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.
Showing posts with label Lane Kiffin. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Lane Kiffin. Show all posts
Thursday, October 8, 2009
Friday, July 24, 2009
Media Days Notes: Florida Dominates Preseason Projections
A year ago, Georgia was the top team in the country to start the season, but the media in Hoover, Ala. for SEC Media Days still picked Florida to win the East. It probably shouldn't come as a big surprise then that the Gators were the runaway pick to repeat in 2009.
Florida was a unanimous selection by media to win the SEC East in the preseason balloting released Friday. Only one of the 64 voters selected anyone other than the Gators to win the conference. The lone dissenting vote went to Mississippi.
With the exception of receiver Percy Harvin, Florida returns nearly every key contributor from last year's national championship team, and the Gators' selection as the odds-on favorite to repeat as conference champs came as no surprise to the rest of the SEC.
"They win the big games, and you can't take anything from them," Georgia senior Jeff Owens said of the Gators. "They're a great football team, and we know that if you're going to be successful in this league, you've got to beat Florida. If you want to win a national championship or an SEC championship, you've got to beat Florida. That's the No. 1 thing."
Georgia was the consensus pick to finish second in the East, and the Bulldogs also landed five players on the All-SEC teams, as selected by the media. Receiver A.J. Green was the team's lone first-team representative, while linemen Clint Boling and Trinton Sturdivant, defensive tackle Geno Atkins and linebacker Rennie Curran were both named to the second team.
In the coach's poll, Curran was a first-team selection, but South Carolina's Eric Norwood said the demotion by the media was a reflection of the immense talent at linebacker in the conference.
"Our conference, you've got to have good linebackers," Norwood said. "It's not an option. It's not like you're in the Pac-10. This is a tough, physical conference, and you've got to be able to hit."
Alabama was selected by the media to win the SEC West, but the balloting was much closer. The Crimson Tide received 33 first-place votes, followed by Mississippi with 16 and LSU with 15.
Florida led all teams with 12 representatives on the All-SEC teams, including eight first teamers. Alabama had eight selections, while LSU and Ole Miss tied Georgia with five.
MY BAD, GUYS
The long national nightmare is over. The culprit has been found. The mystery has been solved.
The coach who left Florida quarterback Tim Tebow's name off his preseason All-SEC ballot was South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, but he promised the slight was unintentional.
Spurrier said an assistant filled out the ballot, leaving Tebow's name off and instead voting for Mississippi's Jevan Snead. Spurrier signed off on the ballot and admitted it was a mistake.
"I've called (SEC media relations director) Charles Bloom and said, 'Can I change our selection and put Tim Tebow in?'" Spurrier said. "I was able to put Tim Tebow in today, so now it's unanimous."
But even after Spurrier took full responsibility for leaving Tebow's name off his ballot and corrected the mistake, large contingent of reporters refused to let the story die. Nine more questions were posed to Spurrier involving Tebow, Florida or his voting habits, and a horde of reporters followed the former Gators coach off the stage and into the lobby to pose additional inquiries.
"I know some of you may not think that's right," Spurrier said of the voting error, hoping to end the discussion. "We made a mistake. Tim Tebow is not only the best quarterback in this league, I think he's the best in the country. … I admire and respect him. I apologize to him. He should have been on that ballot. I messed up, and I take full blame for it."
DELIGATION OF AUTHORITY
Spurrier's admission of the voting snafu put an end to the week's biggest story, but it created a second wave of inquiries from the reporters in attendance.
After admitting that an assistant filled out his ballot, Spurrier added a bit of fuel to the fire surrounding the decision this spring to keep coaches' ballots anonymous in the top-25 poll, beginning in 2010.
The coaches' poll represents one-third of the formula for determining the final BCS standings, which in turn determine which teams play for the national championship. Many coaches, like Spurrier, don't fill out their own ballots, instead delegating the job to assistants, and the South Carolina coach understands why that creates a problem.
