While much is made of the explosive Boise offense, their D is pretty darn good-well, again, you have to take a couple things in mind when thinking about the Boise D. First, the competition of course. Second, when your offense is scoring like their offense does, early and often, it disrupts the offensive gameplan and thus gets a team out of its planned attack and more one dimensional-that would explain how Boise led the nation last year in sacks and I think was in the top 5 in total defense. They had 9 of 12 games where the opponent scored 20 or less points, including 3 shutouts.
Boise runs a nickle defense, which amounts to a 4-2-5 alignment, the 5th defensive back of course being the nickle.
DE-Tryone Crawford 6'4" 276 SR
DT-Billy Winn 6'4" 295 SR This kid is very highly touted
NT-Chase Baker 6'1" 296 SR Think Ben Jones will be relieved after blocking our two NT's.
DE-Shea McClellin 6'3" 258 SR
LB-Byron Hout 6'0" 240 SR
LB-Aaron Tevis 6'3" 232 SR
CB-Jamar Taylor 5'11'' 194 JR (the only listed JR starter on defense)
DB-Hunter White 5'11 206 SR
CB-Jerrell Gavins 5'9" 175 SR
S-Cedric Febis 6'3" 202 SR
S-George Iloka 6'3" 216 SR
Of course the first thing that jumps out at your, experience. WOW, 10 of 11 starters are seniors, that is hard to believe. On their two deep, they have 7 JR's or SR's out of 12 total listed (second string). This just tells me, this group will not be lacking in knowing what to do come Saturday. That being said, they are certainly not the biggest guys in the world but instead I am sure rely more on quickness. Looking at the DL for example, those guys are going to be giving up a LOT of size against our massive OL. They also have some small DB's but TALL safety's. I would imagine a Marlon Brown against the 5'11 or 5'9 corner would allow us to pick on that. I would also imagine a kid the size of Orson Charles against either of those LB's or safeties, huge UGA advantage. Bottom line, with our size advantage combined with their high powered offense, I imagine our coaches would LOVE to establish the run early and stick with it often. Makes sense to me. Now take a look at our offense.
OT-Cordy Glenn 6'5" 338 SR
OG-Kenarious Gates 6'5" 328 Soph
C-Ben Jones 6'3" 316 SR
OC-Chris Burnette 6'2" 313 Soph
OT-Justin Anderson 6'5"242 SR
TE-Orson Charles 6'3" 241 JR
WR-Tavarres King 6'1"192 JR
WR-Marlon Brown 6'5" 222 JR
FB-Bruce Figgins 6'4" 272 SR
TB-Richard Samuel 6'2" 238 JR OR Isaiah Crowell 5'11" 215 FR
QB-Aaron Murray 6'1'' 211 Soph
Like I say, just take a look at that OL size against the Boise DL. A big, strong OL against an undersized DL, if we can control that LOS, those guys will get worn down in the second half. As I pointed out yesterday, the Boise OL that these guys go against in practice, if you average the height and weight of those guys, just about 6'2" and 288lbs. UGA offensive line, 6'4" 327lbs. Like I say, Boise might have the quickness EARLY but after those big boys push you around for a while, I would imagine you tend to get pretty tired. That is why we need some LONG extended drives, run the ball, short passes, just keep the chains moving to serve two purposes, wear down that D and keep their O off the field.
I have heard Coach Richt talk about this before and you certainly can't discount it. Boise is a VERY experienced team and not only are they experienced, they are experienced in winning football games. This team expects to win each and every week. They are 61-5 under Coach Peterson which regardless of what league you play in is outstanding. I think the key to this game is the first quarter as much as anything else. This team likes to come out and seize control early. If we can avoid letting them do that, I think we stand an excellent chance to wear them down as the game goes along. That being said, they jumped VaTech last year early, only to see the Hokies come back to take the lead. Then Boise got the ball back and marched down to win the game in the last minute. That is what I am talking about-they are used to winning so if you give them that chance, they have proven they can do it. On the flipside, UGA of late has NOT proven they can win games late and that is what we need to strive to get back to doing. Of course another factor will be noise. I am aware Boise played in a packed Hokie stadium-well, it was in DC but still, very much like the Ga Dome will be for us this Saturday, a neutral game but certainly one team is clearly the HOME team. Unlike last year though, they will play in a domed stadium. The noise factor in a dome IS different than in an open stadium so I do believe noise can be a factor-but only if UGA is in the game and stays in the game.
So there you have it, comparing the starting units for both teams. Not much more for me to say about this game, I will have some closing thoughts and my prediction either Thursday or Friday. Speaking of Friday, that is when DL recruit John Atkins is supposed to announce his college decision. As I have mentioned before, my recruiting sources have indicated to me he will be saying UGA this Friday. Let's hope so.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
So let's look at the Boise offense vs UGA defense
Tomorrow I hope to take a closer look at UGA offense, Boise D but today, I will focus on what most people feel leading into the game probably is the matchup most worth watching. Let's face it, when you think of Boise, you think offense first considering their excellent QB and their coach is known as a great offensive mind. For UGA, we all HOPE that year 2 with Grantham will have us playing Junkyard Dog style defense again. Last year, if you look at the stats, the D was better than the previous year under Willie. One thing the D did a much better job at was creating turnovers but one area we all know was beyond horrible, 3rd down conversions.
So, let's take a look at how the teams likely will line up come September 3rd.
Boise runs what they call a pro set offense but they don't have a fullback so to me it is a variation of the pro set.
QB-Kellen Moore 6'0" 191 SR Behind Moore they have a RS Soph and RS FR.
RB-Doug Martin 5'9" 215 SR Another SR is #2 on the chart, he is 5'9" 210.
WR-Matt Miller 6'3" 215 RS FR.
WR-Mitch Burroughs 5'9" 187 JR
WR-Tyler Shoemaker 6'1" 213 SR, backup is Kirby Moore-brother of Kellen, he is 6'2" 205 Soph.
TE-Kyle Efaw 6'4" 242 SR
OT-Nate Potter 6'6" 300 SR-a very good OT here.
OG-Joe Kellog 6'2" 299 JR
C-Thomas Bryd 5'11" 288 SR-don't let the height fool you, a solid player
OG-Jake Broyles 6'4" 278 Soph
OT-Charles Leno 6'3" 278 Soph
Obviously I would expect the TE to line up on the side of Leno most of the time. You notice that their backs are short but pretty stout, much like backs we typically see at GT. They don't have a massive front certainly and they do have a couple younger guys on the line with two sophs, but I think lack of experience at the WR position is something we all realized when this game was set up-that doesn't mean the guys they have can't be good players but the two guys they had last year, Pettis and Young were certainly their go to guys. In fact if you look at last years stats, Pettis and Young both had 71 catches apiece, they scored 19 TD's combined. The best returning WR is Shoemaker, with 32 catches for 582 yards and 5 TD's. Next best returning receiver is the starting RB Martin. Speaking of Martin, the guy put up big numbers last year, averaging 6.3 yards per carry running for 1260 yards and 12 TD's. VaTech he DID have a nice game per carry wise, 12 carries for 83 yards. Also against Nevada he did some good work, 24 carries for 152 yards but had very supbar games against Hawaii and Fresno-probably the 3rd and 4th best teams they played last year in the regular season, averaging 3 yards a carry in both those games but Boise didn't need him in either of those games as they blew both those teams off the field. One thing you notice when you look at how Boise played last year, they come out STRONG each and every week. It is very obvious their gameplan is come out blazing and jump on teams before they know what hit them, takes the opponent out of their gameplan immediately. Now, granted many of their opponents are weak but you see it against the best teams they play, they were up 17-0 after 1 quarter against VaTech, they were up 24-7 at the half against the only team that beat them Nevada. They were up 16-3 at the half over Utah in the bowl game. This of course makes me immediately think of what Spurrier used to do in his day back coaching UF, and then who could forget the Sugar Bowl against WV-the same building we play Boise in. Point blank, UGA needs to come out and match Boise early and let them know they are in for a fight. Boise was a +8 in turnover ratio, creating 27 and losing 19. Contrast that to UGA, which also was a +8, creating 23 and only coughing it up 15 times, oh but so many of those 15 were SOOOO critical!!
Taking a look at the UGA D which of course is the 3-4.
DE-Abry Jones 6'3" 309 JR
NT-Kwame Geathers 6'6" 350 Soph
DE-DeAngelo Tyson 6'2" 306 SR
LB-Cornelius Washington 6'4" 269 JR
LB-Christian Robinson 6'2" 233 JR
LB-Alec Ogletree 6'3" 236 Soph
LB-Jarvis Jones 6'3" 241 Soph
CB-Branden Smith 5'11" 176 JR
S-Shawn Williams 6'1" 220 JR
S-Sanders Commings 6'2" 217 JR
CB-Brandon Boykin 5'10" 183 SR
One thing that immediately grabs your attention of course is the SIZE of our DL with each guy tipping the scales at over 300lbs. Of course the huge size difference between Kwame and the Boise center should be very interesting. Put it this way, I will be suprised, even if the kid is really good which I think he is, if he alone can handle Kwame, followed by John Jenkins. He is going to need some help from either of his guards, maybe both. I think Potter probably can neutralize one of our DE, and then on the other side, as I mentioned before, I think they will have to have the TE help out the soph tackle that is 278 block either Jones or Tyson. My point being, our linebackers are going to be in position to make the plays and our ability to stop Boise will depend on how those guys perform. I think the fact 3 of the 4 guys can flat out RUN, Grantham is going to be able to bring pressure from all over the place and if our corners can play tight man coverage, Moore is going to have trouble completing passes. Of course as I mentioned yesterday, Boise is NOT a pass first team-they are very balanced on offense and it is going to be very important that we take care of their run game which is where we will really rely on the experience of Christian Robinson in the middle. They are going to do a lot of play action because they are so balanced, our LB's are going to have to do a great job reading the play and make the proper decision. The fact Boise doesn't have the game breaking-at least from what I can tell, WR makes them more reliant on the ground game which is more proven. If Smith, Commings, and Boykin can do a good job in coverage, and our LB's can make the plays they should make, I really have a strong feeling we can slow down this offense. When I mean slow them down, I mean keep them under say 28 points. Keeping this offense to that low of a point total, well, let's just say will be doing a good job and should give the offense a chance to win the game.
So, let's take a look at how the teams likely will line up come September 3rd.
Boise runs what they call a pro set offense but they don't have a fullback so to me it is a variation of the pro set.
QB-Kellen Moore 6'0" 191 SR Behind Moore they have a RS Soph and RS FR.
RB-Doug Martin 5'9" 215 SR Another SR is #2 on the chart, he is 5'9" 210.
WR-Matt Miller 6'3" 215 RS FR.
WR-Mitch Burroughs 5'9" 187 JR
WR-Tyler Shoemaker 6'1" 213 SR, backup is Kirby Moore-brother of Kellen, he is 6'2" 205 Soph.
TE-Kyle Efaw 6'4" 242 SR
OT-Nate Potter 6'6" 300 SR-a very good OT here.
OG-Joe Kellog 6'2" 299 JR
C-Thomas Bryd 5'11" 288 SR-don't let the height fool you, a solid player
OG-Jake Broyles 6'4" 278 Soph
OT-Charles Leno 6'3" 278 Soph
Obviously I would expect the TE to line up on the side of Leno most of the time. You notice that their backs are short but pretty stout, much like backs we typically see at GT. They don't have a massive front certainly and they do have a couple younger guys on the line with two sophs, but I think lack of experience at the WR position is something we all realized when this game was set up-that doesn't mean the guys they have can't be good players but the two guys they had last year, Pettis and Young were certainly their go to guys. In fact if you look at last years stats, Pettis and Young both had 71 catches apiece, they scored 19 TD's combined. The best returning WR is Shoemaker, with 32 catches for 582 yards and 5 TD's. Next best returning receiver is the starting RB Martin. Speaking of Martin, the guy put up big numbers last year, averaging 6.3 yards per carry running for 1260 yards and 12 TD's. VaTech he DID have a nice game per carry wise, 12 carries for 83 yards. Also against Nevada he did some good work, 24 carries for 152 yards but had very supbar games against Hawaii and Fresno-probably the 3rd and 4th best teams they played last year in the regular season, averaging 3 yards a carry in both those games but Boise didn't need him in either of those games as they blew both those teams off the field. One thing you notice when you look at how Boise played last year, they come out STRONG each and every week. It is very obvious their gameplan is come out blazing and jump on teams before they know what hit them, takes the opponent out of their gameplan immediately. Now, granted many of their opponents are weak but you see it against the best teams they play, they were up 17-0 after 1 quarter against VaTech, they were up 24-7 at the half against the only team that beat them Nevada. They were up 16-3 at the half over Utah in the bowl game. This of course makes me immediately think of what Spurrier used to do in his day back coaching UF, and then who could forget the Sugar Bowl against WV-the same building we play Boise in. Point blank, UGA needs to come out and match Boise early and let them know they are in for a fight. Boise was a +8 in turnover ratio, creating 27 and losing 19. Contrast that to UGA, which also was a +8, creating 23 and only coughing it up 15 times, oh but so many of those 15 were SOOOO critical!!
Taking a look at the UGA D which of course is the 3-4.
