ATHENS — After helping select one team for Saturday’s G-Day game, Georgia center Ben Jones phoned offensive-line coach Will Friend and declared: “Coach, we’re stacked!”
After helping choose the other team, quarterback Aaron Murray called offensive coordinator Mike Bobo with this assessment: “We killed ‘em!”
Georgia’s spring intra-squad game will reveal, if nothing else, who did the better job of drafting players — Jones and linebacker Christian Robinson, who were in charge of picking the Red team, or Murray and cornerback Brandon Boykin, who combined to select the Black team.
“The proof will be in the pudding,” coach Mark Richt said. “They all had their strategy. Ben and Christian leaned a lot more heavily [toward] the interior offensive and defensive lines, and Boykin and Murray were more concerned with the perimeter. So both [sides] walked out of there thinking they had kicked rear end on it.”
The G-Day game, the annual culmination of Georgia’s spring practice, starts at 1 p.m. in Sanford Stadium. Admission is free. The game will be televised on CSS.
In recent G-Day games, coaches have selected the squads, generally putting the first-string offense on one team and the first-string defense on the other. But Richt opted for a new twist this time, summoning the four players to a private meeting with him and a trainer to draft the teams.
“It definitely brings some excitement to the game,” Murray said. “It’s definitely adding a little flavor.”
And a lot of smack talk.
Said Boykin, within earshot of Jones: “I think me and Aaron did a tremendous job picking, and [Jones and Robinson] helped us by picking some not-too-good choices.”
Countered Jones: “We got a winning team. We got the O-line. We got Cordy [Glenn]; we got [Kenarious] Gates. ... I’m with my O-line no matter what. I was going to try to get them all. [Murray] slipped in there and got my right guard.”
Said Murray: “Boykin and I absolutely dominated the draft.”
Boykin added that he and Murray pulled off the “steal of the draft” by taking Taylor Bradberry, a walk-on wide receiver.
“He always makes plays on G-Day,” Boykin said.
The draft provided a bit of levity in what has been an intense and injury-riddled spring for a Georgia team coming off a 6-7 season.
Richt wants G-Day to be fun for players and fans, but he also wants it to be a serious competition. The stakes are high: The winning team will enjoy a steak-and-lobster dinner, while the losing team will dine on beanie-weenies.
The assistant coaches are divided, too: Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham is on the Red staff, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo on the Black.
“Bobo and the flea-flicker, I know that’s coming,” Grantham said. “That’ll be in the first three plays.”
Asked if the Red’s defensive schemes will be vanilla, Grantham said: “Depends on how bad you want to eat beanie-weenies or steak, I guess.”
For the Black team, Murray’s weapons include tight end Orson Charles, wide receiver Marlon Brown and tailback Ken Malcome. (Washaun Ealey also is on the Black team, but isn’t expected to play because of a pulled hamstring.) For the Red, quarterback Hutson Mason’s playmakers include wide receiver Tavarres King and tailbacks Caleb King and Carlton Thomas.
On defense, the Red has linebackers Alec Ogletree, the converted safety, and Jarvis Jones, the transfer from USC. The Black includes nose guard Kwame Geathers, who was named the Bulldogs’ defensive MVP for the spring.
The G-Day game is scheduled to include four 12-minute quarters. On both offense and defense, play-calling will be limited to what the Bulldogs ran last season to ensure that early-season opponents receive no revelations.
“I don’t want our coaches to show anything new that might give Boise State or South Carolina a hint,” Richt said.
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