From the Mailbag: Charles Takes on Blocking

I got a handful of pretty good questions for players last week via Twitter, but I didn't get time to post too many answers. So I'll take some time this week and dish them out one at a time.

This one comes from @drewh07, who asks: Can you ask how Orson Charles is doing regarding the blocking schemes...is he picking them up pretty well?

Indeed I can... and I did.

I had actually talked to Joe Cox about this issue before, and he said Orson was putting a lot of work into his blocking. He has already added some weight, which helps, but after talking to Orson firsthand, I found he's not happy with where he's at in terms of blocking... and that's a good thing.

"My blocking game is alright, but I don't want to be average," Charles said. "A lot of people are all right with being average, but I don't want to do that. I want to do what Georgia wants me to do, to be above average, to be a guy that people can depend on. My blocking's OK, but OK's not going to win you games. You've got to keep working at it."

I'm going to guess a few Georgia fans will be pleased with that answer. Seriously, Orson seems to have the perfect attitude, and when you add that to the focus veterans like Joe Cox, Rennie Curran and Jeff Owens have offered, it's hard not to think the mental side of this year's team is going to be a vast improvement from last year. Now, whether the same can be said for the skill side... I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Remember, you, too, can get your burning questions answered, but first you have to follow me on Twitter. (Or, I suppose you could just email me, but that's just so 2004.)