DE-Abry Jones 6'3" 309 JR
NT-Kwame Geathers 6'6" 350 Soph
DE-DeAngelo Tyson 6'2" 306 SR
LB-Cornelius Washington 6'4" 269 JR
LB-Christian Robinson 6'2" 233 JR
LB-Alec Ogletree 6'3" 236 Soph
LB-Jarvis Jones 6'3" 241 Soph
CB-Branden Smith 5'11" 176 JR
S-Shawn Williams 6'1" 220 JR
S-Sanders Commings 6'2" 217 JR
CB-Brandon Boykin 5'10" 183 SR
One thing that immediately grabs your attention of course is the SIZE of our DL with each guy tipping the scales at over 300lbs. Of course the huge size difference between Kwame and the Boise center should be very interesting. Put it this way, I will be suprised, even if the kid is really good which I think he is, if he alone can handle Kwame, followed by John Jenkins. He is going to need some help from either of his guards, maybe both. I think Potter probably can neutralize one of our DE, and then on the other side, as I mentioned before, I think they will have to have the TE help out the soph tackle that is 278 block either Jones or Tyson. My point being, our linebackers are going to be in position to make the plays and our ability to stop Boise will depend on how those guys perform. I think the fact 3 of the 4 guys can flat out RUN, Grantham is going to be able to bring pressure from all over the place and if our corners can play tight man coverage, Moore is going to have trouble completing passes. Of course as I mentioned yesterday, Boise is NOT a pass first team-they are very balanced on offense and it is going to be very important that we take care of their run game which is where we will really rely on the experience of Christian Robinson in the middle. They are going to do a lot of play action because they are so balanced, our LB's are going to have to do a great job reading the play and make the proper decision. The fact Boise doesn't have the game breaking-at least from what I can tell, WR makes them more reliant on the ground game which is more proven. If Smith, Commings, and Boykin can do a good job in coverage, and our LB's can make the plays they should make, I really have a strong feeling we can slow down this offense. When I mean slow them down, I mean keep them under say 28 points. Keeping this offense to that low of a point total, well, let's just say will be doing a good job and should give the offense a chance to win the game.
Monday, August 29, 2011
A few ideas I have about what we might do this year, offensively and defensively
First of all, happy game week everybody. Not much longer to wait to see if we can hang with Boise. The team did indeed have a practice at the dome Friday-they also wore the new uniforms for the first time-still waiting to see a picture of that-surely someone on the "inside" snapped some pics. Anyhow, also good to know the coaches expect Branden Smith to play this Saturday. His backup is a true FR, Damian Swann. Also, Baccari Rambo has officially been moved to 2nd team safety. Not horrible news, I mean, the kid will still be on the field a lot so good that two guys have just flat beat him out of that spot.
I watched a clip of the Boise/VT game this morning, one thing that jumps out is that Boise jumped VT early-17-0 I think either after 1 or early 2nd quarter. I think us getting off to a good start is a very crucial because it gives our guys confidence and also keeps the dome LOUD. One thing you notice with Boise, at least last year, is they are much like us in regards to play action-they LOVE to use play action. But, will their new WR's be on the same level as the two guys they had last year-both of whom were strong looking wideouts. The RB looks dangerous, especially with the balance that offense shows. I firmly believe we have to attack them, we can't sit back and read/react. But, that QB is smart and knows how to play. He really does remind me of our own David Greene with his poise and patience in running the offense. Needless to say this will be challenge.
My ideas on the offense, I have a sneaky feeling we are going to run out of the spread offense as part of our base offense. I read a quote from Murray talking about he would look out for Crowell-he would right next to him, then later said, well or in front of him. Remember, Murray ran the spread in HS, so did Crowell. Coach Richt has been saying, he is going to study the game of football and hopes to be on the cutting edge. There have been hints of running an up tempo offense-like South Carolina and Auburn-both of whom ran a lot out of a spread looking-QB in the shot gun formation. This is not to say I expect this all the time-far from it. But, this offense makes a lot of sense to me in that it allows Murray to run a system he already knows well, same for Crowell. It allows him to use his vision and quickness to find holes, it allows us to use Figgins in more of an HBack type role instead of him running the football. It also helps to work with the strength of our offensive line recently-pass blocking, our guys have had trouble lining up and knocking the D off the ball. Again though, I do expect a lot of our traditional pro set formations because you don't totally go away from your established offense. I just personally believe we will see a lot more variety in how we use our offensive talent.
For the defense, I fully expect a far more attacking defense this year in year two. I think quite frankly, our group of linebackers this year are far more athletic than what we had on the field last year. CRob is the least athletic of our starting 4 but he is also the guy that is the best leader at this point. But seriously, players like Jarvis Jones, Alec Olgetree, Cornelius Washington, those guys CAN run. You compare that with Dent, Gamble, Houston-all solid players without question but I don't think they are as athletic as the 3 for this year. I also think having a true NT in the middle, that is going to create a lot of problems for our opponents. I don't think one guy can stop Geathers or John Jenkins-I think Abry and Tyson are going to be tough for OT's to stop by themselves. Bottom line, the starting 3 on the DL I really believe are going to require a lot of attention from the 5 OL for our opponents-then it becomes the game of linebackers. I think in game one against Boise, with our crowd advantage, and I beleive quickness AND size advantage, you are going to see Grantham come after Moore early and often. Considering the WR's for Boise are untested, the fact the RB is a player, I expect the LB's to be coming early and often in this game. I think he will have to do much the same in week two except, SCarolina does have some talented and proven receivers. But, I have always believed, college QB's, even seniors and experienced ones like we face in week one and two, they have a lot harder time thinking under pressure than they do if you drop back in coverage. Grantham has NFL experience, he should have the ability to use his past experiences and throw some defensive looks that will give college QB's a lot of problems. I think the fact that our players have a year of 3-4 under their belts pays off bigtime this year. I personally believe TG uses these first two games to unleash the D he hoped he would have last year and we all thought we would have last year. He has had all summer to study the Boise/SCarolina offenses and I have a good feeling about what he will bring to the table.
There you go, some of my opinions. Some I think anyone could probably come up with and agree with but I know a lot of UGA faithful hear the word spread, they immediately get all hot and bothered. I am just one that believes, if you have an offense that fits the skill set you have, you at least impliment that as part of your base offense. I think we enter this season with a big chip on our shoulders-I think the coaches REALLY feel that way and the players as well. Boise of course realizes if they win this game, they likely have a legit shot to run the table. This game is huge for them, but I still think it is bigger for UGA. I know the game against SCarolina in the grand scheme of things is the bigger game, but I honestly believe for this program, this game holds a lot of importance in getting our players and certainly our fans to start believing again. The last time we played Boise, some of the experts were picking Boise just because that seemed like the daring pick-the pick you could afford to make just because you always figure some big upsets will happen every year early in the non conference schedule. This game has a different feel to it though. Many experts are picking Boise this time as well but the Boise program of 2011 is MUCH different than the Boise of 2005. They have won some big games now the past few years over programs most expected them to lose-they have earned a lot of respect nationall, much more than 6 years ago. Meanwhile, in 2005 we had a new QB but we were coming off a great run of success-2002, 2003 and 2004-all 10 or more wins each season. This year we come in off a losing record, with the year before that being an average season. The national perception of our program is one on decline and thus, a BSU win over UGA this year, is not even considered an upset. In 2005, if Boise would have beaten us, it WOULD have been a big time upset. The reality is, our program has slippped and Boise continues to move in the other direction. If we lose to Boise, some people might be a bit surprised but not overly. But, if we come out and beat Boise, this game will serve notice that UGA is not quite as down as many believe we are. I look forward to seeing how the team plays this game. Sometimes I think about the game and get a VERY strong feeling we win going away. Then another day and time, I see us letting the game get away from us, and the self doubt starts creeping back in again. I keep remembering back to the first game back in 2008, Bama vs. Clemson. Nick Saban used that game to springboard his program to elite level. His team was ranked 24th coming in, Clemson 9th. Bama rolled the Tigers 34-10 and went on play for the SEC title against UF that year. They of course lost that game but that set them on track to go back the next year and win a national title. I am not predicting that to happen for UGA, but I am anxiously awaiting to see if we can win this big game and get our swagger back. Only a few more days until we get to find out.
I watched a clip of the Boise/VT game this morning, one thing that jumps out is that Boise jumped VT early-17-0 I think either after 1 or early 2nd quarter. I think us getting off to a good start is a very crucial because it gives our guys confidence and also keeps the dome LOUD. One thing you notice with Boise, at least last year, is they are much like us in regards to play action-they LOVE to use play action. But, will their new WR's be on the same level as the two guys they had last year-both of whom were strong looking wideouts. The RB looks dangerous, especially with the balance that offense shows. I firmly believe we have to attack them, we can't sit back and read/react. But, that QB is smart and knows how to play. He really does remind me of our own David Greene with his poise and patience in running the offense. Needless to say this will be challenge.
My ideas on the offense, I have a sneaky feeling we are going to run out of the spread offense as part of our base offense. I read a quote from Murray talking about he would look out for Crowell-he would right next to him, then later said, well or in front of him. Remember, Murray ran the spread in HS, so did Crowell. Coach Richt has been saying, he is going to study the game of football and hopes to be on the cutting edge. There have been hints of running an up tempo offense-like South Carolina and Auburn-both of whom ran a lot out of a spread looking-QB in the shot gun formation. This is not to say I expect this all the time-far from it. But, this offense makes a lot of sense to me in that it allows Murray to run a system he already knows well, same for Crowell. It allows him to use his vision and quickness to find holes, it allows us to use Figgins in more of an HBack type role instead of him running the football. It also helps to work with the strength of our offensive line recently-pass blocking, our guys have had trouble lining up and knocking the D off the ball. Again though, I do expect a lot of our traditional pro set formations because you don't totally go away from your established offense. I just personally believe we will see a lot more variety in how we use our offensive talent.
For the defense, I fully expect a far more attacking defense this year in year two. I think quite frankly, our group of linebackers this year are far more athletic than what we had on the field last year. CRob is the least athletic of our starting 4 but he is also the guy that is the best leader at this point. But seriously, players like Jarvis Jones, Alec Olgetree, Cornelius Washington, those guys CAN run. You compare that with Dent, Gamble, Houston-all solid players without question but I don't think they are as athletic as the 3 for this year. I also think having a true NT in the middle, that is going to create a lot of problems for our opponents. I don't think one guy can stop Geathers or John Jenkins-I think Abry and Tyson are going to be tough for OT's to stop by themselves. Bottom line, the starting 3 on the DL I really believe are going to require a lot of attention from the 5 OL for our opponents-then it becomes the game of linebackers. I think in game one against Boise, with our crowd advantage, and I beleive quickness AND size advantage, you are going to see Grantham come after Moore early and often. Considering the WR's for Boise are untested, the fact the RB is a player, I expect the LB's to be coming early and often in this game. I think he will have to do much the same in week two except, SCarolina does have some talented and proven receivers. But, I have always believed, college QB's, even seniors and experienced ones like we face in week one and two, they have a lot harder time thinking under pressure than they do if you drop back in coverage. Grantham has NFL experience, he should have the ability to use his past experiences and throw some defensive looks that will give college QB's a lot of problems. I think the fact that our players have a year of 3-4 under their belts pays off bigtime this year. I personally believe TG uses these first two games to unleash the D he hoped he would have last year and we all thought we would have last year. He has had all summer to study the Boise/SCarolina offenses and I have a good feeling about what he will bring to the table.
There you go, some of my opinions. Some I think anyone could probably come up with and agree with but I know a lot of UGA faithful hear the word spread, they immediately get all hot and bothered. I am just one that believes, if you have an offense that fits the skill set you have, you at least impliment that as part of your base offense. I think we enter this season with a big chip on our shoulders-I think the coaches REALLY feel that way and the players as well. Boise of course realizes if they win this game, they likely have a legit shot to run the table. This game is huge for them, but I still think it is bigger for UGA. I know the game against SCarolina in the grand scheme of things is the bigger game, but I honestly believe for this program, this game holds a lot of importance in getting our players and certainly our fans to start believing again. The last time we played Boise, some of the experts were picking Boise just because that seemed like the daring pick-the pick you could afford to make just because you always figure some big upsets will happen every year early in the non conference schedule. This game has a different feel to it though. Many experts are picking Boise this time as well but the Boise program of 2011 is MUCH different than the Boise of 2005. They have won some big games now the past few years over programs most expected them to lose-they have earned a lot of respect nationall, much more than 6 years ago. Meanwhile, in 2005 we had a new QB but we were coming off a great run of success-2002, 2003 and 2004-all 10 or more wins each season. This year we come in off a losing record, with the year before that being an average season. The national perception of our program is one on decline and thus, a BSU win over UGA this year, is not even considered an upset. In 2005, if Boise would have beaten us, it WOULD have been a big time upset. The reality is, our program has slippped and Boise continues to move in the other direction. If we lose to Boise, some people might be a bit surprised but not overly. But, if we come out and beat Boise, this game will serve notice that UGA is not quite as down as many believe we are. I look forward to seeing how the team plays this game. Sometimes I think about the game and get a VERY strong feeling we win going away. Then another day and time, I see us letting the game get away from us, and the self doubt starts creeping back in again. I keep remembering back to the first game back in 2008, Bama vs. Clemson. Nick Saban used that game to springboard his program to elite level. His team was ranked 24th coming in, Clemson 9th. Bama rolled the Tigers 34-10 and went on play for the SEC title against UF that year. They of course lost that game but that set them on track to go back the next year and win a national title. I am not predicting that to happen for UGA, but I am anxiously awaiting to see if we can win this big game and get our swagger back. Only a few more days until we get to find out.
