He opened the year as Georgia’s bell-cow tailback, but the pickings got slim for Richard Samuel by midseason, and 2010 remains a bit of a mystery at this point.
But while rumors have swirled surrounding a potential move to linebacker for the rising junior, Samuel said he’s happy to stay right where he’s at. In fact, that’s the plan – for now.
“Going into spring my thought is that I’m still going to be playing running back,” Samuel said. “If coaches decide to do anything with me, I’ll be glad to do whatever helps the team win.”
Head coach Mark Richt said that there could be several position changes in the works for Georgia players, but he declined to comment on any specifics, saying those announcements would likely come following national signing day when the Bulldogs have a better idea of what their new recruiting class will look like.
“I'm not saying there's some certainty that there'll be some changes but there's going to be some thought about that as a staff,” Richt said. “What you want to do at this point of the season, which is very young and brand new, is to get everybody in the right spot where they'll have the greatest chance of success.”
That’s the lingering question surrounding Samuel, who landed the starting tailback job to start the year after a strong fall camp coupled with an injury to Caleb King made the decision easy.
Samuel had 51 carries in Georgia’s first three games and had more than 85 yards of total offense in each, including a 16-carry, 104-yard game against Arkansas. But his yards-per-carry slipped throughout the early season, and when King returned from injury and freshman Washaun Ealey exploded onto the scene, Samuel’s role virtually disappeared. He failed to earn a single touch in any of the Bulldogs’ final four games.
Georgia has two running back commitments for 2010 so far -- Ken Malcolme and Alexander Ogletree (who is likely to end up at fullback or linebacker) -- and King and Ealey appeared to have secured the bulk of the carries out of the backfield by year's end.
“He got some nagging injuries, and I think he lost a little confidence at times,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “Richard’s a guy who needs some confidence, too. He’s relatively new at playing the position and developing those instincts. We’re not disappointed in Richard that he’ll never play running back. I think he has a bright future and a lot of ability, but it’s growing into his role. He just hasn’t figured it out totally yet, but I would not say Richard Samuel’s done and he’ll never play running back.”
He may not be done, but Richt publicly acknowledged that a move to linebacker, where Samuel played in high school, was a possibility earlier in the season. So the speculation continues, and that’s fine with Samuel.
While he wants to stay at running back, and he believes he can ultimately succeed there, he said the difference between playing tailback and linebacker isn’t such a broad leap for him.
“I liked both of them about the same,” Samuel said of his high school days. “It’s hard to choose between running back and linebacker.”
QB BATTLE BEGINS
When Georgia left the field following an Independence Bowl win over Texas A&M, it officially marked the end of Joe Cox’s career at Georgia and the start of a new era at the quarterback position.
Rising junior Logan Gray will enter the spring as the Bulldogs’ only experienced quarterback, but the Georgia coaches are still waiting to learn whether Gray even plans to play quarterback when practice begins again.
"I think he's trying to make a decision right now,” head coach Mark Richt said of Gray, who has considered moving to wide receiver where he could earn more playing time down the road. “I don't know for certain what he'll come up with but we want to respect what he wants to do. We didn't put a timetable on that."
Whether or not Gray swaps positions, it appears that freshmen Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger are far enough along that the coaching staff believes Georgia can win with one of them as the starter in 2010.
While both redshirted last season, Cox said they both showed enough on the practice field to inspire confidence.
“They both have the ability and they’re both really smart kids,” Cox said. “I look at them and I know that both of them are past where I was my true freshman year in understanding what’s going on. They adjusted rather quickly, and once both of them get a chance to compete with the first team and understand that it’s open and this is their chance to play, that does a lot for your confidence level.”
Confidence has been a key for both young quarterbacks, but both have made strides, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said.
For Mettenberger, the goal was to improve his footwork and fundamentals to match his impressive arm.
“He’s got to continue to improve with his foot quickness,” Bobo said. “Just seeing a lot of strides there, and he’s not just relying completely on his arm.”
Murray was clearly the better performer in Georgia’s scrimmages, and his preparation has been lauded by coaches and teammates, despite his role as a redshirt. But there are still small things to polish, Bobo said, if Murray wants to step into the starter’s role with confidence.
“Being able to progress faster, seeing it faster and understand the concepts, and that will come with reps,” Bobo said. “He can move in the pocket, he can use his legs and he has a really quick release. He can get rid of the ball quickly. He’s got a lot of confidence and belief that he can get it done, and that carries over when he’s in the huddle.”
ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT?
It’s hard for coaches to ask much more of A.J. Green, the All-SEC wide receiver who was virtually Georgia’s only playmaker during the early part of the 2009 season. But when putting his entire season into context, Bobo thinks there are still a few chinks in the armor that Green could improve upon during the offseason.
“He’s got to stay healthy for a full season,” Bobo said. “He’s got to get bigger and stronger. He’s got to be able to run routes with a little more consistency. There’s no denying his playmaking ability of catching the ball in the air and doing things when he has the ball in his hands. But it’s being more consistent and being able to finish the season and a good offseason in the weight room will help that.”
Green finished his freshman campaign by nearly eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark, but a nagging groin injury hampered him throughout the year.
As a sophomore, Green finished with 53 catches and 808 yards receiving, but he missed three of Georgia’s final five games and reached the end zone just once after Oct. 3.
“He’s a tough kid and a physical kid,” Bobo said. “I think he wants to stay healthy for the entire season so he can do what he does for 12 games, and there’s no telling how good he can be or how many plays he can make for a full season.”
SURGERY-FREE SPRING
A year ago, January was filled with doctor’s visits and trips to the hospital for many of Georgia’s players. This year, Richt said the Bulldogs are hopeful that they’ll avoid the operating table altogether before spring practice begins in March.
“I don’t think there’s any,” Richt said. “The surgeries that have already happened are the only ones we anticipate this offseason, and that would be tremendous for us.”
