Well, I guess maybe I should pay closer attention to the twitter world, as sure enough Richard Samuel is moving back to running back, a decision that the coaches say was his alone. Now, I have to say that while I am sure the coaches told him to make the decision, they strongly hinted they would prefer he make the move. One thing I will say about these kids that do offer to make position changes, they LOVE their university and teammates-they want to do whatever they can to help the team win. So, I admire Samuel for making this move and perhaps, being older and wiser, his weight now up to 243 but I would imagine will be trimmed back down closer to 235-240 by the time the season arrives, he might really be a factor in our running game. There is no doubt he gives us experience and we needed that badly after Caleb flunked out. There is NO WAY he makes this move if King is still around-or at least not very likely unless we had an injury.
I have read many people are furious with this move and I simply can't figure that out. Samuel was a backup linebacker-we moved a starting safety to his position after he had spend an entire year learning it and playing it on the scout team. What does that say about him? Now, that being said, I personally was excited to see what he could do at LB just because of his combination of size and speed. We have no experience at the running back position, Carlton Thomas is NOT going to be an SEC caliber tailback, he just isn't. Crowell and Malcome, lots of promise but no experience and both injury prone. Simply put, Samuel likely gets more playing time now in the backfield than he would have had linebacker. So, people say the coaches must not think Crowell can do it etc etc. This move was not made to say Crowell is not good or can't play for us early this year, it was made because Crowell can't do it alone and certainly we need someone that we can 100% rely on back there, which would be Richard Samuel. As for the LB position, I think this also says that the coaches have high hopes for our trio of LB recruits, Kent Turene (well, read today he still is waiting to be approved by the NCAA clearinghouse) Ramik Wilson and Armarlo Herrera. Needless to say, Todd Grantham's meeting with media could not have been better planned out, today there will be a LOT of questions for him. I am still not sold on Richard Samuel at tailback, but, I will be interested to see how he plays now that he is a veteran player and has that bulk. You can imagine how effective a brusing back can be late in the 3rd and all the 4th quarter when the defense is getting tired.
Tech got 4 years probabation, I think really got off pretty light in that they didn't lose any scholarships or have any post season bans. They do have to vacate the 2009 ACC title but to me that is bunch of crap. Sure you take it out of the books, take banners down etc but everyone still knows they did it on the field. Kind of like USC losing the national title because of Reggie Bush, yeah, they now don't get that title but not like Auburn now gets the title. I just think taking wins off the books is pretty lame but maybe that is me. But, for the arrogance that Georgia Tech shows, claiming how they are such a high and mighty academic school and not a football factory, not like the slime balls including UGA, I find it pretty funny they have been caught 2 times recently and this time, they knew about players being interviewed and tried to control how these guys answered questions. Sounds to me like they are just as dirty/slimy at the elite academic institute as EVERYONE else that they claim not to be like. Can you say hypocrite-yeah, you can't spell that word without t-e-c-h.
A few tidbits, I noticed the betting lines for UGA to win a national title, 50-1. In the SEC, Bama was ahead-actually Oklahoma is the favorite, Bama is second. Also ahead of UGA, LSU, UF, SCarolina, and Arky. So, based on that, looks like the odds makers put us 3rd in the east. UGA placed 6 players on the 1st team all SEC preason team, QB Murray, TE Charles, OT Glenn, KR Boykin, P Butler and K Walsh. Three more made second team, C Jones, DE Tyson, CB Boykin. Not too shabby for a team coming off a 6-7 season. Finally, tonight is the Big Dawg Night, the elite camp where UGA invites the top players in the region to visit campus and compete against the best of the best. A great recruiting tool, this has become an event that usually produces some commitments. Tonight maybe the biggest prize that COULD make a pledge would be John Theus, that 5 star OT from Jacksonville, Fla. Kid is ranked the #7 overall prospect in the nation and of course we already have his older brother in Athens. He has narrowed his list to UF, UGA, and Texas-a school he has yet to visit but includes them just because our old OL coach Searels is there now. Most expect it to be UF/UGA but certainly UGA sits in a great spot as he and his brother are very close. His brother made his plege to UGA last year at Dawg Night, so many are hoping he does the same. A lot of the best will be in Athens, let's hope it is a great night and we do make a lasting impresssion with kids in the Class of 2012, 2013 and 2014.
Have a great weekend and Go Dogs!
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