Friday, August 26, 2011
Team practice closed today-maybe at the Dome?? B. Smith OUT??
So, our lovely social media source is breaking some news today, I am relying on the UGA boards to be accurate to take with a grain of salt. Per those sources, we are having a practice at the Dome-that could be today or tomorrow I would guess but heck, if that is possible and happening, GREAT. Also, rumor has it, starting corner Branden Smith is in a walking boot with a bad ankle sprain. NOT what we need to hear out of a kid that has been dominating during the fall camp. Course one way to look at it, Boise is known to throw the ball BUT, they are breaking in new WR's. I would much prefer he miss the Boise game and come back for SCarolina. Time will tell what happens but just as we had thought we avoided the serious injury, here we go.
Here is an article written on Dawgpost by Dean Legge. Check it out as it is a really good read.
http://georgia.scout.com/2/1088796.html
What is interesting to think about, Richt has done as well or better to me than any coach in UGA history but at the same time, he has raised expectations to the point where he now finds himself on the hot seat. Another interesting take from this article is again, the comments about Damon Evans. I know Dean covers UGA sports very closely, he has made two references to how Evans and Richt did not see eye to eye, how Evans was more concerned about running the non profit as a profit, how he had Richt doing stuff a coach shouldn't be doing etc. I think there is no doubt Richt did NOT like the scheduling plan Evans had put in place, making LONG road trips in the middle of SEC scheduling-it was brutal. These are college kids that have to not only play a demanding and physical sport but also go to school and PASS their classes. Making road trips to Arizona, Oklahoma and Colorado might seem cool on the surface but that is not smart when playing in the SEC. Also of note was a particular recruiting class, class of 2005. I would argue that ONE class should not hurt you as much as Dean suggests but clearly, recruiting is important on a yearly basis and I think our coaches appear to be more determined than ever to get off their rear and get on these in state kids especially. I think Greg McGarity is going to turn out to be the best hire ever made for UGA. Early this week, I read about him calling a meeting with UGA police and Clarke county police as well. Just to see what was going on, what the Athletic department could do better. Bottom line, he was reaching out to law enforcement, wanting to get their input-that makes a statement to those guys and it also shows that he is all about correcting problems of the past. Looking at things he can do himself to make a difference. In the end, that is his job as essentially the president of the athletic programs at UGA.
So now we sit a little over a week from kickoff. While I can't say I feel confident UGA beats Boise, what I will say is that I believe we are going to get 100% complete effort out of our kids-they are going fight like crazy and I truly believe all parties on the same page right now. Honestly, you look at the issues facing this team last year, and compare it to this year, you have to be encouraged-because the two biggest issues we faced last year in my opinion, new QB and D, are in year two. Neither side was horrible last year, especially the QB. You have to figure there will be improvement there-and where we do seem to be weak, in either depth or experience, we have talent and it will be up to the coaches to come up with the plan to help these guys be successful on the field. Make no mistake, IF Coach Richt feels the heat, guess who else feels the heat-the assistant coaches. Boise is a good program with good coaching, they are a good opponent and can certainly beat us. That being said, the more I read about this game and think about, I really do think we have a great shot to beat them. Of course we need our best players to be able to play, have to hope BSmith can come back and play-he is a difference maker. But, if he can't play, we do have depth at his position to help get us through it.
Have a great weekend, I will be back next week.
Here is an article written on Dawgpost by Dean Legge. Check it out as it is a really good read.
http://georgia.scout.com/2/1088796.html
What is interesting to think about, Richt has done as well or better to me than any coach in UGA history but at the same time, he has raised expectations to the point where he now finds himself on the hot seat. Another interesting take from this article is again, the comments about Damon Evans. I know Dean covers UGA sports very closely, he has made two references to how Evans and Richt did not see eye to eye, how Evans was more concerned about running the non profit as a profit, how he had Richt doing stuff a coach shouldn't be doing etc. I think there is no doubt Richt did NOT like the scheduling plan Evans had put in place, making LONG road trips in the middle of SEC scheduling-it was brutal. These are college kids that have to not only play a demanding and physical sport but also go to school and PASS their classes. Making road trips to Arizona, Oklahoma and Colorado might seem cool on the surface but that is not smart when playing in the SEC. Also of note was a particular recruiting class, class of 2005. I would argue that ONE class should not hurt you as much as Dean suggests but clearly, recruiting is important on a yearly basis and I think our coaches appear to be more determined than ever to get off their rear and get on these in state kids especially. I think Greg McGarity is going to turn out to be the best hire ever made for UGA. Early this week, I read about him calling a meeting with UGA police and Clarke county police as well. Just to see what was going on, what the Athletic department could do better. Bottom line, he was reaching out to law enforcement, wanting to get their input-that makes a statement to those guys and it also shows that he is all about correcting problems of the past. Looking at things he can do himself to make a difference. In the end, that is his job as essentially the president of the athletic programs at UGA.
So now we sit a little over a week from kickoff. While I can't say I feel confident UGA beats Boise, what I will say is that I believe we are going to get 100% complete effort out of our kids-they are going fight like crazy and I truly believe all parties on the same page right now. Honestly, you look at the issues facing this team last year, and compare it to this year, you have to be encouraged-because the two biggest issues we faced last year in my opinion, new QB and D, are in year two. Neither side was horrible last year, especially the QB. You have to figure there will be improvement there-and where we do seem to be weak, in either depth or experience, we have talent and it will be up to the coaches to come up with the plan to help these guys be successful on the field. Make no mistake, IF Coach Richt feels the heat, guess who else feels the heat-the assistant coaches. Boise is a good program with good coaching, they are a good opponent and can certainly beat us. That being said, the more I read about this game and think about, I really do think we have a great shot to beat them. Of course we need our best players to be able to play, have to hope BSmith can come back and play-he is a difference maker. But, if he can't play, we do have depth at his position to help get us through it.
Have a great weekend, I will be back next week.
Thursday, August 25, 2011
UGA beats Boise-at least we can say it one time, hopefully twice
The practice game is over, and UGA beat Boise 38-34, after starting the scrimmage trailing 31-0. I will put the stats below and give you my thoughts, but let's just say, I am ready to see how this team does in a real game-I am glad our coaches have scrimmages don't get me wrong, but you really can't read much into the stats because of the competition they are facing as well as the way they call the plays-ie, some guys get only a few attempts while another guy doubles that. Anyway, per the various normal sites that cover UGA sports from Athens-and not from midtown ATL, here are the stats from yesterday-I get my information typically from Seth Emerson's great blog-here is that link by the way. http://www.ledger-enquirer.com/bulldogs-blog/
Wednesday, August 24, 2011
Today is Boise practice game, next commitment
So, today is the day we run our Boise scout team against our number one offense and defense. Of course the big deal in that is that it signifies we are basically in game week prep for the 2011 season. Our scout team will be running the Boise offense and defense to get our guys a look at what to expect on September 3rd. The bad part is, our scout team is not nearly as good as the real Boise we will face that day. Another interesting thing to look for is just who is playing on the scout team. Typically, if a player is on the scout team and he is a true FR, that means at least initially the plan for him is to redshirt. Obviously, this brings about a lot of conversation leading into the scrimmage as to who might or might not be on the scout team. Coach Richt has said today's scrimmage will be as live as you can get-meaning not scripted, just play as it happens and thus making decisions in real time and not planned out in advance. This is good for both the players AND the coaches.
There are some notable injuries as we get closer to the season, although none appear to be serious injuries for now. John Jenkins, Richard Samuel, Malcolm Mitchell, Marlon Brown, Bruce Figgins, and Carlton Thomas all have lingering issues. Of course Thomas is out week one. Isaiah Crowell will be back at 100% for today, and Mitchell actually did a good bit yesterday it appears so he hopefully will be ready to go today. I still believe Crowell will start against Boise State, I have said all along, unless something drastic happens-injury or the kid just doesn't seem ready, he will start. Richt pretty much called it on signing day and thus I have stuck with my prediction this entire time.
Ok, so my blog is all about my opinion, based on what I read and know-it is my blog afterall. But, when it comes to an area that I think most readers are always interested in, RECRUITING, I have a couple sources I use to provide me with some information. I will give them their due always, because these guys know their stuff and honestly, I am email friends with both these guys but I have NO IDEA where or how they get their information-I will just say, both guys have a great track record of being accurate with their thoughts on recruiting. So, let me give those guys, Lowndes and mikkuga, all the credit for any future success I might have on this blog for accurate recruiting information. I am NEVER going to be a guy that has the breaking stories, all I will say is that per my sources, I feel good about so and so. That being said, here is my first recruiting blog info of the season.
John Atkins, DL from Thomson Ga, will make his decison on September 2nd. He is down to UGA, GT, AU, Florida, Clemson. Most believe it is down to UGA/AU. My sources feel very strongly Atkins will anounce for UGA next Friday. So, a little bit about Atkins-dude is BIG, 6'3", 294, athletic enough to play goalie for his high school soccer team. He has played OL, TE, and DL in high school. He is projected to play NT or possibly DE for UGA.
Jordan Watkins, DL from Woodward Academy is now down to UGA/Stanford (just recently eliminated UF). It is believed UGA is the team to beat IF Coach Richt is around next year. This kid is really interested in getting into the J-school (journalism) and UGA has a top notch program in his field of study-hey, I know because I am a proud graduate-just don't tell my prof's of my grammer and spelling errors!! Hey, I used to write for the Red and Black years ago. I would write a nice article and by the time editor was finished it was maybe two paragraphs!!! Ok, so Stanford is obviously a great academic school but still, got to like our chances here just not sure when Jordan will make his decision.
I think the current theme on the recruiting front is our opponents are obviously using the "hot seat" to make recruits a little uncomfortable when thinking about UGA. This is why 2011 is a HUGE year for our program. If folks are sick and tired of Coach Richt and staff, fine, just jump off the bandwagon now. If you want to support the program, TRULY support it and trust the folks in power to make the right decisions in regard to our program-ie, firing/hiring coaches. If Mark Richt wins 8 games this year in the regular season, he should come back. Anything below that, I would say, let's take a very deep look into the program. I LOVE Coach Richt, the man he is and I think he is a good football coach as well. I also know that UGA has too much going for it to continue down this slope of losing 5-6 games a year. So, as I continue to say, 2011 is a very critical year for our program and I think most agree. I am ready to get the hot seat CRAP away for good. If a change needs to be made, it will be made. If Coach Richt wins 8-9-10 games, finally teams can stop using that against us (well, they can still use it but it will not be true) and maybe our fans can reunite and be all in, to borrow from our SEC rivals. I think if we have a good year this year, our 2012 class is going to be VERY VERY special. Our 2013 class could be even better than 2011 or 2012.
Today will answer a lot of our redshirt questions, and hopefully give us more of an indication of who will be starting etc. We just have to continue to hope that our team survives without any injuries, the guys hurt now can heal up, then we go out next Saturday in our red power ranger costumes (they honestly are not that bad but just borrowing what others have said about the uniforms), and let the college football world know we are back.
There are some notable injuries as we get closer to the season, although none appear to be serious injuries for now. John Jenkins, Richard Samuel, Malcolm Mitchell, Marlon Brown, Bruce Figgins, and Carlton Thomas all have lingering issues. Of course Thomas is out week one. Isaiah Crowell will be back at 100% for today, and Mitchell actually did a good bit yesterday it appears so he hopefully will be ready to go today. I still believe Crowell will start against Boise State, I have said all along, unless something drastic happens-injury or the kid just doesn't seem ready, he will start. Richt pretty much called it on signing day and thus I have stuck with my prediction this entire time.
Ok, so my blog is all about my opinion, based on what I read and know-it is my blog afterall. But, when it comes to an area that I think most readers are always interested in, RECRUITING, I have a couple sources I use to provide me with some information. I will give them their due always, because these guys know their stuff and honestly, I am email friends with both these guys but I have NO IDEA where or how they get their information-I will just say, both guys have a great track record of being accurate with their thoughts on recruiting. So, let me give those guys, Lowndes and mikkuga, all the credit for any future success I might have on this blog for accurate recruiting information. I am NEVER going to be a guy that has the breaking stories, all I will say is that per my sources, I feel good about so and so. That being said, here is my first recruiting blog info of the season.
John Atkins, DL from Thomson Ga, will make his decison on September 2nd. He is down to UGA, GT, AU, Florida, Clemson. Most believe it is down to UGA/AU. My sources feel very strongly Atkins will anounce for UGA next Friday. So, a little bit about Atkins-dude is BIG, 6'3", 294, athletic enough to play goalie for his high school soccer team. He has played OL, TE, and DL in high school. He is projected to play NT or possibly DE for UGA.
Jordan Watkins, DL from Woodward Academy is now down to UGA/Stanford (just recently eliminated UF). It is believed UGA is the team to beat IF Coach Richt is around next year. This kid is really interested in getting into the J-school (journalism) and UGA has a top notch program in his field of study-hey, I know because I am a proud graduate-just don't tell my prof's of my grammer and spelling errors!! Hey, I used to write for the Red and Black years ago. I would write a nice article and by the time editor was finished it was maybe two paragraphs!!! Ok, so Stanford is obviously a great academic school but still, got to like our chances here just not sure when Jordan will make his decision.