Right tackle Josh Davis, who underwent two offseason shoulder surgeries last year, missed Georgia’s bowl game against Texas A&M, but Richt said he should be fine to return for spring practice.
Left tackle Trinton Sturdivant, who tore his ACL for the second straight season in Georgia’s opener against Oklahoma State, isn’t likely to participate in spring drills, Richt said, but is recovering quickly.
“I am glad it’s nothing serious with Josh and that he’ll be back and won’t have to deal with any offseason surgery,” Richt said. “I don’t think we expect Trinton to participate in any live contact in the spring, although we think he’ll be far enough along to do some walkthroughs.”
ON THEIR OWN
For the past four years, Kade Weston, Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins have been virtually inseparable as Georgia’s big three defensive tackles. But now all three are preparing for the NFL draft, and Weston said he’s still getting used to the idea of life without his partners in crime.
"Right now, it’s starting to be a business," Weston said. "It can’t be, oh, we want to go here together. It’s what’s best for me from a business perspective.”
TOUGH LOVE
In the wake of scandals at Texas Tech and Kansas, coaches are getting a more critical look at how they motivate and push their players, but Richt said that won’t make much difference in Georgia’s preparations.
“It won’t change one thing in regard to what we’re trying to get accomplished on the field,” Richt said. “I want our coaches to push the young men to do their very best. Not many young men can be at their best unless someone pushes them beyond their comfort zone. But there’s a way to do that that’s well within what every parent would want to be done.”
Showing posts with label Kade Weston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Kade Weston. Show all posts
Monday, January 4, 2010
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Notes: Special Teams Staying Young
Georgia’s kickoff coverage team has struggled throughout this season, culminating with a disastrous effort against LSU that allowed the Tigers to begin their final drive with exceptional field position.
While head coach Mark Richt said the team continues to address the problems, he said some of the issues are simply a matter of youth that can only improve with increased experience.
“I can’t sit here and say we’ve got 10 guys that are really getting after it and getting it done,” Richt said. “I think they’re trying their tails off but there’s a lot of youth on that thing and they’ve got to continue to mature.”
Richt said the kick coverage team is the youngest of any of Georgia’s special teams units, and the loss of special teams stalwart Chad Gloer to a hamstring injury simply removed one more rare veteran presence.
Gloer will not be ready for this week’s game against Tennessee, Richt said, but could return in time to take on Vanderbilt next week.
As for last week’s debacle following a go-ahead touchdown by A.J. Green, sophomore Logan Gray – who serves on the coverage unit as well as being the team’s No. 2 quarterback – said the problems started early with a 15-yard penalty backing up a kick, and the execution that followed was bad from the start.
“If we hadn’t gotten the penalty, we probably would have had a lot more options as to what we wanted to do, but because we were backed up, we had to kick it as deep as we could to try to save field position,” Gray said. “The kick was more middle of the field and we had tried to directional kick it. You have to play off that, but (Trindon Holliday) is a good player, and fast. We couldn’t let that happen, so it was unfortunate.”
While Gray concurred that an excess of youth on the unit has caused problems, he said the key to improving coverage going forward is far more about effort than experience.
“We did lose a lot of guys that played kickoff their whole careers here that were seniors last year, but I think kickoff is about want and desire and guys wanting to make a play,” Gray said. “I’m not saying our guys don’t want it, but we’ve got to dig deep for the rest of the season and make plays. It’s all about making plays, us vs. them, on kickoffs, with everybody getting to the ball.”
TAKING THE HEAT
Sure, Joe Cox tossed a potential game-winning touchdown for Georgia with just 1:09 to play last week, but even he knows it was far from his best effort.
The Bulldogs mustered just one first-half first down, and Cox threw a few passes that went wide of their intended targets.
So while his comeback effort was nice, he’s not at all surprised by some of the criticism he’s gotten from fans since Georgia dropped a heart-breaking 20-13 game to No. 4 LSU.
“Any time something’s not going right, they think if you put a new quarterback in, that’s going to change the problems,” Cox said. “That doesn’t bother me at all.”
For the season, Cox has completed 59 percent of his passes, including 11 touchdowns, while throwing six interceptions.
Against LSU, he finished 18-of-34 for 229 yards, but was just 3-of-9 for 31 yards in the first half.
“I missed a couple throws,” he said. “It’s jut being more accurate. That’s all it is. You’re not going to be able to make every throw. It’s not that I have a lack of confidence in certain throws. There’s just some times when you’ve got to hit them and (Saturday) I didn’t hit ‘em.”
WHERE’D HE GO?
After seeing a healthy dose of action in Georgia’s first two games of the season, freshman tailback Carlton Thomas has disappeared from the offense in recent weeks.
That’s no knock on Thomas, head coach Richt assured. It’s simply a matter of a numbers game at tailback, where Caleb King’s return to the lineup and a desire to let the Bulldogs’ top two runners establish a groove, left little room for Thomas to see the field.
“He’s getting it, but when Caleb came back that was kind of more of the issue than anything else,” Richt said. “We’re not disappointed in Carlton. But we’ve had a lot of extremely close games and one more healthy back in the lineup when Caleb was out.”
Thomas could see more playing time this week, as King is expected to miss the game after suffering a concussion and a broken jaw last week against LSU.
The bulk of King’s carries, however, will be going to freshman Washaun Ealey, who saw his first taste of action last week and looked sharp in the second half against the Tigers.
That was a home date, however, and this week’s task gets tougher in front of more than 100,000 fans at Neyland Stadium. Richt said he’s not sure how Ealey will react, but he said the freshman appears confident.
“He seems excited about it,” Richt said. “I think he’s practiced pretty well. He thinks he’s ready, but we’ll see. It’s hard to describe what it’s like over there to the guys who have never been there, and he’ll get a taste of that.”
Richt said he expected Richard Samuel to be the starting tailback, with Ealey getting roughly half the carries in the game.
