Carlton Thomas, Mike Bobo, Ben Jones and Aaron Murray talk about spring practice so far...
Video courtesy of Brandon Spoon.
Showing posts with label Ben Jones. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ben Jones. Show all posts
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Practice Notes: Mystery Surrounds Dawgs' D
Texas A&M head coach Mike Sherman admits, he’s a bit befuddled as to what to expect when his team takes on Georgia on Monday.
The Bulldogs have spent the past two weeks practicing for the Aggies, but they’ve been doing so without three of their four defensive coaches, making it tough to judge what Georgia’s defense might look like on game day.
“You debate back and forth as to how they’ll approach it,” Sherman said. “They have good players, so they may try something new or they may stay status quo. We really don’t know. We just have to take care of our business, do what we do, and make adjustments during the ballgame. Hopefully they’re the right ones to help us win.”
If Sherman is looking for a few clues from Georgia’s players, he might not have much more luck in determining the look of the defense either. The accounts of the preparation have been a bit varied.
“This plan is the same as Coach (Willie) Martinez or any of the other coaches, the same thing they would do,” linebacker Rennie Curran said. “For us, it’s not really about who’s coaching us. With Coach Martinez being gone, we’re just trying to hold up to his standard.”
Indeed, Georgia’s graduate assistants who have taken over the coaching duties this month have promised no vast departures from the scheme employed by the Bulldogs all season --- but that doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be any new looks.
“We’ve been running the same thing for four years, so we’re not going to just completely leave the defense,” safety Bryan Evans said. “But there are a couple of wrinkles in there that we have, so it’s going to be fun to play.”
ONE LAST GO-ROUND
It’s hard to blame Georgia’s players if they feel like some of the bowl experience is over before it started. Just 24 hours after starting their first full bowl practice in Shreveport, the Bulldogs wrapped up their pregame workouts with their second and final practice before their game against Texas A&M on Monday. Georgia will still have a short walkthrough today, but unlike years past, that’s all there will be to the pregame preparations.
“Last year, we had a full week of practice and preparation. Now here, we have two days and a walk-through,” tailback Caleb King said. “It’s weird that we had so much of the practice in Georgia.”
Head coach Mark Richt said that, while the schedule has been different, he expects no ill effects. The Bulldogs practiced in Independence Stadium both Friday and Saturday, which is more field time than they would normally get before a bowl, and the focus on A&M has been intense all month.
“Everybody should have it memorized by now,” Richt said of the game plan. “Our goal was to have it so they were bored to death with the plan so they could play fast when we kicked it off.”
And while the run up to the bowl game is a departure from past seasons, King said it actually feels a bit more like a true road game – where Georgia has been successful throughout Richt’s career.
“It’s no difference because we practiced hard in Athens, and we just had to pretty much come out here and finish things,” King said. “We all should be ready for the game.”
CARRYING THE TORCH
In the past three seasons, the SEC has an impressive 19-7 record in bowl games, and that’s a trend Georgia takes seriously. So when the Bulldogs take the field Monday against Texas A&M – just the second bowl game of the season for SEC teams – they want to hold up their end of things.
“We want to represent our conference well, but we go into these games wanting to represent University of Georgia,” defensive end Demarcus Dobbs said. “We’re all competitive and we want everybody to do well, but we want people to be talking about Georgia after the ball game. We want the whole SEC to do well, but we’re playing for Georgia and the ‘G.’”
EATING IT UP
While it was Georgia Tech’s chewing of the hedges that proved the lasting images of last season’s Yellow Jackets win in Athens, Georgia center Ben Jones returned the favor last month by eating a piece of the field after the Bulldogs toppled Tech in Atlanta. But he promises, it wasn’t anything he had planned in advance.
“It was just a fun game, I was showing some emotion. We were just all excited about winning the game,” Jones said. “I just came out and played hard and it just happened. I don’t know why I did it or anything. It just happened.”
Planned or not, Jones said it isn’t likely to happen again. He hasn’t tested the turf in Shreveport or looked for any soft spots in the sod so far.
“We just come out here to practice and have a good day of work,” Jones said.
DAVIS LOOKS DOUBTFUL
Josh Davis was still in a green non-contact jersey on Saturday and Richt sounded less enthusiastic about his ability to play Monday against the Aggies.
“You can see he’s limping around a little bit, but we’re not giving up hope,” Richt said. “We’ll try to get him some work against the scouts and hope he’ll be OK.”
If Davis cannot play, Vince Vance will get the start at right tackle, Richt said.
Dobbs was still in green Saturday, too, but Richt said he expected Dobbs to be fine for the game.
The Bulldogs have spent the past two weeks practicing for the Aggies, but they’ve been doing so without three of their four defensive coaches, making it tough to judge what Georgia’s defense might look like on game day.
“You debate back and forth as to how they’ll approach it,” Sherman said. “They have good players, so they may try something new or they may stay status quo. We really don’t know. We just have to take care of our business, do what we do, and make adjustments during the ballgame. Hopefully they’re the right ones to help us win.”
If Sherman is looking for a few clues from Georgia’s players, he might not have much more luck in determining the look of the defense either. The accounts of the preparation have been a bit varied.
“This plan is the same as Coach (Willie) Martinez or any of the other coaches, the same thing they would do,” linebacker Rennie Curran said. “For us, it’s not really about who’s coaching us. With Coach Martinez being gone, we’re just trying to hold up to his standard.”
Indeed, Georgia’s graduate assistants who have taken over the coaching duties this month have promised no vast departures from the scheme employed by the Bulldogs all season --- but that doesn’t necessarily mean there won’t be any new looks.
“We’ve been running the same thing for four years, so we’re not going to just completely leave the defense,” safety Bryan Evans said. “But there are a couple of wrinkles in there that we have, so it’s going to be fun to play.”
ONE LAST GO-ROUND
It’s hard to blame Georgia’s players if they feel like some of the bowl experience is over before it started. Just 24 hours after starting their first full bowl practice in Shreveport, the Bulldogs wrapped up their pregame workouts with their second and final practice before their game against Texas A&M on Monday. Georgia will still have a short walkthrough today, but unlike years past, that’s all there will be to the pregame preparations.
“Last year, we had a full week of practice and preparation. Now here, we have two days and a walk-through,” tailback Caleb King said. “It’s weird that we had so much of the practice in Georgia.”
Head coach Mark Richt said that, while the schedule has been different, he expects no ill effects. The Bulldogs practiced in Independence Stadium both Friday and Saturday, which is more field time than they would normally get before a bowl, and the focus on A&M has been intense all month.
“Everybody should have it memorized by now,” Richt said of the game plan. “Our goal was to have it so they were bored to death with the plan so they could play fast when we kicked it off.”
And while the run up to the bowl game is a departure from past seasons, King said it actually feels a bit more like a true road game – where Georgia has been successful throughout Richt’s career.
“It’s no difference because we practiced hard in Athens, and we just had to pretty much come out here and finish things,” King said. “We all should be ready for the game.”
CARRYING THE TORCH
In the past three seasons, the SEC has an impressive 19-7 record in bowl games, and that’s a trend Georgia takes seriously. So when the Bulldogs take the field Monday against Texas A&M – just the second bowl game of the season for SEC teams – they want to hold up their end of things.
“We want to represent our conference well, but we go into these games wanting to represent University of Georgia,” defensive end Demarcus Dobbs said. “We’re all competitive and we want everybody to do well, but we want people to be talking about Georgia after the ball game. We want the whole SEC to do well, but we’re playing for Georgia and the ‘G.’”
EATING IT UP
While it was Georgia Tech’s chewing of the hedges that proved the lasting images of last season’s Yellow Jackets win in Athens, Georgia center Ben Jones returned the favor last month by eating a piece of the field after the Bulldogs toppled Tech in Atlanta. But he promises, it wasn’t anything he had planned in advance.
“It was just a fun game, I was showing some emotion. We were just all excited about winning the game,” Jones said. “I just came out and played hard and it just happened. I don’t know why I did it or anything. It just happened.”
Planned or not, Jones said it isn’t likely to happen again. He hasn’t tested the turf in Shreveport or looked for any soft spots in the sod so far.
“We just come out here to practice and have a good day of work,” Jones said.
DAVIS LOOKS DOUBTFUL
Josh Davis was still in a green non-contact jersey on Saturday and Richt sounded less enthusiastic about his ability to play Monday against the Aggies.
“You can see he’s limping around a little bit, but we’re not giving up hope,” Richt said. “We’ll try to get him some work against the scouts and hope he’ll be OK.”
If Davis cannot play, Vince Vance will get the start at right tackle, Richt said.
Dobbs was still in green Saturday, too, but Richt said he expected Dobbs to be fine for the game.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
Practice Notes: Questions Remain on King's Status
It’s been a roller-coaster ride for tailback Caleb King the past few days, and that’s probably been the most painful part of his month-long hiatus from football.
On Saturday, he watched Georgia play Oklahoma State, sitting alone in his room. Sunday, he returned to practice and for the first time in weeks, he felt pretty good. By Tuesday, however, his practice was cut short once again, and his prospects for playing against South Carolina this Saturday took a hit.
“We saw him Sunday and for what we asked him to do that day, he ran around well,” head coach Mark Richt said. “Then we got into a full pads day and added more periods, the hamstring fatigued faster than it normally would, and we pulled him out. I would say it’s not a slam dunk at this point.”
King did some light work during individual workouts Wednesday and practiced during scout-team work, but he said he’s still not sure whether he has any chance of playing in Georgia’s home opener Saturday.
“I honestly don’t know,” King said. “If they don’t think I’m 110 percent, I know they’re not going to play me at all. So if I don’t, I’m not going to play at all, and if I do, I’ll play a lot.”
King said his hamstring is feeling much better, but the muscle fatigues much faster than normal due to his extended absence from the playing field and said coaches could decide to rest him another week to allow him time to build up the strength again.
That’s OK with him, King said, but he would just like to know an answer one way or the other.
“It’s frustrating, but it’s more frustrating because I don’t know what they’re going to do with me,” he said. “But it’s all right. I’ll play if I have to play, but if I don’t, I’ll sit down and wait ‘til next week.”
Richt said it will likely be after today’s practice that coaches will make a final decision on King’s availability.
DON’T BLAME THE FRESHMAN
Freshman kick returner Branden Smith took some heat from fans for twice deciding to return kicks from deep in his own end zone, but Tony Ball said it wasn’t Smith’s decision.
“It’s on (Shaun) Chapas,” Ball said. “The returner can sometimes get disoriented trying to field that type of kick, especially a young player like Branden. And I told (Chapas) if you have to, you go in the end zone and grab him and don’t let him come out. Those are the trials and tribulations, but they’re not issues that can’t be fixed.”
Chapas, who works as the upback, was told to make the decision on whether to return the kick or take a knee in the end zone for a touchback, but the angle of the kick made the choice difficult.
“My initial thought was Chapas should have kept him in the end zone,” Ball said. “After asking Chapas about it, he felt like it being a line-drive kick, that threw things off. There was some dynamics there where he had to make some decisions, but Chapas has done it for a couple of years, so I trust him.
NEW LOOK ON O LINE
Georgia’s offensive line will have a different look to it in the Bulldogs’ second outing of the season, and it won’t be just because starting left tackle Trinton Sturdivant is out for the season following an ACL injury.
Justin Anderson will get the starting nod at right guard this week over incumbent Chris Davis, who Richt said lacks the size to create a favorable matchup against South Carolina’s hefty defensive front.
“The guys we’re playing are big men, and (Anderson) has just got more girth to him,” Richt said. “Chris, I’m sure, will end up playing, but you get two big guards in there when you play a team that’s mostly a four-man front, usually they cover your guards and you want to get some big men in there to hold up against them.”
Senior Vince Vance will step in at left tackle for Sturdivant, who tore his ACL for the second time in as many years during the second half of Georgia’s opener against Oklahoma State.
Vance filled in for about 25 snaps against the Cowboys, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said he turned in a strong performance.
“He did good,” Bobo said. “He played with energy and didn’t have hardly any missed assignments which is what we expect from Vince.”
NO HARM DONE
Both Richt and Bobo offered some minor criticisms of the offensive line’s performance against Oklahoma State, but Richt said he didn’t think any problems were a result of ankle injuries suffered by Davis and center Ben Jones late in preseason practice.
“I can’t say they feel great, but they weren’t limping around as they prepared in practice,” Richt said. “They did miss some work, some of those opportunities to just kind of get in the groove, but I don’t think the pain from the injuries caused any change of their ability to do their job.”
EALEY STILL IN THE MIX
With King potentially missing another week of action, Richt said he hasn’t ruled out using freshman tailback Washaun Ealey – both at running back and on special teams.
The problem, Richt said, is that due to an early elbow injury during fall camp, Ealey is still behind in terms of how much progress the coaching staff had hoped to see.
“If you have some cumulative reps and you miss some time, that’s one thing,” Richt said. “But if you’re not there to learn it from scratch, it’s hard to throw them into the middle of a game plan and say, ‘Go do it,’ when he doesn’t even have the basics down.”
Despite being a bit behind on the learning curve, however, Richt said Ealey has remained in the mix during practice and could still see action – if not against South Carolina, potentially down the road.
“We are still trying to incorporate him in those areas, and we’re still getting him reps to try to keep him greased up and keep his mind in it,” Richt said.
DURHAM BACK AT WORK
Senior receiver Kris Durham, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery during the offseason, returned to receiving drills Wednesday for the first time.
Durham was kept out of any competitive situations, Richt said, but he got work in catching passes, which was an important benchmark.
“It’s encouraging and certainly he’s excited about it,” Ball said. “And it’s always good to have Kris around.”
CLOSER INSPECTION
After watching the film, Joe Cox said it was obvious he held the ball too long on too many snaps against Oklahoma State, a problem that led to a number of incompletions.
The problem, he said, was he started overthinking the situation, but when he takes the field against South Carolina, he’s promising a back-to-basics approach to making his reads.
“When you start looking around, you start getting your eyes in the wrong spot, you start worrying about too much,” Cox said. “It’s almost over-analyzing what’s going on. So that’s what I felt was happening with me, but it’s something where you just go back to your basic reads and fundamentals and work on timing.”
WHO’S TO BLAME?
When Richt addressed the media on Tuesday, his analysis of Georgia’s shortcomings against Oklahoma State was a fairly harsh critique of his offense. In short, he said the intensity was lacking.
“We didn’t play with speed and finish blocks like we should,” he said. “We just need that little extra effort on each play to block a little bit longer or create a little bit more space, and that can make all the difference in the world between a guy getting tripped up and a guy going to the house. I don’t want to cause any kind of panic, because it’s not that at all, but we want to see a little more fire coming out of them.”
Upon further review, however, Richt decided his comments might have been a bit too severe.
He said he watched the game film once more Tuesday evening and came to the conclusion that the shortcomings weren’t quite as problematic as they appeared at first blush.
“It really wasn’t so much up front, it was some perimeter blocking issues, some backs needing to continue running their feet or place their hat in a better spot,” Richt said. “We ran some outside plays and were getting hats on everybody and fit up on them pretty good, but just didn’t sustain long enough.”
TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY
Logan Gray figured to see some action against Oklahoma State, but as it turned out he was in on just one offensive play – a designed run for a short gain.