"I've been doing the preseason ballots for 17 years, and I've never filled one out," Spurrier said. "I don't know why we vote. I guess it's because college football is still without a playoff system. I really believe most coaches do not know a whole lot about other teams, but we do vote. That's what they ask us to do, and I think we all try to do the best we can."
The sentiment isn't one LSU's Les Miles disagrees with, but he thinks delegating the voting to assistants at least makes the system work a bit better, as head coaches focus primarily on teams in their own conference.
In the end, Miles agreed the system was far from perfect, but argued that he hadn't heard a better alternative.
"I am for the playoffs, I just don't see how it works effectively," Miles said. "Everyone in the room can come up with a playoff system … but until it gets done, I'm not going to complain."
STILL WAITING
With just 10 days before Georgia begins fall practice, head coach Mark Richt is still waiting on one more recruit to arrive.
Lineman Kwame Geathers still hasn't qualified officially, and while Richt remains confident that he will, nothing is set in stone yet.
"The only guy who hasn't been in is Geathers, and we still expect him to be here," Richt said. "There's a couple more hoops that he had to jump through that hopefully he's jumping through right now."
BEAUTIFUL MIND
Norwood figures to be South Carolina's defensive leader when the Gamecocks arrive in Athens on Sept. 12, but if he knew in high school what he knows now, he might have been in the opposite locker room.
Georgia recruited Norwood heavily, he said, but issues with his grades – he had a 1.6 GPA at the end of his senior season – forced the Bulldogs to give up their pursuit.
"I had a grade problem," Norwood said. "Clearinghouse was like a 2.3, but by then it was too late. Teams have to recruit."
Auburn and Oklahoma State joined South Carolina in offering a scholarship to Norwood, but the majority of the other teams that had shown interest dropped out after learning of his grades. Once he chose South Carolina, it took three tries before he could be admitted. The process was a lesson learned for the All-SEC linebacker.
Since joining the Gamecocks, Norwood has turned his academic life around. He has made the Dean's list five times, he said, and he is scheduled to graduate in December.
The key, Norwood said, was simple. He just had to commit to his studies and believe he could do it.
"Applying myself, that's the main thing," Norwood said. "In high school, I used just walk around the halls and stuff like that. Now, we have a great academic support staff, and they let me believe that if I didn't have football, I could still succeed academically in college."
GIVING UP ALREADY?
Tebow was the dominant topic of conversation throughout media days, and Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin knows why. His fan base may hope the Volunteers will be national championship contenders this year, but Kiffin is already handing the title over to the Gators and their star quarterback.
"I think there will be a million articles written after Tim has another great year," Kiffin said. "With all the great players, they'll win another national championship. He'll win a Heisman. I'm serious about that. I really believe that."
Florida was a unanimous selection by media to win the SEC East in the preseason balloting released Friday. Only one of the 64 voters selected anyone other than the Gators to win the conference. The lone dissenting vote went to Mississippi.
With the exception of receiver Percy Harvin, Florida returns nearly every key contributor from last year's national championship team, and the Gators' selection as the odds-on favorite to repeat as conference champs came as no surprise to the rest of the SEC.
"They win the big games, and you can't take anything from them," Georgia senior Jeff Owens said of the Gators. "They're a great football team, and we know that if you're going to be successful in this league, you've got to beat Florida. If you want to win a national championship or an SEC championship, you've got to beat Florida. That's the No. 1 thing."
Georgia was the consensus pick to finish second in the East, and the Bulldogs also landed five players on the All-SEC teams, as selected by the media. Receiver A.J. Green was the team's lone first-team representative, while linemen Clint Boling and Trinton Sturdivant, defensive tackle Geno Atkins and linebacker Rennie Curran were both named to the second team.
In the coach's poll, Curran was a first-team selection, but South Carolina's Eric Norwood said the demotion by the media was a reflection of the immense talent at linebacker in the conference.
