Ok so today marks the last time I will blog for the year 2011-which happens to be the first year of my blog. I started this blog in January because I just like to write my opinions about my favorite school in the land-and because it was free and available, I said what the heck and just started it up. I have no idea how many people actually read this blog or follow it in any way, but it really doesn't matter if anyone follows, I plan to keep on going in the new year. I think 2012 is going to be a great year, well, maybe not so great for our hoops program and not sure about our baseball program either. BUT, after looking at our new schedule for 2012 in football, I feel REALLY good about us having another shot to play for an SEC title-and, if things break our way, possibly having a shot to play for a national title. Course, all of that is just speculation on my part and it seems UGA typically struggles when they are in the leader role. I think back to 2008, even before that back to 2004, and you just get an uneasy feeling in your stomach. But, as is the case with every new year I believe you should always start a year off being optimistic for the best. So let's quickly take a look at the 2012 football schedule-
Sept. 1 Buffalo
This school was 3-9 in 2011.
Sept. 8 at Missouri
First SEC game for Missouri-they finished 8-5 in 2011
Sept. 15 FLORIDA ATLANTIC
They were 1-11 in 2011
Sept. 22 VANDERBILT
Vandy is 6-6 heading to bowl game
Sept. 29 TENNESSEE
UT was 5-7 this year
Oct. 6 at South Carolina
Possible best record ever in Columbia this year if they beat Nebraska, enter game 10-2
Oct. 13 Open
Oct. 20 at Kentucky
5-7 in 2011
Oct. 27 vs. Florida (Jacksonville)
Worst season for Gators in MANY years, enter bowl 6-6 in 2011
Nov. 3 OLE MISS
New coach in place after horrible season in 2011, 2-10
Nov. 10 at Auburn
AU limps into bowl game at 7-5
Nov. 17 GEORGIA SOUTHERN
Southern made a pretty deep run in their playoffs, 11-3 final record
Nov. 24 GEORGIA TECH
Nerds enter Sun Bowl at 8-4
So if there was ever a schedule made for success, more than even 2011 because you replace Boise with Buffalo, you replace what was to be Bama with Missouri, I think this schedule qualifies. The good news for us, our roster in 2012 should be STRONG. What also helps, Mark Richt and Todd Grantham will be getting new deals, our recruiting class hopefully will follow suit and finish strong, then we have a great 2012 and again we have another dream team type class in 2013. Granted UGA always recruits well but we do not recruit on the same level as Bama or LSU-those two schools seem to always finish ahead of us, and look at how strong those schools are year in and year out. In fact, if you really look at that LSU team that beat us in the SEC title game, the biggest things that jump out to me, besides our losing the specials teams battle yet again, depth along the lines of scrimmage, in the secondary, and at running back. Those are areas where we need to get better and I believe we are getting better.
Before we can even talk about the 2012 fall season, we need to look at the first game of 2012, that being the Outback Bowl in Tampa this upcoming Monday. We play Michigan State and I believe the Spartans are the third best team we have played this year-I think only Boise and LSU are better than MSU-and we got beat by both of those two easily. Michigan State nearly beat Wisconsin in the first Big10 title game, coming within a roughing the kicker call from being in the Rose Bowl. MSU had three losses on the season, same as us with all three being away from home. They lost at Notre Dame 31-13, at Nebraska 21-3 and then @ Big10 title game 42-39. All their losses came against quality opponents, same as us, but unlike UGA they did beat two schools going to BCS games, Michigan and Wisconsin. This is a dangerous opponent and actually the two teams really do mirror each other in a lot of ways. Streaky offenses and stout defenses. Let's take a look at the Spartan starters on O and D.
Offense-Power I
OT-Dan France 6-6 304 Soph
OG Joel Foreman 6-4 310 Sr
C Travis Jackson 6-3 265 Fr
OG Chris McDonald 6-5 290 Jr
OT-Fou Fonoti 6-5 295 Jr
TE-Dion Sims 6-5 277 Soph
WR Keshawn Martin 5-11 185 Sr
WR BJ Cunningham 6-2 223 Sr
FB Todd Anderson 6-2 260 Sr
RB Edwin Baker 5-9 208 Jr listed but could be Le'Veon Bell 6-2 237 Soph
QB Kirk Cousins 6-3 202 Sr
A few things jump out to me about this side of the ball-first the center, that looks to be a big advantage for us-course last time we went against an undersized center (Boise) that kid got the better of our NT's but that was game 1 of the season. I have a feeling Jenkins or Geathers will demand double teams in this game. Another thing, WOW, the size of their TE and FB-big boys there and that will be interesting to watch. Course it appears both the big boys are blockers more than WR targets since Sims has 12 catches in 13 games while Anderson has 6 catches all year. Cunningham is the big threat, with 72 catches for 1240 and 12 TD's, while Martin also is a big weapon, with 62 catches for 642 and 4 TD's. Rushing wise they list Baker the starter but Bell is the leading rusher with 900 yards rushing and 11 TD's. The QB is a steady and polish SR in Cousins who has thrown for 3016 yards, 24 TD's and 7 Int's. This is an offense that has some balance and will be a good tough matchup for our defense.
Defense 4-3
DE Marcus Rush 6-2 250 Fr
DT Jerel Worthy 6-3 305 Jr
NT Anthony White 6-2 320 Jr
DE William Gholston 6-7 265 Soph
LB Chris Norman 6-1 225 Jr
LB Denicos Allen 5-10 218 Soph
LB Max Bulloch 6-3 240 Soph
CB Darqueze Dennard 5-11 185 Soph
S Isaiah Lewis 5-10 199 Soph
S Trenton Robinson 5-10 195 Sr
CB Johnny Adams 5-11 170 Jr
Ok, everyone knows that UGA has a great D but Michigan State is just behind us in most stats-and in pts allowed per game, they are ahead of us. Course we all know that a few of our games have had pts allowed inflated due to our poor special teams play all year and or turnovers by the offense. But, in looking at the Spartan D, I notice they are pretty young-much like we are, they will return all but one listed starter-we will lose only two, unless we lose someone to the draft of course. Their secondary, pretty small-and not very heavy either-a 170lb safety-I see Orson Charles having a big homecoming. I really can see us attacking the middle of the field as their LB's and safeties look to be possible passing game targets. We also have the height advantage outside with our tall lanky WR's. They have some big boys on the LOS so I wouldn't imagine we will produce a great run game against this defense, unless the passing game spreads them out enough to allow some running lanes. I really look for us to pass the ball around on this team quite a bit. I think both teams are going to have to pass to win this game honestly.