After the offense struggled to just 10 points, however, a vocal contingent of fans was hoping to see a bit more of the backup quarterback in Georgia’s next game.
That could be the case, Richt said, but nothing’s guaranteed.
“He can run our system, and we had planned to get him in the game mostly in the red-zone area,” Richt said. “We did get him in there one time, but unfortunately we didn’t get in the red zone very often. Right now, Joe’s definitely the No. 1 guy, and we’ll see if and when Logan will get in there.”
ONGOING BATTLE
Brandon Bogotay was brought in this offseason to provide competition on kickoffs for sophomore Blair Walsh, but it was the incumbent who earned the job again.
Richt said Walsh's consistency, hangtime and accuracy landed him the job, but he hasn't ruled out the possibility that Bogotay could still win the job down the road.
“It was very, very close," Richt said of the competition. "It wasn’t like Bogotay did poorly. In my opinion, they both kicked it good enough to win the job, and Bogotay’s not done by any stretch.”
IT’S NO BEAUTY PAGEANT
The history of the Georgia-South Carolina series suggests there won’t be many points scored Saturday. So despite his offense struggling badly in its first game of the season, Richt said a low-scoring affair wouldn’t be more cause for concern.
“All I’m worried about is winning the game,” Richt said. “I appreciate the victory and not the style points.”
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
From Georgia receiver A.J. Green on what this week’s game means: “Losing that last one last week, I just want a victory to get this feeling out of my stomach and get a victory under my belt.”
On Saturday, he watched Georgia play Oklahoma State, sitting alone in his room. Sunday, he returned to practice and for the first time in weeks, he felt pretty good. By Tuesday, however, his practice was cut short once again, and his prospects for playing against South Carolina this Saturday took a hit.
“We saw him Sunday and for what we asked him to do that day, he ran around well,” head coach Mark Richt said. “Then we got into a full pads day and added more periods, the hamstring fatigued faster than it normally would, and we pulled him out. I would say it’s not a slam dunk at this point.”
King did some light work during individual workouts Wednesday and practiced during scout-team work, but he said he’s still not sure whether he has any chance of playing in Georgia’s home opener Saturday.
“I honestly don’t know,” King said. “If they don’t think I’m 110 percent, I know they’re not going to play me at all. So if I don’t, I’m not going to play at all, and if I do, I’ll play a lot.”
King said his hamstring is feeling much better, but the muscle fatigues much faster than normal due to his extended absence from the playing field and said coaches could decide to rest him another week to allow him time to build up the strength again.
That’s OK with him, King said, but he would just like to know an answer one way or the other.
“It’s frustrating, but it’s more frustrating because I don’t know what they’re going to do with me,” he said. “But it’s all right. I’ll play if I have to play, but if I don’t, I’ll sit down and wait ‘til next week.”
Richt said it will likely be after today’s practice that coaches will make a final decision on King’s availability.
DON’T BLAME THE FRESHMAN
Freshman kick returner Branden Smith took some heat from fans for twice deciding to return kicks from deep in his own end zone, but Tony Ball said it wasn’t Smith’s decision.
“It’s on (Shaun) Chapas,” Ball said. “The returner can sometimes get disoriented trying to field that type of kick, especially a young player like Branden. And I told (Chapas) if you have to, you go in the end zone and grab him and don’t let him come out. Those are the trials and tribulations, but they’re not issues that can’t be fixed.”
Chapas, who works as the upback, was told to make the decision on whether to return the kick or take a knee in the end zone for a touchback, but the angle of the kick made the choice difficult.
“My initial thought was Chapas should have kept him in the end zone,” Ball said. “After asking Chapas about it, he felt like it being a line-drive kick, that threw things off. There was some dynamics there where he had to make some decisions, but Chapas has done it for a couple of years, so I trust him.
NEW LOOK ON O LINE
Georgia’s offensive line will have a different look to it in the Bulldogs’ second outing of the season, and it won’t be just because starting left tackle Trinton Sturdivant is out for the season following an ACL injury.
Justin Anderson will get the starting nod at right guard this week over incumbent Chris Davis, who Richt said lacks the size to create a favorable matchup against South Carolina’s hefty defensive front.
“The guys we’re playing are big men, and (Anderson) has just got more girth to him,” Richt said. “Chris, I’m sure, will end up playing, but you get two big guards in there when you play a team that’s mostly a four-man front, usually they cover your guards and you want to get some big men in there to hold up against them.”
Senior Vince Vance will step in at left tackle for Sturdivant, who tore his ACL for the second time in as many years during the second half of Georgia’s opener against Oklahoma State.
Vance filled in for about 25 snaps against the Cowboys, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said he turned in a strong performance.
“He did good,” Bobo said. “He played with energy and didn’t have hardly any missed assignments which is what we expect from Vince.”
NO HARM DONE
Both Richt and Bobo offered some minor criticisms of the offensive line’s performance against Oklahoma State, but Richt said he didn’t think any problems were a result of ankle injuries suffered by Davis and center Ben Jones late in preseason practice.
“I can’t say they feel great, but they weren’t limping around as they prepared in practice,” Richt said. “They did miss some work, some of those opportunities to just kind of get in the groove, but I don’t think the pain from the injuries caused any change of their ability to do their job.”
EALEY STILL IN THE MIX
With King potentially missing another week of action, Richt said he hasn’t ruled out using freshman tailback Washaun Ealey – both at running back and on special teams.
The problem, Richt said, is that due to an early elbow injury during fall camp, Ealey is still behind in terms of how much progress the coaching staff had hoped to see.
“If you have some cumulative reps and you miss some time, that’s one thing,” Richt said. “But if you’re not there to learn it from scratch, it’s hard to throw them into the middle of a game plan and say, ‘Go do it,’ when he doesn’t even have the basics down.”
Despite being a bit behind on the learning curve, however, Richt said Ealey has remained in the mix during practice and could still see action – if not against South Carolina, potentially down the road.
“We are still trying to incorporate him in those areas, and we’re still getting him reps to try to keep him greased up and keep his mind in it,” Richt said.
DURHAM BACK AT WORK
Senior receiver Kris Durham, who underwent season-ending shoulder surgery during the offseason, returned to receiving drills Wednesday for the first time.
Durham was kept out of any competitive situations, Richt said, but he got work in catching passes, which was an important benchmark.
“It’s encouraging and certainly he’s excited about it,” Ball said. “And it’s always good to have Kris around.”
CLOSER INSPECTION
After watching the film, Joe Cox said it was obvious he held the ball too long on too many snaps against Oklahoma State, a problem that led to a number of incompletions.
The problem, he said, was he started overthinking the situation, but when he takes the field against South Carolina, he’s promising a back-to-basics approach to making his reads.
“When you start looking around, you start getting your eyes in the wrong spot, you start worrying about too much,” Cox said. “It’s almost over-analyzing what’s going on. So that’s what I felt was happening with me, but it’s something where you just go back to your basic reads and fundamentals and work on timing.”
WHO’S TO BLAME?
When Richt addressed the media on Tuesday, his analysis of Georgia’s shortcomings against Oklahoma State was a fairly harsh critique of his offense. In short, he said the intensity was lacking.
“We didn’t play with speed and finish blocks like we should,” he said. “We just need that little extra effort on each play to block a little bit longer or create a little bit more space, and that can make all the difference in the world between a guy getting tripped up and a guy going to the house. I don’t want to cause any kind of panic, because it’s not that at all, but we want to see a little more fire coming out of them.”
Upon further review, however, Richt decided his comments might have been a bit too severe.
He said he watched the game film once more Tuesday evening and came to the conclusion that the shortcomings weren’t quite as problematic as they appeared at first blush.
“It really wasn’t so much up front, it was some perimeter blocking issues, some backs needing to continue running their feet or place their hat in a better spot,” Richt said. “We ran some outside plays and were getting hats on everybody and fit up on them pretty good, but just didn’t sustain long enough.”
TO PLAY OR NOT TO PLAY
Logan Gray figured to see some action against Oklahoma State, but as it turned out he was in on just one offensive play – a designed run for a short gain.
After the offense struggled to just 10 points, however, a vocal contingent of fans was hoping to see a bit more of the backup quarterback in Georgia’s next game.
That could be the case, Richt said, but nothing’s guaranteed.
“He can run our system, and we had planned to get him in the game mostly in the red-zone area,” Richt said. “We did get him in there one time, but unfortunately we didn’t get in the red zone very often. Right now, Joe’s definitely the No. 1 guy, and we’ll see if and when Logan will get in there.”
ONGOING BATTLE
Brandon Bogotay was brought in this offseason to provide competition on kickoffs for sophomore Blair Walsh, but it was the incumbent who earned the job again.
Richt said Walsh's consistency, hangtime and accuracy landed him the job, but he hasn't ruled out the possibility that Bogotay could still win the job down the road.
“It was very, very close," Richt said of the competition. "It wasn’t like Bogotay did poorly. In my opinion, they both kicked it good enough to win the job, and Bogotay’s not done by any stretch.”
IT’S NO BEAUTY PAGEANT
The history of the Georgia-South Carolina series suggests there won’t be many points scored Saturday. So despite his offense struggling badly in its first game of the season, Richt said a low-scoring affair wouldn’t be more cause for concern.
“All I’m worried about is winning the game,” Richt said. “I appreciate the victory and not the style points.”
NOTABLE QUOTABLE
From Georgia receiver A.J. Green on what this week’s game means: “Losing that last one last week, I just want a victory to get this feeling out of my stomach and get a victory under my belt.”
Monday, August 31, 2009
Practice Notes: Week 1 Unlikely For King
Tailback Caleb King did some minor workouts with the team during Monday's practice, but his prognosis for playing time at Oklahoma State continues to look grim.
Head coach Mark Richt said King would likely need to practice by Wednesday to have a shot at playing, and another source close to the situation said King would not make the trip.
For his part, King said the final decision would not be his.
"If I could play, I'd play right now, but it's on the team doctor, so I don't have anything to say on how I'm feeling or when I come back," King said.
King has been sidelined with a sore hamstring since Aug. 12 and has watched his spot on the depth chart slowly slide ever since.
While the sophomore tailback said he has been anxious to get back to work, Richt said the team is being cautious with King's recovery.
"We don't want to make him play if he's not ready," Richt said. "And if he can't, it's a long season. We want him back healthy, that's the main thing."
For King, missing the opening game won't be nearly as difficult as missing the past three weeks of practice.
At the start of the preseason, King, sophomore Richard Samuel and redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas were among five tailbacks battling for the starting job. Samuel has moved to the top of the depth chart in King's absence after two strong scrimmages, and Thomas is the current No. 2, Richt said.
"The hardest part has been me working so hard in the summer and preseason, and then getting hurt in the first scrimmage," King said. "But it's a long season, and I know I'm going to bounce back and be 100 percent, so I'm not going to worry about it."
If King can return, he would be the third tailback option against Oklahoma State. If not, Richt said Kalvin Daniels would be next off the bench, with fullback Fred Munzenmaier also serving as an option at tailback.
King said he has been getting in two rehab sessions per day since the injury, but won't force his return. When he does get back in action, however, he said he expects to again compete for a starting job.
"I believe that's not just at the running backs position," King said. "You're always going to compete. That's football. Whenever I come back, we're going to compete still."
BACK TO WORK
Offensive linemen Ben Jones and Chris Davis both returned to practice Monday after missing time with ankle sprains last week.
Jones, Georgia's starting center, missed nearly all of last week with the injury, while Davis was in a protective boot through the weekend. Both got work against the scout team Monday, however, and Richt said he's confident that both will be ready for Oklahoma State.
"I'm glad they're getting (Monday), (Tuesday) and the next two days together," Richt said. "I don't think the time Ben and Chris missed will hurt us."
The return of the two linemen was a big relief for quarterback Joe Cox, too. After Georgia was forced to swap linemen in and out of the starting lineup throughout the 2008 season, Cox said it's crucial to have the team's veteran linemen healthy for Oklahoma State.
"Chris is the most experienced lineman we have and Ben is an awesome center who knows what to do and brings a lot of life to our offensive line," Cox said. "So it was good to have them back in the huddle and be able to do some stuff. We're excited about their progress."
Also on the injury front, linebacker Akeem Dent returned to full practice Monday after missing last week with a sore hamstring.
SHADES OF GRAY
Cox is just days away from his first start in nearly three years, but Richt said fans can expect to see a bit of Georgia's backup quarterback, too.
Logan Gray has been mentioned as a potential change-of-pace quarterback due to his speed and athleticism, but Richt wouldn't rule out giving Gray a series or two to show what he could do with the offense as well.
"There might be some situations we'll put him in," Richt said. "We may give him a series. I don't know if we'll do that or not, but it wouldn't surprise me. But there are some situations we'll get him in the game."
For his part, Gray said he's ready for action. After two years with minimal playing time, he said he feels more confident and comfortable this preseason than ever before.
As to what his role might be, Gray isn't letting any secrets slip in advance of the game. One thing he does promise, however, is that the Bulldogs aren't leaving many stones unturned.
"We've talked about doing different things for this game," Gray said. "I don't want to tell everybody what we're planning on doing, but our coaches know what they want to do, and I think we're trying to get the ball in different people's hands and attack a defense in as many ways as we possibly can."
THE MISSING LINK
If King is unable to play Saturday, Richt said he's not sure who the fourth tailback on the depth chart would be, but he hasn't ruled out Dontavius Jackson from his plans.
At the end of spring practice, Jackson appeared to be right in the middle of the competition for carries, but after missing much of last season with injuries, the redshirt freshman has been sidelined with lingering injuries throughout this preseason, too.
"I don't know if he's been practicing half the time he's been here, maybe," Richt said. "He's been more like a true freshman in some areas. But he'll get his day, I'm sure."
Whether that day could come as soon as Saturday remains to be seen, but Richt said he spoke with Jackson and freshman Washaun Ealey and told them to be ready.
"We haven't totally counted those guys out of the picture by any stretch," Richt said.
UNCHARTED TERRITORY
Cox's lone start came against Mississippi three seasons ago, which means Saturday's contest won't officially be uncharted waters for him. Looking back, however, Cox said he can't take too much from his previous experience that will help him this time around.
"That was a totally different situation," Cox said. "That was three years ago, and there were a lot of things I still didn't know or wasn't sure about. It's a totally different confidence level amongst our team and especially for me."
Cox said the start in 2006 seems like another lifetime, and he has only thrown 28 passes since. That makes this season a bit of an unknown for him, which may be an advantage against Oklahoma State.
"I'm sure they've watched some (film) of me, but they've probably just watched a lot of our offense, too," Cox said. "I doubt that they've dug into the archives to try to find my couple of throws."
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Richt took in his first game of the season Saturday when he traveled to see his son Jon play for Mars Hill.
Jon Richt transferred to the Division II school from Clemson this year and he saw his first college action Saturday, completing 5-of-14 passes for 116 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a 28-0 win over North Greenville.
Richt's first touchdown pass was a 61-yarder in the second quarter, and his dad admits it got him a little choked up.
"When Jon threw his first touchdown pass, it was pretty emotional for me and Kathryn," Mark Richt said. "We got to enjoy the moment, and that was nice."
NO MORE TACKLING
Georgia wrapped up its final practice in full pads Monday, and head coach Mark Richt said the day's work was particularly encouraging.
