Mark Richt didn't mention any problems with grades when I spoke to him earlier this week, but as it turns out, one player didn't make the cut. Safety John Knox will transfer to Georgia Military College for academic reasons. Here's the UGA release...
University of Georgia redshirt sophomore free safety John Knox of Statesboro will transfer to Georgia Military College (GMC) for academic considerations according to Bulldog head coach Mark Richt.
Knox will begin classes at GMC this month. He played in 12 games in 2008 recording eight total tackles.
Knox was Georgia's second most experienced safety behind Reshad Jones after serving as the primary (and at times, only) backup last season. He's a good hitter with solid speed, but was far from consistent. Still, he made some nice progress last year.
So what does this mean?
Well, for one, it means Bryan Evans better be ready. Evans already appeared to have the inside edge on the starting job after moving from corner to safety late last season, but now it's all but guaranteed that he'll be the man. He looked good in Georgia's bowl game and was a strong leader this spring, according to everyone I spoke with, so he appears up to the challenge.
It also means Quintin Banks needs to stay healthy. Banks figured to play the role Knox did last year, but missed all but one game with various injuries. He didn't see much action this spring either, but could easily fill the void left by Knox if he's back to 100 percent by fall.
And it probably means we'll see a good bit of Baccari Rambo, the scout team QB extraordinaire, who earned very positive reviews from teammates this spring. Rambo is young and, after redshirting last year, has no game-day experience, but there's a lot of talent and athleticism there, and he's gotten a lot bigger since he arrived.
All in all, this could be a lot worse. There's no one with quite as much experience as Knox to step in, but there's no shortage of players who could easily handle the job.
Don't be too surprised, either, if we see Knox back in a year, a la Akeem Hebron.
Posts
4 comments:
Not to split hairs but it sure seems like Quinton Banks got a lot more PT in 07 than Knox did in 08. In fact, didn't he start a game or two?
I expect Evans to step up big time for us this year, and Rambo looked good on G-Day
Knox started two games last year, too. It's probably about the same.
What about Sanders Comming-is he at corner or can play safety-thought he looked good in G-Game
He's a possibility, but I think the staff sees his future at CB and he's being counted on as probably the No. 1 nickel this year.
Post a Comment