Figgins not waiting for his number anymore

One of the more interesting stories in spring practice is tight end-turned-fullback Bruce Figgins. Figgins, head coach Mark Richt and several of his teammates discussed his move in a story, which has just been posted on Macon.com. A quick tease:

ATHENS -- It’s the question everyone has been asking Bruce Figgins since the move became official: Is he going to switch his jersey now?

That number 89 works great for a tight end. But at fullback? Figgins, however, has held firm: No matter how weird it looks, he’ll line up in the backfield with a number not usually associated with a back.

“Everybody’s been asking me if I want 40-this or 40-that. But no, I’ve had this number too long,” Figgins said. “My momma and grandma and granddaddy, everybody in my family has 89 jerseys made.”

Read the whole story here.

Video Blog: New D, Fair Catches and Aaron Murray's Love Life

Brandon Spoon gives us some video of Aron White talking about playing against the 3-4 and having the TEs pick up the slack for the lack of depth at receiver, while Logan Gray chats about his relationship with his fellow QBs and his interest in fielding punts. Enjoy...

Video Blog: Aron vs. Aaron

I'm finally back in Athens, but after spending only two-and-a-half days at home in the last three weeks, I find myself with a mountain of chores (and about 200 emails) that need to be attended to in the immediate future. So today is going to be a bit of a recovery day while I try to get organized, and I'll have a bunch of stuff to post tomorrow.

In the meantime, Aron White is filling in for me on the interview circuit, chatting with quarterback Aaron Murray.



(* Video courtesy of Brandon Spoon)

Notes: Tight Ends Bring Versatility to Offense

By FLETCHER PAGE

Still adding to the list of what they can do, Aron White and Orson Charles should offer defenses a matchup dilemma this fall.

Both tight ends are athletic enough to split out at receiver, with the formation options at offensive coordinator Mike Bobo’s disposal essentially endless.

“It’s going to be good to have those guys just to confuse the defense,” said quarterback Aaron Murray. “Not knowing if we’re in a two-tight formation, or spread, or three receiver look.”

Both White and Charles play tight end and receiver in high school. They’ve got the size to hang in the trenches, blocking or catching pass over the middle, but also the quickness to flex out wide.

Playing the matchup game, Georgia can flex either Charles or White, or both, if a linebacker is trying to cover them.

The possibilities are endless.

“It’s going to pose a great threat,” Murray said. “It’s going to be pretty hard for the defense. You look at our defense now, we come out with two tight ends, and they think we’re going to be in a two-tight formation and we split one out, or we split two out and they’re in a base defense. They’re not ready to handle four receivers. It causes it a lot of confusion just because of their athleticism.”

And with so much depth at tight end, adding Bruce Figgins and Arthur Lynch to the mix, flexing White or Charles out adds another way to get more players involved in the offense with surplus opportunities to make plays.

“They’re really trying to get us involved because we’re deep,” Charles said. “We’ve got athletes all over the entire room. You look at all of us, we all have things that we all need to work on, but we have things we are just real good at. You know, just trying to put your players out there and let them play, and let them win ball games.”

Charles admits, learning all these positions and schemes is a challenge. But he’s never been one to back down from a test. He and White have spent extra time, working on the finer details of route running to prepare.

“I know coach [John] Lilly says I still have to work on my footwork, just little simple stuff like that,” Charles said. “That’s what we’re trying to correct right now. That will make a whole difference. Everybody can work on footwork, because if you don’t have footwork and get your [helmet] in the right place, then you don’t have anything.”

With White and Charles’ ever evolving versatility, the offense continues to add dimensions.

“It causes a lot of confusion just because of their athleticism,” Murray said.

MORE VERSATILITY

Speaking of interchangeable pieces, DeAngelo Tyson is splitting practice reps at defensive tackle and end, and says he doesn’t care where he plays. As long as he can help the team, he’ll do it.

“It all depends on what group of d-linemen are in,” he said. “If it’s just some guys who are experienced at end, they play end. If some more d-tackles come in, then I move to end, try to learn and try to play it to the best of my ability.”

Tyson was a tackle last season, almost certain to move into the starting lineup with the graduation of Jeff Owens, Geno Atkins and Kade Weston. But in defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s 3-4 scheme, Tyson’s size, 6-foot-2, 295-pounds, gives the potential for a move to the outside. Grantham loves big-bodied ends, and Tyson’s athleticism is coveted.

Tyson says Grantham has been everything he expected as a coach.

“He gives me advice on how to play, and how to make me a better person at the position,” he said. “So, I think he is a good coach.

With spring practice in full swing, Tyson is happy with the defensive progress.

“It takes time to learn it,” Tyson said. “We practice every day, go over our playbooks. It’s going to take a little time. As long as I keep working at it, practice hard then I should be able to do what I’m supposed to do and help out the team win some games.”

LEADING THE CHARGE

Head coach Mark Richt singled out a couple of players, on a few occasions, who have provided leadership this season.

Darryl Gamble is the first name he mentions on defense.

Gamble doesn’t come off as overly comfortable when asked of his expected outspoken role. But he says he realizes it’s what seniors do. The fact that he is stepping up in a leadership role this early is encouraging since he will most likely be starting at an inside linebacker position, and making many reads and calls in-game during the season.


"I guess it's my role," he said. "I'm a senior. You're supposed to lead. A lot of guys follow me, so it's easy for me to go and tell somebody how to do stuff."

Richt also pointed to Akeem Dent as a leader, who just like Gamble, figures to play as an inside linebacker this year.

Notebook: Durham Brings Seniority to Receivers

It was hardly the way Kris Durham wanted things to play out, but sometimes things have a way of working out in strange ways.

Durham was preparing for a breakout senior season last spring when he hurt his shoulder, and the ensuing surgery to repair the damage kept him on the sidelines for the entire year. After seeing regular playing time for three seasons, waiting and watching was no easy task.

As it turns out, however, it was just what Georgia needed. The Bulldogs have just five other scholarship receivers on their roster, and Durham will be the only senior of the bunch this season. That makes his extra year in Athens a serendipitous turn of events.