I think the current theme on the recruiting front is our opponents are obviously using the "hot seat" to make recruits a little uncomfortable when thinking about UGA. This is why 2011 is a HUGE year for our program. If folks are sick and tired of Coach Richt and staff, fine, just jump off the bandwagon now. If you want to support the program, TRULY support it and trust the folks in power to make the right decisions in regard to our program-ie, firing/hiring coaches. If Mark Richt wins 8 games this year in the regular season, he should come back. Anything below that, I would say, let's take a very deep look into the program. I LOVE Coach Richt, the man he is and I think he is a good football coach as well. I also know that UGA has too much going for it to continue down this slope of losing 5-6 games a year. So, as I continue to say, 2011 is a very critical year for our program and I think most agree. I am ready to get the hot seat CRAP away for good. If a change needs to be made, it will be made. If Coach Richt wins 8-9-10 games, finally teams can stop using that against us (well, they can still use it but it will not be true) and maybe our fans can reunite and be all in, to borrow from our SEC rivals. I think if we have a good year this year, our 2012 class is going to be VERY VERY special. Our 2013 class could be even better than 2011 or 2012.
Today will answer a lot of our redshirt questions, and hopefully give us more of an indication of who will be starting etc. We just have to continue to hope that our team survives without any injuries, the guys hurt now can heal up, then we go out next Saturday in our red power ranger costumes (they honestly are not that bad but just borrowing what others have said about the uniforms), and let the college football world know we are back.
Monday, August 22, 2011
Back from the Dome, uniforms, Crowell, etc etc etc
I went to the Dome this past Saturday to watch the Grayson-Kell HS game, also watched half of the Brookwood-Lassiter game. First, I got to go down field level with my sons 7 year old Grayson team to watch Grayson HS warm up, never have I felt so SMALL when nearly every HS kid on a football team is bigger than me. I am not a big guy but 5'10" and about 185-190 used to not be so small. It is TINY these days. I am about the same size as Grayson head coach Mickey Conn, who walked on at Bama back in the ealry 90's, probably about the same size as Kirby Smart as well. But, even the small guys in HS these days are BIG to me. Anyway, watching Robert Nkemdiche yet again, WOW, very impressive kid. He is a BIG MAN but is just sooo very athletic it is almost scary. He played with a clubbed hand, he has a thumb issue, but that didn't stop him from dominating the line of scrimmage and also running for 42 yards as a RB, including the games only score, a 5 yard TD run. I think what you notice most about watching him is his quick and powerful explosiveness off the line of scrimmage. He just blows past kids on the HS level. He is also just pure muscle-not an ounce of fat on that kid. Bama will likely get him, Coach Conn is feeling enormous heat to deliver him to his alma mater. That being said, PLENTY of UGA folks in my area and at that HS. His DL coach is from BYU, the LB coach is a big UGA guy. So, I am not giving up hope on him in Athens-because I still believe at any time, without any reason, Nick Saban could bolt Bama. You also have to figure that Kirby Smart is going to leave Bama within the next two years IF that defense continues to play well. Not that Kirby leaving would sway him to UGA if Saban is still over there but let's just say, a lot can happen in two years. I got to see Eddie Printz the QB from Lassiter play against my alma mater Brookwood, defending champs. Brookwood has RB Nick Tompkins-who has committed to Michigan State and Zach Johnson a safety headed to Illinois. Lassiter had a BIG nice looking WR named I believe Duwan Dickey. Printz certainly looks like a D1 type QB, many said he would be the top ranked QB of 2013 but it appears Ramsey has surpassed him. He looks pretty solid to me. But certainly out of the 4 teams I watched, Nkemdiche was by far the most impressive.
The new uniforms were made public at picture day on Saturday. The popular opinion, YUCK. Well, maybe not that strong but certainly it appears a big portion of the fanbase is not thrilled with the new uniforms. The good news, the players like them and it is only one game. The bad news, red on red, just too much red. But, I do kinda dig the helmets-not the LARGE red stripe but the silver with a black G-not a bad look. I think if they would have had silver pants, the overall look would have been acceptable to me and most UGA faithful. But, the all red-again, I have just never been a fan of that look regardless the school. For one game, we can tolerate it and make the best of it. Certainly with all the red in the stands, red on the field, it will be a sea of Red for Boise without question. The dome now has the red and black color scheme insided and out, so it really does have the look of a UGA facility-a UGA home game.
I read that Mr. Crowell, while still wearing a green jersey-to signify he is injured, really impressed his teammates and coaches this weekend in practice. Richard Samuel continues to nurse a quad injury. Bottom line, I will be SHOCKED if Crowell is not the starter in game one. I have been saying that for quite a while now-even Richt said when the kid signed, if he does what he needs to do, I could see him getting that first carry in the dome. I think he told Crowell that during his recruitment-not going to give you the job but if you come in and work, learn the playbook, convince us you can do the job, the job will be yours. I think he has proven that much already and I continue to like what I read about him-he WANTS to be a great player, he wants to do things the right way to be the best he can be. It is clearly obvious this kid has enourmous talent and if he has the work ethic to go with that, we might just have something special.
Reading a little bit about Boise State's scrimmage over the weekend, seems for now they have some concern along the OL, the WR's are not stepping up, they had a bad injury to a TE, the D looks to be dominating the offense. Bottom line to me, Boise will be ready to go when they play in the Dome. They have a 2 game schedule-us and TCU, they have had all summer to look at us and get ready. We WILL get their best but I still think if we play our best, we can and will beat them by 10-14 points. Just my gut feeling, nothing more or less.
Finally, it appears that this Wednesday we might finally get some answers on who will play or redshirt this year. The coaches are supposed to form our scout team by Wednesday as we get closer to game week-and we break off into strictly Boise game prep. I think it is clearly obvious some of the FR that will play-Crowell, Mitchell, Drew, Swann, Moore, Sanders, probably Nick Marshall and Jay Rome. You also could see Andrews and Dantzler but I am just not sure how many more they will play. (Feel sure Herrera will play unless his injury ends up being severe). I know our numbers are down but it will be very interesting to see what the coaches decide to do. But, with those kids mentioned, I believe each would be considered at least 2nd string, at worst 3rd string which puts them in position to play. Also, on the injury front, John Jenkins is now out and who knows how long he will be out. He is a BIG man to have a likely hamstring issue-lot of pressure/weight so that worries me a good bit. Looks like Geathers will be the man to start the year. Let's just keep everyone healthy from hear to Sept. 3rd PLEASE. All for now, hope you all have a great start to your week.
The new uniforms were made public at picture day on Saturday. The popular opinion, YUCK. Well, maybe not that strong but certainly it appears a big portion of the fanbase is not thrilled with the new uniforms. The good news, the players like them and it is only one game. The bad news, red on red, just too much red. But, I do kinda dig the helmets-not the LARGE red stripe but the silver with a black G-not a bad look. I think if they would have had silver pants, the overall look would have been acceptable to me and most UGA faithful. But, the all red-again, I have just never been a fan of that look regardless the school. For one game, we can tolerate it and make the best of it. Certainly with all the red in the stands, red on the field, it will be a sea of Red for Boise without question. The dome now has the red and black color scheme insided and out, so it really does have the look of a UGA facility-a UGA home game.
I read that Mr. Crowell, while still wearing a green jersey-to signify he is injured, really impressed his teammates and coaches this weekend in practice. Richard Samuel continues to nurse a quad injury. Bottom line, I will be SHOCKED if Crowell is not the starter in game one. I have been saying that for quite a while now-even Richt said when the kid signed, if he does what he needs to do, I could see him getting that first carry in the dome. I think he told Crowell that during his recruitment-not going to give you the job but if you come in and work, learn the playbook, convince us you can do the job, the job will be yours. I think he has proven that much already and I continue to like what I read about him-he WANTS to be a great player, he wants to do things the right way to be the best he can be. It is clearly obvious this kid has enourmous talent and if he has the work ethic to go with that, we might just have something special.
Reading a little bit about Boise State's scrimmage over the weekend, seems for now they have some concern along the OL, the WR's are not stepping up, they had a bad injury to a TE, the D looks to be dominating the offense. Bottom line to me, Boise will be ready to go when they play in the Dome. They have a 2 game schedule-us and TCU, they have had all summer to look at us and get ready. We WILL get their best but I still think if we play our best, we can and will beat them by 10-14 points. Just my gut feeling, nothing more or less.
Finally, it appears that this Wednesday we might finally get some answers on who will play or redshirt this year. The coaches are supposed to form our scout team by Wednesday as we get closer to game week-and we break off into strictly Boise game prep. I think it is clearly obvious some of the FR that will play-Crowell, Mitchell, Drew, Swann, Moore, Sanders, probably Nick Marshall and Jay Rome. You also could see Andrews and Dantzler but I am just not sure how many more they will play. (Feel sure Herrera will play unless his injury ends up being severe). I know our numbers are down but it will be very interesting to see what the coaches decide to do. But, with those kids mentioned, I believe each would be considered at least 2nd string, at worst 3rd string which puts them in position to play. Also, on the injury front, John Jenkins is now out and who knows how long he will be out. He is a BIG man to have a likely hamstring issue-lot of pressure/weight so that worries me a good bit. Looks like Geathers will be the man to start the year. Let's just keep everyone healthy from hear to Sept. 3rd PLEASE. All for now, hope you all have a great start to your week.
Thursday, August 18, 2011
Second scrimmage in the books
First let me put the stats from our scrimmage yesterday down (per Seth Emerson's blog), then I will give my take for what it is worth.
RUSHING
Brandon Harton 12-51, long of 17
Ken Malcome 5-10, long of 5
Ok, so we knew that Samuel and Crowell would not be scrimmaging, but what about Thomas? Seems to me this scrimmage, as far as back are concerned, was about seeing which one of these guys would be 3rd team in game one, fourth team in game 2. Granted, Malcome only got 5 carries but if you break down his stats, taking out his long of 5, he had 4 carries for 5 yards-OUCH! As for Harton-the former walkon recently awarded a full ride, take away his long carry of 17, he averarge 3 yards a carry. Not great but not horrible either. Maybe Malcome is still not 100%, maybe he was rushing against the first team D while Harton was against the second team but I guess I just expected more out of Boo. Not giving up on him just yet though.
PASSING
Hutson Mason 13-27, 125 yards
Aaron Murray 11-for-16, 108 yards, 1 TD 1 INT
Christian LeMay 2-3, 12 yards
Judging by the attempts, again it is evident who will be our backup QB. LeMay looks headed for a redshirt year, I just have to think Mason will end up leaving after this year. The kid is a decent QB and can get PT at some smaller schools for sure, maybe even a bigger school. He averaged almost 10 yards a completion. Course he was not very accurate. Muarray average almost the identical yards per completion and was much more accurate although he did toss an INT. Clearly though, this scrimmage was more about getting Mason attempts.
RECEIVING
Israel Troupe 5-50
Rantavious Wooten 5-61, 1 TD
Malcolm Mitchell 3-37
Arthur Lynch 2-35
Two scrimmages, still no stats for TKing or Charles-well, clearly we know what we have in those guys so the coaches are working the other wideouts. Good to see Troupe and Wooten making some plays, also Mitchell and Lynch. Obviously there were others that had catches, considering the QB's completed 26 passes and yet only 15 catches are accounted for in the stats released.
KICKING
Blair Walsh was 4-for-6, long of 49
I heard the snaps were not good yesterday but Walsh does not concern me in the least-he will be steady and solid this year.
DEFENSE
Alec Ogletree 8 (four solo), 1 sack, 1 PD
Shawn Williams 7 (three solo)
Bacarri Rambo 6 (four solo), 1 INT
Jordan Love 6 (four solo)
Brandon Boykin 5 (five solo), 1 PD
Jarvis Jones 5 (two solo), 1 sack
DeAngelo Tyson 5, 1 sack
Damian Swann 4 tackles, 2 PD
Derek Owens 4 tackles, 2 PD
As is becoming usual, Tree leads in tackles again. There is no doubt he is going to be a major force on our D this year. Glad to see Boykin back in the stats, good to see Rambo with a pick.Good numbers for Tyson and Jarvis Jones. Not quite sure what to make of the number of tackles our safeties made-Williams, Rambo, way up there in tackle along with Love as well. Guess when you are completing passes with an average length of 9-10 yards, your safeties are going to make some tackles.
Per Coach Richt, Crowell looks to possibly be back to practice on Friday. I would NOT rush him back, obviously he NEEDS practice, he needs to become more comfortable with his role in the backfield, learn the plays, learn his assignments etc, but first and foremost he needs to be 100%. Groin injuries are a lot like hamstring injuries, if you rush back too soon, you are more likely to pull them again. The tricky part is, as the injury heals, from all accounts a player feels like he is 100% but he might truly only be 80-90%. He comes back too soon and then the next pull is worse than the first one. It is best to play it safe and I have complete confidence in our medical/training staff to make the right decision.
UGA finally suffered its first major injury of fall camp, Jakar Hamilton is done for the year with an ankle break. He does have his redshirt year to use so he can come back for his 5th year next fall if he so chooses. I have no reason to believe he would not want to come back. Hamilton was getting strong looks on special teams and also as a reserve safety. This opens up more PT potentially for our top recruit saftey, Corey Moore.
Finally, here are the Haney predictions as of now for starting offense and defense for Sept. 3rd.