THE WAITING GAME
For the fourth straight week, Georgia will be without linebacker Akeem Dent and defensive end Kiante Tripp, who have both missed time with injuries that have lingered since fall camp.
Dent hurt his hamstring in early August and was slow to recover. He played in Georgia’s first two games, but re-aggravated the hamstring injury against South Carolina and hasn’t played since.
“For some reason he’s just really had trouble healing,” Richt said. “Some guys have a hamstring injury, and most guys just recover a little bit quicker. Even when he did play a game or two, it happened again.”
Richt said Dent would be questionable next week against Vanderbilt, but barring a setback, would definitely be ready to take on Florida after Georgia’s open date.
A neck stinger limited Tripp during the preseason, but like Dent, he attempted to get back on the field after the season began. The injury never completely healed, however, and he hasn’t seen action in three games.
While he’ll be out against Tennessee, Richt said the junior defensive end was upbeat about his prognosis.
“He feels like we’re really close, and it could even be next week that he’ll begin to practice,” Richt said. “He’s definitely improving, and he doesn’t feel like he’s just stuck.”
NO HARD FEELINGS
While Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin made headlines throughout the offseason by criticizing several other programs in the SEC, linebacker Rennie Curran isn’t looking at this week’s game as a chance to punish the Volunteers’ coach for any potentially critical comments.
“You see it and react to it, but you go with your life,” Curran said. “You realize a coach is going to talk, but at the same time, I’ve never seen a coach put on pads and play. Sometimes as a coach you have to do things to get your team fired up, and I guess that was his way of doing that.”
That doesn’t mean Curran isn’t taking this week’s game seriously, however. When it comes to playing Tennessee, he doesn’t care who’s on the sidelines. He just wants to win.
“No matter what coach they have, this is such a huge rivalry and there’s so much tradition invested in this game, that for them to beat us would be a huge boost to their program,” Curran said.
LOST IN THE SHUFFLE
With just six scholarship receivers on the team, third-year sophomore Israel Troupe thought this might be his breakout season. So far, that hasn’t been the case.
Troupe caught three passes last year but has barely seen the playing field in 2009, despite the fact that Georgia has routinely employed only three receivers.
“I would say he’s right on the verge of breaking through,” Richt said of Troupe’s progress. “I like how he’s been practicing. I like the effort that he’s putting forth. He knows what to do. The coaches have just determined that other guys should be playing ahead of him right now.”
Richt said a combination of cool weather, long TV timeouts and a number of short drives have allowed the team to get by using just its top three receivers, with only a few rare appearances by Troupe and freshmen Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten.
That could change this year with No. 2 receiver Tavarres King expected to miss Georgia’s date with Tennessee due to a concussion he suffered last week. King’s absence could open the door to Troupe for the first time this season, and Richt said that might be all it takes to make the sophomore a regular part of the offense.
“Sometimes that’s all a guy needs is a chance,” Richt said, “and if he gets it, hopefully he’ll do well.”
READY AND WAITING
Logan Gray hasn’t seen much action at quarterback this season, but he is getting a healthy dose of life atop the depth chart in practice. Gray has handled all of the first-team reps each Wednesday, while starter Joe Cox rests an injured shoulder.
The extra work in practice has been a boon to Gray’s confidence and knowledge, he said.
“It’s benefited me a lot just to get more and more reps,” Gray said. “I feel like starting from the beginning, I’ve gotten more and more comfortable. I feel like it has me more ready to get in the game.”
Gray has been in on just three snaps at quarterback so far this season, despite repeated discussions by the coaching staff this preseason that the sophomore could be a valuable weapon as an athletic change-of-pace under center.
“Obviously our coaches know what they’re doing, and we have tons of different stuff we put in each week, but it’s one of those things where situations call for different things,” Gray said. “I was hoping maybe (he’d get more playing time), but it’s worked out how it’s worked out, and I’m just going to keep on practicing and see what happens.”
Part of the issue, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said, has been the particularly close games Georgia has played so far. While Bobo said he’s been impressed with Gray’s growth throughout the season, Cox still holds a distinct advantage in his ability to run the offense.
“I think (Gray) has an understanding of it, but I don’t think he understands it as fully as Joe Cox,” Bobo said. “But like I’ve said in the past, getting reps every week with the ones, it has definitely improved his confidence level. It’s still not a lot of game experience, which you’d worry about, but if he had to go in there I think he could execute and help us win a game.”
IT COULD’VE BEEN WORSE
Quarterback Joe Cox admits it is a bit ironic.
For four weeks, Georgia turned the ball over three times in every game, yet managed to win three of the four.
Each week, the team preached about protecting the football, and finally the lesson took hold against LSU. Georgia didn’t cough up the ball until Cox’s final throw of the game – a heave toward the sideline as the clock ticked and Georgia desperately needed to move the football. Yet, despite the reduced turnovers, Georgia came up on the wrong end of the final score.
It is an odd twist, Cox said, but it’s by no means a lesson that turnovers are acceptable.
“That’s one of the reasons we were in the ballgame,” Cox said of the improved ball protection. “If we’d have turned the ball over, it could have gotten ugly. Three-and-outs are going to happen, mind you we didn’t want to have that many in the first half. But we didn’t do anything dumb with the ball, and we kind of waited for our chance to get things going.”
LIGHTER ON HIS FEET
Senior defensive tackle Kade Weston has started the past two games for Georgia, and he’s responded with two strong efforts, including a five-tackle, two-sack performance against LSU last week.
The keys to Weston’s success, he said, have been a combination of an injury-free season and a slimmed-down physique. Weston lost about 15 pounds and is finally playing at a weight his coaches had hoped for.
“It’s a lot different now,” Weston said. “Coaches wanted me at 315, and I’ve been around there the whole season, and I think it shows on the field.”
WHO ARE THESE GUYS?