"It's our last day in full pads, last day doing any kind of tackling drills," Richt said. "I think the guys are beginning to really sense it's here. I feel a little more excitement and animation from the guys in practice, and I'm excited about that. Tomorrow in shells and two days in shorts, get a little crowd noise, and we'll be ready to go."
Cox said the team looked sharp and the energy level was high as the Bulldogs get set for their final three days of work before starting the season.
"You can tell it's getting close, and it'll only get better as the week goes on," Cox said. "Wednesday we'll go in shorts, and that's the first time we've gone in shorts, and that'll be the first time we've gone in shorts in a long time. But everybody's excited about it. We had a lot of energy today, and it's just going to keep getting better until the game."
Head coach Mark Richt said King would likely need to practice by Wednesday to have a shot at playing, and another source close to the situation said King would not make the trip.
For his part, King said the final decision would not be his.
"If I could play, I'd play right now, but it's on the team doctor, so I don't have anything to say on how I'm feeling or when I come back," King said.
King has been sidelined with a sore hamstring since Aug. 12 and has watched his spot on the depth chart slowly slide ever since.
While the sophomore tailback said he has been anxious to get back to work, Richt said the team is being cautious with King's recovery.
"We don't want to make him play if he's not ready," Richt said. "And if he can't, it's a long season. We want him back healthy, that's the main thing."
For King, missing the opening game won't be nearly as difficult as missing the past three weeks of practice.
At the start of the preseason, King, sophomore Richard Samuel and redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas were among five tailbacks battling for the starting job. Samuel has moved to the top of the depth chart in King's absence after two strong scrimmages, and Thomas is the current No. 2, Richt said.
"The hardest part has been me working so hard in the summer and preseason, and then getting hurt in the first scrimmage," King said. "But it's a long season, and I know I'm going to bounce back and be 100 percent, so I'm not going to worry about it."
If King can return, he would be the third tailback option against Oklahoma State. If not, Richt said Kalvin Daniels would be next off the bench, with fullback Fred Munzenmaier also serving as an option at tailback.
King said he has been getting in two rehab sessions per day since the injury, but won't force his return. When he does get back in action, however, he said he expects to again compete for a starting job.
"I believe that's not just at the running backs position," King said. "You're always going to compete. That's football. Whenever I come back, we're going to compete still."
BACK TO WORK
Offensive linemen Ben Jones and Chris Davis both returned to practice Monday after missing time with ankle sprains last week.
Jones, Georgia's starting center, missed nearly all of last week with the injury, while Davis was in a protective boot through the weekend. Both got work against the scout team Monday, however, and Richt said he's confident that both will be ready for Oklahoma State.
"I'm glad they're getting (Monday), (Tuesday) and the next two days together," Richt said. "I don't think the time Ben and Chris missed will hurt us."
The return of the two linemen was a big relief for quarterback Joe Cox, too. After Georgia was forced to swap linemen in and out of the starting lineup throughout the 2008 season, Cox said it's crucial to have the team's veteran linemen healthy for Oklahoma State.
"Chris is the most experienced lineman we have and Ben is an awesome center who knows what to do and brings a lot of life to our offensive line," Cox said. "So it was good to have them back in the huddle and be able to do some stuff. We're excited about their progress."
Also on the injury front, linebacker Akeem Dent returned to full practice Monday after missing last week with a sore hamstring.
SHADES OF GRAY
Cox is just days away from his first start in nearly three years, but Richt said fans can expect to see a bit of Georgia's backup quarterback, too.
Logan Gray has been mentioned as a potential change-of-pace quarterback due to his speed and athleticism, but Richt wouldn't rule out giving Gray a series or two to show what he could do with the offense as well.
"There might be some situations we'll put him in," Richt said. "We may give him a series. I don't know if we'll do that or not, but it wouldn't surprise me. But there are some situations we'll get him in the game."
For his part, Gray said he's ready for action. After two years with minimal playing time, he said he feels more confident and comfortable this preseason than ever before.
As to what his role might be, Gray isn't letting any secrets slip in advance of the game. One thing he does promise, however, is that the Bulldogs aren't leaving many stones unturned.
"We've talked about doing different things for this game," Gray said. "I don't want to tell everybody what we're planning on doing, but our coaches know what they want to do, and I think we're trying to get the ball in different people's hands and attack a defense in as many ways as we possibly can."
THE MISSING LINK
If King is unable to play Saturday, Richt said he's not sure who the fourth tailback on the depth chart would be, but he hasn't ruled out Dontavius Jackson from his plans.
At the end of spring practice, Jackson appeared to be right in the middle of the competition for carries, but after missing much of last season with injuries, the redshirt freshman has been sidelined with lingering injuries throughout this preseason, too.
"I don't know if he's been practicing half the time he's been here, maybe," Richt said. "He's been more like a true freshman in some areas. But he'll get his day, I'm sure."
Whether that day could come as soon as Saturday remains to be seen, but Richt said he spoke with Jackson and freshman Washaun Ealey and told them to be ready.
"We haven't totally counted those guys out of the picture by any stretch," Richt said.
UNCHARTED TERRITORY
Cox's lone start came against Mississippi three seasons ago, which means Saturday's contest won't officially be uncharted waters for him. Looking back, however, Cox said he can't take too much from his previous experience that will help him this time around.
"That was a totally different situation," Cox said. "That was three years ago, and there were a lot of things I still didn't know or wasn't sure about. It's a totally different confidence level amongst our team and especially for me."
Cox said the start in 2006 seems like another lifetime, and he has only thrown 28 passes since. That makes this season a bit of an unknown for him, which may be an advantage against Oklahoma State.
"I'm sure they've watched some (film) of me, but they've probably just watched a lot of our offense, too," Cox said. "I doubt that they've dug into the archives to try to find my couple of throws."
ALL IN THE FAMILY
Richt took in his first game of the season Saturday when he traveled to see his son Jon play for Mars Hill.
Jon Richt transferred to the Division II school from Clemson this year and he saw his first college action Saturday, completing 5-of-14 passes for 116 yards, two touchdowns and one interception in a 28-0 win over North Greenville.
Richt's first touchdown pass was a 61-yarder in the second quarter, and his dad admits it got him a little choked up.
"When Jon threw his first touchdown pass, it was pretty emotional for me and Kathryn," Mark Richt said. "We got to enjoy the moment, and that was nice."
NO MORE TACKLING
Georgia wrapped up its final practice in full pads Monday, and head coach Mark Richt said the day's work was particularly encouraging.
"It's our last day in full pads, last day doing any kind of tackling drills," Richt said. "I think the guys are beginning to really sense it's here. I feel a little more excitement and animation from the guys in practice, and I'm excited about that. Tomorrow in shells and two days in shorts, get a little crowd noise, and we'll be ready to go."
Cox said the team looked sharp and the energy level was high as the Bulldogs get set for their final three days of work before starting the season.
"You can tell it's getting close, and it'll only get better as the week goes on," Cox said. "Wednesday we'll go in shorts, and that's the first time we've gone in shorts, and that'll be the first time we've gone in shorts in a long time. But everybody's excited about it. We had a lot of energy today, and it's just going to keep getting better until the game."
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Practice Notes: No Limitations for Dawgs' Offense
With all the new faces on offense this year, head coach Mark Richt might like to have a little time to break in the rookies and get a feel for how the unit functions before taking off the training wheels.
With high-powered Oklahoma State looming in Georgia’s first game of the season, however, that’s a luxury Richt said Georgia can’t afford.
“We’ve got to turn it loose,” Richt said. “We can’t sit there and think too much. We’ve got to let them all play, put them in a position to make plays, and hopefully they will.”
The combination of Oklahoma State’s quick-strike ability and potentially sizzling temperatures in Stillwater for the game, Richt said he’ll have little choice but to put his young players on the field and give them a chance to make an impact.
That list of new faces includes first-year starting tailback Richard Samuel, two freshmen tight ends in Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch, and freshmen receivers Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten, along with first-year starting quarterback Joe Cox. With so many inexperienced players on the field, there are plenty of questions for Richt and his staff, but he said the Bulldogs aren’t planning to wait long to find out who’s ready for the job.
“If you’re not quite sure of all your personnel, you’re more apt to make sure the right guys are getting the ball, which is not as much fun as a coordinator,” Richt said. “When you’re sitting there going, ‘Well, so-and-so is in the game, so I’ve got to do this or that,’ I hope that we don’t have to do that. We’re not going into this game saying that’s what we’re going to do because we feel like we’ve got to let these guys go out there and make plays.”
If there’s an upside, however, it’s that so much transition can affect both sides of the ball.
While all the changes on offense make game planning for the opener a tricky task for Georgia’s play callers, it also complicates the job for Oklahoma State’s defense, Richt said.
“I’m sure they’re sitting there not sure who’s going to be where or who’s going to make plays or who we’re going to put in position to make plays,” Richt said. “The only thing they probably know for sure is A.J. Green. Other than that, they’re probably guessing a little bit.”
MUCH IMPROVED
Saturday’s practice marked the official end of the preseason, with the focus Monday shifting entirely to Oklahoma State as Georgia begins its usual practice routine leading up to a game.
While not every question the coaches had entering fall practice has been answered, Richt said there’s no mistaking the improvements he has seen in the preparation his team has gotten this preseason.
“By a long shot, we were able to prepare the way we normally like to in terms of the number of days we scrimmage and tackle to the ground and every single day in inside drill was live tackling,” Richt said.
The biggest different, Richt said, has been a reduced number of injuries. While a number of players missed some action with minor hamstring injuries, there haven’t been any catastrophic injuries similar to what occurred last preseason.
The result has been an increased focus on the fundamentals – particularly tackling. Richt said in addition to the tackling during scrimmages and inside drills, the team added tackle work to perimeter drills as well – a new addition from past seasons.
“It’s a world of difference when you look at how many times we were in pads and tackled to the ground,” Richt said.
STILL WAITING ON O LINE
Offensive linemen Ben Jones and Chris Davis both missed practice again Saturday, each recovering from ankle sprains that Richt said shouldn’t cost them any playing time.
“I expect Ben to be practicing Monday, and Chris I’m not certain,” Richt said. “Ben might do everything, but my guess would be just scout work. Chris may be ready for scout work, too, I’m just not sure.”
For the second straight day, Kevin Perez handled the first-team snaps at center, and while the 265-pound junior might be a bit overmatched in size, Richt said he’s confident that Perez can get the job done if called upon.
“Perez knows what to do, his body just didn’t get as big as he would hope and we would hope it would,” Richt said. “But he’s very smart, he’s been tremendous in our meeting rooms, and now that he’s had this opportunity to play, he’s done a very admirable job. We could certainly function with him.”
SECONDARY THOUGHTS
Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said the depth chart in his secondary has taken shape, and it’s not exactly what Richt had discussed earlier this week.
Bryan Evans and Reshad Jones will be the starting safeties, with Brandon Boykin and Prince Miller the starting corners. Behind them, Sanders Commings, Baccari Rambo and Makiri Pugh will handle reserve duties at safety, with Branden Smith and Vance Cuff the first two corners off the bench.
Richt had suggested that Pugh and linebacker Nick Williams might handle the bulk of the work at nickelback, but Martinez indicated that role would actually belong to Miller, with either Cuff or Smith filling in at corner.
Smith’s emergence this preseason has been particularly impressive, Martinez said, given his mix of immense athletic ability and strong work ethic.
“He’s a very competitive player,” Martinez said of the freshman cornerback. “He’s a worker. He’s a fast learner. He’s always trying to do his best. He’s got a great attitude and with his ability, he’s coming on. He’s getting better.”
As to Georgia’s other two freshmen defensive backs, the news is a bit more tepid.
Cornerback Jordan Love has been limited in practice for the past week due to a toe injury, and the reduced reps have been a setback.
Safety Shawn Williams, on the other hand, has gotten more looks than expected due to some other injuries at his position, but Martinez said Williams still isn’t close to being where he needs to be to earn significant playing time on game day.
“We like him, but how much he’ll play this year, right now, that’s undetermined,” Martinez said. “He’s got a ways to go. But that’s expected for a young kid, particularly at safety, which is pretty difficult.”
PASS RUSH PROJECTIONS
With Justin Houston suspended for the first two games of the season, Martinez pronounced Demarcus Dobbs and Rod Battle the starters for Oklahoma State – a move that hardly comes as a surprise given the lack of experience further down the depth chart.
Martinez said Dobbs and Battle have both looked good, but the challenge now will be finding players who can fill in as backups consistently.
“Those are the two guys with a tremendous amount of experience, and they’ve been doing a good job,” Martinez said. “The other group of guys are just mixing in there trying to develop the depth. Some guys are getting better.”
FAST AND FURIOUS
Georgia ran through a final scrimmage against the scout teams Saturday, albeit a particularly regimented one.
Richt said the Bulldogs’ first-team offense and defense each ran 20 scripted plays against the scout team, and each of the six kicking units took three reps apiece. Some goal-line and short-yardage work involved tackling, but the majority of the practice was thud drills.
While the workout was brief, Richt said the team got what it needed from the practice.
“We had what I hoped we’d have today – a situation scrimmage that was thud the majority of the plays where we got good tempo, the sense of a game where you have to substitute,” Richt said. “It was good energy. We had 20 plays on each side of the ball. It was spirited, it was organized.”
Georgia returns to practice Monday, and will spend the first two days of the week in full pads. The Bulldogs will go to shorts and shoulder pads Wednesday and Thursday, then have an off day Friday before the game.
NOTABLE TWEET
According to Jeff Owens' Twitter feed, he found a nice note in his locker after coming off the practice field Saturday. It was an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game. Next up, according to Owens, is a similar invite to the Senior Bowl.
With high-powered Oklahoma State looming in Georgia’s first game of the season, however, that’s a luxury Richt said Georgia can’t afford.
“We’ve got to turn it loose,” Richt said. “We can’t sit there and think too much. We’ve got to let them all play, put them in a position to make plays, and hopefully they will.”
The combination of Oklahoma State’s quick-strike ability and potentially sizzling temperatures in Stillwater for the game, Richt said he’ll have little choice but to put his young players on the field and give them a chance to make an impact.
That list of new faces includes first-year starting tailback Richard Samuel, two freshmen tight ends in Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch, and freshmen receivers Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten, along with first-year starting quarterback Joe Cox. With so many inexperienced players on the field, there are plenty of questions for Richt and his staff, but he said the Bulldogs aren’t planning to wait long to find out who’s ready for the job.
“If you’re not quite sure of all your personnel, you’re more apt to make sure the right guys are getting the ball, which is not as much fun as a coordinator,” Richt said. “When you’re sitting there going, ‘Well, so-and-so is in the game, so I’ve got to do this or that,’ I hope that we don’t have to do that. We’re not going into this game saying that’s what we’re going to do because we feel like we’ve got to let these guys go out there and make plays.”
If there’s an upside, however, it’s that so much transition can affect both sides of the ball.
While all the changes on offense make game planning for the opener a tricky task for Georgia’s play callers, it also complicates the job for Oklahoma State’s defense, Richt said.
“I’m sure they’re sitting there not sure who’s going to be where or who’s going to make plays or who we’re going to put in position to make plays,” Richt said. “The only thing they probably know for sure is A.J. Green. Other than that, they’re probably guessing a little bit.”
MUCH IMPROVED
Saturday’s practice marked the official end of the preseason, with the focus Monday shifting entirely to Oklahoma State as Georgia begins its usual practice routine leading up to a game.