“It’s been a blessing in disguise,” Durham said. “I wanted to come back for Joe (Cox) and all the seniors, and you don’t want to sit out a year. It’s hard after you’ve already played. But I definitely learned a lot, and sitting back and taking a year off makes you appreciate the game more.”

It also gave Durham a chance to work with those younger receivers and develop into a leader among the group that features just two returning wideouts who had more than 10 receptions last year.

But Durham warns that the lack of experience at receiver shouldn’t worry Georgia fans. He thinks the group is ready to take a big step forward in 2010.

“They’re definitely progressing,” Durham said. “Your first year, it’s hard to come in and really contribute because you’re trying to learn the plays and what the offense is. In your second year is when you figure out, OK, I understand what I’m supposed to do, now I’m starting to understand what the guy opposite of me is doing and how everything inter-relates.”

HURRY UP AND WAIT

It was an odd feeling, defensive lineman DeAngelo Tyson admitted. After more than two months of waiting and wondering, the Bulldogs finally got back to practice last week in what was a frenzied first experiment with Todd Grantham’s new 3-4 defensive scheme.

The follow-up to those early efforts, however, was a bit out of place – a 12-day vacation.

“It’s weird to practice one day and then take a week off. You can get out of shape and get weak, but I think we have players who will buy in and do what they’re supposed to do over spring break.”

Georgia opened spring practice on March 4 to take advantage of additional meeting time afforded by the NCAA, but players are now relaxing again on their spring breaks before returning to work on March 16 to finish out the spring. It was an odd schedule, but head coach Mark Richt said he hopes his players are using their vacation time wisely and will come back ready to impress.

“Guys can gain a lot of confidence during the spring, especially from a competitive standpoint, from a physicality standpoint,” Richt said. “If you learn to play hard and play physical in the spring and see what it feels like, they’ll remember that. It’s also a big time just to prove to the coaches, should you be in the lineup, should you be playing? I don’t worry about who starts in the spring so much as who’s going to be ready?”

TIPPING THE SCALES

It’s an annual spring story for tight end Aron White, but this year, he’s not going to let it dominate his approach to the offseason.

The undersized tight end has fought an ongoing battle to put on weight and improve his blocking during his first two offseasons at Georgia, but this year things are different. He’s tipping the scales at 240 pounds – a career high for him after playing last year closer to 230 – and he’s through worrying if he gets any heavier.

“I’ve always struggled a little bit keeping the weight on, just with the working out that we do and just genetics,” said White, who caught 13 passes for 197 yards and four touchdowns last year. “It’s always been something people have talked about with me, but I try not to think about it. I want to let it come naturally. I don’t want to put on 10 pounds overnight and then go out there and lose a second on my 40. I definitely feel like that’s not my strength, running people over. I have to get out there and be athletic. That’s what suits me best.”

CHANGE HAS COME

Tailback Washaun Ealey officially unveiled his new uniform number at Georgia’s first spring workout, switching from the No. 24 to No. 3 – the same number he wore during his high school days.

The move got the stamp of approval from backfield mate Caleb King, who said it fits with the dynamic he’s trying to establish among the running backs.

“I just called him my son now,” King joked. “He’s three and I’m four.”

Video Blog: White Breaks Down the QBs

If you guys have never checked out Brandon Spoon's great Dancing in the Endzone blog, be sure to give it a look.

Brandon's going to be helping us out here a bit over the next few weeks, too, shooting video and doing some more multimedia stuff for the blog. Next up... here's Georgia tight end Aron White breaking down each of the horses in the QB race this spring, including his former high school teammate, Logan Gray.

Home Is Where Your Helmet Is

A lot was made this week of freshman defensive end Montez Robinson earning SEC defensive lineman of the week honors, just a few weeks removed from some serious thoughts about transferring. That got me to thinking... Robinson certainly isn't alone in feeling a bit out of place at Georgia in his early career.

A handful of players who traveled the farthest to come to Georgia are getting minimal playing time, so I decided to look into how those players -- Brandon Bogotay, Arthur Lynch and Robinson -- have been coping. As a transplant to Athens, I know it can be a bit of a culture shock.

Anyway, my original version of the story came out pretty long, and with newspapers getting smaller, there just isn't room for 50-inch features anymore. So I had to make some cuts, and in the process, I think the story lost a lot of its color and detail.

You're free to read that version of the story online now, if you'd like. But, if like the Big Lebowski, you're not into the whole brevity thing, I figured I'd post the full version of the story here, without any cuts made to it.

Here goes...

----

It was the Fourth of July before Aron White’s freshman year at Georgia when he took a trip home to Columbia, Mo. for the holiday. He had been in Athens for a while, working out with teammates and getting ready for his rookie season, and the trip home was a welcome reward after a difficult start to his career with the Bulldogs.

Throughout the visit home, White couldn’t quite shake the feeling that he wasn’t supposed to leave. Many of his friends were in school at nearby Missouri, and being home was like old times. He missed family, he missed friends, he missed normalcy. Being home felt right.

Nearly four months passed before White made another trip back to Columbia, this time during Georgia’s off week in 2007. He hadn’t played a down that season, instead redshirting while fellow freshman Bruce Figgins earned praise from coaches and fans for his early contributions. Life in Athens was still unconfortable.

But that second trip to Missouri was different. White was happy to see his brothers, but many of his friends were occupied with school. Most had made new friends he didn’t know. The bedroom he had grown up in suddenly felt foreign. The bed wasn’t as comfortable. The décor wasn’t his own.

He missed Georgia.

“It was home, but it was just like, I knew by the end of that weekend I wanted to go back, I missed people,” White said. “I went home and slept in my old room, and it wasn’t the same. You don’t have all those things you surround yourself with. It wasn’t my bed, it wasn’t my TV, I didn’t have my movies or my posters hanging on the wall. That was definitely the point I realized that if I were to leave Georgia, I’d definitely miss it.”

White’s story is hardly unique. It’s an annual right of passage for Georgia’s freshmen, but it’s never a simple process.

While some players are eased into life in Athens with routine trips to nearby homes and meals prepared by mom or nights out with old friends, players like White can only make the occasional trip home, planned far in advance and paid for with scarce funds.