OT-Glenn
OG-Gates
C-Jones
G-Burnette
OT-Anderson
TE-Charles
WR-TKing
WR-Brown
FB-Figgins
TB-Crowell (I have said all along, Richt has told him he would get the first carry of 2011-just my prediction)
QB-Murray
DT-Tyson
NT-Jenkins
DT-Jones
OLB-Jarvis Jones
MLB-Robinson
MLB-Tree
OLB-Washington
CB-Boykin
CB-B. Smith
S-Rambo
S-Williams
RUSHING
Brandon Harton 12-51, long of 17
Ken Malcome 5-10, long of 5
Ok, so we knew that Samuel and Crowell would not be scrimmaging, but what about Thomas? Seems to me this scrimmage, as far as back are concerned, was about seeing which one of these guys would be 3rd team in game one, fourth team in game 2. Granted, Malcome only got 5 carries but if you break down his stats, taking out his long of 5, he had 4 carries for 5 yards-OUCH! As for Harton-the former walkon recently awarded a full ride, take away his long carry of 17, he averarge 3 yards a carry. Not great but not horrible either. Maybe Malcome is still not 100%, maybe he was rushing against the first team D while Harton was against the second team but I guess I just expected more out of Boo. Not giving up on him just yet though.
PASSING
Hutson Mason 13-27, 125 yards
Aaron Murray 11-for-16, 108 yards, 1 TD 1 INT
Christian LeMay 2-3, 12 yards
Judging by the attempts, again it is evident who will be our backup QB. LeMay looks headed for a redshirt year, I just have to think Mason will end up leaving after this year. The kid is a decent QB and can get PT at some smaller schools for sure, maybe even a bigger school. He averaged almost 10 yards a completion. Course he was not very accurate. Muarray average almost the identical yards per completion and was much more accurate although he did toss an INT. Clearly though, this scrimmage was more about getting Mason attempts.
RECEIVING
Israel Troupe 5-50
Rantavious Wooten 5-61, 1 TD
Malcolm Mitchell 3-37
Arthur Lynch 2-35
Two scrimmages, still no stats for TKing or Charles-well, clearly we know what we have in those guys so the coaches are working the other wideouts. Good to see Troupe and Wooten making some plays, also Mitchell and Lynch. Obviously there were others that had catches, considering the QB's completed 26 passes and yet only 15 catches are accounted for in the stats released.
KICKING
Blair Walsh was 4-for-6, long of 49
I heard the snaps were not good yesterday but Walsh does not concern me in the least-he will be steady and solid this year.
DEFENSE
Alec Ogletree 8 (four solo), 1 sack, 1 PD
Shawn Williams 7 (three solo)
Bacarri Rambo 6 (four solo), 1 INT
Jordan Love 6 (four solo)
Brandon Boykin 5 (five solo), 1 PD
Jarvis Jones 5 (two solo), 1 sack
DeAngelo Tyson 5, 1 sack
Damian Swann 4 tackles, 2 PD
Derek Owens 4 tackles, 2 PD
As is becoming usual, Tree leads in tackles again. There is no doubt he is going to be a major force on our D this year. Glad to see Boykin back in the stats, good to see Rambo with a pick.Good numbers for Tyson and Jarvis Jones. Not quite sure what to make of the number of tackles our safeties made-Williams, Rambo, way up there in tackle along with Love as well. Guess when you are completing passes with an average length of 9-10 yards, your safeties are going to make some tackles.
Per Coach Richt, Crowell looks to possibly be back to practice on Friday. I would NOT rush him back, obviously he NEEDS practice, he needs to become more comfortable with his role in the backfield, learn the plays, learn his assignments etc, but first and foremost he needs to be 100%. Groin injuries are a lot like hamstring injuries, if you rush back too soon, you are more likely to pull them again. The tricky part is, as the injury heals, from all accounts a player feels like he is 100% but he might truly only be 80-90%. He comes back too soon and then the next pull is worse than the first one. It is best to play it safe and I have complete confidence in our medical/training staff to make the right decision.
UGA finally suffered its first major injury of fall camp, Jakar Hamilton is done for the year with an ankle break. He does have his redshirt year to use so he can come back for his 5th year next fall if he so chooses. I have no reason to believe he would not want to come back. Hamilton was getting strong looks on special teams and also as a reserve safety. This opens up more PT potentially for our top recruit saftey, Corey Moore.
Finally, here are the Haney predictions as of now for starting offense and defense for Sept. 3rd.
OT-Glenn
OG-Gates
C-Jones
G-Burnette
OT-Anderson
TE-Charles
WR-TKing
WR-Brown
FB-Figgins
TB-Crowell (I have said all along, Richt has told him he would get the first carry of 2011-just my prediction)
QB-Murray
DT-Tyson
NT-Jenkins
DT-Jones
OLB-Jarvis Jones
MLB-Robinson
MLB-Tree
OLB-Washington
CB-Boykin
CB-B. Smith
S-Rambo
S-Williams
Wednesday, August 17, 2011
Only a few more days until we get to see the uniforms, back to practice today
Lots of speculation about the pro combat NIKE uniforms to be worn at the Dome on Sept. 3rd. I have read up on it and based on the "rumors", here is the look that most "insiders" seem to believe. I get this from Cranford's sport blog, but have read similar stories from various other folks on message boards etc. who claim players have spilled the beans-so, take below with a grain of salt.
The basic understanding is that the uniforms will feature the flat silver helmets with a red stripe, and current placement of the "G" logo. The jersey and pant combination will be all red. The collar will feature a faint dog bone outline a la Bama's houndstooth pattern. Facemasks will be red.
I am NOT a fan of red pants and red jersey. I do kinda like the silver helmet however, because that was one of the old traditional looks of UGA football. In fact back in the 40's, 50's and part of the 60's, UGA did sport the silver helmet but never has the silver helmet had the "G" on it as Dooley brought that in when he came as our coach, also changing the helmet to red. So, again, for a one game deal in a non conference game, I think it will be very interesting to see. Course only a few more days until we officially know if the speculation is true.
The football team had Tuesday off, so two out of the last two days off-a rarity for college football teams this time of the year. Considering all the lingering injuries, hopefully the break came at the right time. I continue to read a lot of positive about the team in the preseason articles. I have recently read articles about Ben Jones and Aaron Murray, along with Arthur Lynch a few others. What I really liked about the Ben Jones articles was the fact this kid, who has started since day one for us, is REALLY taking a leader role and not only helping our offensive linemen, also helping NT John Jenkins, as well as our freshmen class. Jenkins has asked Jones for help and Jones is happy to assist him-a good sign that Jenkins is asking one of the best centers in the SEC some tips to help him. Jones is also helping map class schedules for the freshmen players, circling classes and mapping out bus routes and best ways of transportation around campus. Arthur Lynch mentions talking to Todd Grantham, about how the Cowboys defended Jason Witten-your position coach can teach you proper techniques and the plays etc but going across the line to ask for help, as both Jenkins and Lynch have done, I think that is a great idea. I am sure there are many more examples of this as well.
A few other tidbits for today-
UGA will check out the reports of UGA TE Orson Charles being named in a Yahoo sports report in relation to illegal benefits given to student-athletes at U of Miama, Fla. Charles visited the school during his HS career, along with his head coach at Plant, but to me it appears VERY UNLIKELY anything will come of this in regards to Charles.
ESPN announced its Super Tuesday hoops schedule yesterday, Mark Fox and company will play two TOUGH games on Tuesday nights. Below is the full schedule announced-
Finally, for UGA baseball, several key players from last year that were drafted, turned down the pros to come back for their senior season. Great news for Coach Perno whom I think will be under a tight watch by AD McGarity this season.
http://dogbytesonline.com/senior-nucleus-remains-after-draft-47745/
The basic understanding is that the uniforms will feature the flat silver helmets with a red stripe, and current placement of the "G" logo. The jersey and pant combination will be all red. The collar will feature a faint dog bone outline a la Bama's houndstooth pattern. Facemasks will be red.
I am NOT a fan of red pants and red jersey. I do kinda like the silver helmet however, because that was one of the old traditional looks of UGA football. In fact back in the 40's, 50's and part of the 60's, UGA did sport the silver helmet but never has the silver helmet had the "G" on it as Dooley brought that in when he came as our coach, also changing the helmet to red. So, again, for a one game deal in a non conference game, I think it will be very interesting to see. Course only a few more days until we officially know if the speculation is true.
The football team had Tuesday off, so two out of the last two days off-a rarity for college football teams this time of the year. Considering all the lingering injuries, hopefully the break came at the right time. I continue to read a lot of positive about the team in the preseason articles. I have recently read articles about Ben Jones and Aaron Murray, along with Arthur Lynch a few others. What I really liked about the Ben Jones articles was the fact this kid, who has started since day one for us, is REALLY taking a leader role and not only helping our offensive linemen, also helping NT John Jenkins, as well as our freshmen class. Jenkins has asked Jones for help and Jones is happy to assist him-a good sign that Jenkins is asking one of the best centers in the SEC some tips to help him. Jones is also helping map class schedules for the freshmen players, circling classes and mapping out bus routes and best ways of transportation around campus. Arthur Lynch mentions talking to Todd Grantham, about how the Cowboys defended Jason Witten-your position coach can teach you proper techniques and the plays etc but going across the line to ask for help, as both Jenkins and Lynch have done, I think that is a great idea. I am sure there are many more examples of this as well.
A few other tidbits for today-
UGA will check out the reports of UGA TE Orson Charles being named in a Yahoo sports report in relation to illegal benefits given to student-athletes at U of Miama, Fla. Charles visited the school during his HS career, along with his head coach at Plant, but to me it appears VERY UNLIKELY anything will come of this in regards to Charles.
ESPN announced its Super Tuesday hoops schedule yesterday, Mark Fox and company will play two TOUGH games on Tuesday nights. Below is the full schedule announced-
| Date | Time (ET) | Game |
| Jan 10 | 7 p.m. | Georgia at Florida |
| Jan 17 | 9 p.m. | Arkansas at Kentucky |
| Jan 24 | 9 p.m. | Kentucky at Georgia |
| Jan 31 | 9 p.m. | Vanderbilt at Arkansas |
| Feb 7 | 7 p.m. | Florida at Kentucky |
| Feb 14 | 7 p.m. | Florida at Alabama |
| Feb 21 | 9 p.m. | Kentucky at Mississippi State |
| Feb 28 | 9 p.m. | Florida at Vanderbilt |
Finally, for UGA baseball, several key players from last year that were drafted, turned down the pros to come back for their senior season. Great news for Coach Perno whom I think will be under a tight watch by AD McGarity this season.
http://dogbytesonline.com/senior-nucleus-remains-after-draft-47745/
Monday, August 15, 2011
School starst today in Athens, injuries not serious, A&M hopefully NOT in
Wow, we sit now at least than 3 weeks to kickoff and school officially starts in Athens today. The team took Sunday off, first day off since the start of camp back in early August. I think the day off will do the guys a lot of good, as it appeared injuries were a big part of the late week practices. Of course Crowell has a slight groin injury, Samuel a quad injury, several guys-Boykin being one, has had hamstring problems. The good news on the injury front, none of our injuries so far have been serious. Nagging injuries can be annoying because each day of practice missed is opportunities to get better but still, I will take nagging injuries above the injuries where a player is lost for weeks or even the year.
It appeared likely Texas A&M would be joining the SEC as soon as 2012 but, as Lee Corso likes to say, NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND. The SEC presidents met yesterday in the ATL and reported for NOW they are happy with just 12 members of the SEC. This is all subject to change of course. I know the SEC would love to expand to Texas because of the TV markets in that state but I don't like going there. It does not help that much in recruiting in my mind, LSU, Arky are the prime states that would recruit in that state currently. I think perhaps a few other schools might try to dip into that Texas talent but in states like Ga and Fla, why go after a Texas kid when you have a kid just as good in your backyard. It also opens up a can of worms in thinking about who else gets an offer. Everyone knows the SEC will not stop at 13, will they go to 14 or will they go to 16. Who gets the invites, rumors of Missouri, Clemson and FSU have been swirling. I personally like adding Clemson and FSU more than A&M and Missouri. But, money is the reason for all this expansion talk in my mind, the new contracts out there for the Big10-now up to 12 teams, and the Pac10-now up to 12 teams, makes the SEC want to jump and do something to get an even bigger TV deal-at least call for renegotiation of the current deal. Between the ESPN and the NCAA, college football will NEVER be the same and what a shame that truly is. Don't get me wrong, now that I have kids in fall sports, TV is the only way I can typically watch a UGA game these days so I am glad nearly all games are on the tube. But, the money, greed, and power of ESPN and NCAA is just too much in my opinion.
A few notes as I close today. Thanks to attrition and UGA NOT oversigning as do several of our rivals, Coach Richt got to award 8 full rides to walkon players. See below.
-BardonHarton soph, who has been getting reps ahead of Ken Malcome in practice.
- Blake Sailors, soph who has been a special teams standout.
- Taylor Bradberry, a junior receiver
- Matthew DeGenova, a senior outside linebacker
- Josh Bodin, a junior guard
- Eric Elliot, a senior cornerback
- Wes Van Dyk, a junior tailback
- Jason Veal, a senior linebacker.
As you notice, only 3 of the 8 are seniors which means, more than likely most of these kids will only get this financial help for one year. But, Richt having the ability to do this, what a great move and I am sure it quite a big moment for these kids to take that pressure off Mom and Dad, if only for a year. Of course there are other walkons that don't get this great opportunity BUT, it does give them hope that it could be them one year.