While not every question the coaches had entering fall practice has been answered, Richt said there’s no mistaking the improvements he has seen in the preparation his team has gotten this preseason.
“By a long shot, we were able to prepare the way we normally like to in terms of the number of days we scrimmage and tackle to the ground and every single day in inside drill was live tackling,” Richt said.
The biggest different, Richt said, has been a reduced number of injuries. While a number of players missed some action with minor hamstring injuries, there haven’t been any catastrophic injuries similar to what occurred last preseason.
The result has been an increased focus on the fundamentals – particularly tackling. Richt said in addition to the tackling during scrimmages and inside drills, the team added tackle work to perimeter drills as well – a new addition from past seasons.
“It’s a world of difference when you look at how many times we were in pads and tackled to the ground,” Richt said.
STILL WAITING ON O LINE
Offensive linemen Ben Jones and Chris Davis both missed practice again Saturday, each recovering from ankle sprains that Richt said shouldn’t cost them any playing time.
“I expect Ben to be practicing Monday, and Chris I’m not certain,” Richt said. “Ben might do everything, but my guess would be just scout work. Chris may be ready for scout work, too, I’m just not sure.”
For the second straight day, Kevin Perez handled the first-team snaps at center, and while the 265-pound junior might be a bit overmatched in size, Richt said he’s confident that Perez can get the job done if called upon.
“Perez knows what to do, his body just didn’t get as big as he would hope and we would hope it would,” Richt said. “But he’s very smart, he’s been tremendous in our meeting rooms, and now that he’s had this opportunity to play, he’s done a very admirable job. We could certainly function with him.”
SECONDARY THOUGHTS
Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said the depth chart in his secondary has taken shape, and it’s not exactly what Richt had discussed earlier this week.
Bryan Evans and Reshad Jones will be the starting safeties, with Brandon Boykin and Prince Miller the starting corners. Behind them, Sanders Commings, Baccari Rambo and Makiri Pugh will handle reserve duties at safety, with Branden Smith and Vance Cuff the first two corners off the bench.
Richt had suggested that Pugh and linebacker Nick Williams might handle the bulk of the work at nickelback, but Martinez indicated that role would actually belong to Miller, with either Cuff or Smith filling in at corner.
Smith’s emergence this preseason has been particularly impressive, Martinez said, given his mix of immense athletic ability and strong work ethic.
“He’s a very competitive player,” Martinez said of the freshman cornerback. “He’s a worker. He’s a fast learner. He’s always trying to do his best. He’s got a great attitude and with his ability, he’s coming on. He’s getting better.”
As to Georgia’s other two freshmen defensive backs, the news is a bit more tepid.
Cornerback Jordan Love has been limited in practice for the past week due to a toe injury, and the reduced reps have been a setback.
Safety Shawn Williams, on the other hand, has gotten more looks than expected due to some other injuries at his position, but Martinez said Williams still isn’t close to being where he needs to be to earn significant playing time on game day.
“We like him, but how much he’ll play this year, right now, that’s undetermined,” Martinez said. “He’s got a ways to go. But that’s expected for a young kid, particularly at safety, which is pretty difficult.”
PASS RUSH PROJECTIONS
With Justin Houston suspended for the first two games of the season, Martinez pronounced Demarcus Dobbs and Rod Battle the starters for Oklahoma State – a move that hardly comes as a surprise given the lack of experience further down the depth chart.
Martinez said Dobbs and Battle have both looked good, but the challenge now will be finding players who can fill in as backups consistently.
“Those are the two guys with a tremendous amount of experience, and they’ve been doing a good job,” Martinez said. “The other group of guys are just mixing in there trying to develop the depth. Some guys are getting better.”
FAST AND FURIOUS
Georgia ran through a final scrimmage against the scout teams Saturday, albeit a particularly regimented one.
Richt said the Bulldogs’ first-team offense and defense each ran 20 scripted plays against the scout team, and each of the six kicking units took three reps apiece. Some goal-line and short-yardage work involved tackling, but the majority of the practice was thud drills.
While the workout was brief, Richt said the team got what it needed from the practice.
“We had what I hoped we’d have today – a situation scrimmage that was thud the majority of the plays where we got good tempo, the sense of a game where you have to substitute,” Richt said. “It was good energy. We had 20 plays on each side of the ball. It was spirited, it was organized.”
Georgia returns to practice Monday, and will spend the first two days of the week in full pads. The Bulldogs will go to shorts and shoulder pads Wednesday and Thursday, then have an off day Friday before the game.
NOTABLE TWEET
According to Jeff Owens' Twitter feed, he found a nice note in his locker after coming off the practice field Saturday. It was an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game. Next up, according to Owens, is a similar invite to the Senior Bowl.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Practice Notes: King Questionable For Week 1
When it happened, Mark Richt called it a 7-to-10-day injury, but 17 days after his last practice, Caleb King still isn't close to returning to work and could be in danger of missing Georgia's first game of the season against Oklahoma State.
Richt said he watched King run the sidelines during practice Friday, but couldn't speculate as to when the sophomore tailback might be healthy enough to return from a sore hamstring that has sidelined him for the majority of the preseason and kept him out of the competition for the starting tailback job that now appears to belong to Richard Samuel.
"You just can't predict hamstrings," Richt said. "We're hopeful that he's ready to practice early next week, but I don't know how he's going to feel."
Georgia has just three full-contact practices left before departing for Oklahoma State, which means the pressure is on for King to prove he's healthy enough to play in the game.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said King would likely need to fully participate in a practice no later than Tuesday if the tailback was going to be part of Georgia's game plan against the Cowboys.
"I don't have a definite timeline because you never know what's going to happen with your other guys, but Monday and Tuesday are going to be the bulk of the work days next week," Bobo said. "I'd definitely like to have him out there Monday, and Tuesday at the latest."
Georgia is likely to bring only about 70 players to Stillwater, Okla. for the game, making each seat on the plane a valuable one, Richt said. Whether one of those seats belongs to King or not will ultimately be decided by the potential impact the coaches feel he can have in the game.
"We're not taking anybody on the plane unless we think they can play in that game and help us win," Richt said. "So if we don't think he has any chance of playing, he won't go. If we think he's got a chance of playing, he'll be on the plane, and if we need him, we'll put him in."
WALK-ON MOVES UP
With King potentially out of the lineup, former Dodge County tailback Kalvin Daniels has worked his way up to the No. 3 spot on Georgia's tailback depth chart.
"Kalvin's done a really fine job," Richt said. "He had a good spring, he's had a good fall, and he's really done an outstanding job. Right now he would be our No. 3 if Caleb is not capable to go."
Samuel and redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas are likely to be Georgia's top two runners against Oklahoma State. Freshman Washaun Ealey was also in the mix for carries this preseason, but a hyperextended elbow hindered his progress, and at this point he's not in line to see much action.
"I talked to Washaun today about keep banging, keep competing," Richt said. "Sometimes kids will look at that depth chart and think you have no chance, but two weeks later, you might be it. I just wanted to remind him that, don't count yourself out because things can change in a hurry."
Despite the advice, Richt said he won't burn a potential redshirt for Ealey simply to allow the tailback to work on special teams in Week 1.
DAVIS SPRAINS ANKLE
After Ben Jones went down with a sprained ankle last week, junior Chris Davis moved over to handle reps at center for the Bulldogs' offensive line, but that plan hit a speed bump this week, too.
Davis suffered an ankle sprain, too, and was wearing a protective boot for practice Friday. Richt said Davis was day-to-day and said the lineman could return to work Monday.
"He may do scout team only Monday, but that's how we phase guys in off an injury like that," Richt said. "We think he'll be ready."
Jones didn't practice again Friday, but he was jogging the sidelines and appeared to be moving well.
Still, with two projected starters missing time, Bobo said finding continuity on the offensive line remained a concern as Georgia readies for the season opener.
"Guys have got to practice together, make calls together and be on the same page," Bobo said. "The only positive is that the guys who are out there do have experience. But getting those guys healthy and getting them ready to play in the first game is definitely a concern."
UNLIKELY APPEARANCE
Bobo isn't expecting a runaway victory for the Bulldogs in Stillwater, but even if Georgia's up big in the fourth quarter, he said fans shouldn't expect to get an early look at either of the team's freshman quarterbacks.
Zach Mettenberger and Aaron Murray were both hoping to land the No. 2 spot on the depth chart during the preseason, but that hasn't happened so far, and Bobo isn't going to risk burning a redshirt for either player to get them a few snaps in mop-up duty.
"We still have a few more days of practice before we finalize that decision," Bobo said, "but right now neither one of them would play."
FIGGINS STAYS FOCUSED
Thanks to a suspension, junior Bruce Figgins won't see the field until Week 7 against Vanderbilt at the earliest, but his coach, John Lilly, said that hasn't altered the tight end's mind-set this preseason.
"I've been really proud of Bruce," Lilly said. "I think he's worked extremely hard and tried to help the young guys along, which shows a lot of maturity on his part. I think he's responded very well at this stage, but now here comes the tough part because the games start being played, and I know that's going to be difficult for him."
Figgins earned a six-game suspension for an unnamed violation of team rules in April, but he's also working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery that held him out of spring practice. Lilly said Figgins still isn't 100 percent, and there's a chance the team could decide to redshirt the tight end for the entire season.
"We're preparing him to be ready to go when that time comes, but with some injuries and trying to rehab his shoulder and things like that, if they're not responding well, that still could become a concern down the line," Lilly said. "Right now, he's mentally preparing to play and we're trying to have him physically ready to play."
PLAYING IT COY
Joe Cox knows Georgia's offense so well, it's not hard for Bobo to forget that he hasn't started a game in nearly three years.
"Sometimes as a coach, I have to realize that he's not a fifth-year starter, he's just a fifth-year senior," Bobo said. "It seems like he's been starting forever because he knows everything."
Despite Cox's intimate understanding of the playbook, Bobo said he has tried to remain cautious with what he asks of his starting quarterback.
"As a coach, you can't take things for granted just because he knows everything in the film room but hasn't experienced it in live action," Bobo said. "So you've just got to be real diligent and make sure that we're covering everything with him. He's doing a great job of preparing extra."
For months, Richt has been pretty open that Cox would have all the same leeway to change plays at the line of scrimmage that Matthew Stafford enjoyed last season, but Bobo wasn't ready to reveal any information on Cox's job description just yet.
"You'll have to wait and see on that one," he said.
AH, MEMORIES
There's no doubt a distinction between the type of offense played in the Big XII and the SEC, but Richt said he knows a thing or two about the style he can expect from Oklahoma State when the Bulldogs open the season in Stillwater next Saturday.
"It reminds me of the style of ball we played when we had Charlie Ward at Florida State – the spread, manipulating the pace of the game, fast-slow, getting guys in space, making plays, trying to wear people out by putting points on the board rather than trying to punch you in the mouth every time," Richt said.
Big XII teams are credited with a much more wide-open offensive style based around speed and finesse, but Richt did caution that there was more to Oklahoma State than the typical spread offense.
"I will say that Oklahoma State does a really fantastic job of the balance that most coaches are looking for," Richt said. "They will run the ball – and they run it from the spread, but you can run it from the spread with a physical nature and they do that."
BAD REVIEWS
After dissecting the film from Wednesday's practice game, Richt said he was a bit more encouraged by the team's performance, but there were still too many problems for him to dub it a success.
Defensively, he said the Bulldogs looked sharp, but the scout team's offensive line was so weak it was hard to get a good gauge of the first-team defensive backs.
"Because our second unit can't protect well enough against our first defense, it's just tough to find out what our holes are on the perimeter, if in fact they're there," Richt said.
On offense, the majority of the reps looked good, but missed opportunities are under a much bigger microscope during those scrimmages, he said.
"You play a half, and you don't have a lot of opportunities, so even if you lose one drive because of a penalty, it's just disappointing, and we did have one of those," Richt said. "It was better after watching the film as I felt like coming off, but it still wasn't as sharp as I would like."
GOOD REVIEWS
The weather was a bit cooler and the rain held off, and Georgia's players responded with an encouraging day of work on the practice field Friday.
"They had a lot of energy today," Richt said. "I really like the way they practiced. I saw real good focus. They just looked good today. They gave me a good feeling."
MORE TO COME
Saturday's practice won't be an official scrimmage – Georgia has just three of those during the preseason, with the last coming this past Wednesday – but Richt said his team will go through many of the same motions as a scrimmage in order to tie up a few loose ends before taking on Oklahoma State.
"We'll do everything but tackle to the ground," Richt said. "We're going to do more team substituting, kickoff, defense, punt return and block. There will be some short-yardage, goal line, and we'll go a few plays live, but just a few."
Richt said the work will be designed mostly to iron out some flaws he saw during the team's practice game against the scout team and to get in a bit more reps on plays coaches didn't get to see enough of during the past week.
"We're actually ramping it up just a tad by scrimmaging the short-yardage and goal line plays," he said. "It'll look a lot like our practice game scrimmage, but it'll be a lot more scripted. We've scripted what we think we need to see that we haven't seen. But it's still going to be played like a game, just without the tackling."
MORE INJURY NOTES
Linebacker Akeem Dent missed another practice with a sore hamstring, but Richt said he appeared healthy and should be back at practice early next week.
"I happened to see Akeem running and changing direction," Richt said. "I saw him doing some things that made me feel he was getting close."
Marcus Dowtin and Richard Samuel both were in green, non-contact jerseys Friday, too, but each was participating in drills with their respective positions.
Safety Quintin Banks will miss the opening game with a knee injury, but Richt said that he's hopeful the rest of the Bulldogs' roster will be ready for action by next Saturday.
"We're still hopeful on everybody else other than the guys we know of with season-ending injuries," he said.
Richt said he watched King run the sidelines during practice Friday, but couldn't speculate as to when the sophomore tailback might be healthy enough to return from a sore hamstring that has sidelined him for the majority of the preseason and kept him out of the competition for the starting tailback job that now appears to belong to Richard Samuel.
"You just can't predict hamstrings," Richt said. "We're hopeful that he's ready to practice early next week, but I don't know how he's going to feel."
Georgia has just three full-contact practices left before departing for Oklahoma State, which means the pressure is on for King to prove he's healthy enough to play in the game.
Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said King would likely need to fully participate in a practice no later than Tuesday if the tailback was going to be part of Georgia's game plan against the Cowboys.
"I don't have a definite timeline because you never know what's going to happen with your other guys, but Monday and Tuesday are going to be the bulk of the work days next week," Bobo said. "I'd definitely like to have him out there Monday, and Tuesday at the latest."
Georgia is likely to bring only about 70 players to Stillwater, Okla. for the game, making each seat on the plane a valuable one, Richt said. Whether one of those seats belongs to King or not will ultimately be decided by the potential impact the coaches feel he can have in the game.
"We're not taking anybody on the plane unless we think they can play in that game and help us win," Richt said. "So if we don't think he has any chance of playing, he won't go. If we think he's got a chance of playing, he'll be on the plane, and if we need him, we'll put him in."
WALK-ON MOVES UP
With King potentially out of the lineup, former Dodge County tailback Kalvin Daniels has worked his way up to the No. 3 spot on Georgia's tailback depth chart.
"Kalvin's done a really fine job," Richt said. "He had a good spring, he's had a good fall, and he's really done an outstanding job. Right now he would be our No. 3 if Caleb is not capable to go."