While some players transition is overshadowed by success on the field and immediate praise from fans and coaches, players like White often have far more time alone on the sidelines to question the decisions they made that led them to Georgia.

It’s never simple, but for some players, the transition is arduous.

“You definitely second guess yourself sometimes,” freshman tight end Arthur Lynch said, his words tinged with a heavy New England accent. “It’s not the easiest thing, and it’s something you can’t really adjust to because it’s so different than where I’m from. But you get used to it after a while.”

Athens may be one of the most beloved college towns in the country, but for players like Lynch, it’s a world apart from where he grew up.

The 6-foot-5 Dartmouth, Mass. native came to Georgia this summer expecting to stand out, but it’s the accent that always throws people. He can’t hide it. He might as well be speaking a foreign language compared to the slow, Southern dialect prevalent throughout Georgia.

There are other differences, too. There are things Lynch finds utterly perplexing about the South. He’s learned to keep most of those opinions to himself. He's not yet comfortable enough with his surroundings to ruffle any feathers. Life is simply different here.

Kicker Brandon Bogotay knows the feeling. He arrived in July from San Diego, and while the weather was a few degrees warmer and the beach was no longer within walking distance, things seemed relatively normal.

And then the rain came.

“It’s been raining, and I never really saw much rain out there,” Bogotay said. “The scooter rides in the morning have been pretty cold.”

Bogotay joked that he owned just two long-sleeved shirts when he came to Athens, but he’s in the market for a new wardrobe now.

For other players, however, the culture shock isn’t so much about the weather or the slang. It’s about family and security. It's about knowing who to trust and where to find comfort.

Defensive end Montez Robinson grew up in Indiana, then moved to Alabama when he was in grade school. His family life was difficult, but he was always close with his brothers. His father died when he was young and he and his brothers spent much of their lives as wards of the state. After his sophomore year in high school, he moved back to Indiana and later committed to Auburn.

When Tigers’ coach Tommy Tuberville resigned at the end of last season, however, Robinson’s life was shaken up yet again, and he re-opened his recruitment, eventually settling on Georgia, where assistant coach Rodney Garner assured Robinson he would find a home.

Through his first few months in Athens, however, Robinson simply wanted to see his family again.

“At first it was hard being away from home,” Robinson said. “There’s a couple other guys that are far from home, and we were always talking about how much we missed our families.”

It happens every season. The initial thrill of college grows old, the lure of home grows stronger, and eventually they all ask the same question: Did I do the right thing?

“I don’t care if you’re from 15 minutes away or 15 hours away, you’re not at home anymore when you go to college,” tight ends coach John Lilly said. “I think it’s natural to go through an adjustment period, and probably a little bit of a homesick period.”

As many times as they’ve seen it happen, Lilly said there’s no universal solution to getting a player past that point. They’re all different, but there is support.

Lilly said the coaching staff tries to talk to players' families and friends, asking them to offer encouragement rather than reminders of what was left behind.

Head coach Mark Richt has worked hard to create a family environment around the team, too. Coaches wives and children are frequent visitors, with the team holding a weekly family night after practice when they all share a meal together.

But while encouragement is offered, the job of most coaches is to impart discipline and demand excellence. They rely on the other players to handle the role of friend.

“It’s a difficult thing when you’re riding someone and you’re pushing them, you can’t be their buddy,” said Jon Fabris, Robinson’s position coach. “Yet you understand that there are players that have been there and you can tell them, ‘Hey, keep an eye on this guy.’ I think you can get better support through their peers because, who hasn’t gone through that?”

The feeling of being an outsider in a strange place is only exacerbated for those freshmen who rarely see the field. That has been the case for Bogotay, Lynch and Robinson this season.

Game days provide some solace, but offer little playing time.

White sees plenty of parallels between his career and Lynch’s. Both came from another part of the country. Both joined the team at the same time as another, more highly recruited player at their position. Both knew their role early on would be mostly as an understudy.

“It’s hard to deal with not coming in and being the guy and feeling like somebody else is getting all the spotlight or that he’s the guy people want to see take over,” White said. “It’s tough to deal with sometimes, but we remember that we’re all working toward the same goal, and so you just have to work hard as a player so you can be a part of that.”

That’s the approach Robinson has tried to take this season.

He admits he considered a transfer. There were too many days when going home seemed a far better option than going to practice. But things change. They always do.

Robinson got his first serious playing time last week against Tennessee Tech. He finished the game with the first five tackles of his career, including two sacks. He won the SEC’s defensive lineman of the week award two days later, and his foster father cried when he heard the news.

“You know when you can do something like that and the gratitude that people give you and the feeling you get afterwards, it eases things down a little bit, and it makes you want to work harder for things like that,” Robinson said.

It helped that Robinson’s two younger brothers, Armonze and Elijah, his foster parents and one of his cousins were all in Athens for his big game last week. They added a bit of home to a place that suddenly didn’t feel so foreign anymore anyway.

“Having success makes him love this place a little bit more,” Garner said. “Hopefully a lot of positives that come out of him having success, and that’s my hope for him, too.”

It’s probably too soon to call the game a turning point for Robinson, but sometimes it happens that quickly. That was true for White when he visited Missouri back in 2007 and realized it wasn’t home anymore. It has been true for dozens of others, too.

“You realize that home changes,” Lilly said. “You have all these great memories of high school and those kinds of things, and then when you do get back, it’s nice to go home and see people, but as the years go by you realize that home really is where you go to school. That’s where all your friends are and where your life really is at that point.”

Lynch tasted a bit of success last week, too, grabbing the first two receptions of his career during a fourth-quarter drive. There were no SEC awards that followed, but it was a good starting point, he said.

And seeing Robinson enjoy the spotlight after an impressive performance – that helped, too.

“You hope to catch a break and get on the field like Montez did Saturday,” Lynch said. “You keep moving, keep working hard in practice, and hopefully your time will come.”

Bogotay has taken the field just once this season, which is one more time than he has visited home. But even he isn’t sulking.

“I’m looking forward to the next trip home, but I love it out here,” he said. “It’s a big change, but overall I’m having a great time out here.”