"Our conference, you've got to have good linebackers," Norwood said. "It's not an option. It's not like you're in the Pac-10. This is a tough, physical conference, and you've got to be able to hit."
Alabama was selected by the media to win the SEC West, but the balloting was much closer. The Crimson Tide received 33 first-place votes, followed by Mississippi with 16 and LSU with 15.
Florida led all teams with 12 representatives on the All-SEC teams, including eight first teamers. Alabama had eight selections, while LSU and Ole Miss tied Georgia with five.
MY BAD, GUYS
The long national nightmare is over. The culprit has been found. The mystery has been solved.
The coach who left Florida quarterback Tim Tebow's name off his preseason All-SEC ballot was South Carolina's Steve Spurrier, but he promised the slight was unintentional.
Spurrier said an assistant filled out the ballot, leaving Tebow's name off and instead voting for Mississippi's Jevan Snead. Spurrier signed off on the ballot and admitted it was a mistake.
"I've called (SEC media relations director) Charles Bloom and said, 'Can I change our selection and put Tim Tebow in?'" Spurrier said. "I was able to put Tim Tebow in today, so now it's unanimous."
But even after Spurrier took full responsibility for leaving Tebow's name off his ballot and corrected the mistake, large contingent of reporters refused to let the story die. Nine more questions were posed to Spurrier involving Tebow, Florida or his voting habits, and a horde of reporters followed the former Gators coach off the stage and into the lobby to pose additional inquiries.
"I know some of you may not think that's right," Spurrier said of the voting error, hoping to end the discussion. "We made a mistake. Tim Tebow is not only the best quarterback in this league, I think he's the best in the country. … I admire and respect him. I apologize to him. He should have been on that ballot. I messed up, and I take full blame for it."
DELIGATION OF AUTHORITY
Spurrier's admission of the voting snafu put an end to the week's biggest story, but it created a second wave of inquiries from the reporters in attendance.
After admitting that an assistant filled out his ballot, Spurrier added a bit of fuel to the fire surrounding the decision this spring to keep coaches' ballots anonymous in the top-25 poll, beginning in 2010.
The coaches' poll represents one-third of the formula for determining the final BCS standings, which in turn determine which teams play for the national championship. Many coaches, like Spurrier, don't fill out their own ballots, instead delegating the job to assistants, and the South Carolina coach understands why that creates a problem.
"I've been doing the preseason ballots for 17 years, and I've never filled one out," Spurrier said. "I don't know why we vote. I guess it's because college football is still without a playoff system. I really believe most coaches do not know a whole lot about other teams, but we do vote. That's what they ask us to do, and I think we all try to do the best we can."
The sentiment isn't one LSU's Les Miles disagrees with, but he thinks delegating the voting to assistants at least makes the system work a bit better, as head coaches focus primarily on teams in their own conference.
In the end, Miles agreed the system was far from perfect, but argued that he hadn't heard a better alternative.
"I am for the playoffs, I just don't see how it works effectively," Miles said. "Everyone in the room can come up with a playoff system … but until it gets done, I'm not going to complain."
STILL WAITING
With just 10 days before Georgia begins fall practice, head coach Mark Richt is still waiting on one more recruit to arrive.
Lineman Kwame Geathers still hasn't qualified officially, and while Richt remains confident that he will, nothing is set in stone yet.
"The only guy who hasn't been in is Geathers, and we still expect him to be here," Richt said. "There's a couple more hoops that he had to jump through that hopefully he's jumping through right now."
BEAUTIFUL MIND
Norwood figures to be South Carolina's defensive leader when the Gamecocks arrive in Athens on Sept. 12, but if he knew in high school what he knows now, he might have been in the opposite locker room.
Georgia recruited Norwood heavily, he said, but issues with his grades – he had a 1.6 GPA at the end of his senior season – forced the Bulldogs to give up their pursuit.