My keys to a UGA win will be to stop the MSU run and then come after Cousins-he is not a very mobile QB but he can move around a little bit. Also we can't turn the ball over and expect to beat a quality team like Michigan State. Of course I am also worried about our special teams play, that could become a factor. You also have to believe Michigan State is VERY motivated to win their bowl game, they have not had a good recent history in bowl games. Course our guys should be motivated to play as well-coming off the LSU game, this should give them a chance to get back on the winning track again and also, after our dismal bowl game last year, we should want to perform well. I think this is a going to be a VERY tight and close game. I think ultimately we have more talent than does MSU do I will pick us to win. I see the final score being in the 21-17 or 24-21 range.
Finally, looking at our hoops team, they have won 4 straight games now, with wins against Southern Cal, Mercer, Furman and Winthrop-wow, that was some game there, Winthrop had us beat but we made some clutch shots down the stretch to force OT and then win going away in OT. Next up is our last non conference game of the year, against Delaware State a team at 4-6 that we should handle. That would put us at 9-5 heading to SEC play. Now, that is about one game below what I had expected-I thought we would handle GT, instead they easily handled us-to me that is the ONLY bad loss we have thus far. We have lost to a good Cal team, games at Xavier, Colorado, and Cincinnati. Colorado we could have beat and probably should have but still they are decent and tough at home. Xavier is really good, as is Cal. Cincinnati is always a pretty good team. Again, that GT loss is the really BAD loss. This team is very much a work in progress. The FR Caldwell-Pope is playing pretty well, our leading scorer and you can tell very talented. Robinson, Ware and Williams, all playing good basketball. What is really killing us is no real inside game-Donte' Williams is doing ok, much improved over last year but not nearly the offensive threat we need. Marcus Thornton was doing a good job defensively and rebounding, not a threat offensively in the least but now he is hurt and out probably 3-5 weeks. The EURO kid Djurisic is doing a pretty good job but he is more a perimeter type player than inside force. The three bigs Fox brought in, Dixon, Florveus and Cannon are really nothing more than projects at this time-they can't score, don't really contribute much of anything on the floor. Bottom line, this is likely to a real struggle to win more than 5 conference games this year. First up in conference is a good Bama team at the Steg January 7th. After that back to back road game at UF and Vandy before returning home against Tenn and Ole Miss. I believe if this team can somehow, someway win the first three home games, we might inch toward 6-7 conference wins but if Fox can get this team above 5, I will consider him to have done a great job. This team just flat out scares me with lack of scoring punch but they do have some depth, they are capable of playing good D so maybe, just maybe with some luck they can win 6-7 conference games. That would put them at 15-12 or so, and with a TOUGH non conference schedule might qualify them for an NIT bid, that is the most optmistic I can be at this time.
Well, all for now, hope you all have a HAPPY NEW YEAR. If you are a regular reader, thanks for checking out my opinions, tolerating what I am sure are numerious spelling and gramatical errors-hey, back when I DID do some writing back in college, I had an editor!! I don't even do a spell check here because I am not getting paid and I figure even if I mispell something it is not butchered too bad. As for my grammar, again if you are that nitpicky you need not read!! I hope you all have a wonderful end to 2011 and hope 2012 is a great year.
Thursday, December 29, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
So glad things turned out so well for Richt and company
This time last year, there was a dark cloud hanging over Athens as UGA had to beat GT to even make a bowl game. Ok so they win that game but then get sent to Memphis to play Central Florida in the Liberty Bowl, to which it was obvious the team didn't care to be there by how they played, and the coaches didn't much care either-Coach Richt was dogged for weeks about his early decision to kick a FG instead of go for a first down inside teh UCF 5. People were angry, people were talking and the talk was not good. Course behind the scenes, changes were being made. Numerous players were shown the door or just chose to leave-or maybe a combo of the two. The coaches were out hitting the streets recruiting what would be called, "the DREAM TEAM". Spring practice rolled around, everyone seemed happy about the recruiting efforts-and many golf folks were thrilled the spring game did not interfere with that big tourney over in Augusta. Also in the works, a deal to put us in the spotlight opening week of the season, against Boise State. Yeah, we were struggling but surely we could handle a team like Boise. Then along comes that game and we lose it pretty badly after a decent showing in the first half. The next week is the first conference games against the team that won it last year, a team that we ALWAYS seem to play close games with. Sure enough, that game is VERY close, we turn in over 5 times, they have a big DL turn a fake punt into a nearly 70 yard TD run, yet we still lose by only 3. But, the damage is done, there are posts all over the message boards, who do you want as our new coach etc etc. The cloud was continuing to hang but the man we have in charge never gave up-in fact he told his players after the game against SCarolina to hold their heads high, we could right this ship and turn this thing around. Sure enough, they did right the ship and although some games were closer than maybe we all thought they should be, despite the fact our schedule was viewed as weak and several of our rivals were "down" this year, a team that puts 10 straight victories on the board is doing something right. Along the way, we all got to witness some young pups growing up and we realized, wow, this team has a lot of promise for the future. Malcolm Mitchell, Isaiah Crowell, Amarlo Herrera, Chris Conley, Ray Drew, Watts Dantzler, David Andrews all play worthy snaps from dream team to reality of depth charts. Q Harrow, Damian Swann, Nick Marshall, and Corey Moore, still more dream teamers that contributed as true FR. You then had players that had been around but were young making huge contributions, Mike Gilliard, Garrison Smith, Michael Bennett to name a few. You had a transfer come in and make All American, you had a stud of a safety move to LB and although hurt for much of the season, you can just see the talent. Of course how could we forget another dream teamer but not from HS, rather from JUCO to come in and plug the middle of our D, along with Geathers who also had very little impact until this year. We had running back by committee this year due to injuries and suspensions, yet we had our best running year since I believe 2002. Our OL really had zero depth but managed to make it through. Bottom line, this year to me brought a lot of satisfaction to me because all the negative quickly turned to positive as the year played out. As happy I was for UGA, I was equally as happy for Coach Mark Richt-this guy is our most succesful coach of all time. Some will say Dooley but I disagree with that. Mark Richt has brought so much to our program, but yet he was being called out and questioned constantly during the last two seasons, and for sure at the start of this year. Granted, everyone has the right to call out the head man, especially when he is getting paid a LOT of money to win football games. But, that being said, he has built the expectations so high that sometimes fans have to realize, not every year is going to be rosy. I was at UGA when Ray Goff was hired. His first year, he went 6-6, with a bowl loss to Syracuse, his second year-you know the magical 2nd year, my senior year as I went the JUCO route first, 4-7 final record. Now, Goff in years 3 and 4 did have strong seasons but then it went downhill from there. Jim Donnan had a losing year his first year in Athens, after that he picked up the pace, but eventually started a downward trend in record, and Jim was not the best PR representative of our program. While I enjoyed listening to him on the call in shows, many were offended. His handling of the Quincy Carter mess, amoung other things-like losing 3 straight years to Tech, spelled doom for Donnan. In came the OC from FSU, everyone knew immediately that this was a man of class, but we didn't know he coach coach football-until the hobnail boot game in Knoxville during his first season.