Things change. Home is wherever you make it. It’s a conclusion everyone comes to eventually.

In fact, while Robinson was considering leaving Georgia just a few weeks ago, he’s now busy recruiting his brothers to join him in Athens.

“I have two brothers getting recruited from here, and they just want to go wherever I go,” he said. “I’m trying to convince them.”

It changes that fast, White said. Sometimes it happens after a big play. Sometimes it happens after a few friends are made. Sometimes, like White, a new perspective suddenly arises.

“Early on, I didn’t know if I fit in around here. It wasn’t so much football, it was just really hard for me to cope, being away from home,” White said. “But I realized it was about more than just feeling comfortable. I made a commitment to be here. The coaches gambled on me, they gave me this opportunity, and I didn’t feel like I was giving it a chance. By season’s end, I knew this was the right place for me and I had made the right decision.”

It’s a story he has passed along to Lynch, Robinson, Bogotay and others. It’s a story that dozens of other players on the team could tell, too, with just a few of the details changed.

Everyone gets homesick, White said. But eventually they all decide that Georgia is home.

“They’ll come around,” White said. "(Lynch), Montez, Bogotay, they’ll all come around. Because there are guys who live 45 minutes away that don’t want to go home on weekends. It’s too much fun being here.”

Practice Notes: Recruiting Implications Will Be Big Saturday

In his first year on the job at Tennessee, Lane Kiffin made a point to put a target on Georgia. He called the Bulldogs his team’s biggest rival, and for good reason. The Volunteers need to recruit in Georgia, and Kiffin wanted to get his regime off on the right foot. The result was a dominant win over the Bulldogs in Knoxville last month.

This week, Georgia faces another first-year coach of another SEC program that relies on the Peach State to fill a sizable portion of its roster when Auburn comes to Athens. And once again, the victor will earn bragging rights – not just among fans, but in the living rooms of recruits throughout the state.

“Winning helps recruiting,” Georgia recruiting coordinator Rodney Garner said. “That’s the single most important factor is winning. Everybody loves a winner, and if you win, you’re hot, and you’re the most attractive person out there.”

For the past three years, Georgia’s had the edge over Auburn, but that hasn’t stopped the Tigers from competing for many of the same players the Bulldogs have recruited. Twenty players on Auburn’s current roster hail from Georgia, and a win for first-year coach Gene Chizik would help to boost that number in the future.

But the familiarity also breeds a bit of intensity, too, and head coach Mark Richt said his current players aren’t interested in letting Auburn become the latest to earn a win over the Bulldogs, on the field or on the recruiting trail.

“Auburn being so close to our border, just about every guy that we have on our team was more than likely recruited by Auburn and has been to Auburn and has seen what they are all about,” Richt said. “It’s a big deal for us as a staff, it’s a big deal for us as a team.”

CHANGE FOR THE BETTER

A year ago, Clint Boling was pressed into action at left tackle thanks to a slew of injuries at the position, and he never quite felt at home.

This season, Boling has made the move once again, but now he’s a bit more comfortable playing the most demanding position on the offensive line.

“I got a lot of experience playing left tackle last year and I’ve been working on it the last few weeks of practice, so I feel a lot more comfortable there now,” Boling said. “It’s not a big deal at all.”

Boling has started the past two games at left tackle after opening the season as Georgia’s starter on the right side of the line. When Trinton Sturdivant went down with a season-ending knee injury, many fans clamored for Boling to return to the left side where he eared rave reviews a year ago, but the change was slow to come.

With the return of junior Josh Davis from injury, however, Georgia had more leeway to fill any void Boling might leave on the right side of the line, and Boling said one the pieces were in place, everyone was happy to make the move.

“I think Coach (Stacy) Searels was just trying to find the best lineup he wanted with a group of guys that could play hard and do what he wanted to do,” Boling said. “And if that was me at left tackle and Josh at right tackle, then both Josh and I will do whatever Coach Searels wants to do.”

NO HUDDLE, NO PROBLEM

Georgia opened last week’s game against Tennessee Tech with a new look on offense – a no-huddle attack that kept the Golden Eagles guessing.

“We did the first couple of series. It wasn’t no-huddle, hurry-up offense, but it was just something we had gone into the game planning on doing,” quarterback Joe Cox said. “We wanted to get some plays run, get the line up and down fast, and try to put points on the board quick those first couple of drives. We scored on both those drives.”

The fast-paced offense was something offensive coordinator Mike Bobo had been toying with but saw a prime opportunity to run it against Tennessee Tech, and it gave Georgia a chance to show a more dynamic side of an offensive unit that has failed to show much life at times this season.

“It was just a change of pace, something that a lot of people haven’t seen us do, and it definitely caught them off guard because they were looking to the sideline trying to figure out what they needed to get in, and we went right down the field,” Cox said.

Despite the success the offense had against Tennessee Tech, Bobo isn’t sure if he’ll continue to use the approach going forward, but he said he liked the results enough to keep it as a possibility.

“It’s something we mess around with from time to time, and a lot is depending on our depth at receiver and how much we can do,” Bobo said. “But it was one of those games that we did want to spread them out and get our guys in space, and that’s something we could use in any game.”

TIGHT ENDS ARE TOP DAWGS

With A.J. Green out of the lineup last week, Cox found his tight ends made for appealing targets downfield against Tennessee Tech. The Bulldogs’ tight ends caught seven passes and one touchdown in the game, and that’s a trend Cox said he thinks can continue as Aron White and Orson Charles continue to develop within the offense.

“We’ve got two tight ends that are really making a lot of plays right now,” Cox said. “They’re dedicated to run blocking and work hard on it every day, and they’re great in the passing game. Orson and Aron, they run great routes and have great hands. You don’t have too many of those, and we’re lucky enough to have to of them on the same team.”

LINEMEN ON THE MEND

Two of Georgia's injured offensive linemen are making strides toward recovery, but Richt isn't sure either will be practicing before the spring.

Freshman Austin Long underwent back surgery before the season and has yet to practice with the team. There was hope he might be ready to practice by December leading up to an anticipated bowl game, but Richt said that's unlikely.