"I had a grade problem," Norwood said. "Clearinghouse was like a 2.3, but by then it was too late. Teams have to recruit."
Auburn and Oklahoma State joined South Carolina in offering a scholarship to Norwood, but the majority of the other teams that had shown interest dropped out after learning of his grades. Once he chose South Carolina, it took three tries before he could be admitted. The process was a lesson learned for the All-SEC linebacker.
Since joining the Gamecocks, Norwood has turned his academic life around. He has made the Dean's list five times, he said, and he is scheduled to graduate in December.
The key, Norwood said, was simple. He just had to commit to his studies and believe he could do it.
"Applying myself, that's the main thing," Norwood said. "In high school, I used just walk around the halls and stuff like that. Now, we have a great academic support staff, and they let me believe that if I didn't have football, I could still succeed academically in college."
GIVING UP ALREADY?
Tebow was the dominant topic of conversation throughout media days, and Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin knows why. His fan base may hope the Volunteers will be national championship contenders this year, but Kiffin is already handing the title over to the Gators and their star quarterback.
"I think there will be a million articles written after Tim has another great year," Kiffin said. "With all the great players, they'll win another national championship. He'll win a Heisman. I'm serious about that. I really believe that."
Friday, June 12, 2009
Sometimes You Wanna Go...
I spent a majority of my Thursday watching reruns of "Cheers" and doing laundry. I recently decided that I had seen every episode of "Seinfeld" too many times, so I had to switch up my syndicated sitcom of choice, and determined that "Cheers" would be a welcome addition to my DVR schedule.
Anyway, I watched six episodes, my favorite being one from the final season in which Harry the Hat (played by "Night Court's" Harry Anderson) helped the gang at Cheers finally exact some revenge on Gary from Gary's Olde Towne Tavern. The ongoing war between Cheers and Gary's was always one of the best recurring storylines of the show, and Gary, of course, always got the better of Sam's crew.
Beyond the mini-marathon of "Cheers," I also spent a relatively sizable chunk of my day reading through the extensive copy dedicated to the potential success of Lane Kiffin, as posted by T Kyle King HERE, Senator Blutarsky HERE, and some fine Tennessee fans HERE. To say the least, it was enjoyable.
I'm not about to jump into the fray of wondering how much success Kiffin will find this season at Tennessee -- although I believe I didn't exactly pick the Vols to do well in my way-too-early projections -- but some of the points King discusses touched on something I've been thinking about for a while.
I spent some time listening to Kiffin explain his offseason antics in Destin, Fla. two weeks ago. Dubious or not, Kiffin seems to think he needed to be a little wacky this offseason in order to bring attention to Tennessee. He felt he needed to throw a few stones at the opposition in order to turn the spotlight back to his school. He needed to get his name -- and by association, I presume, the Volunteers' -- into the national conversation in order to ensure he'd have a shot at luring prized recruits. The results, he suggests, speak for themselves, insofar as Tennessee landed a top-10 recruiting class and the nation's No. 1 overall recruit.
Now, regardless of whether or not you believe all of this was premeditated, I think there's another question to be asked: Since when did Tennessee need publicity stunts to be regarded as a national program? Say what you want about Phil Fulmer, but beyond a few legal headaches in Alabama and the obvious marketing tie-ins with Krispy Kreme, when did he need to make an ass out of himself in order for people to pay attention to the Vols?
I've rarely cared one way or another about Tennessee, but come on... they're better than that, right?
In King's post, his essential point (and I'm glossing over some good stuff) was that, Kiffin may be a fine recruiter, but he hasn't proven he can coach. Valid point.
But my question is -- is he really a fine recruiter? Yes, he got a good class this time in terms of the valuations by recruiting sites (which are at least on occasion a bit dubious) but if this is Kiffin's method for recruiting, is he really getting the type of players a program wants?