Now we are 11 years in, minus a bowl game, and Coach Richt is going to get a contract extension when the bowl game is over. I am thrilled because I like having a man like Mark Richt leading my alma mater. Have we won a national title yet-NO. Do I think we can win one with Richt in charge-YES. We have been awfully close to one a couple times before. The fact is, we have a coach that cares about his players and coaches. Here recently we learned he committed NCAA violations for paying assistants out of his own pocket when the former AD Evans refused to pay what Richt wanted. Now, granted he makes more than enough to give some money away BUT, how many coaches around the nation do you think actually DO give money out of their pocket. I bet very few. There was a recent story about Nick Saban stepping over a Dolphins player who was struggling to stay alive basically in the locker room, needless to say, I KNOW Mark Richt would not do such a thing. Sure, Nick Saban has two national titles, he will play for a third in another couple weeks, but for me, I would MUCH rather have a coach with class, dignity, compassion, and character than a man that ONLY cares about one thing, that would be to win a football game. I want to win, and I want to win a national title but if I have learned anything in my nearly 43 years of life, it is that there are FAR more important things in life than winning a football game. This time of year it especially comes into focus. If you have children, especially kids under say 10, the joy on their faces at Christmas time is one of the most special moments in the world. To know that your kids are happy, to spend time with your family and realize you never know how many more of these special times you will have, it just causes me to reflect on what is truly important in your life, that would be your family and your friends. Sure everyone has to work to survive but your job will always be there, will your family?? When you hear Mark Richt speak, you know he values his job greatly, and you know he is a competitor and he wants to win badly. BUT, you know also know he loves his family, he loves God a lot more than he loves UGA football.
I hope to blog again next week so until then, Merry Christmas. I hope everyone enjoys time with family and friends during this holiday season, and if traveling, be safe.
Now we are 11 years in, minus a bowl game, and Coach Richt is going to get a contract extension when the bowl game is over. I am thrilled because I like having a man like Mark Richt leading my alma mater. Have we won a national title yet-NO. Do I think we can win one with Richt in charge-YES. We have been awfully close to one a couple times before. The fact is, we have a coach that cares about his players and coaches. Here recently we learned he committed NCAA violations for paying assistants out of his own pocket when the former AD Evans refused to pay what Richt wanted. Now, granted he makes more than enough to give some money away BUT, how many coaches around the nation do you think actually DO give money out of their pocket. I bet very few. There was a recent story about Nick Saban stepping over a Dolphins player who was struggling to stay alive basically in the locker room, needless to say, I KNOW Mark Richt would not do such a thing. Sure, Nick Saban has two national titles, he will play for a third in another couple weeks, but for me, I would MUCH rather have a coach with class, dignity, compassion, and character than a man that ONLY cares about one thing, that would be to win a football game. I want to win, and I want to win a national title but if I have learned anything in my nearly 43 years of life, it is that there are FAR more important things in life than winning a football game. This time of year it especially comes into focus. If you have children, especially kids under say 10, the joy on their faces at Christmas time is one of the most special moments in the world. To know that your kids are happy, to spend time with your family and realize you never know how many more of these special times you will have, it just causes me to reflect on what is truly important in your life, that would be your family and your friends. Sure everyone has to work to survive but your job will always be there, will your family?? When you hear Mark Richt speak, you know he values his job greatly, and you know he is a competitor and he wants to win badly. BUT, you know also know he loves his family, he loves God a lot more than he loves UGA football.
I hope to blog again next week so until then, Merry Christmas. I hope everyone enjoys time with family and friends during this holiday season, and if traveling, be safe.
Thursday, December 15, 2011
Long time no blogging, well it is that time of the year
So for those that do frequent my blog, I have not been here that much and that is likely to continue with the holidays coming up-just too busy to blog. Anyway, there is not much going on with UGA sports this week, with it being finals week. The hoops team had a very painful and quite pathetic effort against GT their last time out. Losing to that program is always HORRIBLE but to lose at home to them, for the first time since I was 7 years old-a LONG TIME AGO, and considering this Tech team is not very good at all-they will be lucky to win 3-5 games in the watered down ACC this year, just can't say how bad a loss that was. Next up is a game in Los Angeles this Saturday against an equally bad Southern Cal team. Hopefully Coach Fox has used his time off wisely and will change some things up going forwad. Here are my suggestions-get the most playing time to the following-Vincent Williams, Gerald Robinson, Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Donte' Williams and I guess by default, Marcus Thornton. The EURO kid-Nemanji Djurisic has potential if he will stop shooting so many threes. Bottom line, this team is challenged offensively. But, we do have depth-they might not all be SEC caliber players but they can run and jump and that is how I think Fox is going to have to approach this season-PRESS, PRESS and PRESS. Try to wear the other team out-course if teams break the press, they get easy scores but this team needs to get out and try to get offense in transition because we just don't have enough scorers on offense. What ends up happening is we toss the ball around the perimeter for 30 seconds, last man with the ball takes a 3-regardless of whether it is a good shot or not. Robinson and Williams do offer the ability to penetrate a zone and get some open looks but Caldwell-Pope, Ware, Nemanji are just not hitting them at a high enough percentage. This team can play well in spurts, typcially in the first half but then can't do anything after the break. Against Cincy and GT, last two home games, led at half but then dominated in the second half. This team is very frustrating to watch needless to say. A more disturbing thing is, Coach Fox is not recruiting all that well. He has picked up some decent talent but not some of the best in the state-Bama, Auburn, GT, Memphis, UVA, Vandy, they are all coming in here and taking high ranked kids in Ga than we are getting. I have always thought Coach Fox was a good X and O guy-he can coach but a coach needs to talent to work with and of course the person responsible for brining in that talent when it comes to college basketball is the head coach and his assistant coaches. Much has been made about how other schools are using AAU coaches, adding them to their staffs, or coaches that have VERY strong ties to AAU programs. I think Fox needs to look into this, he simply has got to have more connections to the AAU circuit to start building those relationships.