Mark Richt admits the term “identity” is overused a bit, but he also admits it’s hard to really quantify just what his offense is capable of this season.
Some weeks, the unit has been spectacular. Some week, it’s been awful. Against LSU last week, the offense was as bad as it’s been all year in the first half, then looked incredibly sharp during a second-half comeback.
“I guess no one has an identity until they are consistently playing something where you could define that team to say this is what we do well,” Richt said. “Right now we’ve not been consistent offensively, defensively or in the kicking game quite frankly. I feel like we are gaining a lot of positive momentum defensively. Some of our special teams have played outstanding and a couple have struggled. Offensively, we’ve pretty much run the gamut of emotions and productivity. Again, I guess the one word I’m looking for more than anything else is a more consistent effort all the way around.”
RUBBING IT IN
Just a final side note for the day.
I was wearing my Newhouse t-shirt to Richt's news conference today -- Newhouse being the name of the Syracuse communications school.
Richt looked at the shirt and asked if it was a Syracuse shirt. I said that it was, and he asked what Newhouse meant.
"Did they get a new stadium or something?" he said.
"No," I told him, assuming he was serious and not simply making a sly joke at the embarrassing level of Syracuse football. "It's the name of the journalism school there."
"Ah," he said. "So, do they still have that basketball player playing quarterback?"
That's when I figured he was, in fact, making a sly joke about the embarrassing level of Syracuse football. Either that, or he's awfully good at unintentional humor.
Good times. Go Orange.
While head coach Mark Richt said the team continues to address the problems, he said some of the issues are simply a matter of youth that can only improve with increased experience.
“I can’t sit here and say we’ve got 10 guys that are really getting after it and getting it done,” Richt said. “I think they’re trying their tails off but there’s a lot of youth on that thing and they’ve got to continue to mature.”
Richt said the kick coverage team is the youngest of any of Georgia’s special teams units, and the loss of special teams stalwart Chad Gloer to a hamstring injury simply removed one more rare veteran presence.
Gloer will not be ready for this week’s game against Tennessee, Richt said, but could return in time to take on Vanderbilt next week.
As for last week’s debacle following a go-ahead touchdown by A.J. Green, sophomore Logan Gray – who serves on the coverage unit as well as being the team’s No. 2 quarterback – said the problems started early with a 15-yard penalty backing up a kick, and the execution that followed was bad from the start.
“If we hadn’t gotten the penalty, we probably would have had a lot more options as to what we wanted to do, but because we were backed up, we had to kick it as deep as we could to try to save field position,” Gray said. “The kick was more middle of the field and we had tried to directional kick it. You have to play off that, but (Trindon Holliday) is a good player, and fast. We couldn’t let that happen, so it was unfortunate.”
While Gray concurred that an excess of youth on the unit has caused problems, he said the key to improving coverage going forward is far more about effort than experience.
“We did lose a lot of guys that played kickoff their whole careers here that were seniors last year, but I think kickoff is about want and desire and guys wanting to make a play,” Gray said. “I’m not saying our guys don’t want it, but we’ve got to dig deep for the rest of the season and make plays. It’s all about making plays, us vs. them, on kickoffs, with everybody getting to the ball.”
TAKING THE HEAT
Sure, Joe Cox tossed a potential game-winning touchdown for Georgia with just 1:09 to play last week, but even he knows it was far from his best effort.
The Bulldogs mustered just one first-half first down, and Cox threw a few passes that went wide of their intended targets.
So while his comeback effort was nice, he’s not at all surprised by some of the criticism he’s gotten from fans since Georgia dropped a heart-breaking 20-13 game to No. 4 LSU.
“Any time something’s not going right, they think if you put a new quarterback in, that’s going to change the problems,” Cox said. “That doesn’t bother me at all.”
For the season, Cox has completed 59 percent of his passes, including 11 touchdowns, while throwing six interceptions.
Against LSU, he finished 18-of-34 for 229 yards, but was just 3-of-9 for 31 yards in the first half.
“I missed a couple throws,” he said. “It’s jut being more accurate. That’s all it is. You’re not going to be able to make every throw. It’s not that I have a lack of confidence in certain throws. There’s just some times when you’ve got to hit them and (Saturday) I didn’t hit ‘em.”
WHERE’D HE GO?
After seeing a healthy dose of action in Georgia’s first two games of the season, freshman tailback Carlton Thomas has disappeared from the offense in recent weeks.
That’s no knock on Thomas, head coach Richt assured. It’s simply a matter of a numbers game at tailback, where Caleb King’s return to the lineup and a desire to let the Bulldogs’ top two runners establish a groove, left little room for Thomas to see the field.
“He’s getting it, but when Caleb came back that was kind of more of the issue than anything else,” Richt said. “We’re not disappointed in Carlton. But we’ve had a lot of extremely close games and one more healthy back in the lineup when Caleb was out.”
Thomas could see more playing time this week, as King is expected to miss the game after suffering a concussion and a broken jaw last week against LSU.
The bulk of King’s carries, however, will be going to freshman Washaun Ealey, who saw his first taste of action last week and looked sharp in the second half against the Tigers.
That was a home date, however, and this week’s task gets tougher in front of more than 100,000 fans at Neyland Stadium. Richt said he’s not sure how Ealey will react, but he said the freshman appears confident.
“He seems excited about it,” Richt said. “I think he’s practiced pretty well. He thinks he’s ready, but we’ll see. It’s hard to describe what it’s like over there to the guys who have never been there, and he’ll get a taste of that.”
Richt said he expected Richard Samuel to be the starting tailback, with Ealey getting roughly half the carries in the game.
THE WAITING GAME
For the fourth straight week, Georgia will be without linebacker Akeem Dent and defensive end Kiante Tripp, who have both missed time with injuries that have lingered since fall camp.
Dent hurt his hamstring in early August and was slow to recover. He played in Georgia’s first two games, but re-aggravated the hamstring injury against South Carolina and hasn’t played since.