That's the thing about publicity stunts. They're stunts, and they're designed to get a quick boost in interest, but they never last. There's a reason the Yankees and Lakers don't offer publicity stunts, and there's a reason why two-bit teams in small towns offer free haircuts, speed dating at the ballpark and Rod Blagojevich bobbleheads. My guess is that most Tennessee fans would prefer to be associated with the former than the latter.
For the past few weeks, I've been talking with a number of Georgia's incoming freshmen for a Getting to Know You series. In each interview, I've asked them the same question: What brought you to Georgia?
These aren't just local kids who spent their lives wanting to play for the Bulldogs. These are players from California and Virginia and Massachusetts. Even the local standouts like Branden Smith were recruited heavily by other top schools. Orson Charles picked Georgia over Florida and Southern Cal, arguably the two best programs in the country in terms of wins and losses.
Despite the distinct differences in the backgrounds of each player, they all gave essentially the exact same response: Georgia felt like a family.
OK, so at this point, unless you're a rose-colored-glasses-wearing Georgia fan, you're rolling your eyes and saying, "Of course they said that." I get it, and I'm not trying to be the head of the Mark Richt fan club.
But think about it: They didn't say they came for playing time or because it was their best chance to win a national title or because Georgia puts so many players into the NFL. I have no doubt that all of those things factored into their decision, and all would have been valid answers to my query. Instead, however, every one of them -- and I've talked to nearly a dozen (many of which I haven't posted yet) -- said the same thing. Family.
At that same press conference Kiffin held in Destin, he was asked how recruiting in the SEC was different from other areas of the country. Here's what he said about kids in the South:
"It's the people around them more, the relationships around him. A lot of times the kid's not making the decision on his own. Someone else is making it for him. I think different parts of the country, it's more about the kids himself than about the parents or the coaches. It's more about family values here."
This should sound at least a little familiar to Georgia fans, since Kiffin essentially said Marlon Brown only chose the Bulldogs because his grandmother was so taken with Richt. (And in case you were wondering, here's what Brown told me when I asked him why he came here: "Probably the thing that made up my mind was the people. Coach Richt and his staff did a good job of recruiting me from Day 1, and that's really what made the difference.")
In any case, clearly Kiffin acknowledges that creating a family environment is important to landing top recruits in the area, and yet he thinks that publicity stunts and boorish behavior were a necessity to get good players to come to Tennessee.
Now, I'm not saying Richt is the perfect family man, both at home and in the locker room. Clearly Georgia has missed out on some top recruits that were also good kids (UT's Eric Berry springs to mind). But there's a good reason why so many of this year's incoming freshmen said they felt at home in Athens.
During the season, I spent countless days over at the Butts-Mehre building, watching practice and doing interviews. The one guy who I didn't talk to all season was Stacy Searels. He wasn't doing interviews, as you may know. But you know who I talked to at least once a week? Searels' daughter. She was always running around the halls and playing on the elevators along with the other coaches' kids. Marcus Washington's wife and kids were often in the building, hanging out with players. Former players dropped by often with their families to visit. Richt's wife is the water girl on game day. It really is a family environment.
Now, I'm not saying none of those things happen at Tennessee or anywhere else. I'm sure they do. But rather than rent limos or rip off shirts or call out other coaches, it's that family environment that Georgia's coaching staff sells, and I have no doubt that it attracts a specific type of person to want to play for the Bulldogs.
In fact, here's another great example that Rodney Garner gave about the recruitment of Montez Robinson from Indiana:
"He was a young man that was from the state of Alabama. He's sort of a unique story a lot like DeAngelo Tyson. He's been a ward of the state since he was six years old. Just getting to know him, you really felt a bond toward him, a love for him, and you really felt like he was an outstanding young man. Here's a kid that came from a very difficult set of circumstances, but yet he was able to rise up and is going to be able to do something special with his life. He has eight brothers and sisters, he's the oldest, and I think they are all looking to him to do something special. It's not just from an athletic standpoint, but I think we all fell in love with him as a person, too. I think arguably he is the best player in the state of Indiana, and we're excited about him getting here in June and getting in with this family. We know he's going to have a family once he gets here."