As for football, the Gala was last weekend and all went well. Below are the awards handed out, see below direct from UGA rivals site.
Senior center Ben Jones, sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray, sophomore linebacker Jarvis Jones, senior punter Drew Butler and redshirt freshman Kosta Vavlas took home the top awards at the University of Georgia football annual team Gala Saturday night at the Classic Center in Athens.
Ben Jones was named the recipient of the Vince Dooley Most Valuable Player of the Year Award, Murray was named the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player, and Jarvis Jones received Most Valuable Defensive Player honors. Vavlas and Butler were named Most Valuable Special Teams players.
Sophomore guard Chris Burnette and sophomore linebacker Alec Ogletree of Newnan were named winners of the David Jacobs Award as the players who, by example, portray courage, spirit, character and determination.
Ben Jones was also named the team's overall permanent captain for 2011. Junior tight end Orson Charles and senior guard Cordy Glenn were elected as the team's offensive captains, senior defensive back Brandon Boykin and Jarvis Jones were chosen as the defensive captains, and Butler was named the special teams captain.
The Leon Farmer Award for dedication to the strength and conditioning program was presented to Boykin and Ben Jones.
Outstanding Scout Team Awards went to redshirt freshman quarterback Greg Bingham, redshirt freshman linebacker Corey Campbell, senior cornerback Eric Elliot and sophomore cornerback Luis Capella of Augusta (special teams).
Most Improved Player Awards were presented to senior tackle Justin Anderson and Glenn (offense), junior defensive end Abry Jones, junior linebacker Mike Gilliard, of Valdosta and redshirt freshman safety Connor Norman (special teams).
Newcomer of the Year Award winners were redshirt freshman receiver Michael Bennett, freshman receiver Chris Conley, freshman receiver Malcolm Mitchell (offense), freshman linebacker Amarlo Herrera, junior nose guard John Jenkins of Meriden, Conn. (defense) and freshman defensive back Quintavius Harrow of Columbus (special teams).
Coaches Leadership Awards went to Charles, Murray and Ben Jones (offense), Boykin and senior defensive end DeAngelo Tyson and Butler (special teams).
The Governor's Cup trophy for the victory over Georgia Tech was officially presented by Shelton Stevens from Healthcare of Atlanta.
Of course UGA got the verbal from North Carolina RB Keith Marshall last week, this week from JUCO OL Mark Beard, a kid that has 3 years left to play and will enroll early. So, in two weeks now, UGA has recruited and got commitments from two very strong areas of need-RB and OL and both kids will be in school starting in January-that is OUTSTANDING. The two major areas of concern as UGA heads into 2012 is RB depth and OL depth. With these guys enrolling early, they will get to go through mat drills, spring practice, spring game, and then be on campus all summer-it is a HUGE advantage. We are also still in hot pursuit of Avery Young, the big OT from down in Florida, it is thought to between UGA and AU. With the coaching turmoil in Auburn, that could help our chances. Also Young grew up in Ga, his cousin is former player Thomas Davis. Along with Theus and Beard, getting Young would be a huge pickup considering we need a lot more depth on the OL. Visiting Athens today is Stephenson RB Mike Davis-who decommitted from UF last week. He is also going to visit a lot more schools but we at least have a shot at him. He is more a power/speed back, his brother James Davis was a standout at Clemson-a school that has also offered him so they are one to look out for. I think now that Richt is safe in Athens, our recruiting class is going to finish really strong. Probably not like last year but a top 10 class I feel sure.
I close with a congratulations to my local HS, the Grayson Rams. They totally dominated Walton to win the schools first state football championship. I have enjoyed watching this team play during the year and they did a great job winning the title last Saturday night, 24-0. Of course I continue to be amazed at the talent of the JR Robert Nkemdiche, he will be the top rated recruit in the USA next year. All the Bama rumors are accurate, I do think they lead for him this very moment but UGA is coming on strong and since he is a JR, that gives me hope that we still have time to swing him. I have noted on the Dawpost, Mickey Conn, his HS coach is someone that big Robert LOVES and he wants to please him-that is why I believe Bama leads as there might not be a bigger Bama fan than Conn. That being said, Grayson is a UGA community by and large and Mickey knows this. Also, if there is a HS coach that is more like Mark Richt that Mickey Conn, I would like to see him. This guy is a strong Christian man, he is bigtime family man, his boys are always on the field with him and his wife after the game-his oldest is a ball boy on the sidelines (usually wearing a Bama hat I might add). I don't know Mickey personally but our kids play in the same rec leagues and so I see him quite often-he seems like a very genuinely nice guy who loves his family, I totally respect that. So, I do think in the end Mickey will be happy with wherever Robert goes but I know deep down he wants him at Bama. But, I think if he doesn't go to Bama, Mickey would pick UGA as second choice because of Mark Richt, also because it would give the Grayson community-just about 40-45 miles from Athens, a chance to continue to watch Robert on the next level before he depart for Sunday afternoon football. All for now, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
As for football, the Gala was last weekend and all went well. Below are the awards handed out, see below direct from UGA rivals site.
Senior center Ben Jones, sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray, sophomore linebacker Jarvis Jones, senior punter Drew Butler and redshirt freshman Kosta Vavlas took home the top awards at the University of Georgia football annual team Gala Saturday night at the Classic Center in Athens.