Samuel and redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas are likely to be Georgia's top two runners against Oklahoma State. Freshman Washaun Ealey was also in the mix for carries this preseason, but a hyperextended elbow hindered his progress, and at this point he's not in line to see much action.
"I talked to Washaun today about keep banging, keep competing," Richt said. "Sometimes kids will look at that depth chart and think you have no chance, but two weeks later, you might be it. I just wanted to remind him that, don't count yourself out because things can change in a hurry."
Despite the advice, Richt said he won't burn a potential redshirt for Ealey simply to allow the tailback to work on special teams in Week 1.
DAVIS SPRAINS ANKLE
After Ben Jones went down with a sprained ankle last week, junior Chris Davis moved over to handle reps at center for the Bulldogs' offensive line, but that plan hit a speed bump this week, too.
Davis suffered an ankle sprain, too, and was wearing a protective boot for practice Friday. Richt said Davis was day-to-day and said the lineman could return to work Monday.
"He may do scout team only Monday, but that's how we phase guys in off an injury like that," Richt said. "We think he'll be ready."
Jones didn't practice again Friday, but he was jogging the sidelines and appeared to be moving well.
Still, with two projected starters missing time, Bobo said finding continuity on the offensive line remained a concern as Georgia readies for the season opener.
"Guys have got to practice together, make calls together and be on the same page," Bobo said. "The only positive is that the guys who are out there do have experience. But getting those guys healthy and getting them ready to play in the first game is definitely a concern."
UNLIKELY APPEARANCE
Bobo isn't expecting a runaway victory for the Bulldogs in Stillwater, but even if Georgia's up big in the fourth quarter, he said fans shouldn't expect to get an early look at either of the team's freshman quarterbacks.
Zach Mettenberger and Aaron Murray were both hoping to land the No. 2 spot on the depth chart during the preseason, but that hasn't happened so far, and Bobo isn't going to risk burning a redshirt for either player to get them a few snaps in mop-up duty.
"We still have a few more days of practice before we finalize that decision," Bobo said, "but right now neither one of them would play."
FIGGINS STAYS FOCUSED
Thanks to a suspension, junior Bruce Figgins won't see the field until Week 7 against Vanderbilt at the earliest, but his coach, John Lilly, said that hasn't altered the tight end's mind-set this preseason.
"I've been really proud of Bruce," Lilly said. "I think he's worked extremely hard and tried to help the young guys along, which shows a lot of maturity on his part. I think he's responded very well at this stage, but now here comes the tough part because the games start being played, and I know that's going to be difficult for him."
Figgins earned a six-game suspension for an unnamed violation of team rules in April, but he's also working his way back from offseason shoulder surgery that held him out of spring practice. Lilly said Figgins still isn't 100 percent, and there's a chance the team could decide to redshirt the tight end for the entire season.
"We're preparing him to be ready to go when that time comes, but with some injuries and trying to rehab his shoulder and things like that, if they're not responding well, that still could become a concern down the line," Lilly said. "Right now, he's mentally preparing to play and we're trying to have him physically ready to play."
PLAYING IT COY
Joe Cox knows Georgia's offense so well, it's not hard for Bobo to forget that he hasn't started a game in nearly three years.
"Sometimes as a coach, I have to realize that he's not a fifth-year starter, he's just a fifth-year senior," Bobo said. "It seems like he's been starting forever because he knows everything."
Despite Cox's intimate understanding of the playbook, Bobo said he has tried to remain cautious with what he asks of his starting quarterback.
"As a coach, you can't take things for granted just because he knows everything in the film room but hasn't experienced it in live action," Bobo said. "So you've just got to be real diligent and make sure that we're covering everything with him. He's doing a great job of preparing extra."
For months, Richt has been pretty open that Cox would have all the same leeway to change plays at the line of scrimmage that Matthew Stafford enjoyed last season, but Bobo wasn't ready to reveal any information on Cox's job description just yet.
"You'll have to wait and see on that one," he said.
AH, MEMORIES
There's no doubt a distinction between the type of offense played in the Big XII and the SEC, but Richt said he knows a thing or two about the style he can expect from Oklahoma State when the Bulldogs open the season in Stillwater next Saturday.
"It reminds me of the style of ball we played when we had Charlie Ward at Florida State – the spread, manipulating the pace of the game, fast-slow, getting guys in space, making plays, trying to wear people out by putting points on the board rather than trying to punch you in the mouth every time," Richt said.
Big XII teams are credited with a much more wide-open offensive style based around speed and finesse, but Richt did caution that there was more to Oklahoma State than the typical spread offense.
"I will say that Oklahoma State does a really fantastic job of the balance that most coaches are looking for," Richt said. "They will run the ball – and they run it from the spread, but you can run it from the spread with a physical nature and they do that."
BAD REVIEWS
After dissecting the film from Wednesday's practice game, Richt said he was a bit more encouraged by the team's performance, but there were still too many problems for him to dub it a success.
Defensively, he said the Bulldogs looked sharp, but the scout team's offensive line was so weak it was hard to get a good gauge of the first-team defensive backs.
"Because our second unit can't protect well enough against our first defense, it's just tough to find out what our holes are on the perimeter, if in fact they're there," Richt said.
On offense, the majority of the reps looked good, but missed opportunities are under a much bigger microscope during those scrimmages, he said.
"You play a half, and you don't have a lot of opportunities, so even if you lose one drive because of a penalty, it's just disappointing, and we did have one of those," Richt said. "It was better after watching the film as I felt like coming off, but it still wasn't as sharp as I would like."
GOOD REVIEWS
The weather was a bit cooler and the rain held off, and Georgia's players responded with an encouraging day of work on the practice field Friday.
"They had a lot of energy today," Richt said. "I really like the way they practiced. I saw real good focus. They just looked good today. They gave me a good feeling."
MORE TO COME
Saturday's practice won't be an official scrimmage – Georgia has just three of those during the preseason, with the last coming this past Wednesday – but Richt said his team will go through many of the same motions as a scrimmage in order to tie up a few loose ends before taking on Oklahoma State.
"We'll do everything but tackle to the ground," Richt said. "We're going to do more team substituting, kickoff, defense, punt return and block. There will be some short-yardage, goal line, and we'll go a few plays live, but just a few."
Richt said the work will be designed mostly to iron out some flaws he saw during the team's practice game against the scout team and to get in a bit more reps on plays coaches didn't get to see enough of during the past week.
"We're actually ramping it up just a tad by scrimmaging the short-yardage and goal line plays," he said. "It'll look a lot like our practice game scrimmage, but it'll be a lot more scripted. We've scripted what we think we need to see that we haven't seen. But it's still going to be played like a game, just without the tackling."
MORE INJURY NOTES
Linebacker Akeem Dent missed another practice with a sore hamstring, but Richt said he appeared healthy and should be back at practice early next week.
"I happened to see Akeem running and changing direction," Richt said. "I saw him doing some things that made me feel he was getting close."
Marcus Dowtin and Richard Samuel both were in green, non-contact jerseys Friday, too, but each was participating in drills with their respective positions.
Safety Quintin Banks will miss the opening game with a knee injury, but Richt said that he's hopeful the rest of the Bulldogs' roster will be ready for action by next Saturday.
"We're still hopeful on everybody else other than the guys we know of with season-ending injuries," he said.
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Practice Notes: Injury Ends Ros' Career
Bryce Ros spent two years fighting to get healthy, but a foot injury he suffered in high school never seemed to heal. Wednesday, his football career came to an official end when Georgia petitioned the NCAA for a medical exemption that would allow him to stay on scholarship after leaving the team.
"It's just never fun," head coach Mark Richt said of the situation. "It's nothing that anybody looks forward to. But it was just a situation where he couldn't go. He never really fully recovered from it since high school."
Ros, whose father Frank Ros played on Georgia's 1980 national championship team, played tight end at Kennesaw Mountain High School and redshirted last season. He suffered an injury to his right big toe in high school that required surgery, but never fully healed. The injury was determined to be degenerative and would prohibit normal football activities, according to Georgia's trainer Ron Courson.
Once Georgia's petition is accepted by the NCAA, Ros will be allowed to remain on scholarship but will not count toward the 85 scholarship limit for the Bulldogs. Richt said the scholarship will be applied toward next year's signing class.
JONESING FOR A RETURN
One week after suffering a minor ankle injury, center Ben Jones has still not returned to practice. Richt said the injury appears to be healing on schedule, however, and he expects Jones to resume some work this week.
"I would hope Friday, but my guess is he'll begin to do some things Friday and Saturday and by Monday he'll be full speed," Richt said.
Jones is expected to be the starting center when Georgia takes on Oklahoma State on Sept. 5, and after starting 10 games last season, Richt said he isn't overly concerned about the missed reps for Jones.
"He's experienced enough, he's far enough in the lead as our No. 1 center that I'm sure we'd let him play if he was deemed healthy on Friday before the game," Richt said. "I don't know if he would start, but I do think he'll be back before then."
RETURNING TO RETURNS
Senior safety Bryan Evans was sidelined for nearly 10 days with a hamstring injury, but he's back at work in the secondary, and he said he could soon resume handling kick-return duties, too.
"It's still there, I've just got to get back healthy and I should be healthy by the first game," Evans said. "So if they throw me back there, I'm gonna be there."
Evans said he is one of several Bulldogs, including freshman Branden Smith, sophomore Brandon Boykin, junior Vance Cuff and redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas, working on kick returns.
Evans' roommate, Prince Miller is the leading candidate to handle punt-return duties, and Evans said the two have managed to trade at least a few barbs about who might rack up more return yardage this season.
"We kind of talk about it," Evans said, "but not too much because hopefully when I get back healthy I'll be blocking for him on punt returns and he'll be blocking for me on kickoffs, so it's kind of a mutual thing."
TRAVELIN' MEN
Because Georgia opens against a Big 12 opponent, Richt doesn't have to worry about conference restrictions on the number of players who can travel to Stillwater, Okla. for the Bulldogs' opener, but the logistics of the trip still mean he'll have to limit the roster for the game.
"We looked at a 70 number," Richt said. "If we only could bring 70, we'd be fine, but I do think we'll take a few more than 70. Not a large number, it'll probably be somewhere around 75-ish, give or take."
As to who might be in that group, Richt isn't giving away names. One this he will admit, however, is there will be plenty of freshmen making their first trip with the team.
"I haven't done the math," he said, "but it will be quite a few."
SAFETY DANCE
Evans and Reshad Jones both returned to practice this week from hamstring injuries, but their absence last week helped Richt shore up the depth chart at the position, identifying two top backups to handle reserve duty at Oklahoma State.
"I think (Baccari) Rambo and (Sanders) Commings are both capable of playing, and I don't think we have a third guy as much as a backup at each safety spot," Richt said.
GETTING CLOSER
Linebacker Akeem Dent remains one of the few Bulldogs still sidelined by a sore hamstring. He said he's feeling better, but the trainers have urged him to remain patient before hitting the field.
"At this point, I'm feeling pretty good, but I'm just getting in the training room and doing everything I can to get back on the field," Dent said. "I'm taking a lot of mental reps to make sure I'm paying attention in the meeting room and then just out there on the field when they're walking through scout team and things like that."
Dent said he isn't like to participate in tomorrow's practice game, but he still expects to have a role on the field.
"I don't think I'll be out there for the Okie State scrimmage," he said, "but I'll still be out there on the sideline coaching up the younger guys and making sure everybody's doing what they're supposed to be doing."
MORE INJURY NEWS
-- Richt said Wednesday that safety Quintin Banks was unlikely to play in Georgia's opener.
-- Left tackle Trinton Sturdivant returned to work after a one-day absence due to illness.
-- Linebacker Darius Dewberry and Aron White were both full speed at practice Wednesday after nursing hamstring injuries.
-- Caleb King missed a 12th straight practice session Wednesday with a sore hamstring.
-- Freshman offensive lineman Chris Burnette sat out a second straight day with an ankle injury, but Richt said it's not serious. "I don't know if he'd go tomorrow or not," Richt said. "I see him jogging around and doing some functional things on the side, so he's not far away. He's not in a boot or crutches or anything."
PRACTICE RUNDOWN
The media was unexpectedly shut out of practice Tuesday, but there was no subterfuge intended, Richt said.
Georgia spent its entire practice session working on scout team drills to prepare for Oklahoma State, but the word wasn't relayed through the sports information department until after practice began. That meant no reporters, but Richt was quick to say he wasn't mimicking the media blackout instituted by Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy.
"We started our scout team work Period 1, so it was mostly scout-team work," Richt said. "That fundamental work, we don't really care who's out there, but that's why we didn't have anybody out there today."
As for what's ahead: "We had a good day today and we will play a half of football tomorrow," Richt said. "I hope everyone will be excited and that the scouts will play their tails off in the scrimmage."
I'll have details from tomorrow's practice game posted as soon as possible after the action ends.
"It's just never fun," head coach Mark Richt said of the situation. "It's nothing that anybody looks forward to. But it was just a situation where he couldn't go. He never really fully recovered from it since high school."
Ros, whose father Frank Ros played on Georgia's 1980 national championship team, played tight end at Kennesaw Mountain High School and redshirted last season. He suffered an injury to his right big toe in high school that required surgery, but never fully healed. The injury was determined to be degenerative and would prohibit normal football activities, according to Georgia's trainer Ron Courson.
Once Georgia's petition is accepted by the NCAA, Ros will be allowed to remain on scholarship but will not count toward the 85 scholarship limit for the Bulldogs. Richt said the scholarship will be applied toward next year's signing class.
JONESING FOR A RETURN
One week after suffering a minor ankle injury, center Ben Jones has still not returned to practice. Richt said the injury appears to be healing on schedule, however, and he expects Jones to resume some work this week.
"I would hope Friday, but my guess is he'll begin to do some things Friday and Saturday and by Monday he'll be full speed," Richt said.
Jones is expected to be the starting center when Georgia takes on Oklahoma State on Sept. 5, and after starting 10 games last season, Richt said he isn't overly concerned about the missed reps for Jones.
"He's experienced enough, he's far enough in the lead as our No. 1 center that I'm sure we'd let him play if he was deemed healthy on Friday before the game," Richt said. "I don't know if he would start, but I do think he'll be back before then."
RETURNING TO RETURNS
Senior safety Bryan Evans was sidelined for nearly 10 days with a hamstring injury, but he's back at work in the secondary, and he said he could soon resume handling kick-return duties, too.
"It's still there, I've just got to get back healthy and I should be healthy by the first game," Evans said. "So if they throw me back there, I'm gonna be there."
Evans said he is one of several Bulldogs, including freshman Branden Smith, sophomore Brandon Boykin, junior Vance Cuff and redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas, working on kick returns.
Evans' roommate, Prince Miller is the leading candidate to handle punt-return duties, and Evans said the two have managed to trade at least a few barbs about who might rack up more return yardage this season.
"We kind of talk about it," Evans said, "but not too much because hopefully when I get back healthy I'll be blocking for him on punt returns and he'll be blocking for me on kickoffs, so it's kind of a mutual thing."
TRAVELIN' MEN
Because Georgia opens against a Big 12 opponent, Richt doesn't have to worry about conference restrictions on the number of players who can travel to Stillwater, Okla. for the Bulldogs' opener, but the logistics of the trip still mean he'll have to limit the roster for the game.