“For some reason he’s just really had trouble healing,” Richt said. “Some guys have a hamstring injury, and most guys just recover a little bit quicker. Even when he did play a game or two, it happened again.”
Richt said Dent would be questionable next week against Vanderbilt, but barring a setback, would definitely be ready to take on Florida after Georgia’s open date.
A neck stinger limited Tripp during the preseason, but like Dent, he attempted to get back on the field after the season began. The injury never completely healed, however, and he hasn’t seen action in three games.
While he’ll be out against Tennessee, Richt said the junior defensive end was upbeat about his prognosis.
“He feels like we’re really close, and it could even be next week that he’ll begin to practice,” Richt said. “He’s definitely improving, and he doesn’t feel like he’s just stuck.”
NO HARD FEELINGS
While Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin made headlines throughout the offseason by criticizing several other programs in the SEC, linebacker Rennie Curran isn’t looking at this week’s game as a chance to punish the Volunteers’ coach for any potentially critical comments.
“You see it and react to it, but you go with your life,” Curran said. “You realize a coach is going to talk, but at the same time, I’ve never seen a coach put on pads and play. Sometimes as a coach you have to do things to get your team fired up, and I guess that was his way of doing that.”
That doesn’t mean Curran isn’t taking this week’s game seriously, however. When it comes to playing Tennessee, he doesn’t care who’s on the sidelines. He just wants to win.
“No matter what coach they have, this is such a huge rivalry and there’s so much tradition invested in this game, that for them to beat us would be a huge boost to their program,” Curran said.
LOST IN THE SHUFFLE
With just six scholarship receivers on the team, third-year sophomore Israel Troupe thought this might be his breakout season. So far, that hasn’t been the case.
Troupe caught three passes last year but has barely seen the playing field in 2009, despite the fact that Georgia has routinely employed only three receivers.
“I would say he’s right on the verge of breaking through,” Richt said of Troupe’s progress. “I like how he’s been practicing. I like the effort that he’s putting forth. He knows what to do. The coaches have just determined that other guys should be playing ahead of him right now.”
Richt said a combination of cool weather, long TV timeouts and a number of short drives have allowed the team to get by using just its top three receivers, with only a few rare appearances by Troupe and freshmen Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten.
That could change this year with No. 2 receiver Tavarres King expected to miss Georgia’s date with Tennessee due to a concussion he suffered last week. King’s absence could open the door to Troupe for the first time this season, and Richt said that might be all it takes to make the sophomore a regular part of the offense.
“Sometimes that’s all a guy needs is a chance,” Richt said, “and if he gets it, hopefully he’ll do well.”
READY AND WAITING
Logan Gray hasn’t seen much action at quarterback this season, but he is getting a healthy dose of life atop the depth chart in practice. Gray has handled all of the first-team reps each Wednesday, while starter Joe Cox rests an injured shoulder.
The extra work in practice has been a boon to Gray’s confidence and knowledge, he said.
“It’s benefited me a lot just to get more and more reps,” Gray said. “I feel like starting from the beginning, I’ve gotten more and more comfortable. I feel like it has me more ready to get in the game.”
Gray has been in on just three snaps at quarterback so far this season, despite repeated discussions by the coaching staff this preseason that the sophomore could be a valuable weapon as an athletic change-of-pace under center.
“Obviously our coaches know what they’re doing, and we have tons of different stuff we put in each week, but it’s one of those things where situations call for different things,” Gray said. “I was hoping maybe (he’d get more playing time), but it’s worked out how it’s worked out, and I’m just going to keep on practicing and see what happens.”
Part of the issue, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said, has been the particularly close games Georgia has played so far. While Bobo said he’s been impressed with Gray’s growth throughout the season, Cox still holds a distinct advantage in his ability to run the offense.
“I think (Gray) has an understanding of it, but I don’t think he understands it as fully as Joe Cox,” Bobo said. “But like I’ve said in the past, getting reps every week with the ones, it has definitely improved his confidence level. It’s still not a lot of game experience, which you’d worry about, but if he had to go in there I think he could execute and help us win a game.”
IT COULD’VE BEEN WORSE
Quarterback Joe Cox admits it is a bit ironic.
For four weeks, Georgia turned the ball over three times in every game, yet managed to win three of the four.
Each week, the team preached about protecting the football, and finally the lesson took hold against LSU. Georgia didn’t cough up the ball until Cox’s final throw of the game – a heave toward the sideline as the clock ticked and Georgia desperately needed to move the football. Yet, despite the reduced turnovers, Georgia came up on the wrong end of the final score.
It is an odd twist, Cox said, but it’s by no means a lesson that turnovers are acceptable.
“That’s one of the reasons we were in the ballgame,” Cox said of the improved ball protection. “If we’d have turned the ball over, it could have gotten ugly. Three-and-outs are going to happen, mind you we didn’t want to have that many in the first half. But we didn’t do anything dumb with the ball, and we kind of waited for our chance to get things going.”
LIGHTER ON HIS FEET
Senior defensive tackle Kade Weston has started the past two games for Georgia, and he’s responded with two strong efforts, including a five-tackle, two-sack performance against LSU last week.
The keys to Weston’s success, he said, have been a combination of an injury-free season and a slimmed-down physique. Weston lost about 15 pounds and is finally playing at a weight his coaches had hoped for.
“It’s a lot different now,” Weston said. “Coaches wanted me at 315, and I’ve been around there the whole season, and I think it shows on the field.”
WHO ARE THESE GUYS?
Mark Richt admits the term “identity” is overused a bit, but he also admits it’s hard to really quantify just what his offense is capable of this season.
Some weeks, the unit has been spectacular. Some week, it’s been awful. Against LSU last week, the offense was as bad as it’s been all year in the first half, then looked incredibly sharp during a second-half comeback.