"He's got another appointment with the doctor, and it's sometime in December, to try to gauge how well it's healing," Richt said. "There's a possibility it's healed, but there may have to be some things that are taken out."

Richt said Long has been relegated to minor workouts -- elliptical machines and exercise bikes -- but he has not been able to run or do any significant weight lifting.

Trinton Sturdivant tore his ACL for the second time in as many years in Georgia's opener against Oklahoma State, but Richt said the left tackle is already well ahead of where he was two months after his first surgery.

"He's very excited about the repair," Richt said. "This is so much different than the last one because there was so much less damage that was done. The recovery is faster or at least he feels better faster. He feels like it's a great repair, he's confident in it, and he's excited about the future."

INJURY UPDATES

Richt on A.J.: "A.J. looks like A.J. Green, which is a very good thing. You'd never know he had any issues, and he might be a little more fresh than he would have been because we really didn't let him exert hardly at all."

Richt on Justin Houston: "He was wearing green but he was practicing and we expect him to play."

Richt on Quintin Banks: "He had a dislocated finger and they just kind of put it back together again and taped it to the next finger and go."

PRACTICE UPDATE

For the second straight day, Georgia's coaches and players braved the elements to get in a day's worth of practice, and while the energy was high, Richt said the passing game has been challenged by a day of rain and a day of high winds.

"We really haven't had a chance to throw and catch extremely well with the horrible weather yesterday," Richt said. “I think the wind was blowing like 14 to 20 mile-an-hour gusts out there, so it wasn't ideal conditions. Hopefully tomorrow we can have a pretty day. But we got the work in we needed to get done these last two days, and I'm happy with that and think we've got a good, solid plan.”

FOX LANDS RECRUIT

In the first day of college basketball’s early national signing period, first-year Georgia coach Mark Fox landed another recruit from the state of Florida when Orlando-area prospect Cady Lalanne signed a national letter of intent to join the Bulldogs.

“Cady is a terrific young kid who has the ability to score inside and outside,” Fox said of the 6-foot-8, 215-pound Lalanne. “One of the things we were looking for was a good interior offensive player, and I think we were able to find him. But his versatility on offense is something I really like, too. He was also very well-coached in high school, so I expect that his transition to college will be a smooth one.”

Lalanne is Georgia’s first recruit for the 2010-11 season, but Fox also landed guard Vincent Williams from the state of Florida soon after being hired in April.

Lalanne is rated as the nation’s No. 37 forward prospect by ESPN and the No. 21 center prospect by Scout.com.

Insight from White

Some insight on the mind-set of the team from tight end Aron White:

On the offensive struggles...
“It’s very frustrating. With the team we have this year, we’re always a couple plays away from the performances we’ve prepared for. We could come out and put any team away, but we self-destruct sometimes. It sucks, but there’s not a whole lot you can do other than work hard day in and day out in practice and hope we come out on Saturday and perform the way we’ve been practicing. These are things we don’t do in practice, but for whatever reason in a game we’ll throw the ball wrong here, have a fumble there or jump offsides. We’ve just been killing ourselves. We’re a better team than our record shows right now, that’s for sure.”

On playing from behind so often...
“Any time you’re in a game the situation you’re in at the time is going to affect your playcalling and the way the guys perform. Any time you’re coming from behind, that not a place you want to be even thought that’s kind of been our thing this year. We’ve been the team that’s fought back, even though we weren’t able to seal the deal in a lot of them. I definitely feel like if we’d had another score here or there or if the game had been a little closer, it might have changed the way the plays were called or the plays that were called against us – put the pressure on them a little bit more. Besides when it was 14-10, I feel like they were playing a little bit more pressure-free than we would have liked them to be. I feel like we were always in the game until about halfway through the fourth quarter, we were always a score or two away, and we had our chances to make the plays. We just made too many mistakes. We killed ourselves, that’s for sure. My hat’s off to them because they’re a great team, but I don’t feel that they’re unbeatable by any means. I feel like if we’d have come and had a little more focus, we could have came out with a ‘W’.”

On whether Joe Cox deserves the blame...
“I feel like a lot of the times when Joe gets intercepted, it’s not necessarily him making a poor decision or a bad throw, it’s just guys not being on the same page. You look at the one that he threw where he was trying to throw it out of bounds, he had a little too much pressure on him and got hit. That’s happened to him a couple of times. It’s not always Joe’s fault when he throws an interception. I know a lot of people get down on Joe, but I feel like I have faith in him and a lot of the guys have faith in him. Every time Logan gets in the game, I’m pretty happy for him. Obviously that was my high school quarterback, so I’m pretty close with him. And if that’s what the coaches decide to do we’re going to be behind Logan 100 percent of the way, too. But whatever the coaches feel is right to do, our team is going to support that.”

On Brandon Spikes' dirty play...
“It’s a really heated game. When you’re out there on the field in a Georgia-Florida game, it’s hard to control yourself all the time. I think Brandon Spikes is obviously a tremendous talent, a tremendous player. Obviously sometimes tempers flare like that but I don’t feel like it was anything too malicious or he’s a bad player. I just think sometimes people let their emotions get the best of them out there on the field.”

On team unity...
“It’s frustrating sometimes with the season going the way it has been but I feel like our team is sticking together. We’re not a team that’s going to fall apart when things go bad. I think we’ve proven that throughout the season so far. Hopefully we can band together and put faith in each other and turn the season around.”

On Georgia's four losses...
“The first loss against Oklahoma State hit us hard. It sucks to come out and lose the first game of the season, but we didn’t think that by any means that was going to define our season. We came out and played hard, and when we lost that close one to LSU, I don’t think the blame fell on anybody. I think that was one we let slip away as a team. We had a lot of different things go wrong that weren’t major but a whole lot of minor things and we let a heartbreaker get away from us. Then Tennessee came out and got after us pretty well. I feel like they handed us our worst loss of the season. They came out and just dominated that game. This Florida game, it felt like we were there the whole time and kind of gave it away. That’s probably why this game hurts the most. It was a chance for us to come out and prove to everybody that we’re not a .500 team, we’re not a team that we’re scared of anybody. To win a game against the No. 1 team in the country would have changed a lot of people’s mind. To let that opportunity slip by, not because somebody’s better than you in our opinion, but because we did too much to hurt ourselves, that hurts a lot.”