"We looked at a 70 number," Richt said. "If we only could bring 70, we'd be fine, but I do think we'll take a few more than 70. Not a large number, it'll probably be somewhere around 75-ish, give or take."
As to who might be in that group, Richt isn't giving away names. One this he will admit, however, is there will be plenty of freshmen making their first trip with the team.
"I haven't done the math," he said, "but it will be quite a few."
SAFETY DANCE
Evans and Reshad Jones both returned to practice this week from hamstring injuries, but their absence last week helped Richt shore up the depth chart at the position, identifying two top backups to handle reserve duty at Oklahoma State.
"I think (Baccari) Rambo and (Sanders) Commings are both capable of playing, and I don't think we have a third guy as much as a backup at each safety spot," Richt said.
GETTING CLOSER
Linebacker Akeem Dent remains one of the few Bulldogs still sidelined by a sore hamstring. He said he's feeling better, but the trainers have urged him to remain patient before hitting the field.
"At this point, I'm feeling pretty good, but I'm just getting in the training room and doing everything I can to get back on the field," Dent said. "I'm taking a lot of mental reps to make sure I'm paying attention in the meeting room and then just out there on the field when they're walking through scout team and things like that."
Dent said he isn't like to participate in tomorrow's practice game, but he still expects to have a role on the field.
"I don't think I'll be out there for the Okie State scrimmage," he said, "but I'll still be out there on the sideline coaching up the younger guys and making sure everybody's doing what they're supposed to be doing."
MORE INJURY NEWS
-- Richt said Wednesday that safety Quintin Banks was unlikely to play in Georgia's opener.
-- Left tackle Trinton Sturdivant returned to work after a one-day absence due to illness.
-- Linebacker Darius Dewberry and Aron White were both full speed at practice Wednesday after nursing hamstring injuries.
-- Caleb King missed a 12th straight practice session Wednesday with a sore hamstring.
-- Freshman offensive lineman Chris Burnette sat out a second straight day with an ankle injury, but Richt said it's not serious. "I don't know if he'd go tomorrow or not," Richt said. "I see him jogging around and doing some functional things on the side, so he's not far away. He's not in a boot or crutches or anything."
PRACTICE RUNDOWN
The media was unexpectedly shut out of practice Tuesday, but there was no subterfuge intended, Richt said.
Georgia spent its entire practice session working on scout team drills to prepare for Oklahoma State, but the word wasn't relayed through the sports information department until after practice began. That meant no reporters, but Richt was quick to say he wasn't mimicking the media blackout instituted by Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy.
"We started our scout team work Period 1, so it was mostly scout-team work," Richt said. "That fundamental work, we don't really care who's out there, but that's why we didn't have anybody out there today."
As for what's ahead: "We had a good day today and we will play a half of football tomorrow," Richt said. "I hope everyone will be excited and that the scouts will play their tails off in the scrimmage."
I'll have details from tomorrow's practice game posted as soon as possible after the action ends.
Friday, August 21, 2009
Practice Notes: Samuel a 'Solid No. 1'
What seemed like the likely outcome since last week’s first scrimmage is now official, according to head coach Mark Richt. Sophomore tailback Richard Samuel is firmly atop Georgia’s depth chart with a chance to become an every-down runner.
“I’d say Richard is a solid No. 1,” Richt said. “He’s playing with a lot of energy. Some of these practices, by the end of practice he’s still blazing a trail pretty good. When the other guys fatigue, he looks even faster.”
Samuel figured to have a more competitive battle with fellow sophomore Caleb King for the starting job, but King went down with a hamstring injury last week and has been unable to practice.
Richt was quick to note, however, that King’s injury hasn’t made Samuel the default choice as the starter.
“We would have rated Richard No. 1 after the scrimmage regardless of the injury,” Richt said, “but we’re anxious to get Caleb back healthy, I can promise you that.”
Both Samuel and King struggled in reserve duty at times a year ago, but Samuel has been able to take a huge leap forward during the offseason.
In two scrimmages, Samuel has tallied 233 yards on 19 touches with four going for touchdowns.
“That one year makes a huge difference,” linebacker Rennie Curran said. “You can tell he knows his plays, knows the right fits, he knows where to be. It shows on the field. He’s running that ball hard. He’s definitely that type of running back we need in the SEC to play that hard-nosed football.”
While Samuel’s upright running style has drawn some criticism of scouts and fans, Curran said a tailback who enjoys contact as much as Samuel can be difficult for defenses to stop.
“I remember tackling him one time and I got a headache,” Curran said. “He’s the type of back that can beat a defense down over time. If you throw a speed tailback in there to mix it up with him, that can really wear a defense out with a guy who runs straight ahead and hits the hole as hard as he does.”
Richt said redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas remains in the tailback competition after posting two strong scrimmage performances as well, but the bottom line is that Samuel has been the most impressive and has earned the trust of his coaches.
“He’s shown some flashes where he runs hard, plays hard and has a much more comfortable air about him, his body language,” Richt said of Samuel. “He’s in control of what to do, and he’s giving people confidence right now.”
WHAT A RELIEF
Richt said it looked bad when sophomore center Ben Jones collapsed with a sprained ankle Wednesday, but it turns out the injury doesn’t appear too serious.
Jones suffered a lateral sprain of his left ankle which resulted in some significant swelling, but Richt said there’s virtually no chance Jones will miss any playing time.
“I’d be shocked if he didn’t play (against Oklahoma State),” Richt said. “He really is day to day. When it happened, it looked worse than it ended up being. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get some work next week.”
Chris Davis and Kevin Perez took reps at center with the No. 1 unit for a second straight day Friday.
TO BE DETERMINED
Georgia president Michael Adams announced dates all school employees must take mandatory furloughs Thursday, but Richt said things remain undecided as to when the Bulldogs’ coaching staff will be on vacation.
The dates set by Adams would require Georgia’s coaches to take off work the day before the Bulldogs play Florida along with another day during Georgia Tech week.
While Richt said he’ll be meeting with athletics director Damon Evans next week to discuss how best to work around the furloughs, he said he isn’t expecting any time off during a crucial period of the season.
“If the university needs to do it, then we need to cooperate,” Richt said. “My guess is, I don’t know if we’ve ever had a day off during the season, so I really doubt that we’ll be able to just stay home and relax.”
PLANS HAVEN’T CHANGED
Before opening fall camp, Richt said he expected all of his true freshmen linebackers, defensive backs, wide receivers, tight ends and running backs to play this season. Three weeks into the preseason, things are still going according to plan.
“The majority of them are still absolutely in the race,” Richt said. “Some are right in the thick of it, and some of them are kind of right on the fringe, but they’re still battling, still working.”
Among the most likely to play are tight ends Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch, wideouts Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten, cornerback Branden Smith and linebacker Michael Gilliard.
While several others are still working to secure playing time, Richt said finals decisions on redshirts aren’t likely to come until after the fourth game of the season.
“You just don’t know with injuries and you don’t know who’s going to perk up all of a sudden,” Richt said. “Once we get into a little bit of a different routine and everything becomes a little more familiar, they start to play a little faster and they’re not as confused. So all of a sudden a guy who you didn’t think had a chance after scrimmage No. 2 has a lot of life.”
HOW THEY DOING?
Richt's comments on two of the potential "fringe" guys:
On Jordan Love: “Jordan has done very well, and we still have every intention of playing Jordan this year.”
On Chase Vasser: “Chase is more of a bubble guy right now. He’s got to prove that he can be reliable on special teams at this point, and he’s still got a ways to go to learn what’s got to be done as an every-down scrimmage player. We haven’t given up on the thought of him playing as a true freshman, but he’s probably a little farther off than some of the others.”
GETTING CLOSER
Safety Reshad Jones has been back at practice for two days, but he's still donning a green non-contact jersey. Although he's being kept out of contact drills, he said he's feeling just fine.
"Hamstrings are frustrating and kind of tricky," Jones said. “I’m full speed, I’m just limited in drills, not being able to do everything right now. But next week, I should be back without the green on.”
Consider that the case for the majority of Georgia's cast of characters missing action due to sore hamstrings.
Bryan Evans, Caleb King, Akeem Dent, Aron White and Darius Dewberry all fit the bill, and while Richt said all are looking a lot better, the training staff is taking a cautious approach to bringing them back.
“We’re at the point with some of these hamstrings where, if we were three or four weeks away from a game, they’d probably be going right now," Richt said. "But we know if we get another little tweak right now, it might cost those guys the ability to play in that game. So we’re being conservative right now, but they’ll almost all be back next week.”
DOBBS DOING FINE
Demarcus Dobbs has been in green the past two days thanks to a sore neck suffered during 11-on-11 drills, but Richt said the junior defensive end hasn't missed much.
“Dobbs is fine," Richt said. "He got his neck tweeked a little bit, but he’s out there running full speed. We’re just trying to keep him from using his (head to tackle) right now.”
Dobbs said he feels good and expects to practice fully Saturday.
Beyond the injury report, Richt also gave Dobbs a ringing endorsement in terms of production, too.
“Dobbs has really had a good camp," Richt said. "I’m proud of his effort. He’s come a long way.”
TRIPP'S TAKING IT EASY
Kiante Tripp has missed the past several practices as well due to a sore shoulder. While the time away isn't helping the converted offensive lineman prepare for Oklahoma State, he said the rest is mostly for precaution.
“The shoulder’s good," Tripp said. "I’m just trying to stay in shape. I’m still in the green jersey now because they don’t want any contact because they want to keep it alright until game time, but everything feels good.”
ANOTHER SCORCHER
After Thursday's practice, Jeff Owens sent a Twitter message telling friends he had just been through the toughest practice in four years.
Friday, the sun was still hot, the bodies still sore, but the coaches didn't let up -- and that's exactly what Richt was hoping to see.
“It was hot out there and kind of miserable, but they fought real good," Richt said of the team's practice. "We’re still making a few mistakes here and there, but I really liked how they practiced today. They pushed. Yesterday was a tough day, so to come right back with another one, coaches are just coaching their tails off and guys are responding. We need days like today.”
The tempo being set by the coaches hasn't diminished throughout the preseason, Curran said. Considering the problems of a year ago, that's fine by him.
"We know nobody’s going to feel sorry for us this season, nobody’s going to give us any breaks when it comes to playing those games," Curran said. "If we don’t sacrifice now, it’s going to get ugly. The way I look at it is I’d rather hurt now than hurt on ESPN or in front of those fans and look sloppy in front of the fans. We’ve been putting work in day in and day out, and hopefully it’s going to pay off.”
NO HARD FEELINGS
The Sporting News posted a list of its selections for the top 10 players in the SEC, and while Florida was well represented, and Alabama receiver Julio Jones earned a spot, no Georgia players made the cut.
That might add a touch of motivation for the current season, Curran said, but the truth is, he doesn't think any of the Bulldogs have earned that type of recognition just yet.
"At the end of the day, you’re just trying to win those games," Curran said. "If the offense is doing well, the defense is doing well and we’re winning games, that respect is going to come. The lists that they’re making because their teams made it far. They made it to the SEC championship, to the national championship. We can’t expect to get respected when my defense isn’t producing and people are getting 40 points on us. That’s how it works.”
ONE MORE THIS WEEK
Georgia practices at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by the team's annual fan picture day at Sanford Stadium.
“I’d say Richard is a solid No. 1,” Richt said. “He’s playing with a lot of energy. Some of these practices, by the end of practice he’s still blazing a trail pretty good. When the other guys fatigue, he looks even faster.”
Samuel figured to have a more competitive battle with fellow sophomore Caleb King for the starting job, but King went down with a hamstring injury last week and has been unable to practice.
Richt was quick to note, however, that King’s injury hasn’t made Samuel the default choice as the starter.
“We would have rated Richard No. 1 after the scrimmage regardless of the injury,” Richt said, “but we’re anxious to get Caleb back healthy, I can promise you that.”
Both Samuel and King struggled in reserve duty at times a year ago, but Samuel has been able to take a huge leap forward during the offseason.
In two scrimmages, Samuel has tallied 233 yards on 19 touches with four going for touchdowns.
“That one year makes a huge difference,” linebacker Rennie Curran said. “You can tell he knows his plays, knows the right fits, he knows where to be. It shows on the field. He’s running that ball hard. He’s definitely that type of running back we need in the SEC to play that hard-nosed football.”
While Samuel’s upright running style has drawn some criticism of scouts and fans, Curran said a tailback who enjoys contact as much as Samuel can be difficult for defenses to stop.
“I remember tackling him one time and I got a headache,” Curran said. “He’s the type of back that can beat a defense down over time. If you throw a speed tailback in there to mix it up with him, that can really wear a defense out with a guy who runs straight ahead and hits the hole as hard as he does.”
Richt said redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas remains in the tailback competition after posting two strong scrimmage performances as well, but the bottom line is that Samuel has been the most impressive and has earned the trust of his coaches.
“He’s shown some flashes where he runs hard, plays hard and has a much more comfortable air about him, his body language,” Richt said of Samuel. “He’s in control of what to do, and he’s giving people confidence right now.”
WHAT A RELIEF
Richt said it looked bad when sophomore center Ben Jones collapsed with a sprained ankle Wednesday, but it turns out the injury doesn’t appear too serious.
Jones suffered a lateral sprain of his left ankle which resulted in some significant swelling, but Richt said there’s virtually no chance Jones will miss any playing time.
“I’d be shocked if he didn’t play (against Oklahoma State),” Richt said. “He really is day to day. When it happened, it looked worse than it ended up being. I wouldn’t be shocked to see him get some work next week.”
Chris Davis and Kevin Perez took reps at center with the No. 1 unit for a second straight day Friday.
TO BE DETERMINED
Georgia president Michael Adams announced dates all school employees must take mandatory furloughs Thursday, but Richt said things remain undecided as to when the Bulldogs’ coaching staff will be on vacation.
The dates set by Adams would require Georgia’s coaches to take off work the day before the Bulldogs play Florida along with another day during Georgia Tech week.
While Richt said he’ll be meeting with athletics director Damon Evans next week to discuss how best to work around the furloughs, he said he isn’t expecting any time off during a crucial period of the season.
“If the university needs to do it, then we need to cooperate,” Richt said. “My guess is, I don’t know if we’ve ever had a day off during the season, so I really doubt that we’ll be able to just stay home and relax.”
PLANS HAVEN’T CHANGED
Before opening fall camp, Richt said he expected all of his true freshmen linebackers, defensive backs, wide receivers, tight ends and running backs to play this season. Three weeks into the preseason, things are still going according to plan.
“The majority of them are still absolutely in the race,” Richt said. “Some are right in the thick of it, and some of them are kind of right on the fringe, but they’re still battling, still working.”
Among the most likely to play are tight ends Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch, wideouts Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten, cornerback Branden Smith and linebacker Michael Gilliard.
While several others are still working to secure playing time, Richt said finals decisions on redshirts aren’t likely to come until after the fourth game of the season.
“You just don’t know with injuries and you don’t know who’s going to perk up all of a sudden,” Richt said. “Once we get into a little bit of a different routine and everything becomes a little more familiar, they start to play a little faster and they’re not as confused. So all of a sudden a guy who you didn’t think had a chance after scrimmage No. 2 has a lot of life.”
HOW THEY DOING?
Richt's comments on two of the potential "fringe" guys:
On Jordan Love: “Jordan has done very well, and we still have every intention of playing Jordan this year.”