“I guess no one has an identity until they are consistently playing something where you could define that team to say this is what we do well,” Richt said. “Right now we’ve not been consistent offensively, defensively or in the kicking game quite frankly. I feel like we are gaining a lot of positive momentum defensively. Some of our special teams have played outstanding and a couple have struggled. Offensively, we’ve pretty much run the gamut of emotions and productivity. Again, I guess the one word I’m looking for more than anything else is a more consistent effort all the way around.”
RUBBING IT IN
Just a final side note for the day.
I was wearing my Newhouse t-shirt to Richt's news conference today -- Newhouse being the name of the Syracuse communications school.
Richt looked at the shirt and asked if it was a Syracuse shirt. I said that it was, and he asked what Newhouse meant.
"Did they get a new stadium or something?" he said.
"No," I told him, assuming he was serious and not simply making a sly joke at the embarrassing level of Syracuse football. "It's the name of the journalism school there."
"Ah," he said. "So, do they still have that basketball player playing quarterback?"
That's when I figured he was, in fact, making a sly joke about the embarrassing level of Syracuse football. Either that, or he's awfully good at unintentional humor.
Good times. Go Orange.
Monday, August 10, 2009
Practice Notes: Caleb King Stepping Up
It has been nearly three years since Caleb King was a star. Since then, there has been plenty of hype, but not much for the highly recruited tailback to show for it.
An injury sidelined him much of his senior season at Greater Atlanta Christian, and King spent the past two seasons staring up the depth chart at Knowshon Moreno. Waiting his turn was difficult.
"On the sideline you would see him make a play and be like, dang, I can do that, too," King said. "It was tough."
This fall, things are different. Although King has hardly seized control of the starting job, there's no longer an immovable impediment in front of him. Four other tailbacks have their sights set on the same prize, but for the first time in a long time, King is in control of his own destiny. It's a situation he's enjoying.
"It's like Caleb has kicked into another gear," tailback Carlton Thomas said. "He just seems like a different guy coming to work every day, and you can tell in his performance on the practice field."
King earned marginal playing time last but earned scorn from his coach for occasional lackluster efforts, particularly in pass blocking. He had a chance to nab the starting job for himself this spring when his top competition, Richard Samuel, underwent wrist surgery, but King failed to distinguish himself from the other tailbacks before spring practice ended. The critics wondered if King would ever live up to expectations.
Whether it was the criticism of his past or the opportunity for his future, King responded this summer. He hit the weight room with increased vigor and said he's in his best shape since getting to Georgia. Through a week of practice this fall, his coaches have seen a distinct difference.
"I see him hustling," head coach Mark Richt said. "I've not seen one loaf in that guy, and he's had good energy level at practice."
Whether King actually gets the starting job remains to be seen, as Richt insists it will remain an open competition for the foreseeable future. But whether or not King starts is a secondary issue, the tailback said. What's important is that he knows he's done the work he needed to earn it.
"It's very important to me," King said. "I worked hard, and I'm not going to say I deserve it, but I know I've earned it with what I put in this summer."
EALEY BACK AT WORK
Freshman tailback Washaun Ealey participated in several of Georgia's drills Monday but was held out of contact work due to a hyperextended elbow he suffered last week.
Even with the lighter workload, however, Ealey's first few days on the job have been a whirlwind, he said.
"It's been very intense, and I've been learning a lot," Ealey said. "The coaches and the other running backs have been helping me with all the plays. I have to get used to how big and fast the other players are on defense and how much more physical I have to be."
With that in mind, Ealey asked out of his green non-contact jersey after the morning's workouts so he could be a full participant in the afternoon session.
Ealey wore a brace to prevent further damage to his elbow, but managed to take several hits during the afternoon session without any pain.
"He got hit a couple times and it didn't look like he came back crying," Richt said. "It's a little sore, a little tender, but he wants to compete and that's good."
FEELIN' HOT, HOT, HOT
The weather hasn't exactly made hitting the practice field too much fun during Georgia's first seven days of fall camp, but the long afternoons under the scorching sun may be a blessing in disguise.
Richt said he expects the temperatures in Stillwater, Okla. to approach triple digits when the Bulldogs open their season against Oklahoma State, and his staff has worked to prepare Georgia for the heat even before practice began.
"The coaches did a good job this summer of not having us working out in the mornings, but having us out there when it's hot," defensive tackle Kade Weston said. "You can tell the difference, and there would have been a lot of people cramped up or with IVs. It's tough going in the sun, but it's going to help a lot."
That doesn't mean that donning a helmet and pads was particularly comfortable, Weston said. In fact, he said players might benefit a lot more from being able to wear helmets during voluntary workouts in the summer, too.
"We were working all summer, but when we got down there with a helmet on, it felt different," Weston said. "If we could use helmets to condition in the summer, it would be a big help."
Richt said Monday that, despite the heat, he had seen very few players needed additional fluids or suffering from cramping.
"I liked what happened this morning and even this afternoon considering how hot it was," Richt said. "Most of our hot afternoons have been after walk-throughs, not after practice. I was a little concerned, but I didn't see anybody cramp during practice. Really after Day 2, I think we only had one guy with any kind of cramping issues."
KEEP IT GOING
With the first two-a-days in the books, quarterback Joe Cox said he's pleased with how far the team has come. The job now is to keep the momentum going.
"We've gotten better in the areas we needed to get better in, but now it's a grind," Cox said. "You have to find a way to keep everybody up, the tempo high in practice and make sure you get the work you need. You can't have a wasted day at this point once everything's been installed."
Particularly with the extensive heat and long practices, Cox said it's more important than ever for Georgia's leaders to step up and be vocal on the field.
"When you have two practices a day, you have to be focused and make yourself push through everything," Cox said. "There are times during the first practice when you're struggling and you're like, ‘Man, we still have another one of these this afternoon.' But it's just one of those things where the leaders have to step up and keep everybody enthused and pushing hard."
MORE BUMPS AND BRUISES
A few more minor health concerns cropped up for Georgia on Monday.