On A.J. Green handling so much attention from defenses...
“I don’t feel like he’s a guy who lets his emotions get the best of him. He’s a pretty calm guy but it’s got to be frustrating to get so many double teams and have people rolling their coverage to you all the time. But he’s a guy that no matter what the coverage is, if you put the ball in his hands, he’s going to go up and make the play.”

On the approach to the rest of the season...
“Right now I think all our focus has to be on Tennessee Tech, and I think that’s something that will be echoed across the team. We can’t overlook the rest of our season or think that it’s down the drain or anything like that. We have four games left in this season, and hopefully a bowl after that. We have to keep our heads in the right place and focus on the season. But at the same time we have a lot of young guys coming back, I’m sure we have a good recruiting class coming in. You can’t help but say hopefully things will be better next year, and with this rivalry, I think a lot of young guys are going to take this loss pretty hard. We had a lot of young guys play, and it’s something we want everybody to remember and carry with us until we play Florida again.”

UGA Notes: D Line Looks For Pressure

While the secondary has gotten the majority of the blame for Georgia’s defensive problems the past two weeks, defensive tackle Jeff Owens said his unit will be the key to shutting down the opposition’s passing attack.

“It starts with getting more sacks up front,” Owens said. ‘I think we’re nowhere near where we can be, and we need to get over that hump to get where we can be. But we’re going to keep progressing and just get better because we’re not where we want to be right now.”

Through three games, Georgia has recorded just four sacks, despite opponents throwing the ball or using the quarterback as a runner on more than 70 percent of their offensive plays the past two weeks.

Georgia finished last season ranked 11th in the SEC in sacks, with the bulk of its success coming in non-conference games against Arizona State and Michigan State. The Bulldogs worked on the pass rush this offseason, but so far the results haven’t shown up on the field.

“It gets frustrating after all the effort and time you put into it during the offseason, you think you’re going to come out and have a better season than last year,” defensive end Demarcus Dobbs said. “But it’s still early on. It gets frustrating, but we just have to keep grinding and try to go make a play.”

Part of the problem, Dobbs said, is that the group hasn’t been able to function at full capacity often this season.

Starting defensive end Justin Houston missed the first two games of the season with a suspension, and Owens and fellow defensive tackle Geno Atkins were forced to rush off the edge for nearly 60 snaps during the first two weeks.

Dobbs said the group showed some signs of improvement last week – sacking quarterback Ryan Mallett twice – but that more time together will be a key in getting the pass rush going on a consistent basis.

“We have to be able to mesh as a group,” Dobbs said. “Sometimes we’re getting pressure from the edge and people aren’t in the middle and we lose contain. But it takes chemistry, and you have to know the other person’s strength and when to cover somebody. It will come in time.”

HE’S THE MAN

It was against Arizona State last season that wide receiver A.J. Green had his first breakout performance – racking up 150 receiving yards in the first half.

Since then, Green hasn’t surprised too many defenses, and as the sophomore continues to compile big games, even his quarterback thinks there’s a chance Green will go down as the best receiver to play at Georgia.

“He’s one of the best I’ve ever seen,” Joe Cox said. “He’s an incredible playmaker, and he could end up being one of the best players that ever played here.”

As to what makes Green so impressive, head coach Mark Richt said it’s hard to identify just one thing. The beauty of having Green is that he does everything so well.

“When you take his combination of height and the range of his arms, his speed and agility; a lot of guys who are tall might be fast and can make a play on a deep ball, but A.J. can out-jump people, he can run by people,” Richt said. “He can make them miss, and he’s becoming a pretty darn good blocker. There isn’t much that you’d ask a receiver to do that he can’t do well. He’s pretty good, and I’m glad we have him.”

WOOTEN GETS THE NOD

After earning just one snap during the first two games, freshman receiver Rantavious Wooten saw a big increase in his workload against Arkansas last week.

While Wooten was targeted for just one throw and ran a sweep that failed to gain, he was in on a number of plays, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said that’s a trend that will continue this week.

“We’ve just got to play some of those guys and Wooten has done a good job at practice,” Bobo said. “He’s extremely quick and explosive and does a nice job running routes. He hasn’t had many opportunities to catch the ball. We tossed him a sweep. But you’ll see more of him this week just because of our number issue at receiver.”

DO-IT-ALL GUY

With tailback Caleb King sidelined for Georgia’s first two games, the burden of being the counterpunch for starter Richard Samuel fell to redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas.

The results so far have been mediocre, at best. The 5-foot-7 tailback has mustered just 25 yards on 10 carries, including one fumble. Thomas has been far more successful as a receiver, catching two passes for 18 yards – utilizing his elusiveness in space to his benefit.

Now that King is back, running backs coach Bryan McClendon said the team would like to find ways to better utilize Thomas, but he said it’s still essential that his freshman tailback learn all the intricacies of the position.

“There’s definitely things Carlton can do, but Carlton needs to work on being a guy that can get in there and we can run everything with him,” McClendon said. “That’s the focus he needs to take. We need to get him ready to go every play if he has to. There are definitely things he can do, but we want to make sure he knows everything come Saturday.”

JOE COOL

Georgia has trailed by double digits in the first quarter in each of its past two games, and the Bulldogs have won both. The common denominator, according to tight end Aron White, is the guy doing all the talking in the huddle.

Against South Carolina, the Bulldogs’ offense barely saw the field in the first quarter, and a special-teams turnover cost Georgia an early possession last week as well, but White said Cox has been calm, cool and collected each time – a bit asset in coming back from behind.

“Joe’s just extremely lighthearted when he’s in the huddle,” White said. “He came back into the huddle, just smiling, some words of encouragement, and we see his confidence and that does a lot to motivate guys and take some of the pressure off.”

COACHES STILL HIGH ON BROWN

Although Marlon Brown has yet to see any significant action, Bobo said he’s still expecting the freshman receiver to be a contributor to Georgia’s offense before the season is done.