On Chase Vasser: “Chase is more of a bubble guy right now. He’s got to prove that he can be reliable on special teams at this point, and he’s still got a ways to go to learn what’s got to be done as an every-down scrimmage player. We haven’t given up on the thought of him playing as a true freshman, but he’s probably a little farther off than some of the others.”
GETTING CLOSER
Safety Reshad Jones has been back at practice for two days, but he's still donning a green non-contact jersey. Although he's being kept out of contact drills, he said he's feeling just fine.
"Hamstrings are frustrating and kind of tricky," Jones said. “I’m full speed, I’m just limited in drills, not being able to do everything right now. But next week, I should be back without the green on.”
Consider that the case for the majority of Georgia's cast of characters missing action due to sore hamstrings.
Bryan Evans, Caleb King, Akeem Dent, Aron White and Darius Dewberry all fit the bill, and while Richt said all are looking a lot better, the training staff is taking a cautious approach to bringing them back.
“We’re at the point with some of these hamstrings where, if we were three or four weeks away from a game, they’d probably be going right now," Richt said. "But we know if we get another little tweak right now, it might cost those guys the ability to play in that game. So we’re being conservative right now, but they’ll almost all be back next week.”
DOBBS DOING FINE
Demarcus Dobbs has been in green the past two days thanks to a sore neck suffered during 11-on-11 drills, but Richt said the junior defensive end hasn't missed much.
“Dobbs is fine," Richt said. "He got his neck tweeked a little bit, but he’s out there running full speed. We’re just trying to keep him from using his (head to tackle) right now.”
Dobbs said he feels good and expects to practice fully Saturday.
Beyond the injury report, Richt also gave Dobbs a ringing endorsement in terms of production, too.
“Dobbs has really had a good camp," Richt said. "I’m proud of his effort. He’s come a long way.”
TRIPP'S TAKING IT EASY
Kiante Tripp has missed the past several practices as well due to a sore shoulder. While the time away isn't helping the converted offensive lineman prepare for Oklahoma State, he said the rest is mostly for precaution.
“The shoulder’s good," Tripp said. "I’m just trying to stay in shape. I’m still in the green jersey now because they don’t want any contact because they want to keep it alright until game time, but everything feels good.”
ANOTHER SCORCHER
After Thursday's practice, Jeff Owens sent a Twitter message telling friends he had just been through the toughest practice in four years.
Friday, the sun was still hot, the bodies still sore, but the coaches didn't let up -- and that's exactly what Richt was hoping to see.
“It was hot out there and kind of miserable, but they fought real good," Richt said of the team's practice. "We’re still making a few mistakes here and there, but I really liked how they practiced today. They pushed. Yesterday was a tough day, so to come right back with another one, coaches are just coaching their tails off and guys are responding. We need days like today.”
The tempo being set by the coaches hasn't diminished throughout the preseason, Curran said. Considering the problems of a year ago, that's fine by him.
"We know nobody’s going to feel sorry for us this season, nobody’s going to give us any breaks when it comes to playing those games," Curran said. "If we don’t sacrifice now, it’s going to get ugly. The way I look at it is I’d rather hurt now than hurt on ESPN or in front of those fans and look sloppy in front of the fans. We’ve been putting work in day in and day out, and hopefully it’s going to pay off.”
NO HARD FEELINGS
The Sporting News posted a list of its selections for the top 10 players in the SEC, and while Florida was well represented, and Alabama receiver Julio Jones earned a spot, no Georgia players made the cut.
That might add a touch of motivation for the current season, Curran said, but the truth is, he doesn't think any of the Bulldogs have earned that type of recognition just yet.
"At the end of the day, you’re just trying to win those games," Curran said. "If the offense is doing well, the defense is doing well and we’re winning games, that respect is going to come. The lists that they’re making because their teams made it far. They made it to the SEC championship, to the national championship. We can’t expect to get respected when my defense isn’t producing and people are getting 40 points on us. That’s how it works.”
ONE MORE THIS WEEK
Georgia practices at 9 a.m. Saturday, followed by the team's annual fan picture day at Sanford Stadium.
Thursday, August 20, 2009
Practice Notes: Offense Moves Forward Without Jones
Ben Jones made an appearance at practice Thursday, but it was Chris Davis and Kevin Perez taking all the reps at center for Georgia.
Jones sprained his left ankle during Wednesday's practice and coaches said his return remains a day-to-day decision. Meanwhile, Georgia's offense is already moving forward without him.
"You hate to see anybody go down," quarterback Joe Cox said. "Everybody was pretty worried at first, but people get hurt in football. We've just got to move on for now, and hopefully he's back in time to play."
Asked whether that meant in time to play Oklahoma State, Cox pleaded ignorance – a refrain repeated by right tackle Clint Boling, who said Jones remained in high spirits despite the injury.
"He's a tough kid," Boling said. "It definitely hurts him not being out there, but I'm sure he'll get back out there as soon as he can, and we'll be ready to have him back, too."
Head coach Mark Richt declined comment on the injury Wednesday and skipped his normal post-practice media session Thursday in order to attend his son's football game.
While the timetable for Jones' return remains vague, Boling said the important point is that the sophomore center will be back eventually, which is a big departure from the season-ending injuries suffered by two of Georgia's starters on the line last season.
"That's the last thing anybody wants is to have anything like last year with that many guys getting hurt," Boling said.
STAYING POSITIVE
Caleb King has made a point of ducking reporters since injuring his hamstring last week, but fellow tailback Carlton Thomas said it's not because King is sulking.
Despite being forced to the sideline in the middle of an intense competition for playing time at tailback, King has kept a positive attitude throughout the process, Thomas said.
"He's been very positive in practice every day," Thomas said. "He's come in in the morning to rehab, just trying to get ready. You never see him down, even though there's probably a time when he's down because he wants to compete. But he's doing everything he can to get back and be ready for Oklahoma State."
While King is missing crucial chances to perform before a final depth chart is set for Georgia's opener, Thomas said he thinks King's attitude on the sideline has impressed coaches as much as anything he could have done on the field.
"It is a big test," Thomas said. "It's a test for anybody who has an injury this close to playing time. It's going to test you mentally, so I feel like if he overcomes it, he's going to have a lot of success."
A HELPING HAND
Adjusting to college football and memorizing a playbook is no easy task, but freshmen receivers Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten said the process has been made a lot smoother thanks to the leadership of their quarterback.
"He's been a great help," Brown said of Cox, a fifth-year senior. "He's been going over the playbook with me whenever we're free. It's a blessing because he knows everything."
While Wooten has worked tirelessly to grasp the intricacies of the playbook, he said he has been amazed at Cox's knowledge of the offense – not just at quarterback, but for every position.
"He'll teach me different releases, spinning, all that different kind of stuff," Wooten said. "He's a great teacher, a great leader. He's teaching me all the right things."
For his part, Cox isn't taking much credit for his receivers' development. He said he has made a point of offering tips when needed, but said Michael Moore and A.J. Green have been the real mentors for the young wideouts.
Regardless of who has done the bulk of the teaching, the lessons appear to be paying off, Cox said.
"When you come in as a freshman at any position, you get to a point where your head starts spinning, and then you start coming out of it," Cox said. "I think they're definitely out of that fog now, and they're starting to recognize things quicker and run the right routes. They're coming along nicely."
UNTIMELY VACATION
Georgia president Michael Adams announced the dates for the university's mandatory furlough days Wednesday, and the off time isn't well suited to the football staff, who are being forced to take time off along with faculty and staff.
All university employees will be forced to take off Oct. 30, Nov. 25 and Dec. 24 this year – which would mean Richt and his staff would be on vacation the day before Georgia takes on Florida and three days before the Bulldogs travel to Georgia Tech.
Georgia's sports information department confirmed that the football staff will comply with the furloughs, but there will be an appeals process available to request different days from the ones Adams announced Thursday. The caveat, as reported by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, is that the days must still occur during October and November, meaning coaches must take time away during the height of football season.
While the details are still being ironed out, Boling said he had his doubts that his rather intense line coach, Stacy Searels, would really be able to step away at such a crucial time.
"I wish," Boling said, "but I don't think it's going to happen."
(NOTE: You can read Tim Tucker's excellent recap of the situation HERE.)
CATCHING ON
The platitudes for freshman tight end Orson Charles have come pretty regularly from players, but the general consensus was that his skills were still fairly raw.
No doubt, the tight end still has some work to do, but Cox said the finer points aren't too far off.
"He's always been a good route runner," Cox said. "Now it's just fine-tuning certain routes, and I think he's gotten better every day. He's been working on his blocking a lot and done a good job getting better."
SOUNDS PAINFUL
Richt wasn't around to comment on today's practice, and no assistant coaches were made available. But thanks to the beauty of social networking, there is a bit of insight into today's workouts, courtesy of Jeff Owens' Twitter page.
"Today's practice was one of the hardest practices in four years," Owens wrote, then followed with, "Just stitting in the training room icying (sic) my knee. The coaches tried to kill us today."
BUT HOW ARE YOU?
Boling answered plenty of questions about Jones' injury -- OK, maybe answered is a strong term -- but he was quick to put an end to any concern about his own sore wrist.
Boling injured his wrist during a practice last week when he collided with a player's helmet. He has had the wrist wrapped since then, but he said it hasn't slowed him any.
"It's fine, it was nothing serious," Boling said. "I just kind of wrapped it up and go. It was no big deal at all."
HEALTHY AS CAN BE
Vince Vance managed to get in some work with the first team offensive line with Jones out, and Boling said the senior has looked strong in his return from an ACL injury.
Vance was the team's starting guard before moving to left tackle four games into the season. One month later, however, he tore his ACL and joined teammate Trinton Sturdivant, who suffered a similar injury last August, in the trainer's room.
"He's been fine physically," Boling said of Vance. "Trinton hurt his a little bit earlier, but they both really look the same physically. They both have been full speed in practice the whole time, and there haven't really been any setbacks."
QUIET POKES
This time it's a team Georgia's playing that is having a blackout.
Oklahoma State isn't planning to don the black uni's, but the team has instituted a media blackout, apparently due in part to coach Mike Gundy's annoyance at the constant questions about the health of his quarterback, Zac Robinson.
Tuesday was the last day Gundy or any players met with the media, and Wednesday a blanket "no comment" was issued to all reporters. Players, coaches and Gundy will all be taking a vow of silence until the Monday before the season opener.
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Practice Notes: Richt Mum on Jones' Injury
Mark Richt spent a few minutes talking about the potential of the offensive line this season should everyone stay healthy. He even noted that it had been a strong camp for sophomore center Ben Jones. But when asked about a potential injury Jones reportedly suffered during Wednesday’s practice, his answer was simply, “No comment.”
Jones was seen leaving Georgia’s football facilities with his foot wrapped and using crutches, but Richt would not discuss any apparent injury.
As a true freshman last year, Jones started nine games, all at center, and was one of the few consistent contributors during an injury-ravaged season.
This year, he is expected to be Georgia’s starting center, while freshman Chris Burnette has worked with the No. 2 unit. Junior Chris Davis, who had been working as the No. 1 left guard could also slide over to center, a position he played throughout the 2007 season.
UPDATE: Per UGA Athletics, the injury is just a sprain. X-rays were negative and Jones is considered day to day.
RETURN ENGAGEMENTS
A year ago, it was game day before Richt had a clear idea of who would return kicks and punts for Georgia. This season, the depth chart is already coming into shape, and it doesn’t look a whole lot different from last season.
Richt said Prince Miller, who racked up 191 yards and one touchdown on nine returns, would handle punt-return duty, with quarterback Logan Gray reprising his role as the standard fair-catch man.
Richt said Gray has worked almost exclusively on kicks inside the 10, where his primary responsibility is to decide whether to fair catch the ball or let it roll into the end zone. Although Gray is likely to be Georgia’s No. 2 quarterback, Richt said the special teams job has few drawbacks.
“It’s not a high-risk job back there,” Richt said. “Rarely do those kicks get returned. Most of the time they’re trying to pooch it. It’s high, so it’s usually a fair catch or let it roll.”
There’s a bit more competition for kickoffs, with a couple of new faces joining last year’s veterans. Richard Samuel remains a top choice, along with senior Bryan Evans, but Richt said sophomore cornerback Brandon Boykin and freshman speedster Branden Smith are also getting reps.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Despite his special-teams work, Smith said his primary focus this preseason has been on learning the ins and outs of the cornerback position. Along those lines, he said his offensive reps have been minimal, despite Georgia’s coaches suggestions that he could see a bit of action at wide receiver this season.
“I’m not really working at it,” Smith said of his offensive exploits. “I’m still trying to focus on defense, trying to get my technique down. I still need to improve there, so right now I’m not even thinking about offense.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean Smith is averse to giving offense a try if called upon – a situation that he admits is still a possibility.
“If they do need me, I’ll go over there in a hurry,” Smith said. “I’m here to help the team win, whether they need me at quarterback, running back, whatever.”
STARTING FROM BEHIND
Kwame Geathers spent nearly three weeks waiting for a phone call to say he could start his Georgia career. He said he would sit in his living room and jump for the phone, even when it was just his grandmother calling.
When the call finally came to let him know he had qualified academically and could report to fall camp, the rest of his teammates were already three days into practice, and it’s been an uphill battle for the freshman lineman ever since.
“The first couple weeks were pretty hard, coming in late and seeing all the other guys in pretty good shape,” Geathers said. “I was back at home trying to stay in shape, but I’ve found out you can’t be prepared for a college workout. It’s a different level.”
Geathers said he got some sage advice to keep his head up through the tough times from his older brother, Robert, who played at Georgia and is now with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals. Still the advice has been tough to follow through with, particularly given the demands of his position coach, Rodney Garner.
“He expects me to know all the plays right now,” Geathers said. “He looks at me just like all the seniors. He wants me to be the best, and the best have to do it fast and learn it fast.”
Geathers earned some action in Georgia’s scrimmages last week, however, and while he understands he still has a long way to go, he said that was a good first step in getting into shape for what lies ahead.
“I’m still trying to learn the plays. I got in there and tried to make some stuff happen,” he said. “It’s tough, but I’ve been taught to just keep going, keep striving for the best and keep working hard.”
THE WAITING GAME
After criticizing the team for a lackluster effort during Tuesday’s practice, Richt was a bit more upbeat about the Bulldogs’ play Wednesday.
“I judge those practices by how hard they’re working and how focused they are on doing what we ask them to do, and I thought today was a good day in that regard,” he said.
Richt credited the cooler weather and overcast skies with energizing the team and admitted that this is the time of year when keeping his players motivated becomes an issue, as the bumps and bruises of more than two weeks of practice add up and the excitement of the first game is still more than two weeks away.
“If we were less than a week away, we’d be like, man we need more time,” Richt said. “But now that we’re two-and-a-half weeks away, you’re anxious to get a little bit closer. You want to get the work in, but it’s a long time to wait for that game.”
Senior defensive tackle Jeff Owens said he’s as excited as anyone to get back to playing real football, but at the same time, he’s not ready to declare the Bulldogs ready for action just yet.
“We wish it was where you get through camp, and it’s the first game,” Owens said. “But I’m happy that we still have these two weeks to get better. I think we’ve got a long way to go to be great. To be at a championship level, we need to get to a certain point, and right now we’re not competing at that level. But we still have time and a lot of room to grow.”