Ben Jones was named the recipient of the Vince Dooley Most Valuable Player of the Year Award, Murray was named the team's Most Valuable Offensive Player, and Jarvis Jones received Most Valuable Defensive Player honors. Vavlas and Butler were named Most Valuable Special Teams players.
Sophomore guard Chris Burnette and sophomore linebacker Alec Ogletree of Newnan were named winners of the David Jacobs Award as the players who, by example, portray courage, spirit, character and determination.
Ben Jones was also named the team's overall permanent captain for 2011. Junior tight end Orson Charles and senior guard Cordy Glenn were elected as the team's offensive captains, senior defensive back Brandon Boykin and Jarvis Jones were chosen as the defensive captains, and Butler was named the special teams captain.
The Leon Farmer Award for dedication to the strength and conditioning program was presented to Boykin and Ben Jones.
Outstanding Scout Team Awards went to redshirt freshman quarterback Greg Bingham, redshirt freshman linebacker Corey Campbell, senior cornerback Eric Elliot and sophomore cornerback Luis Capella of Augusta (special teams).
Most Improved Player Awards were presented to senior tackle Justin Anderson and Glenn (offense), junior defensive end Abry Jones, junior linebacker Mike Gilliard, of Valdosta and redshirt freshman safety Connor Norman (special teams).
Newcomer of the Year Award winners were redshirt freshman receiver Michael Bennett, freshman receiver Chris Conley, freshman receiver Malcolm Mitchell (offense), freshman linebacker Amarlo Herrera, junior nose guard John Jenkins of Meriden, Conn. (defense) and freshman defensive back Quintavius Harrow of Columbus (special teams).
Coaches Leadership Awards went to Charles, Murray and Ben Jones (offense), Boykin and senior defensive end DeAngelo Tyson and Butler (special teams).
The Governor's Cup trophy for the victory over Georgia Tech was officially presented by Shelton Stevens from Healthcare of Atlanta.
Of course UGA got the verbal from North Carolina RB Keith Marshall last week, this week from JUCO OL Mark Beard, a kid that has 3 years left to play and will enroll early. So, in two weeks now, UGA has recruited and got commitments from two very strong areas of need-RB and OL and both kids will be in school starting in January-that is OUTSTANDING. The two major areas of concern as UGA heads into 2012 is RB depth and OL depth. With these guys enrolling early, they will get to go through mat drills, spring practice, spring game, and then be on campus all summer-it is a HUGE advantage. We are also still in hot pursuit of Avery Young, the big OT from down in Florida, it is thought to between UGA and AU. With the coaching turmoil in Auburn, that could help our chances. Also Young grew up in Ga, his cousin is former player Thomas Davis. Along with Theus and Beard, getting Young would be a huge pickup considering we need a lot more depth on the OL. Visiting Athens today is Stephenson RB Mike Davis-who decommitted from UF last week. He is also going to visit a lot more schools but we at least have a shot at him. He is more a power/speed back, his brother James Davis was a standout at Clemson-a school that has also offered him so they are one to look out for. I think now that Richt is safe in Athens, our recruiting class is going to finish really strong. Probably not like last year but a top 10 class I feel sure.
I close with a congratulations to my local HS, the Grayson Rams. They totally dominated Walton to win the schools first state football championship. I have enjoyed watching this team play during the year and they did a great job winning the title last Saturday night, 24-0. Of course I continue to be amazed at the talent of the JR Robert Nkemdiche, he will be the top rated recruit in the USA next year. All the Bama rumors are accurate, I do think they lead for him this very moment but UGA is coming on strong and since he is a JR, that gives me hope that we still have time to swing him. I have noted on the Dawpost, Mickey Conn, his HS coach is someone that big Robert LOVES and he wants to please him-that is why I believe Bama leads as there might not be a bigger Bama fan than Conn. That being said, Grayson is a UGA community by and large and Mickey knows this. Also, if there is a HS coach that is more like Mark Richt that Mickey Conn, I would like to see him. This guy is a strong Christian man, he is bigtime family man, his boys are always on the field with him and his wife after the game-his oldest is a ball boy on the sidelines (usually wearing a Bama hat I might add). I don't know Mickey personally but our kids play in the same rec leagues and so I see him quite often-he seems like a very genuinely nice guy who loves his family, I totally respect that. So, I do think in the end Mickey will be happy with wherever Robert goes but I know deep down he wants him at Bama. But, I think if he doesn't go to Bama, Mickey would pick UGA as second choice because of Mark Richt, also because it would give the Grayson community-just about 40-45 miles from Athens, a chance to continue to watch Robert on the next level before he depart for Sunday afternoon football. All for now, hope everyone has a wonderful weekend.
Friday, December 9, 2011
Rumors, our society EATS THEM UP
Our society in 2011 thrives on rumors, thrives on getting information immediately-we can't or don't want to wait on anything because we HAVE TO know right now what is going on. I can only imagine how tough it must be for a young person today to imagine life without a computer, life without an iphone, ipod etc. Now we have instant gratification and even that is not instant enough for most it seems. This leads me to the latest and greatest rumors surrounding the UGA football program.
First most rumors centered around Isaiah Crowell. He has used up his welcome in Athens, Richt is going to dismiss him. OR, he is going to ask for his transfer because he has had enough OR he is having academic problems and thus will ask for his transfer because he going to be leaving Athens ASAP. Also, he smells like pot all the time so he is going to fail another drug test and be gone. I mean, I have heard just about everything possible except Crowell has been taken by aliens and will not play next year because they have said they will not bring him back until UGA meets certain demands!! Now, all the Richt to Texas A&M garbage is running rampant on the message boards-primarily driven by "those in the know" at A&M-as in their message board insiders. Richt and his wife have already made the trip to College Station, taken the tour, met with the AD and boosters have put together quite a package to land him-oh and he will make a decision before Monday. Ok, you NEVER say NEVER but this is about as close NEVER as I will go. Coach Richt is NOT going to A&M and I think that is pretty easy money were I a betting man. Now, I would love to offer up one Kirby Smart to the fine folks at A&M. I have NO IDEA whether or not he will be a good college head coach, but I do know I want him away from Bama. He is a former UGA player obviously but if there is anyone around the southeast that recruits more negatively towards Georgia than does Smart, I would like to know who he is. Kirby is the prime Bama recruiter in Georgia for Sab(t)an. Losing him would help our cause without question. Bama's D on the other hand would not miss a beat if he left, Sab(t)an would promote someone or hire someone and then Nick would still be heavily involved and little to no change would happen. So, let's just go ahead and say, Smart to A&M please. Speaking of coordinators leaving, Front Butt Charlie Weis left the Gators and Muschump after one year. When Mussy hired Big Charles, I thought what....., why would a offensive coordinator leave the NFL to come be an offensive coordinator in college, the only reason was to get another head coaching job-mission accomplished for big Charlie. Course little did I think that after UF had such a lousy offensive year that Charlie would get a gig this quick but we are talking about Kansas football here.