Just reading this morning, Ray Drew injured is shoulder in a scooter accident on his way back to campus from church yesterday. He is listed as day to day. This follows the scooter accident of Derrick Lott during the summer, Lott is now back at practie by the way. I always thought motorcyles were dangerous but scooters were not a worry in my book, didn't think they went fast enough to do much, if any, damage. But, obviously they are indeed dangerous. Maybe we need to institute for the players driving scooters, they must pass drivers ed for scooter class??
I was watching a little bit of an NFL game the other night, Chargers/Seahawks. Course disappointed that Kris Durham was injured and didn't get to play for the Seahawks but WOW, Darryl Gamble really played well for the Chargers-undrafted free agent. Good for him and I hope he can make the club. If he has another outing like his first, I would say he should make it to final cuts for sure.
Crowell met the media for the first last week and while he admitted he did not like to talk, he didn't shy away from any questions and from the answers given, the kid appears to have a good head on his shoulders-and he certainly is confident he can come in and make a difference from day 1. He think he can do just as good a job as Lattimore did for SCarolina last year. He said his jersey number is not a big deal, both he and Branden Smith have said essentially the same thing so this leads me to believe a number change WILL be made in the next couple weeks.
Jay Rome has said he wants to play this year but then also says he would be ok if he has to redshirt. This has been a big topic for debate amoung UGA faithful. The kid is obviously a great talent BUT he also plays a position that has to be considered our strongest in terms of talent and depth. You have a potential All American TE in Orson Charles, a senior in Aron White that has played quality minutes his entire career, you also have a redshirted Arthur Lynch who is about as physical a speicman as you will ever see at the TE position. You have a converted tight end also logging snaps at fullback, H-back position. Where does Rome fit in. After this year, we know we lose Figgins and White, I personally believe Charles will be gone as well. You then have Lynch and Rome. The question remains, is it better to have Rome as a soph with maybe a few snaps, or a redshirt FR with zero snaps. I lean towards a redshirt but if the coaches can find a way to get him in the game, why not play him. It is not like UGA will likely ever have a problem recruiting at that position.
The latest I have heard on Kent Turene, besides the fact it appears he will not be attending UGA this fall, he will go to prep school for one semister, get his classes out of the way-evidently that is the problem, he didn't make the grade in some classes or something didn't work out with his class work, not his test scores. He will then enroll in Jan. Sounds like a good plan to me, let's hope that works out.
I will be attending the Grayson-Kell game at the Ga. Dome on Saturday. My son plays for the Grayson football program, but no doubt I will be keeping an eye on Robert Nkemdiche. I still think he will end up at Bama but our class of 2013 (Robert's class) IS shaping up to be a great one to start with. Tray Matthews from Newnan is the latest to join the committed class of 2013 which includes the top QB and potential top player in Ga in Brice Ramsey of Camden County, potential top player in Florida, RB Derrick Henry, and a top WR in SC Tramel Terry. It is a long time until Robert makes a decision and of course his big bro is now at Ole Miss but I will be very surprised if Robert ends up in Oxford. If so, that is fine by me because we will not play Ole Miss during Robert's time there unless it is in the SEC title game-we play Miss this year and next year of course. My alma mater Brookwood will play also at the dome on Saturday, trying to defend their state title from last year. Not sure if I will stick around for that or not but it will be cool to be in the Dome-and thinking about how that place will be rocking exactly two weeks from when I am in there.
This upcoming Saturday is also picture day in Athens, the new uniforms will be on display. I am excited to see what they will look like, I just hope they don't look totally different than our traditional look. A little change is ok, but let's not totally go away from tradition either. I am not a big fan of the Oregon stuff and that is what I am afraid of I guess, since we are talking Nike. The players of course love them but with me getting older by the second, that is not really comforting to me because I find I don't have much in common with the kids of today!! All for now, have a great day.
It appeared likely Texas A&M would be joining the SEC as soon as 2012 but, as Lee Corso likes to say, NOT SO FAST MY FRIEND. The SEC presidents met yesterday in the ATL and reported for NOW they are happy with just 12 members of the SEC. This is all subject to change of course. I know the SEC would love to expand to Texas because of the TV markets in that state but I don't like going there. It does not help that much in recruiting in my mind, LSU, Arky are the prime states that would recruit in that state currently. I think perhaps a few other schools might try to dip into that Texas talent but in states like Ga and Fla, why go after a Texas kid when you have a kid just as good in your backyard. It also opens up a can of worms in thinking about who else gets an offer. Everyone knows the SEC will not stop at 13, will they go to 14 or will they go to 16. Who gets the invites, rumors of Missouri, Clemson and FSU have been swirling. I personally like adding Clemson and FSU more than A&M and Missouri. But, money is the reason for all this expansion talk in my mind, the new contracts out there for the Big10-now up to 12 teams, and the Pac10-now up to 12 teams, makes the SEC want to jump and do something to get an even bigger TV deal-at least call for renegotiation of the current deal. Between the ESPN and the NCAA, college football will NEVER be the same and what a shame that truly is. Don't get me wrong, now that I have kids in fall sports, TV is the only way I can typically watch a UGA game these days so I am glad nearly all games are on the tube. But, the money, greed, and power of ESPN and NCAA is just too much in my opinion.
A few notes as I close today. Thanks to attrition and UGA NOT oversigning as do several of our rivals, Coach Richt got to award 8 full rides to walkon players. See below.
-BardonHarton soph, who has been getting reps ahead of Ken Malcome in practice.
- Blake Sailors, soph who has been a special teams standout.
- Taylor Bradberry, a junior receiver
- Matthew DeGenova, a senior outside linebacker
- Josh Bodin, a junior guard
- Eric Elliot, a senior cornerback
- Wes Van Dyk, a junior tailback
- Jason Veal, a senior linebacker.
As you notice, only 3 of the 8 are seniors which means, more than likely most of these kids will only get this financial help for one year. But, Richt having the ability to do this, what a great move and I am sure it quite a big moment for these kids to take that pressure off Mom and Dad, if only for a year. Of course there are other walkons that don't get this great opportunity BUT, it does give them hope that it could be them one year.
Just reading this morning, Ray Drew injured is shoulder in a scooter accident on his way back to campus from church yesterday. He is listed as day to day. This follows the scooter accident of Derrick Lott during the summer, Lott is now back at practie by the way. I always thought motorcyles were dangerous but scooters were not a worry in my book, didn't think they went fast enough to do much, if any, damage. But, obviously they are indeed dangerous. Maybe we need to institute for the players driving scooters, they must pass drivers ed for scooter class??
I was watching a little bit of an NFL game the other night, Chargers/Seahawks. Course disappointed that Kris Durham was injured and didn't get to play for the Seahawks but WOW, Darryl Gamble really played well for the Chargers-undrafted free agent. Good for him and I hope he can make the club. If he has another outing like his first, I would say he should make it to final cuts for sure.
Crowell met the media for the first last week and while he admitted he did not like to talk, he didn't shy away from any questions and from the answers given, the kid appears to have a good head on his shoulders-and he certainly is confident he can come in and make a difference from day 1. He think he can do just as good a job as Lattimore did for SCarolina last year. He said his jersey number is not a big deal, both he and Branden Smith have said essentially the same thing so this leads me to believe a number change WILL be made in the next couple weeks.
Jay Rome has said he wants to play this year but then also says he would be ok if he has to redshirt. This has been a big topic for debate amoung UGA faithful. The kid is obviously a great talent BUT he also plays a position that has to be considered our strongest in terms of talent and depth. You have a potential All American TE in Orson Charles, a senior in Aron White that has played quality minutes his entire career, you also have a redshirted Arthur Lynch who is about as physical a speicman as you will ever see at the TE position. You have a converted tight end also logging snaps at fullback, H-back position. Where does Rome fit in. After this year, we know we lose Figgins and White, I personally believe Charles will be gone as well. You then have Lynch and Rome. The question remains, is it better to have Rome as a soph with maybe a few snaps, or a redshirt FR with zero snaps. I lean towards a redshirt but if the coaches can find a way to get him in the game, why not play him. It is not like UGA will likely ever have a problem recruiting at that position.
The latest I have heard on Kent Turene, besides the fact it appears he will not be attending UGA this fall, he will go to prep school for one semister, get his classes out of the way-evidently that is the problem, he didn't make the grade in some classes or something didn't work out with his class work, not his test scores. He will then enroll in Jan. Sounds like a good plan to me, let's hope that works out.
I will be attending the Grayson-Kell game at the Ga. Dome on Saturday. My son plays for the Grayson football program, but no doubt I will be keeping an eye on Robert Nkemdiche. I still think he will end up at Bama but our class of 2013 (Robert's class) IS shaping up to be a great one to start with. Tray Matthews from Newnan is the latest to join the committed class of 2013 which includes the top QB and potential top player in Ga in Brice Ramsey of Camden County, potential top player in Florida, RB Derrick Henry, and a top WR in SC Tramel Terry. It is a long time until Robert makes a decision and of course his big bro is now at Ole Miss but I will be very surprised if Robert ends up in Oxford. If so, that is fine by me because we will not play Ole Miss during Robert's time there unless it is in the SEC title game-we play Miss this year and next year of course. My alma mater Brookwood will play also at the dome on Saturday, trying to defend their state title from last year. Not sure if I will stick around for that or not but it will be cool to be in the Dome-and thinking about how that place will be rocking exactly two weeks from when I am in there.
This upcoming Saturday is also picture day in Athens, the new uniforms will be on display. I am excited to see what they will look like, I just hope they don't look totally different than our traditional look. A little change is ok, but let's not totally go away from tradition either. I am not a big fan of the Oregon stuff and that is what I am afraid of I guess, since we are talking Nike. The players of course love them but with me getting older by the second, that is not really comforting to me because I find I don't have much in common with the kids of today!! All for now, have a great day.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Looks like the 1st team is pretty good, second team-hard to say
Yesterday was the first scrimmage of the fall (summer) and they matched up #1 offense against #2 defense and then vice versa, #2 offense against #1 defense. In case you missed it, here are the stats from the scrimmage, per Seth Emerson's blog.
RUSHING
Isaih Crowell: 13 for 84 yards and a TD, a long of 15 yds
Samuel 11 for 82 yards, a long of 33 yds
Ken Malcome 12 for 19 yards, 8 long
Carlton Thomas 8 for 21 yards, 6 long
PASSING
Quarterback Aaron Murray was 9-for-15 for 100 yards.
Hutson Mason 5-of-19 for 59 yards, and one TD.
Christian LeMay 2-for-4 for 17 yards.
RECEIVING
Aron White 3-47, long of 32
Samuel, 3 for 32, long of 14
Marlon Brown 2-46, long of 35
Jay Rome, 2-for-22, long of 12
Bradberry, 1 for 20, 1 TD
KICKING
Blair Walsh was seven for eight on FGs, with a 58-yarder
Brandon Bogotay kicked a 68-yarder in warmups off the ground.
DEFENSE
LB Alec Ogletree had eight tackles.
LB Mike Gilliard had seven tackles.
Herrera had three unassisted tackles, four assisted, and the long fumble recovery
LB Jarvis Jones four unassisted tackles, six total, and three sacks
DE Abry Jones, four unassisted tackles, five total, one sack and a pass break-up
I would be more excited with Crowell and Samuel's numbers had they been against the #1-of course I would be alarmed if they ran like that on our number 1 D. What was interesting is that Mitchell is not listed with any catches at least in any stats I have seen, nor is Tavarres King-I figure those two might very well be our best two WR's. Also nothing from Orson Charles. So, maybe we are to take from this first scrimmage, at least for those three guys I mentioned, the plays were not called for them or they didn't play much. I would hope that at some point, we will scrimmage 1's against 1's, I just think that is how you get better-maybe that will come down the road. As for the defense, I think the fact that the top tacklers were all linebackers, VERY good news. Why? Because the 3-4 defense is by design supposed to feature the 'backers. The DL clogs up the OL, the LB's are free to run and make plays. Sounds like Herrera is playing second team LB with him grabbing the Samuel fumble and running it back for a TD. Speaking of that, Samuel did drop the ball a few times when he last played running back and while I am not going to worry about his fumbling as of yet after just one scrimmage, it is something to keep an eye on. We all know just how costly fumbles were to our season last year-three games immediately jump out where fumbles just crushed, at South Carolina, at Miss State and at Colorado. One thing that does surprise me a bit, Crowell had a long of 15. With his burst/speed, I am surprised he didn't have a longer run than that. So, if you take away his 15 yard run, you have 69 yards on 12 carries, or 5.75 yards per tote. You take away Samuel's long of 33, you have 49 yards on 10 carries, obviously a 4.9 yards per carry. Murray was pretty efficient with his passing, 9 completions for 100 yards, 11 yards a completion essentially. Interesting to see that Mason threw a TD but he completed on 5 of 19 passes against the first team d. If you truly break down the numbers, just based on what stats given and ASSuming players only played on the #1 offense or #2 offense, it breaks down like this.
#1 offense/against #2 defense
Rushing yards 24-166 yards, nearly 7 yards a carry
Passing yards 9-15 100 yards, like mentioned 11 yards per completion.
So, 39 plays total, for 266 yards, about 6.8 yards per play.
#2 offense/against #1 defense
Rushing yards 20-40 yards, 2 yards a carry
Passing yards 7-23 76 yards nearly 11 yards per completion.
Here you have 43 plays for a total of 116 yards, 2.69 yards per play.