Defensive end Justin Houston sat out with a shoulder injury that Richt said wasn't particularly serious. Houson will likely miss Tuesday's walk-through as well, but should be ready for contact Wednesday.
Demarcus Dobbs underwent foot surgery during the offseason, and Richt decided to hold the defensive end out of Monday's late session as a precaution.
"Dobbs had the foot injury and just the volume of having a lot of reps, we tried to give him more of a one-a-day today," Richt said.
The most concerning of the group, however, is wide receiver Marlon Brown. Richt said the freshman chipped or broke a bone in one of his fingers that prevented him from catching passes Monday. While Richt wasn't certain when Brown would resume normal practices, he said the injury would not require surgery and wasn't likely to keep Brown out of many drills.
"He's running routes right now, but we're not throwing any balls to him," Richt said. "Probably by Wednesday we'll be throwing balls at him."
EXTRA POINTS...
-- Richt gave a thumbs up to both the offense and defense after Monday morning's contact drills. Georgia ran three full-contact drills -- an inside drill, three-on-three drill and goal-line drill -- and both sides of the football had their moments.
The offense won the inside drill and the defense dominated on the goal line. The three-on-three competition came down to an 8-8 tie, so Richt allowed a tie breaker that the defense narrowly edged out, he said.
-- One very encouraging note from this morning's competitive drills: The offense had just one penalty. The defense had none.
-- Georgia ran one-minute drills during the afternoon in which the offense tried to move the football into field-goal range with the clock ticking. The results were mixed.
The first-team offense quickly moved into range, but turned the ball over on an interception before attempting the kick. The second team did slightly better, also getting into field-goal range but the kick missed.
-- Darryl Gamble continued his take-away barrage with another interception Monday afternoon. "He's had a wonderful camp," Richt said. "He's got a great attitude. He just seems like he's over the hump. He's a veteran now, watching those other puppies suffer, which is fun for those guys. He's really done a good job."
-- It's not just Gamble playing great defense, however. Richt said the defense overall has been making plays in the passing game at an impressive rate. "I think we had 75 pass break-ups in the first six practices and a good many picks," he said. "We're catching the ball better."
-- Of course, the good news for the defense is bad news for the offense, and the amount of turnovers are still a big concern for Richt. Before fans worry too much about new starter Joe Cox, however, Richt said the majority of the turnovers are coming from the second team.
"I'd say the majority of the turnovers is with the No. 2 offense vs. the No. 1 defense – a great majority has been that," Richt said. "When you've got a veteran D-line like we have and throw a couple true freshmen in there, it's hard to protect like you'd like them to. So the majority of the turnovers are with the No. 2 unit, but it's still too many."
-- Georgia will practice again Tuesday, but will only do a walk-through and kicking drills. The Bulldogs have their second dose of two-a-days coming Wednesday, and Richt announced that the afternoon session will be the team's first scrimmage of the fall.
That makes Wednesday a key date for several depth-chart battles, particularly at running back, Richt said.
"We're going to have a scrimmage here pretty soon and that will begin to separate the guys," Richt said. "Even inside drill to a certain degree will give you a little taste of what kind of runners you have. Plus there's a lot of things that happen in meetings, and Coach (Bryan) McClendon's in there, and he knows who knows what. He knows who doesn't know it. And it may come down to a guy who is just not comfortable with his protections and his assignments. The other thing is ball security. If a guy has trouble holding on to the ball, he'll be watching. I wouldn't say there'll be any kind of reshuffling until after our first scrimmage, but I'd think we'd reshuffle a little bit right then."
An injury sidelined him much of his senior season at Greater Atlanta Christian, and King spent the past two seasons staring up the depth chart at Knowshon Moreno. Waiting his turn was difficult.
"On the sideline you would see him make a play and be like, dang, I can do that, too," King said. "It was tough."
This fall, things are different. Although King has hardly seized control of the starting job, there's no longer an immovable impediment in front of him. Four other tailbacks have their sights set on the same prize, but for the first time in a long time, King is in control of his own destiny. It's a situation he's enjoying.
"It's like Caleb has kicked into another gear," tailback Carlton Thomas said. "He just seems like a different guy coming to work every day, and you can tell in his performance on the practice field."
King earned marginal playing time last but earned scorn from his coach for occasional lackluster efforts, particularly in pass blocking. He had a chance to nab the starting job for himself this spring when his top competition, Richard Samuel, underwent wrist surgery, but King failed to distinguish himself from the other tailbacks before spring practice ended. The critics wondered if King would ever live up to expectations.
Whether it was the criticism of his past or the opportunity for his future, King responded this summer. He hit the weight room with increased vigor and said he's in his best shape since getting to Georgia. Through a week of practice this fall, his coaches have seen a distinct difference.
"I see him hustling," head coach Mark Richt said. "I've not seen one loaf in that guy, and he's had good energy level at practice."
Whether King actually gets the starting job remains to be seen, as Richt insists it will remain an open competition for the foreseeable future. But whether or not King starts is a secondary issue, the tailback said. What's important is that he knows he's done the work he needed to earn it.
"It's very important to me," King said. "I worked hard, and I'm not going to say I deserve it, but I know I've earned it with what I put in this summer."
EALEY BACK AT WORK
Freshman tailback Washaun Ealey participated in several of Georgia's drills Monday but was held out of contact work due to a hyperextended elbow he suffered last week.
Even with the lighter workload, however, Ealey's first few days on the job have been a whirlwind, he said.
"It's been very intense, and I've been learning a lot," Ealey said. "The coaches and the other running backs have been helping me with all the plays. I have to get used to how big and fast the other players are on defense and how much more physical I have to be."
With that in mind, Ealey asked out of his green non-contact jersey after the morning's workouts so he could be a full participant in the afternoon session.
Ealey wore a brace to prevent further damage to his elbow, but managed to take several hits during the afternoon session without any pain.
