First Look at Spring Practice

A few tidbits from our first look at spring practice...

-- I think I'm going to be a big fan of Todd Grantham's style on the practice fields. Great enthusiasm, distinctive voice... a rare glimpse of entertainment during what are usually pretty monotonous drills. My favorite part? He didn't like the energy the players showed breaking the huddle before a drill, so he sent them back to do it again. "Get back in that huddle and do it right this time!" Good stuff.

-- Enjoyed Tony Ball talking to A.J. Green after he ran through one drill: "A.J. Green," Ball said. "Remember that stance. I like it. Did it feel explosive? I really liked it." Personally, I didn't notice anything special about the stance, but then again, everything A.J. does is pretty impressive.

-- Another enjoyable moment: Mark Richt tried to cover Tavarres King on one drill. It didn't end well for the head coach.

-- A good quote from Warren Belin as he worked with his guys at the start of practice: "Get used to these positions, boys. That's how you're going to be setting up as long as you're here."

-- The top four LBs working in the ILB group were Akeem Dent, Darryl Gamble, Marcus Dowtin and Akeem Hebron, along with Christian Robinson and Mike Gilliard.

-- Grantham's group at OLB included, as expected, Richard Samuel, Montez Robinson, Cornelius Washington and Justin Houtson.

-- A few more players in green that we were led to believe, although nothing that looked too serious. Kwame Geathers wore green and was riding the stationary bike for most of our time out on the fields. Kiante Tripp was in a green jersey and sweatpants and appeared to be walking pretty gingerly. Brandon Wood was also in green and jogging along the sidelines. Marlon Brown and Israel Troupe had green jerseys on, too, but appeared to be practicing fully.

(*And don't quote me on all of that, as for many of those guys, I was going strictly by uniform number, and there were a handful of walk-ons out there that meant numbers were doubled up. I'll be checking in with Richt after practice on any injuries.)

-- Ran into former Bulldog CJ Byrd out at practice, too. Beyond looking like he was ready to suit up himself, he said he just started grad school at UGA, too.

-- Oh and a few number updates in case you're curious: Washaun Ealey is rocking the No. 3; Mike Gilliard has taken over Rennie's No. 35; And while Lebron may not want it, Jakar "Hit Man" Hamilton is more than happy with 23.