That’s the primary concern for Richt, who said the dog days of fall practice are perhaps the best indication of what to expect from the team once the season actually gets going.
“I think it’s going to wear on us a little bit, but that’s where we’ve got to be strong and stay focused because that’s what’s going to still be there when the emotions are gone,” Richt said. “We just need to keep grinding right now – and it is a grind.”
MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
If it weren't for injuries to veteran linebackers Darius Dewberry and Akeem Dent, freshman Mike Gilliard would likely be spending this fall working with the third-stringers, toiling in relative obscurity.
As luck would have it -- for Gilliard and perhaps for Georgia -- he's managed to work his way into the starting lineup for the past two scrimmages, and the Bulldogs' coaches have been impressed with what they've seen.
“He’s gotten a lot of work because of Dewberry’s situation," Richt said. "He’s progressing, and he’s gotten a lot of work with the No. 1 unit."
His progress has been so impressive that Richt is all but certain that Gilliard won't be redshirted this season, regardless of the amount of playing time that may be available.
"I don’t think there’s much doubt we plan on playing him," Richt said. "When everybody comes back healthy, I don’t know where he’ll end up on the depth chart, but I think he’s played enough to where we wouldn’t be afraid to let him play some scrimmage downs and I know our special teams coaches are trying to find every one they can get.”
SLOWED, BUT STEADY
Akeem Hebron hasn't enjoyed a lot of consistency in his career. He arrived highly recruited, but injuries and academic issues have plagued his time at Georgia.
So far during fall practice, there's still a bit of rust, but Richt said the reports from Hebron's coaches have been encouraging.
“I don’t know if he’s 100 percent healthy from what he was coming out of high school, so I don’t know if he’s really hitting on all cylinders," Richt said. "But he’s smart, instinctive, he’s made good open-field tackles, and coaches like him.”
Richt said Hebron has been working mostly at the Will linebacker position behind Rennie Curran and Nick Williams.
Jones was seen leaving Georgia’s football facilities with his foot wrapped and using crutches, but Richt would not discuss any apparent injury.
As a true freshman last year, Jones started nine games, all at center, and was one of the few consistent contributors during an injury-ravaged season.
This year, he is expected to be Georgia’s starting center, while freshman Chris Burnette has worked with the No. 2 unit. Junior Chris Davis, who had been working as the No. 1 left guard could also slide over to center, a position he played throughout the 2007 season.
UPDATE: Per UGA Athletics, the injury is just a sprain. X-rays were negative and Jones is considered day to day.
RETURN ENGAGEMENTS
A year ago, it was game day before Richt had a clear idea of who would return kicks and punts for Georgia. This season, the depth chart is already coming into shape, and it doesn’t look a whole lot different from last season.
Richt said Prince Miller, who racked up 191 yards and one touchdown on nine returns, would handle punt-return duty, with quarterback Logan Gray reprising his role as the standard fair-catch man.
Richt said Gray has worked almost exclusively on kicks inside the 10, where his primary responsibility is to decide whether to fair catch the ball or let it roll into the end zone. Although Gray is likely to be Georgia’s No. 2 quarterback, Richt said the special teams job has few drawbacks.
“It’s not a high-risk job back there,” Richt said. “Rarely do those kicks get returned. Most of the time they’re trying to pooch it. It’s high, so it’s usually a fair catch or let it roll.”
There’s a bit more competition for kickoffs, with a couple of new faces joining last year’s veterans. Richard Samuel remains a top choice, along with senior Bryan Evans, but Richt said sophomore cornerback Brandon Boykin and freshman speedster Branden Smith are also getting reps.
KEEPING IT SIMPLE
Despite his special-teams work, Smith said his primary focus this preseason has been on learning the ins and outs of the cornerback position. Along those lines, he said his offensive reps have been minimal, despite Georgia’s coaches suggestions that he could see a bit of action at wide receiver this season.
“I’m not really working at it,” Smith said of his offensive exploits. “I’m still trying to focus on defense, trying to get my technique down. I still need to improve there, so right now I’m not even thinking about offense.”
Of course, that doesn’t mean Smith is averse to giving offense a try if called upon – a situation that he admits is still a possibility.
“If they do need me, I’ll go over there in a hurry,” Smith said. “I’m here to help the team win, whether they need me at quarterback, running back, whatever.”
STARTING FROM BEHIND
Kwame Geathers spent nearly three weeks waiting for a phone call to say he could start his Georgia career. He said he would sit in his living room and jump for the phone, even when it was just his grandmother calling.
When the call finally came to let him know he had qualified academically and could report to fall camp, the rest of his teammates were already three days into practice, and it’s been an uphill battle for the freshman lineman ever since.
“The first couple weeks were pretty hard, coming in late and seeing all the other guys in pretty good shape,” Geathers said. “I was back at home trying to stay in shape, but I’ve found out you can’t be prepared for a college workout. It’s a different level.”
Geathers said he got some sage advice to keep his head up through the tough times from his older brother, Robert, who played at Georgia and is now with the NFL’s Cincinnati Bengals. Still the advice has been tough to follow through with, particularly given the demands of his position coach, Rodney Garner.
“He expects me to know all the plays right now,” Geathers said. “He looks at me just like all the seniors. He wants me to be the best, and the best have to do it fast and learn it fast.”
Geathers earned some action in Georgia’s scrimmages last week, however, and while he understands he still has a long way to go, he said that was a good first step in getting into shape for what lies ahead.
“I’m still trying to learn the plays. I got in there and tried to make some stuff happen,” he said. “It’s tough, but I’ve been taught to just keep going, keep striving for the best and keep working hard.”
THE WAITING GAME
After criticizing the team for a lackluster effort during Tuesday’s practice, Richt was a bit more upbeat about the Bulldogs’ play Wednesday.
“I judge those practices by how hard they’re working and how focused they are on doing what we ask them to do, and I thought today was a good day in that regard,” he said.
Richt credited the cooler weather and overcast skies with energizing the team and admitted that this is the time of year when keeping his players motivated becomes an issue, as the bumps and bruises of more than two weeks of practice add up and the excitement of the first game is still more than two weeks away.
“If we were less than a week away, we’d be like, man we need more time,” Richt said. “But now that we’re two-and-a-half weeks away, you’re anxious to get a little bit closer. You want to get the work in, but it’s a long time to wait for that game.”
Senior defensive tackle Jeff Owens said he’s as excited as anyone to get back to playing real football, but at the same time, he’s not ready to declare the Bulldogs ready for action just yet.
“We wish it was where you get through camp, and it’s the first game,” Owens said. “But I’m happy that we still have these two weeks to get better. I think we’ve got a long way to go to be great. To be at a championship level, we need to get to a certain point, and right now we’re not competing at that level. But we still have time and a lot of room to grow.”
That’s the primary concern for Richt, who said the dog days of fall practice are perhaps the best indication of what to expect from the team once the season actually gets going.
“I think it’s going to wear on us a little bit, but that’s where we’ve got to be strong and stay focused because that’s what’s going to still be there when the emotions are gone,” Richt said. “We just need to keep grinding right now – and it is a grind.”
MAKING A NAME FOR HIMSELF
If it weren't for injuries to veteran linebackers Darius Dewberry and Akeem Dent, freshman Mike Gilliard would likely be spending this fall working with the third-stringers, toiling in relative obscurity.
As luck would have it -- for Gilliard and perhaps for Georgia -- he's managed to work his way into the starting lineup for the past two scrimmages, and the Bulldogs' coaches have been impressed with what they've seen.
“He’s gotten a lot of work because of Dewberry’s situation," Richt said. "He’s progressing, and he’s gotten a lot of work with the No. 1 unit."
His progress has been so impressive that Richt is all but certain that Gilliard won't be redshirted this season, regardless of the amount of playing time that may be available.
"I don’t think there’s much doubt we plan on playing him," Richt said. "When everybody comes back healthy, I don’t know where he’ll end up on the depth chart, but I think he’s played enough to where we wouldn’t be afraid to let him play some scrimmage downs and I know our special teams coaches are trying to find every one they can get.”
SLOWED, BUT STEADY
Akeem Hebron hasn't enjoyed a lot of consistency in his career. He arrived highly recruited, but injuries and academic issues have plagued his time at Georgia.
So far during fall practice, there's still a bit of rust, but Richt said the reports from Hebron's coaches have been encouraging.
“I don’t know if he’s 100 percent healthy from what he was coming out of high school, so I don’t know if he’s really hitting on all cylinders," Richt said. "But he’s smart, instinctive, he’s made good open-field tackles, and coaches like him.”
Richt said Hebron has been working mostly at the Will linebacker position behind Rennie Curran and Nick Williams.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
The Next Big Things
In the Telegraph this weekend, we're running features for both Georgia and Georgia Tech, listing five reasons each team should be better in 2009 and five reasons they'll be worse.
Putting the lists together forced me to go through the roster position-by-position (more on that later). In doing that, I came up with a list of my top five players I think are ready to make a big step forward in their careers.
Certainly there may be others -- and perhaps it's possible I'm wrong about these five -- but after talking to players and coaches about all of them this offseason, I feel pretty confident in saying these Bulldogs are going to be big-time contributors in 2009.
BEN JONES (C/So.)
2008 Results: From the outset, Jones did enough as a true freshman to impress offensive line coach Stacy Searels -- and that's no easy task. He received generous playing time from Day 1 and by Week 4 of the season he had taken over the starting center job, playing nearly every snap the rest of the way.
2009 Outlook: Starting center once again, recovering from offseason thumb surgery.
Analysis: Throughout the 2008 season, Jones played far beyond what should have been expected of a true freshman. This year, he'll have a season of experience under his belt and rather than playing alongside two freshmen, he'll be flanked by veterans.
He says: (On Searels using him in a goal line situation in Georgia's opener last year) "After he did that, I said he trusts me to do this, so I guess I can do anything else. That was a big play for me. I'll always remember that. Ever since then, I was like, I can do anything."
They say: OK, I don't have any quotes from anyone else on Jones that I can find, and the feature I wrote on him early last season has been deleted from Macon.com, but you can read the introduction to the story on Gentry Estes' Alabama blog, and I think it should tell you all you really need to know about Jones.
AKEEM DENT (MLB/Jr.)
2008 Results: Appeared in all 13 games -- primarily at Sam linebacker -- making 10 starts. He recorded 46 tackles, including a career-best 10 vs. Alabama.
2009 Outlook: Slated to be the team's starting middle linebacker.
Analysis: Dent enters his third year as a starter and has shown significant progress in each of the past two. He'll likely move to middle linebacker this season, replacing the departed Dannell Ellerbe. That might be an apt comparison, too. Ellerbe was a key contributor for two years, but blew up in his third year and became one of the SEC's top defenders. Dent was extremely good -- although slightly under the radar -- last season, but he's ready for a break-out campaign. Perhaps most encouraging is that, like Ellerbe did as a junior, Dent has thrown aside his understated personality and begun to come out of his shell and assume more of a leadership role on the defense.
He says: (on mentoring the young guys) "You have those first time jitters the first time you go out on the field because you don't know what to expect, but me, Darryl Gamble, Rennie, we're out there and we critique them on everything, even if it's something minor because we want them to do it the best way."
They say: "Going back and looking at a lot of the clips from the season, Akeem Dent really did a great job." -- Linebackers coach John Jancek
ORSON CHARLES (TE/Fr.)
2008 Results: He had a heck of a year, recording 75 catches for 1,440 yards and 21 touchdowns. Unfortunately it was for Plant High School in Tampa.
2009 Outlook: With no heir apparent to the TD job and a lack of depth at receiver, the athletic Charles is likely to see plenty of playing time as a true freshman.
Analysis: Charles has the skills to be a decent enough pass blocker and an exceptional weapon in the passing game. The question was whether he could develop those skills fast enough to make an impact immediately. To hear his fellow players tell the story (here, here, here or here), he has. So far, Charles is getting the full A.J. Green treatment from his teammates (i.e., they can't stop talking about how great he is) and he certainly seems to have the personality to handle the hype.
He says: "I have my own mind-set from the get-go that I just want to make everybody better around me. I just want to win. ... I don't want to wait til my sophomore or junior year to win a national championship."
They say: "Orson Charles is going to make a big impact. He's a man-child." -- Brandon Boykin.
BRANDON BOYKIN (CB/So.)
2008 Results: Appeared in all 13 games as a true freshman, but saw little action. Finished the season with six tackles.
2009 Outlook: Mark Richt has him slated as the starting cornerback opposite Prince Miller to start fall camp.
Analysis: I remember hanging around when Paul Dehner of the Albany Herald was doing interviews midway through the season last year, asking each Georgia player who they thought were the potential second-half stars. Sadly, the Herald's archives are, um, not good, so I can't find the actual story, but I clearly remember nearly every player bringing up the name Brandon Boykin. That playing time never really developed last year, but now that Asher Allen is gone, the path is clear for Boykin to become the star his teammates predicted, and he has spent his offseason working on getting ready for the job. The kid is extremely athletic, can jump a mile, and perhaps most importantly, he has that natural ability to find the football.
He says: "I'm trying to come in and make plays like Asher did, get in on all the tackles like he did, and I feel like I'm stepping into the position."
They say: "You ought to see him on the basketball court just going up and dunking on people. It's amazing how someone his size can get up so high." -- Wide receiver A.J. Green
JOE COX (QB/Sr.)
2008 Results: Appeared in just three games, serving as Matthew Stafford's back-up, but completed 11-of-15 passes, including Georgia's only touchdown against Florida.
2009 Outlook: When Stafford left for the NFL, Cox was handed the job of starter and, more importantly, team leader.
Analysis: For whatever reason, people are worried about Joe Cox. I'm officially convinced they shouldn't be. No, he doesn't have Stafford's arm -- but how many times did Stafford's cannon really make the difference in a game? Cox can make all the throws he needs to make, he's extremely accurate and he has a great rapport with his receivers. More importantly, the kid is as good a leader as you'll find. I don't root for Georgia and I definitely don't play on the team, but I've left interviews with Cox thinking, "Man, I can't wait for the season to start." He just has an infectious personality that gets people excited to play for him. And while Stafford brought a lot of tools to the table, I can't help but wonder if having the vocal Cox as the starter might not have made the team better last year. Regardless, he's the man this season, and he'll have a tremendous offensive line and a guy named A.J. Green to work with. I think there's every reason to believe he'll be a David Greene-like player who puts together a D.J. Shockley-like season.
He says: "I felt like at times, and really throughout my career, you can see certain games where it just seemed like we were flat. We just needed somebody or something to spark it, and hopefully I can bring the way I like to play, hopefully that can change some things and maybe bring some fire to us."
They say: "He has a confidence about himself that no matter what happens we're going to always prevail. That's something that Stafford had, too, but with Cox it's more like, when you look at him, you know you're looking at a champion, and his energy feeds into you to do the best you can. It's just the confidence he gives off. I don't know the critiques he's being given by the commentators or the scouting reports, but when we look at him, we look at a ball player. And when we look at him, we're ready to play." -- Left tackle Trinton Sturdivant
OK, a few honorable mentions I considered for this list: Carlton Thomas, Bryan Evans, Rod Battle, Michael Moore, Trinton Sturdivant.
How about you? Which players do you think will take the next step toward stardom this season?
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