On the recruiting front, Keith Marshall is the big news this week and then we have the Gala this weekend-which is the prime recruiting tool Richt and company like to use. It is the tux party of the year, where our players get to eat some nice food and get awards while reviewing the season just completed. The atmosphere should be very positive this year, very upbeat. A lot of top recruits will be there including Avery Young the massive OT from Florida, also the committed LB from Stn Mtn-Eligwe, he committed to FSU, also Josh Harvey-Clemons is supposed to be there, and many more. A lot of our current commits will show up as well so this weekend should be a very positive experience for UGA football.
On a not so postive note, the mens hoops team was very bad the other night. Let me share my thoughts on this team-I posted on the Dawgpost earlier today-rather than type it over again, let me paste it below.
Nominate | Report
First most rumors centered around Isaiah Crowell. He has used up his welcome in Athens, Richt is going to dismiss him. OR, he is going to ask for his transfer because he has had enough OR he is having academic problems and thus will ask for his transfer because he going to be leaving Athens ASAP. Also, he smells like pot all the time so he is going to fail another drug test and be gone. I mean, I have heard just about everything possible except Crowell has been taken by aliens and will not play next year because they have said they will not bring him back until UGA meets certain demands!! Now, all the Richt to Texas A&M garbage is running rampant on the message boards-primarily driven by "those in the know" at A&M-as in their message board insiders. Richt and his wife have already made the trip to College Station, taken the tour, met with the AD and boosters have put together quite a package to land him-oh and he will make a decision before Monday. Ok, you NEVER say NEVER but this is about as close NEVER as I will go. Coach Richt is NOT going to A&M and I think that is pretty easy money were I a betting man. Now, I would love to offer up one Kirby Smart to the fine folks at A&M. I have NO IDEA whether or not he will be a good college head coach, but I do know I want him away from Bama. He is a former UGA player obviously but if there is anyone around the southeast that recruits more negatively towards Georgia than does Smart, I would like to know who he is. Kirby is the prime Bama recruiter in Georgia for Sab(t)an. Losing him would help our cause without question. Bama's D on the other hand would not miss a beat if he left, Sab(t)an would promote someone or hire someone and then Nick would still be heavily involved and little to no change would happen. So, let's just go ahead and say, Smart to A&M please. Speaking of coordinators leaving, Front Butt Charlie Weis left the Gators and Muschump after one year. When Mussy hired Big Charles, I thought what....., why would a offensive coordinator leave the NFL to come be an offensive coordinator in college, the only reason was to get another head coaching job-mission accomplished for big Charlie. Course little did I think that after UF had such a lousy offensive year that Charlie would get a gig this quick but we are talking about Kansas football here.
On the recruiting front, Keith Marshall is the big news this week and then we have the Gala this weekend-which is the prime recruiting tool Richt and company like to use. It is the tux party of the year, where our players get to eat some nice food and get awards while reviewing the season just completed. The atmosphere should be very positive this year, very upbeat. A lot of top recruits will be there including Avery Young the massive OT from Florida, also the committed LB from Stn Mtn-Eligwe, he committed to FSU, also Josh Harvey-Clemons is supposed to be there, and many more. A lot of our current commits will show up as well so this weekend should be a very positive experience for UGA football.
On a not so postive note, the mens hoops team was very bad the other night. Let me share my thoughts on this team-I posted on the Dawgpost earlier today-rather than type it over again, let me paste it below.
Nominate | Report
Posted: Today 9:25 AM
What can Fox do??
Wednesday, December 7, 2011
LSU was just better than us, great recruiting news
OK, so back to the blog after the SEC title game. I have to say, after that game was over I was really not overly disappointed. A tad bit frustrated that the game got so out of hand, because NO WAY do I think LSU is 32 points better than us, but it was just one of those games where once the snowball formed, it kept gathering speed and size and then just rolled over us. I think what stood out to me the most in the game was how much we miss having a solid run game, also how much we need a more physical and dominating OL. Granted, against the LSU front you are not going to run the ball much but we really didn't have enough of a run threat to give those guys any fear at all. After playing aggressive football in the first quarter, it looked as though our coaches pulled back a bit because our D was playing so very well. And let me just say, our D was outstanding in that game, 237 total yards, ZERO first downs in the first half. I think obviously the nation came away impressed with LSU but I do think despite the score that folks had to be impressed with our D and how it played. If all our guys come back, as Jarvis Jones has said they will, WOW. We just have to take care of Todd Grantham and Mark Richt, give them more money and years. Yeah, I know you don't want to go crazy with salaries and contract extensions but our athletic department HAS the money to pay guys deserving and to me after this year, those two guys deserve it. Grantham obviously because this D is getting better and better and kids WANT to play for him in his system. Richt because he survived a bad start and turned the season around, has built this teams confidence back up and we return a great nucleus of talent that should have us in contention for an SEC title again next year. Simply put, a head coaches needs to be under contract for 3-4 years at all times, so his job status is NOT used against him on the recruiting trail. More about recruiting coming up later. It was announced that we will play Michigan State in the Outback bowl Jan 2nd. I think that is a very interesting matchup-one of the best of the bowl season honestly. Michigan State has lost 3 games same as us-Notre Dame, Nebraska and the Big10 title game to Wisconsin-a team they also beat. The Spartans also easily handled Michigan, so they have beaten both Big10 BCS teams. If we should beat them, they would become our most impressive win of the year. So, a lot to play for in Tampa next month-and it will be a homecoming game for Aaron Murray and Orson Charles-that has to make it extra special for those guys. UGA has opened as the early 3 point favorite which sounds about right to me.
