'Tis better to receive, preferably downfield

Today, we discuss receivers, and the future of receivers at the University of Georgia.

Here’s a link to my story today on Tavarres King, who would have the inside track to be the go-to guy in 2011, assuming his talk-show sidekick A.J. Green takes his talents to the pros.

Kris Durham, who as a senior is definitely gone, also provided his outlook on the unit. Here’s what the team’s second-leading receiver this year had to say:

“You take out AJ, if he makes the decision to leave, then there’s gonna have to be some people to step up,” he said. “It’s gonna be guys like Tavarres, (Rantavious) Wooten, Marlon (Brown) is gonna step up tremendously, I got a feeling. There’s a lot of other guys like (Israel) Troupe and Logan (Gray) that have done good things when they’ve had an opportunity.”

Durham also singled out freshman Michael Bennett, who is taking a redshirt but traveled to every away game.

“The guy’s gonna be something special. He makes plays every day in practice, he’s done everything the coaches could’ve asked him,” Durham said. “You could see the strides he’s made in camp, till now, he’s a completely different player. So I think he’ll definitely step in and playa a major role.”

Green also had nice things to say about Bennett.

“He’s good. He’s real good,” Green said. “I believe he could’ve played this year. He was killing (for) the scout team.”

Bennett is on the shorter side, so if the team needs a tall threat – a la Green and Durham – all eyes will be on 6-foot-4 Marlon Brown, currently a sophomore.

Here was Durham’s scouting report on Brown:

“Marlon’s just a worker. He hasn’t had as many opportunities this year as he probably would’ve liked, but the guy continues to work every day,” Durham said. “He does what he’s supposed to do, he works hard, he does all the drills, he’s got a lot of ability. Whenever he’s had the chances this year he’s made the catches. … I really feel like he’s gonna break out next year.”

The nice thing about Green and Durham this year is that they were each good possession and downfield receivers. So what about next year? Who can Aaron Murray target when he needs that first down, and then who goes for the downfield bombs?

“If you look at guys like Tavarres and Wooten, they have a lot of speed,” Durham said. “They can take the top off the defense, they can go deep. But Marlon has some speed, Logan has some speed. Everybody has speed, so they have the potential.

“Everybody puts me as a possession receiver but I’ve averaged, I don’t know, probably around 20 yards a catch. People have the ability, it’s just whatever opportunities they get they’re gonna take advantage of.”

Georgia also has a few commitments from receivers: Justin Scott-Wesley, who is 6-1, is rated the nation's 14th-best receiver recruit by Rivals.com. Chris Conley (6-4) and Zach Witchett (6-0) are both three-star recruits according to the recruiting service.