"He got hit a couple times and it didn't look like he came back crying," Richt said. "It's a little sore, a little tender, but he wants to compete and that's good."
FEELIN' HOT, HOT, HOT
The weather hasn't exactly made hitting the practice field too much fun during Georgia's first seven days of fall camp, but the long afternoons under the scorching sun may be a blessing in disguise.
Richt said he expects the temperatures in Stillwater, Okla. to approach triple digits when the Bulldogs open their season against Oklahoma State, and his staff has worked to prepare Georgia for the heat even before practice began.
"The coaches did a good job this summer of not having us working out in the mornings, but having us out there when it's hot," defensive tackle Kade Weston said. "You can tell the difference, and there would have been a lot of people cramped up or with IVs. It's tough going in the sun, but it's going to help a lot."
That doesn't mean that donning a helmet and pads was particularly comfortable, Weston said. In fact, he said players might benefit a lot more from being able to wear helmets during voluntary workouts in the summer, too.
"We were working all summer, but when we got down there with a helmet on, it felt different," Weston said. "If we could use helmets to condition in the summer, it would be a big help."
Richt said Monday that, despite the heat, he had seen very few players needed additional fluids or suffering from cramping.
"I liked what happened this morning and even this afternoon considering how hot it was," Richt said. "Most of our hot afternoons have been after walk-throughs, not after practice. I was a little concerned, but I didn't see anybody cramp during practice. Really after Day 2, I think we only had one guy with any kind of cramping issues."
KEEP IT GOING
With the first two-a-days in the books, quarterback Joe Cox said he's pleased with how far the team has come. The job now is to keep the momentum going.
"We've gotten better in the areas we needed to get better in, but now it's a grind," Cox said. "You have to find a way to keep everybody up, the tempo high in practice and make sure you get the work you need. You can't have a wasted day at this point once everything's been installed."
Particularly with the extensive heat and long practices, Cox said it's more important than ever for Georgia's leaders to step up and be vocal on the field.
"When you have two practices a day, you have to be focused and make yourself push through everything," Cox said. "There are times during the first practice when you're struggling and you're like, ‘Man, we still have another one of these this afternoon.' But it's just one of those things where the leaders have to step up and keep everybody enthused and pushing hard."
MORE BUMPS AND BRUISES
A few more minor health concerns cropped up for Georgia on Monday.
Defensive end Justin Houston sat out with a shoulder injury that Richt said wasn't particularly serious. Houson will likely miss Tuesday's walk-through as well, but should be ready for contact Wednesday.
Demarcus Dobbs underwent foot surgery during the offseason, and Richt decided to hold the defensive end out of Monday's late session as a precaution.
"Dobbs had the foot injury and just the volume of having a lot of reps, we tried to give him more of a one-a-day today," Richt said.
The most concerning of the group, however, is wide receiver Marlon Brown. Richt said the freshman chipped or broke a bone in one of his fingers that prevented him from catching passes Monday. While Richt wasn't certain when Brown would resume normal practices, he said the injury would not require surgery and wasn't likely to keep Brown out of many drills.
"He's running routes right now, but we're not throwing any balls to him," Richt said. "Probably by Wednesday we'll be throwing balls at him."
EXTRA POINTS...
-- Richt gave a thumbs up to both the offense and defense after Monday morning's contact drills. Georgia ran three full-contact drills -- an inside drill, three-on-three drill and goal-line drill -- and both sides of the football had their moments.
The offense won the inside drill and the defense dominated on the goal line. The three-on-three competition came down to an 8-8 tie, so Richt allowed a tie breaker that the defense narrowly edged out, he said.
-- One very encouraging note from this morning's competitive drills: The offense had just one penalty. The defense had none.
-- Georgia ran one-minute drills during the afternoon in which the offense tried to move the football into field-goal range with the clock ticking. The results were mixed.
The first-team offense quickly moved into range, but turned the ball over on an interception before attempting the kick. The second team did slightly better, also getting into field-goal range but the kick missed.
-- Darryl Gamble continued his take-away barrage with another interception Monday afternoon. "He's had a wonderful camp," Richt said. "He's got a great attitude. He just seems like he's over the hump. He's a veteran now, watching those other puppies suffer, which is fun for those guys. He's really done a good job."
-- It's not just Gamble playing great defense, however. Richt said the defense overall has been making plays in the passing game at an impressive rate. "I think we had 75 pass break-ups in the first six practices and a good many picks," he said. "We're catching the ball better."
-- Of course, the good news for the defense is bad news for the offense, and the amount of turnovers are still a big concern for Richt. Before fans worry too much about new starter Joe Cox, however, Richt said the majority of the turnovers are coming from the second team.
"I'd say the majority of the turnovers is with the No. 2 offense vs. the No. 1 defense – a great majority has been that," Richt said. "When you've got a veteran D-line like we have and throw a couple true freshmen in there, it's hard to protect like you'd like them to. So the majority of the turnovers are with the No. 2 unit, but it's still too many."
-- Georgia will practice again Tuesday, but will only do a walk-through and kicking drills. The Bulldogs have their second dose of two-a-days coming Wednesday, and Richt announced that the afternoon session will be the team's first scrimmage of the fall.
That makes Wednesday a key date for several depth-chart battles, particularly at running back, Richt said.
"We're going to have a scrimmage here pretty soon and that will begin to separate the guys," Richt said. "Even inside drill to a certain degree will give you a little taste of what kind of runners you have. Plus there's a lot of things that happen in meetings, and Coach (Bryan) McClendon's in there, and he knows who knows what. He knows who doesn't know it. And it may come down to a guy who is just not comfortable with his protections and his assignments. The other thing is ball security. If a guy has trouble holding on to the ball, he'll be watching. I wouldn't say there'll be any kind of reshuffling until after our first scrimmage, but I'd think we'd reshuffle a little bit right then."
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