So, the defense ruled the day, going against the #2 offense. The #1 offense did fine but going against the #2 defense. Again, until we have the best 22 out on the field, it is really hard to read much more into the scrimmage. One key stat though, NO significant injuries which is always a great thing to read.
RUSHING
Isaih Crowell: 13 for 84 yards and a TD, a long of 15 yds
Samuel 11 for 82 yards, a long of 33 yds
Ken Malcome 12 for 19 yards, 8 long
Carlton Thomas 8 for 21 yards, 6 long
PASSING
Quarterback Aaron Murray was 9-for-15 for 100 yards.
Hutson Mason 5-of-19 for 59 yards, and one TD.
Christian LeMay 2-for-4 for 17 yards.
RECEIVING
Aron White 3-47, long of 32
Samuel, 3 for 32, long of 14
Marlon Brown 2-46, long of 35
Jay Rome, 2-for-22, long of 12
Bradberry, 1 for 20, 1 TD
KICKING
Blair Walsh was seven for eight on FGs, with a 58-yarder
Brandon Bogotay kicked a 68-yarder in warmups off the ground.
DEFENSE
LB Alec Ogletree had eight tackles.
LB Mike Gilliard had seven tackles.
Herrera had three unassisted tackles, four assisted, and the long fumble recovery
LB Jarvis Jones four unassisted tackles, six total, and three sacks
DE Abry Jones, four unassisted tackles, five total, one sack and a pass break-up
I would be more excited with Crowell and Samuel's numbers had they been against the #1-of course I would be alarmed if they ran like that on our number 1 D. What was interesting is that Mitchell is not listed with any catches at least in any stats I have seen, nor is Tavarres King-I figure those two might very well be our best two WR's. Also nothing from Orson Charles. So, maybe we are to take from this first scrimmage, at least for those three guys I mentioned, the plays were not called for them or they didn't play much. I would hope that at some point, we will scrimmage 1's against 1's, I just think that is how you get better-maybe that will come down the road. As for the defense, I think the fact that the top tacklers were all linebackers, VERY good news. Why? Because the 3-4 defense is by design supposed to feature the 'backers. The DL clogs up the OL, the LB's are free to run and make plays. Sounds like Herrera is playing second team LB with him grabbing the Samuel fumble and running it back for a TD. Speaking of that, Samuel did drop the ball a few times when he last played running back and while I am not going to worry about his fumbling as of yet after just one scrimmage, it is something to keep an eye on. We all know just how costly fumbles were to our season last year-three games immediately jump out where fumbles just crushed, at South Carolina, at Miss State and at Colorado. One thing that does surprise me a bit, Crowell had a long of 15. With his burst/speed, I am surprised he didn't have a longer run than that. So, if you take away his 15 yard run, you have 69 yards on 12 carries, or 5.75 yards per tote. You take away Samuel's long of 33, you have 49 yards on 10 carries, obviously a 4.9 yards per carry. Murray was pretty efficient with his passing, 9 completions for 100 yards, 11 yards a completion essentially. Interesting to see that Mason threw a TD but he completed on 5 of 19 passes against the first team d. If you truly break down the numbers, just based on what stats given and ASSuming players only played on the #1 offense or #2 offense, it breaks down like this.
#1 offense/against #2 defense
Rushing yards 24-166 yards, nearly 7 yards a carry
Passing yards 9-15 100 yards, like mentioned 11 yards per completion.
So, 39 plays total, for 266 yards, about 6.8 yards per play.
#2 offense/against #1 defense
Rushing yards 20-40 yards, 2 yards a carry
Passing yards 7-23 76 yards nearly 11 yards per completion.
Here you have 43 plays for a total of 116 yards, 2.69 yards per play.
So, the defense ruled the day, going against the #2 offense. The #1 offense did fine but going against the #2 defense. Again, until we have the best 22 out on the field, it is really hard to read much more into the scrimmage. One key stat though, NO significant injuries which is always a great thing to read.
Wednesday, August 10, 2011
A great Tuesday for UGA football and basketball
In case you have been hiding under a rock and don't know, Jarvis Jones was cleared by the NCAA yesterday-he will be eligible to play all season. Obviously a shot in the arm for the defense because Jarvis is a special talent and will certainly make a big impact on our defense. I have thought all along he SHOULD be cleared but until that word is official, you never know with the NCAA. I am just thankful this is resolved now, and our coaches can move forward. It appears at this point, only Carlton Thomas will miss game 1 due to any suspensions, encouraging for UGA football. Now, that is not to say something still couldn't happen and of course we might have someone miss due to injury-let's hope not, but that cloud has been lifted and it feels good to know JJ will be there against a very high powered offense. Still nothing officially ruling out Kent Turene from making his way to Athens-until I hear that he is 100% not coming, I will not give up home there.
A quick note on the hoops front, I did not mention previously about our first 2012 commitment Charles Mann, so I will mention him now along with our second verbal, Kenny Gaines. Great work by Coach Fox and staff, these two guys are solid players, solid guards and with us losing Robinson and Ware after this season, great to grab a few guys that hopefully can come right in and play. Mann is a 6'5" guard, many project as a point guard, while Gaines is listed at 6'4" shooting guard. Both are ranked in the Rivals top 150, Gaines at 109 and Mann at 140. Both are listed as 3 star players. Now, granted, you look at that and you think, 3 star players, yes but these guys were recruited by a LOT of major schools and are local players staying home. That is a GREAT, and I mean GREAT sign for UGA hoops. These two guys, in the rivals top 25 in the state of Ga, sit at #7 Gaines, and #10 Mann. We still have a shot at #1 Shaq Goodwin-although he wants to play both football and basketball, most seem to think he should stick with hoops only. Also, potentially we could have a shot at #2 Robert Carter, he has transfered to Shiloh high school in Gwinnett, much closer to Athens than his old school, Thomasville. #4 Marcus Hunt plays AAU ball with Gaines, could Gaines help us land this kid-also, he is buddies with current football FR, Armarlo Herrera. Any way you slice it, we have two more spots open and we have a chance to grab another 1 or 2 top rated kids in our home state. I have been on Fox for his recruiting, I still think he needs to really work hard at completing this class and I feel like he can move forward with confidence after landing these two kids. BUT, he must close out strong.
Today is the first scrimmage of the fall, should be very interesting to see how each side of the ball competes. I wish they would go 1 against 1 and 2 and against 2 but I doubt that happens. I just hope we don't have any injuries, anytime a scrimmage happens, that is always a concern but you have to scrimmage to get the guys ready.
A quick note on the hoops front, I did not mention previously about our first 2012 commitment Charles Mann, so I will mention him now along with our second verbal, Kenny Gaines. Great work by Coach Fox and staff, these two guys are solid players, solid guards and with us losing Robinson and Ware after this season, great to grab a few guys that hopefully can come right in and play. Mann is a 6'5" guard, many project as a point guard, while Gaines is listed at 6'4" shooting guard. Both are ranked in the Rivals top 150, Gaines at 109 and Mann at 140. Both are listed as 3 star players. Now, granted, you look at that and you think, 3 star players, yes but these guys were recruited by a LOT of major schools and are local players staying home. That is a GREAT, and I mean GREAT sign for UGA hoops. These two guys, in the rivals top 25 in the state of Ga, sit at #7 Gaines, and #10 Mann. We still have a shot at #1 Shaq Goodwin-although he wants to play both football and basketball, most seem to think he should stick with hoops only. Also, potentially we could have a shot at #2 Robert Carter, he has transfered to Shiloh high school in Gwinnett, much closer to Athens than his old school, Thomasville. #4 Marcus Hunt plays AAU ball with Gaines, could Gaines help us land this kid-also, he is buddies with current football FR, Armarlo Herrera. Any way you slice it, we have two more spots open and we have a chance to grab another 1 or 2 top rated kids in our home state. I have been on Fox for his recruiting, I still think he needs to really work hard at completing this class and I feel like he can move forward with confidence after landing these two kids. BUT, he must close out strong.
Today is the first scrimmage of the fall, should be very interesting to see how each side of the ball competes. I wish they would go 1 against 1 and 2 and against 2 but I doubt that happens. I just hope we don't have any injuries, anytime a scrimmage happens, that is always a concern but you have to scrimmage to get the guys ready.
Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Sounds as if we can make some predictions after only a few days
Looking at some of the information coming out of fall (summer) camp thus far, a few thoughts I have about the upcoming season.
-the NT position is in good hands as Jenkins was assumed to be the starter when he signed but Geathers is picking up where he left off in spring. Geathers has NFL in his blood, that family is NFL material and I think Kwame is finally starting to smell it. He is redshirt soph after all.
-Crowell is going to be pretty special. Defenders are already saying it is hard to get a good lick on him, coaches are already praising his work ethic and the fact he is picking up the offense pretty quickly. All good signs after the reports from some "insiders" that this kid was lazy druing the summer.
-Mitchell is drawing praise and criticism from the HEAD COACH. Folks, if Mark Richt is paying you close attention and you are a freshman WR, you must be pretty good. He is on your rear because he is coaching you up and has big expectations.
-a couple of our young OL are playing/picking things up well enough to provide us with some valuable DEPTH on the OL-David Andrews and Watts Dantzler. That is certainly encouraging because we NEED it badly.
-Branden Smith is going to push for a starting nod at corner. 5 INT's in one practice session, Richt has been quoted as saying he is playing great football. Look for Sanders Commings to move to safety and start there along with Rambo. Commings could also start at nickle corner.
-It appears that Hutson Mason is going to back up Murray with LeMay getting a redshirt. This is what I would prefer but I feel bad for Mason. I look for him to transfer after this year to a place where he can have a chance to start-maybe a smaller school but I think the kid has some talent but unless Murray is injured, he will only see mop up duty during his career.
-Still waiting to hear about Jarvis Jones, per Richt Kent Turene appears to not be headed our way. I am still not giving up hope because it took a long time for Kwame Geathers to get cleared. But, certainly if he does report, he will probably have to redshirt.
-It appears Mike Gilliard is making a strong push at inside LB. Good for him, he has put in the time and played well on special teams so now he will get a shot to get PT at LB. Also, Chase Vasser is playing behind Jarvis Jones, encouraging to see this.
-As of right now, I think you can clearly state the following true FR WILL play this year-Crowell, Drew, Herrera, Sanders, Swann, Marshall, Dantzler, Andrews, Mitchell and Rome. You could see a few more join in this group, Corey Moore and Chris Conley perhaps.
-Several players are nursing hamstring injuries, including Brandon Boykin. Overall, though, health has been in good shape to this point, granted no scrimmages yet but knock on wood to this point.
Gameday will not be in ATL for the Boise game, instead at Cowboy stadium for LSU/Oregon. That is ok, I would prefer them not be around. It seems to me we don't play well when they pick our game as the game of the day. The UGA/Boise game is still going to get a lot of attention and I think honestly for the most part because of Boise. Folks are still looking for validation that Boise is a program worthy to be playing in BCS games, and beating an SEC team basically on the road would do wonders for the Boise program. Not to mention, besides our game with Boise, they have really only one other roadblock to an unbeaten season, playing TCU-which will be minus their star QB this year. No doubt Boise will be favored-or at least I would think they would be, and most media I imagine will pick Boise. IF we can win this game, it will do wonders for the confidence of our program, both players and fans. Granted, if I had to pick one of the first two to win it would be week 2, but from a standpoint of confidence/pysche of a program, game one for us is huge.
-the NT position is in good hands as Jenkins was assumed to be the starter when he signed but Geathers is picking up where he left off in spring. Geathers has NFL in his blood, that family is NFL material and I think Kwame is finally starting to smell it. He is redshirt soph after all.
-Crowell is going to be pretty special. Defenders are already saying it is hard to get a good lick on him, coaches are already praising his work ethic and the fact he is picking up the offense pretty quickly. All good signs after the reports from some "insiders" that this kid was lazy druing the summer.
-Mitchell is drawing praise and criticism from the HEAD COACH. Folks, if Mark Richt is paying you close attention and you are a freshman WR, you must be pretty good. He is on your rear because he is coaching you up and has big expectations.
-a couple of our young OL are playing/picking things up well enough to provide us with some valuable DEPTH on the OL-David Andrews and Watts Dantzler. That is certainly encouraging because we NEED it badly.
-Branden Smith is going to push for a starting nod at corner. 5 INT's in one practice session, Richt has been quoted as saying he is playing great football. Look for Sanders Commings to move to safety and start there along with Rambo. Commings could also start at nickle corner.
-It appears that Hutson Mason is going to back up Murray with LeMay getting a redshirt. This is what I would prefer but I feel bad for Mason. I look for him to transfer after this year to a place where he can have a chance to start-maybe a smaller school but I think the kid has some talent but unless Murray is injured, he will only see mop up duty during his career.
-Still waiting to hear about Jarvis Jones, per Richt Kent Turene appears to not be headed our way. I am still not giving up hope because it took a long time for Kwame Geathers to get cleared. But, certainly if he does report, he will probably have to redshirt.
-It appears Mike Gilliard is making a strong push at inside LB. Good for him, he has put in the time and played well on special teams so now he will get a shot to get PT at LB. Also, Chase Vasser is playing behind Jarvis Jones, encouraging to see this.
-As of right now, I think you can clearly state the following true FR WILL play this year-Crowell, Drew, Herrera, Sanders, Swann, Marshall, Dantzler, Andrews, Mitchell and Rome. You could see a few more join in this group, Corey Moore and Chris Conley perhaps.