“Marlon is starting to show some progress,” Bobo said. “Marlon is working hard, and we’re not at all disappointed with Marlon. I think Marlon has as much potential as anybody we’ve got on this team, it’s just a matter of him understanding what’s going on and learning how to do things.”

DREAM MATCHUP

With the Pac-10’s Arizona State making its first trip to Athens this weekend, linebacker Rennie Curran was asked which team outside the SEC he would most like to play. He said he’d like to stay in the Pac-10, but set his sights a little higher.

“Southern Cal because they are respected across the nation and they get a lot of hype,” Curran said. “Also, because of the kind of program they have. I was hoping we would get them a couple years ago in the Sugar Bowl, but they had their rule with the Rose Bowl. I think that would have been bigger than the National Championship.”

BUSY WEEKEND

Richt said he expects a high number of recruits to be visiting Athens this week, but it’s next week’s matchup against LSU that’s the really hot ticket.

“From what we’re hearing, there’s an awful lot of interest in this LSU game already,” Richt said. “It’s probably more than we can handle. There’s only so many that can get in, so it’s probably going to be tough to get everybody in who wants to get in.”

Help Wanted: 5 Players Who Need to Step Up

Yesterday, I ran down my list of the five Bulldogs I think have the best chance at breaking out this season. You guys added a few more suggestions of your own in the comments. Today, I figured it made sense to take a minute to look at who the biggest question marks might be.

(Now, before anyone jumps all over me for criticizing these guys, let me clarify what I mean here: These are the guys I think are both a.) question marks heading into fall practice and b.) vital to Georgia's success in 2009. None of that is saying they won't be great this season, just that there are question marks now.)

Mark Richt has made a point of not singling out a lot of individuals this year. It's all part of his "the star of the team is the team" mantra that seems to have become the unofficial motto of the 2009 team (just take a look at the cover of this year's media guide for further proof). But that doesn't mean that there aren't a few individual players who have a rather hefty burden on their shoulders this season.

The obvious first response would be to point to the running backs. With Knowshon Moreno gone to the NFL, there will be a lot of carries up for grabs in the Georgia backfield, but no one has used the opportunity to prove they are ready to provide the same type of production Moreno did.

While I'll admit, Caleb King, Richard Samuel and company definitely have some work to do, I tend to agree with Richt's assessment of the situation:

"I could probably blindly grab two or three of them, just pick 'em up, and I would have confidence whatever three I picked out, we will have success with them," he said. "Sometimes when you say no one has separated themselves from the pack, sometimes that's bad if your pack isn't very good. But if you got a pack of good ones, it's hard to separate also because you have some talented guys around you. I think it's more a situation of that than not having anybody outstanding. I think they're all pretty outstanding."

OK, "outstanding" may be a strong term, but there is definitely talent there, and I'm pretty sure the coaches will find a system that works, whether one guys stands out and gets the bulk of the carries or a handful of them share the load. The upside, too, is that King, Samuel and Carlton Thomas all offer somewhat different skills and could each compliment one another nicely.

"If it's one guy carrying the load, the majority of the load, I'm fine with that," Richt said. "If it's three guys sharing it, I'm okay with that, too. But we're gonna run the ball."

So who is Richt concerned about? Well, we pretty much agree on that, too.

"We need pressure off the edge," Richt said. "Defensive ends, I feel like they're hungry. They feel like they've got something to prove. Historically, since I've been at Georgia, our defensive end position has been highly productive. We've had many first- and second-team All-SEC performers. We've had guys lead the league in sacks. Last year we fell short of what was normal for us."

Well, that's an understatement, as I discussed in this post earlier this month.

But I'm not sure I like Richt's rationale for confidence. Yes, historically Georgia's defensive ends have been solid, but if anything, historical precedent says this year's group won't be. Essentially, the Bulldogs are using the same group as last season, and only Justin Houston has had a chance to show much progress. He'll be suspended for the first two games, by the way.

So that's my first two entries on the list of players who need to step up:

Justin Houston (So./DE) and Demarcus Dobbs (Jr./DE)

Houston had an impressive spring, but his suspension is problematic. For one, he'll miss two important games. Oklahoma State may be completely overrated, but that doesn't mean you can give the Cowboys' QB time to survey the field from the comfort of the pocket. Secondly, Houston's suspension certainly could hinder the growth he had made during the spring. It's sort of like going to the gym -- it takes a long time to get in shape and only a few days off to completely get out of the habit (a story I know all too well). But most importantly, the suspension -- particularly during an offseason when the pressure to stay out of trouble was so intense -- shows a lack of discipline on Houston's part that he'll have to prove he has overcome.

Dobbs had two of Georgia's most memorable defensive plays last season -- an interception he returned for a long touchdown against Central Michigan and a game-saving pick in the fourth quarter against Kentucky -- but he'll need to do more in 2009. With Houston out early and Rod Battle injury prone, Dobbs will need to be a steadying force at defensive end this season. Unfortunately, consistency has been his biggest problem during his career so far, and his spring injuries haven't helped. He has lots of potential, but he needs to play up to that potential more often this season.

Moving on, Richt says he's confident in Blair Walsh as his kicker, but Drew Butler's punting is a bit more worrisome.

"Butler is unproven as a punter," he said. "Butler has proved to me he can punt well enough to be outstanding in our league, just by observing him, but he hasn't proved that he can be consistent enough. So I guess what I'm saying is maybe last year he's five or six out of 10 that were outstanding. We got to get him to where he's nine out of 10, 10 out of 10, which he's been working diligently to be that."

I'll second that, which leads me to No. 3 on my list.

Drew Butler (So./P)

Butler's often gets overlooked, and since punters and kickers aren't a big part of spring practice, his new role replacing Brian Mimbs hasn't been the biggest topic of discussion. It should. Mimbs was consistently strong throughout most of the season last year, and given all the problems the Dawgs had on special teams, he was a lone bright spot. Considering Georgia's offense is likely to take a step back -- particularly in terms of big-play potential -- having a consistent punter that can help change field position could be crucial, and Butler needs to show he can be that guy.

So, who else?

