”
The other offshoot of Ogletree's move is it opened up a starting spot in the secondary, where there are three other starters: cornerbacks Brandon Boykin and Sanders Commings and safety Bacarri Rambo. Jakar Hamilton, Shawn Williams and Marc Deas are battling for the other starting safety position, which likely would have been held by Ogletree if he hadn't moved to linebacker.
Secondary coach Scott Lakatos said he didn't resist the move of Ogletree because "it gets a real good athlete in there at linebacker ... and we do have some guys that have a little bit of experience at safety that we want to get on the field as well. So we made a little room for those."
Center fires up offense
After being dominated by the defense in Tuesday's practice, Georgia's offense bounced back on Thursday.
"We looked a whole lot better than we did the other day," quarterback Aaron Murray said. "I feel like guys were a lot more energized."
He attributed the difference to Georgia's starting center.
"Ben Jones got on us a little bit the other day after practice, really got us pumped up," Murray said.
How did Jones do that?
"Just screaming, yelling, pushing, going crazy, being Ben Jones," Murray said. "Which is a great thing because he's not only one of the leaders of the offense but of the team. ... You don't want to mess up if Ben Jones is watching you."
Ealey still out
Tailback Washaun Ealey missed his second consecutive practice on Thursday because of a strained left hamstring. He was lifting weights on the side as the practice began.
Georgia lists Ealey's status as day to day. The Bulldogs practice again Friday and scrimmage Saturday.
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