Let's take a look at 2012 for a minute, I will give you the Haney projected starters for next year. First let's take a look at defense, where we lose only Brandon Boykin and DeAnglo Tyson, assuming all come back as the players are currently saying. A LOT can happen between now and when these kids have to declare for the NFL so you always project with a grain of salt.
DT-Abry Jones SR
NG-Jon Jenkins SR
DT-Garrison Smith JR
OLB Cornelius Washington SR
ILB Christian Robinson SR
ILB Alec Ogletree JR
OLB Jarvis Jones JR
CB-Sanders Commings SR
S-Baccari Rambo SR
S-Shawn Williams SR
CB-Branden Smith SR
WOW, just take a look at that folks. Course the scary news is, other than Garrison Smith, we probably would be replacing the entire D for the 2013 season. Granted, we have a lot of younger guys that would get a lot of playing time-Ray Drew, Amarlo Herrera, Damain Swann, Nick Marshall, Corey Moore, possibly Kwame Geathers, Mike Thornton, etc etc but that will be a lot of talent leaving Athens after next year-you see that Robert Nkemdiche.
Now for the offense, I will assume Orson Charles comes back but right now I would say at best it is 50-50 on him. He had a great year and has the potential to work his way into a great draft position. One thing we do need to keep in mind now, becoming a first round draft pick is not very important. With the new labor deal the NFL worked out over the summer, even the 1st round picks will not make nearly as much as before but the later round guys also likely will make less than before. Here is a look at my projected offense-the OL is the biggest guessing game right now.
OT-Kenarious Gates JR
OG-Dallas Lee JR
C-David Andrews Soph
OG-Chris Burnette JR
OT-Watts Dantzler Soph or John Theus FR
TE-Orson Charles SR or Arthur Lynch JR (if Charles leaves of course)
WR-Tavarres King SR
WR-Malcolm Mitchell Soph
FB-Zander Ogletree JR
TB-Isaiah Crowell Soph
QB-Aaron Murray JR
The offense of course is much younger in terms of experience and starters than the D. Assuming Murray stays for his SR year, all would be back in 2013 except King and Charles, that is pretty impressive. King and Charles also play positions of great depth so their loss would not be as big as other spots. You also know that we have a bunch of young WR's already contributing, Crowell will certianly be pushed by current players and recruits, an interesting battle will take place to see who is #2 behind Murray at QB. I honestly believe if the OL group can gel and come together, next year figures to be a strong year. 2013, well, offensively I can see it as being a great year, but the D will be reloading. The good news though, the bullets we will reload with, many of those guys will be upperclassmen. Drew, Herrera, Moore, Swann, Marshall, etc, those guys will be juniors. This recruiting year is all about restocking the talent pile-I would suggest that there will be a lot of guys signed this year that will redshirt but we need a strong and deep class this year. Depth chart is truly where the two SEC elite programs have us beat-LSU/Bama. They have so much talented depth, they simpy reload each and every year. I think we are on our way to that now-when you see a position like LB or WR for example, where we suffer a lot of injuries but young guys step up and play extremely well, that is where you gain your strength. You have recruited talent that is good enough to come in and play early and not hurt you on the field.
Now taking a look at our current recruiting class, yestereday we picked up the #1 ranked multi purpose RB in the nation in Keith Marshall. This not only gives us back to back #1 backs in the nation, but it gives Mr. Crowell some top notch competition in practce. Marshall is an early enrollee which means he reports to Athens in early January-in time to go through MAT drills, in time to go through spring practice-in other words, he will be ready to roll come next August. He is a bright kid, with a 4.2 GPA, he will have time to pick up the offense, gain strength, and get started in the classroom. We still have 10-11 spots left in the class. Below is how I would break it down-
RB- Gurley and or Davis
WR-Patterson-the JUCO
LB-Lee and Eligwe (both currently commited to other schools but we still have a shot)
DE-Jenkins and Whitehead
OL-Young and maybe someone else or JUCO
CB/S-Elder
One final note, hoops team plays host to GT tonight. Both teams enter at 4-4. We really need to make it 3 straight over the Nerds tonight, then hopefully pick up a road win at Southern Cal, win the other non conference game to get to 10-4 before SEC play. I figure we might win 6 conference games, that would put us at 16-11 and have potential for an NIT bid. I don't see them team being NCAA caliber as just not enough scoring potential. Caldwell-Pope is certainly looks to be a good player, Donte' Williams is really playing better but overall we just can't score enough to win a lot of games. Tonight's game starts at 7p and will be televised on Fox Sports South. Go Dogs!
Let's take a look at 2012 for a minute, I will give you the Haney projected starters for next year. First let's take a look at defense, where we lose only Brandon Boykin and DeAnglo Tyson, assuming all come back as the players are currently saying. A LOT can happen between now and when these kids have to declare for the NFL so you always project with a grain of salt.
DT-Abry Jones SR
NG-Jon Jenkins SR
DT-Garrison Smith JR
OLB Cornelius Washington SR
ILB Christian Robinson SR
ILB Alec Ogletree JR
OLB Jarvis Jones JR
CB-Sanders Commings SR
S-Baccari Rambo SR
S-Shawn Williams SR
CB-Branden Smith SR
WOW, just take a look at that folks. Course the scary news is, other than Garrison Smith, we probably would be replacing the entire D for the 2013 season. Granted, we have a lot of younger guys that would get a lot of playing time-Ray Drew, Amarlo Herrera, Damain Swann, Nick Marshall, Corey Moore, possibly Kwame Geathers, Mike Thornton, etc etc but that will be a lot of talent leaving Athens after next year-you see that Robert Nkemdiche.
Now for the offense, I will assume Orson Charles comes back but right now I would say at best it is 50-50 on him. He had a great year and has the potential to work his way into a great draft position. One thing we do need to keep in mind now, becoming a first round draft pick is not very important. With the new labor deal the NFL worked out over the summer, even the 1st round picks will not make nearly as much as before but the later round guys also likely will make less than before. Here is a look at my projected offense-the OL is the biggest guessing game right now.
