Coaches Rank UGA No. 13; Jones on Thorpe List

From UGA release...

The Georgia Bulldogs were ranked No. 13 in the initial USA Today coaches' poll release on Friday morning. In additional news, safety Reshad Jones was named to the watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award on Thursday.

The Thorpe Award is given annually to the nation's top defensive back. The ledger of 31 leading candidates was derived through a point system based on pre-season All-American teams listed in various football publications.

Jones, a 6-2, 212-pound junior from Atlanta's Booker T. Washington High School, was a second-team All-SEC selection by the Associated Press last season after leading the Bulldogs with five interceptions. He started 12 of 13 games in 2008, posting 76 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss, and posted three pass break-ups.

The Thorpe watch list is not final, and players who have exceptional seasons may be added. Ten semifinalists will be named on Nov. 2, and that list will be trimmed to three finalists on Nov. 23. The winner is announced on ESPN's College Football Awards Show telecast in December. The official presentation of the award will take place in Oklahoma City in February.

Georgia will open the season on Saturday, Sept. 5 at Oklahoma State, which was ranked No. 11 in the pre-season poll. The Bulldogs will face four teams ranked in the top 15 of USA Today rankings ­ No. 1 Florida, No. 9 LSU, the No. 11 Cowboys and No. 15 Georgia Tech.

The Dogs finished No. 10 in the final USA Today poll following a 10-3 campaign a year ago. Georgia has now posted six top-10 finishes in the coaches' poll in the last seven years, including No. 3 in 2002, No. 6 in both 2003 and 2004, No. 10 in 2005 and No. 3 in 2007.