-Several players are nursing hamstring injuries, including Brandon Boykin. Overall, though, health has been in good shape to this point, granted no scrimmages yet but knock on wood to this point.
Gameday will not be in ATL for the Boise game, instead at Cowboy stadium for LSU/Oregon. That is ok, I would prefer them not be around. It seems to me we don't play well when they pick our game as the game of the day. The UGA/Boise game is still going to get a lot of attention and I think honestly for the most part because of Boise. Folks are still looking for validation that Boise is a program worthy to be playing in BCS games, and beating an SEC team basically on the road would do wonders for the Boise program. Not to mention, besides our game with Boise, they have really only one other roadblock to an unbeaten season, playing TCU-which will be minus their star QB this year. No doubt Boise will be favored-or at least I would think they would be, and most media I imagine will pick Boise. IF we can win this game, it will do wonders for the confidence of our program, both players and fans. Granted, if I had to pick one of the first two to win it would be week 2, but from a standpoint of confidence/pysche of a program, game one for us is huge.
Friday, August 5, 2011
TGIF, football is back, and so am I to the blog today
Well actually football officially kicked off in Athens yesterday with the first practice-conditioning practice with helmets, shorts/shirts. Things really kick off Monday, with full pads. The team did get good news earlier this week when Devin Bowman learned he had passed his HS graduation test. Now today, hopefully, Kent Turene finds out if he will be eligible to play this fall. The NCAA clearinghouse is supposed to let him know today. Key word, supposed to let him know. I REALLY can't stand the NCAA these days but that is another story, for another day. Course also still up in the air is the Jarvis Jones situation, in which I truly believe he is going to be good to go for Boise State. Speaking of Boise, they are preseason ranked #7 in the coaches poll, UGA comes in at #22. Honestly, I am shocked at both. I personally thought Boise would be in the top 5 and thought UGA MIGHT make it at 24 or 25. I will be curious to see what the numbers look like when the first media poll comes out, just how different that poll will look compared to the coaches. For now, let's take a look at the top 25 coaches poll-ok, I posted the poll but something is going on with my blog here and I lost a lot comments-along with the top 25.
Monday, August 1, 2011
As the season is almost on us, Haney's top 5 keys to turn around
Ok, it is now August and the players will report back tomorrow-well, they are already in Athens for the most part but tomorrow is the official day they are supposed to be in Athens. As of this minute, the only two I am aware that are not already on campus, Kent Turene and Devin Bowman. Both are hoping to be cleared and ready to go soon. With Bowman, simply put he has to pass a portion of the high school graduation test-he is just waiting to get his test score, yes or no, then he knows what comes next. For Turene, a bit more complicated. He is from Ft. Lauderdale, Fla, school gets out much later in most Florida schools than schools in Ga. He is officially ready to go but the NCAA clearinghouse is reviewing his transcript. Of course the fact it is taking this long makes anyone wonder, what is the hold up here. I have no clue but I am hopeful he makes it in because he has a legit chance to see the field this year.
Now, on to my personal top 5 keys to this season. These 5 keys are not really ranked 1-5 but just rather 5 things in my mind that have to go our way to turn the program around. First up is Isaiah Crowell. There is no question this kid comes with a ton of hype, but also a ton of questions. He had a lot of nagging injuries on the high school level, I have read some reports from various sources that he has not been the top level guy in the off season workouts-work ethic could be questioned (and again I state, from my various sources that I wouldn't say are 100% reliable). My point here, we MUST have a decent running game to allow our QB to play to his ability. Richard Samuel has been moved to help this position but I think all UGA faithful have come to expect that our run game will rise or fall on the play of Mr. Crowell.
Second up would be the emergence of a second big play WR. I am sold on Tavarres King-I expect him to have an outstanding year, and of course Orson Charles is a big weapon at TE. But, for our offense to consistently move the ball through the air, considering our questions at the RB, we have to have at least one guy step up. From all accounts of summer workouts, that player could be freshman Malcolm Mitchell. I still also have high hopes for Marlon Brown, also I personally believe Michael Bennett can come in and give us some steady hands-be a good possession receiver. We can't forget Rantavious Wooten either but bottom line, we need someone to step up and provide a steady/dependable force oppositve King.
Third up would be the offensive line, simply put, trying any way possible to find a little bit of depth. I am comfortable with a starting five of Glenn, Gates, Jones, Burnette and Anderson. But we have to have 2-3 more guys that we can throw in there when these guys need a blow, especially early in the season when it is so hot. I think the development of guys like Houston, Lee, Austin Long, along with maybe a FR lineman thrown in there, critical for the season. If we can have 8 lineman at SEC caliber level, I will be pretty happy with that.
Fourth up is the DL, a real key to our entire defense in the 3-4. If we have a NT that requires two OL to block him, then have DE's that are demanding a couple guys block them, our linebackers should clean up. This D is made for linebackers to shine, but it all starts with the front guys. If they are doing what I hope they can do, it is going to make our entire D so much better. The addition of the John Jenkins, and the luxury of having a Kwame Geathers available and ready to battle, that is really going to be crucial. We just need to have DeAngelo and Abry to step up their games. But, if our DL can play better than last year, that can have a big time impact on our D and I think especially in stopping the 3rd down conversions-which must be corrected or else this year.
Last is the linebackers-I personally think we have a ton of talent at this position but much of it is untested. You have Christian Robinson in the middle who played a lot last year, you have Cornelius Washington as well, then Jarvis Jones (if he is not suspended), Alec Ogletree who moved from a starting safety spot. We lost a lot of depth at this position for various reason-Dent, Gamble, Houston, Dowtin, Nick Williams (although his position was always changing). We will likely be turning to some true FR to help bolster the depth here and if those guys can play as well as we all hope, this position can be outstanding. But, again, it remains an uncertain position until we see it on the field. Like I mentioned with the DL, this D is made for linebacker play-they should be making a bulk of the tackles, they are constantly moving around-the offense never knows what they might do an a given play-blitz, cover a back/TE, line up 5 yards back, come up to the line, just a lot of options for these guys and a lot of opportunities to make big plays. Can these guys make the big plays?
I think those are 5 pretty obvious positions/players that we will be counting on to step up (I guess all I didn't mention was defensive back and kickers-I am really going out on a limb with my predictions here). We are relying on some true FR to make contributions but there are not many teams in the nation that don't also look for some of the new kids to step up. I think it is obvious that this team must do a good job with turnovers-last year was actually a good year in that regard, but the turnovers we had were just so bad, it sometimes masked the overall turnover ratio that was in our favor last year. I am also hopeful the strength and conditioning will be much improved. Our guys made a lot of mistakes late in ball games, the difference between a win or a loss is such a fine line. If our guys make a play here or there last year, we win 8-9 games for sure. The fumbles or blown coverages can't be blamed solely on strength and conditioning but certainly when you begin to tire late in a game, you have to dig deep and make the play-that is something we always seemed to do during Richt's first 4-5 years for certain. But then again, we had players like Greene, Pollack and Davis around. We need more players like those guys to step up. The coaches can only do so much, sometimes the players just have to step up and make the plays. I will say though, if you look at the leaders/seniors on this years team, I really like our player leadership. A guy like Ben Jones is a great role model and leader for our players, this is a kid that just believes in hard work and getting after the opponent.
Time will tell but as August hits today, the most important season in recent UGA history is getting closer and closer. The hot seat rumors are there as the season begins. The future of UGA football is really hanging in the balance this year. Lose and probably force out one of the best coaches in our history. Recruiting falls apart and we search for the next guy that can get us over the hump-easier said than done. Win and the program gains a little bit of security and we have another recruiting class worthy of a dream label. Most of us thought last year was the crucial year, coming off the 8-5 season but there is little doubt, this year is THE year. The year to show whether our program is back and Richt is the man or the season to say, yep, time to probably go in another direction. Simply put, a school like UGA can't have a 6-7 followed by a 7-6 for sure, especially with our schedule. I think 8 or more regular season wins is essential and I fully expect at least 8 regular season wins, my current thought is 10-2 regular season IF the most of the 5 I listed above play to the level I personally expect. What do you all think? I am probably a bit too optimistic but that is the beauty of August, everyone is unbeaten and full of confidence.
Now, on to my personal top 5 keys to this season. These 5 keys are not really ranked 1-5 but just rather 5 things in my mind that have to go our way to turn the program around. First up is Isaiah Crowell. There is no question this kid comes with a ton of hype, but also a ton of questions. He had a lot of nagging injuries on the high school level, I have read some reports from various sources that he has not been the top level guy in the off season workouts-work ethic could be questioned (and again I state, from my various sources that I wouldn't say are 100% reliable). My point here, we MUST have a decent running game to allow our QB to play to his ability. Richard Samuel has been moved to help this position but I think all UGA faithful have come to expect that our run game will rise or fall on the play of Mr. Crowell.
Second up would be the emergence of a second big play WR. I am sold on Tavarres King-I expect him to have an outstanding year, and of course Orson Charles is a big weapon at TE. But, for our offense to consistently move the ball through the air, considering our questions at the RB, we have to have at least one guy step up. From all accounts of summer workouts, that player could be freshman Malcolm Mitchell. I still also have high hopes for Marlon Brown, also I personally believe Michael Bennett can come in and give us some steady hands-be a good possession receiver. We can't forget Rantavious Wooten either but bottom line, we need someone to step up and provide a steady/dependable force oppositve King.
Third up would be the offensive line, simply put, trying any way possible to find a little bit of depth. I am comfortable with a starting five of Glenn, Gates, Jones, Burnette and Anderson. But we have to have 2-3 more guys that we can throw in there when these guys need a blow, especially early in the season when it is so hot. I think the development of guys like Houston, Lee, Austin Long, along with maybe a FR lineman thrown in there, critical for the season. If we can have 8 lineman at SEC caliber level, I will be pretty happy with that.
Fourth up is the DL, a real key to our entire defense in the 3-4. If we have a NT that requires two OL to block him, then have DE's that are demanding a couple guys block them, our linebackers should clean up. This D is made for linebackers to shine, but it all starts with the front guys. If they are doing what I hope they can do, it is going to make our entire D so much better. The addition of the John Jenkins, and the luxury of having a Kwame Geathers available and ready to battle, that is really going to be crucial. We just need to have DeAngelo and Abry to step up their games. But, if our DL can play better than last year, that can have a big time impact on our D and I think especially in stopping the 3rd down conversions-which must be corrected or else this year.
Last is the linebackers-I personally think we have a ton of talent at this position but much of it is untested. You have Christian Robinson in the middle who played a lot last year, you have Cornelius Washington as well, then Jarvis Jones (if he is not suspended), Alec Ogletree who moved from a starting safety spot. We lost a lot of depth at this position for various reason-Dent, Gamble, Houston, Dowtin, Nick Williams (although his position was always changing). We will likely be turning to some true FR to help bolster the depth here and if those guys can play as well as we all hope, this position can be outstanding. But, again, it remains an uncertain position until we see it on the field. Like I mentioned with the DL, this D is made for linebacker play-they should be making a bulk of the tackles, they are constantly moving around-the offense never knows what they might do an a given play-blitz, cover a back/TE, line up 5 yards back, come up to the line, just a lot of options for these guys and a lot of opportunities to make big plays. Can these guys make the big plays?
I think those are 5 pretty obvious positions/players that we will be counting on to step up (I guess all I didn't mention was defensive back and kickers-I am really going out on a limb with my predictions here). We are relying on some true FR to make contributions but there are not many teams in the nation that don't also look for some of the new kids to step up. I think it is obvious that this team must do a good job with turnovers-last year was actually a good year in that regard, but the turnovers we had were just so bad, it sometimes masked the overall turnover ratio that was in our favor last year. I am also hopeful the strength and conditioning will be much improved. Our guys made a lot of mistakes late in ball games, the difference between a win or a loss is such a fine line. If our guys make a play here or there last year, we win 8-9 games for sure. The fumbles or blown coverages can't be blamed solely on strength and conditioning but certainly when you begin to tire late in a game, you have to dig deep and make the play-that is something we always seemed to do during Richt's first 4-5 years for certain. But then again, we had players like Greene, Pollack and Davis around. We need more players like those guys to step up. The coaches can only do so much, sometimes the players just have to step up and make the plays. I will say though, if you look at the leaders/seniors on this years team, I really like our player leadership. A guy like Ben Jones is a great role model and leader for our players, this is a kid that just believes in hard work and getting after the opponent.
Time will tell but as August hits today, the most important season in recent UGA history is getting closer and closer. The hot seat rumors are there as the season begins. The future of UGA football is really hanging in the balance this year. Lose and probably force out one of the best coaches in our history. Recruiting falls apart and we search for the next guy that can get us over the hump-easier said than done. Win and the program gains a little bit of security and we have another recruiting class worthy of a dream label. Most of us thought last year was the crucial year, coming off the 8-5 season but there is little doubt, this year is THE year. The year to show whether our program is back and Richt is the man or the season to say, yep, time to probably go in another direction. Simply put, a school like UGA can't have a 6-7 followed by a 7-6 for sure, especially with our schedule. I think 8 or more regular season wins is essential and I fully expect at least 8 regular season wins, my current thought is 10-2 regular season IF the most of the 5 I listed above play to the level I personally expect. What do you all think? I am probably a bit too optimistic but that is the beauty of August, everyone is unbeaten and full of confidence.
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