OT-Kenarious Gates JR
OG-Dallas Lee JR
C-David Andrews Soph
OG-Chris Burnette JR
OT-Watts Dantzler Soph or John Theus FR
TE-Orson Charles SR or Arthur Lynch JR (if Charles leaves of course)
WR-Tavarres King SR
WR-Malcolm Mitchell Soph
FB-Zander Ogletree JR
TB-Isaiah Crowell Soph
QB-Aaron Murray JR
The offense of course is much younger in terms of experience and starters than the D. Assuming Murray stays for his SR year, all would be back in 2013 except King and Charles, that is pretty impressive. King and Charles also play positions of great depth so their loss would not be as big as other spots. You also know that we have a bunch of young WR's already contributing, Crowell will certianly be pushed by current players and recruits, an interesting battle will take place to see who is #2 behind Murray at QB. I honestly believe if the OL group can gel and come together, next year figures to be a strong year. 2013, well, offensively I can see it as being a great year, but the D will be reloading. The good news though, the bullets we will reload with, many of those guys will be upperclassmen. Drew, Herrera, Moore, Swann, Marshall, etc, those guys will be juniors. This recruiting year is all about restocking the talent pile-I would suggest that there will be a lot of guys signed this year that will redshirt but we need a strong and deep class this year. Depth chart is truly where the two SEC elite programs have us beat-LSU/Bama. They have so much talented depth, they simpy reload each and every year. I think we are on our way to that now-when you see a position like LB or WR for example, where we suffer a lot of injuries but young guys step up and play extremely well, that is where you gain your strength. You have recruited talent that is good enough to come in and play early and not hurt you on the field.
Now taking a look at our current recruiting class, yestereday we picked up the #1 ranked multi purpose RB in the nation in Keith Marshall. This not only gives us back to back #1 backs in the nation, but it gives Mr. Crowell some top notch competition in practce. Marshall is an early enrollee which means he reports to Athens in early January-in time to go through MAT drills, in time to go through spring practice-in other words, he will be ready to roll come next August. He is a bright kid, with a 4.2 GPA, he will have time to pick up the offense, gain strength, and get started in the classroom. We still have 10-11 spots left in the class. Below is how I would break it down-
RB- Gurley and or Davis
WR-Patterson-the JUCO
LB-Lee and Eligwe (both currently commited to other schools but we still have a shot)
DE-Jenkins and Whitehead
OL-Young and maybe someone else or JUCO
CB/S-Elder
One final note, hoops team plays host to GT tonight. Both teams enter at 4-4. We really need to make it 3 straight over the Nerds tonight, then hopefully pick up a road win at Southern Cal, win the other non conference game to get to 10-4 before SEC play. I figure we might win 6 conference games, that would put us at 16-11 and have potential for an NIT bid. I don't see them team being NCAA caliber as just not enough scoring potential. Caldwell-Pope is certainly looks to be a good player, Donte' Williams is really playing better but overall we just can't score enough to win a lot of games. Tonight's game starts at 7p and will be televised on Fox Sports South. Go Dogs!
Friday, December 2, 2011
LSU here we come
So now it is time to really see how far we have come this year. From the 0-2 start, FIRE RICHT, FIRE BOBO, FIRE the players, to SEC EAST CHAMPS-victories over UT, UF, AU, GT in the same year since what 1980?? Our first 10 game win streak since, the 80's perhaps?? Much has been made of our weak schedule-I will freely admit, it HAS been weak but let's take a look at it further. Boise is still a top 10 team, SCarolina is right with us, top 15 team with two losses. We lost both those games, Boise beat us badly but not SCarolina. In fact, you could say that Spurrier continues to be the thorn in our side even at SCarolina. Think about it, 2007 the loss at home kept us out of the SEC title game, most likely a shot at the national title-I think we take care LSU that year-they limped into that game with UT. This year, that loss is keeping US out of this SEC game potentially setting up to be a huge BCS showdown-winner gets title shot. Kind of disgusting to think about SCarolina being such a thorn. Obviously Coastal Carolina, Ole Miss, UT, New Mex State and UK are all teams not going to bowl games. Miss State, Vandy, AU, GT, and UF are all at least 6 win teams. So, we can say 7 of 12 games were against teams with 6 or more wins. Granted, not a strong schedule but not as bad as some make it out to be. Take a look at VaTech's schedule, certainly not any tougher-I say weaker. Heck, even Bama didn't exactly have the toughest schedule-they played Penn State early-they are not bad but have no offense, Boise is better put it that way. They played the two west powers LSU/Arky at home, they got Vandy, UT and UF from the east, North Texas, Kent State, Ga Southern. Everyone that says UGA avoided the top three from the west, how about saying LSU and Bama avoided the top two from the east??? Sure an argument could be made that had LSU/Bama played SCarolina and UGA, they would still have the same records while the east teams would have two more losses-but nothing is guaranteed in college football. Which leads us to the SEC title game.
EVERYONE expects LSU to beat us tomorrow. I mean, most think the game will be a laugher-the spread has gone up to 14 pts, it might be 16pts by kickoff. There have been some excellent posts on the UGA fan messsage board Dawgpost this week breaking down LSU. Rather than me take the time and effort to do the research, I will copy paste the information and of course give the author FULL credit-but the posts are so well done, I couldn't do anything nearly as well done. First is LSU pass defense stats, post made my jorge99, very good information here. Keep in mind that Mr. College football-the KING on 680, Chuck Oliver has stated how LSU has 6 NFL stars playing in their secondary so UGA will not have much luck throwing the football. Ok, so I will admit, LSU has great talent and we have some young pups catching passes but I do think we CAN have some success throwing against this team if we protect Murray-that is the key to our offensive gameplan.
LSU PASS DEFENSE
EVERYONE expects LSU to beat us tomorrow. I mean, most think the game will be a laugher-the spread has gone up to 14 pts, it might be 16pts by kickoff. There have been some excellent posts on the UGA fan messsage board Dawgpost this week breaking down LSU. Rather than me take the time and effort to do the research, I will copy paste the information and of course give the author FULL credit-but the posts are so well done, I couldn't do anything nearly as well done. First is LSU pass defense stats, post made my jorge99, very good information here. Keep in mind that Mr. College football-the KING on 680, Chuck Oliver has stated how LSU has 6 NFL stars playing in their secondary so UGA will not have much luck throwing the football. Ok, so I will admit, LSU has great talent and we have some young pups catching passes but I do think we CAN have some success throwing against this team if we protect Murray-that is the key to our offensive gameplan.
LSU PASS DEFENSE
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