"We need guys that can cover people outside," Richt said. "If you're weak in the middle, you got problems. I'm not disappointed by any stretch about our corner play or anything like that. I'm confident in them."

That doesn't exactly sound like a ringing endorsement, but I'm actually confident in them, too. As I wrote in yesterday's post, I expect big things from Brandon Boykin this season, and Georgia could certainly do a lot worse than Prince Miller at the other corner.

But No. 4 on my list does come from Georgia's secondary, and I'm guessing most people will agree with me.

Reshad Jones (Jr/S)

I think we all know what Jones' problems were last year. It's been discussed enough. After the season, Jones was literally a few hours away from declaring for the NFL draft before reconsidering. Yes, Jones has NFL ability. But at no point in his career has he shown he's ready to be a star at the next level. He needs to make that leap this season, and if he does, it would be a huge boost to the Georgia D.

Any final concerns from Richt?

"It just dawned on me, I think we only have three seniors on offense -- Joe Cox and Vince Vance and Michael Moore. I didn't realize that," Richt said.

Sure, that might be a bit concerning, but guess how many seniors Georgia had starting on offense last year. The answer: One. Mo Massaquoi was the lone senior starter, and there really wasn't another senior who was both consistently healthy and consistently contributing even in a back-up role.

So having three seniors this year should be a nice upgrade, and of the rest of the group, only the tight end depth chart lacks significant experience. Which leads me to my final entry on the list...

Aron White (So./TE)

White actually showed some nice flashes of potential last season (hey, White and Cox were Georgia's best offense against Florida) when pushed into duty due to injuries, so there's a lot of reasons for hope this year. But there are still concerns.

Bruce Figgins will miss the first six games, Arthur Lynch is a true freshman and Orson Charles isn't a prototypical tight end by any means. All of that means that White is likely to get the bulk of the early work in traditional sets, and he hasn't exactly shown he's ready to be a successful blocker.

"He has his moments where he does great, but most of the time, he's just battling his tail off," Richt said.

The good news is White has added some serious bulk this offseason and figures to be at around 240 pounds by the start of the season. He'll need it, and he'll need to show he can be more than simply a receiving threat in the passing game, particularly early on until Charles and Lynch have gotten a taste of life in the SEC.

Again, I'm hardly saying these players won't be good this year. All five could blossom into stars. But all are crucial to Georgia's success this year, and I still have serious questions about each.

So... what players will you be watching the closest this fall? What worries you? Am I crazy for being concerned about any of these guys?

From the Mailbag: Tight End Toss-Up

So far this week I've been posting the responses from Mark Richt and Mark Fox to questions from you guys. Today's question comes from another anonymous commenter (this time, I'm assuming it's from former Atlanta Brave Pascual Perez): Do you believe that the two incoming freshman TEs are physically ready to mix it up inside early in the season, or should we expect to see a good amount of Bryce Ros on running downs and two TE sets until Figgins returns from suspension?

This really is the big question when it comes to the tight ends. There's no doubt that between Arthur Lynch, Orson Charles and Aron White, Georgia has some serious talent in the passing game. But who blocks?

First, let's dispense with the Bryce Ros talk. Ros has made a little progress, but that's about it so far. He's picking up on the details, but he has yet to prove he can take that knowledge and turn it into success on the field. That may happen at some point this season, but he's still a bit of a mystery.

"Bryce is getting his first real chance – even in the preseason last year and bowl practice, he would get some reps but as far as really having a chance to show what he can do and to learn," tight ends coach John Lilly said. "His answers to questions and those things are starting to come together. Now can he take what he knows and take it on to the field."

Of course, it's not an in-depth knowledge of the playbook and an ability to dodge defenders that is the main concern this year. It's blocking. UGA's offensive line should be improved, but with Bruce Figgins -- the Bulldogs' top blocking tight end -- out for the first six games, and a group of inexperienced tailbacks, all of whom have had problems in the blocking game in the past, in the backfield, that O line might not be getting much help.

The first option, ideally, will be Aron White, who got some nice experience down the stretch last season and was the only tight end to play significantly in spring practice.

"He really had a fine spring," Mark Richt said of White. "He runs good routes, he's got good hands, he's playing with energy. There's no question in my mind he'll be productive for us this year. We're going to let everybody compete. But he's shown me enough as a route runner and a ball catcher and a guy who is smart and serious about getting better."

Those things are great, but what about the blocking? That's been the knock on White since he arrived, mostly due to his size. At just 6-foot-4, 235, White is big -- just not that big. So while he's technically sound in the blocking game, he simply doesn't have the brawn to win every battle.

"He has his moments where he does great, but most of the time, he's just battling his tail off," Richt said. "But that's OK because if you're tenacious enough and you put your hat in the right spot and you're good fundamentally, you can be a good blocker. You don't have to just lift them up and roll them. He's ready to play Southeastern Conference football right now."

But what about the two fresh faces? Are they ready for SEC football?

Arthur Lynch looks to be the obvious answer in the blocking game, as he looks the part of the prototypical tight end more than anyone else on the roster. At 6-foot-5, 245, Lynch played in a more traditional tight end formation more often in high school and coaches have complimented his blocking skills even before he has practiced at Georgia. But there's a big difference between stopping rushers in high school and doing it in the SEC.

Orson Charles looks like he could be one of Georgia's most impactful freshmen, but most outside observers are expecting far more production in the passing game -- where Charles dominated in high school as a hybrid tight end, often lining up in the slot -- rather than establishing himself as a top blocker. Lilly isn't necessarily convinced that's the case.

"The big thing with him, it's like people look at Bruce is a blocker and Aron's a receiver, and they look at Artie and Orson the same way," Lilly said. "But Orson's a better blocker than people give him credit for and I think Artie's probably a better pass receiver than people give him credit for."

The bottom line, however, is that someone -- and possibly several someones -- will have to step up and handle those blocking duties, and at this point, even the coaches don't know who it will be. But, Richt said, he's happy he at least has a couple strong candidates to choose from.

"It's doubtful right now in my mind that either one of (Charles or Lynch) would redshirt," Richt said. "Not that we're predicting anyone will, but I would think both those guys have a great opportunity to play this year."