Seriously, if you heard that, wouldn't you want to go play for Garner, too? Maybe a lot of it is B.S., but it's pretty convincing B.S.
That, of course, is not to say every player who has worn the red and black has been a good guy. Some haven't been. Some have been good people but still made some bad mistakes. Nobody's perfect.
But when you look big picture and compare the approach of Lane Kiffin with the approach of Mark Richt, there's a good chance you end up with two markedly different recruiting classes. Both might have top-10 talent, but they're likely to have distinctly divergent agendas they hope that talent helps them achieve. There were, after all, a lot of folks at USC who were thrilled to have O.J. Mayo, and a lot of fans at other schools who were angry they missed out. How'd that work out for Tim Floyd?
I guess what I'm saying is, Kiffin can trumpet the success of his over-the-top approach all he wants. In terms of bringing talent and attention to Tennessee, it certainly seems to have worked. But sometimes you have to be careful what you wish for.
Gary spent a lot of years tormenting the gang at Cheers, but in the episode I watched yesterday, he finally got what was coming to him. Harry convinced Gary he was a billionaire developer interested in buying the property where Gary's bar was located. Hoping to play one final prank on Cheers, Gary demolished his own bar and tried to pin it on the Cheers gang, only to learn that Harry was a fraud. In the end, his arrogance was his own downfall. (Well, that and some delightful hijinks from Harry the Hat.)
Being the loudest, most confident guy in the room has its immediate rewards, but there's an upside to being understated and biding your time. Kiffin might take a lesson from Gary's ultimate demise. While a lot of talented players want to have their ego stroked and the world handed to them, there are plenty of others who simply want to go where everybody knows their name.
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
Video Blog: Lane Kiffin
Want to know why Lane Kiffin has spent his first few months on the job making opposing coaches angry? Here's his answer (sort of)...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
It's All Part of the Plan
There aren't a ton of media folks here, but everyone who made the trip was interested in talking to one person first and foremost... Lane Kiffin.
Kiffin met with the media for about a half hour (and then some more after that) and had plenty to say about his first few months on the job. Here are some highlights...
On all the transfers...
"It's not an easy time to be a Tennessee football player. We have very high expectations for what you do on the field. Some guys weren't able to hold to those. So some guys we removed ourselves, some guys decided to leave themselves, and we wish them the best of luck."
On why he has been so outspoken/controversial...
"As you look at this job, you have to have a national presence. When you become a head coach, you take a specific plan into each job. This one as I looked at it needed to have a spark immediately as far as national exposure. The way recruiting is now, we've got to be able to have players around the country, talking about kids even in middle school, seeing Tennessee, talking about Tennessee, being familiar with our staff. As you look at the plan over six months, I think it's going extremely well."
On whether he thinks he has done the right thing by being in the spotlight so much...
"Do I love everything I had to do to get us to this point? No. But my job is not to love everything I do. My job is to do the best thing for our university and for our people."
On the reaction from his players to his comments...
"When you do some of the things we've done, it puts it back on our players because they know you've said some things about what you're going to do and what you can accomplish. When you go back from doing that and you're working out with your players and a couple of them come up and say, ‘Hey Coach, we really appreciate that because that makes us want to work that much harder.' It's a motivational tool for our players."
On how his comments affected recruiting...
"I don't think if you took a real conservative approach, I don't think there's any way you would have signed that class or signed the No. 1 player in the country. So in my opinion, there were things that had to be done specifically for this job."
On whether his comments make his team a target...
"If we didn't have this attention drawn to ourselves, would we not coach as hard? I don't think anything changes at all because we're going about it regardless of what's been said or who we're playing or what's in the media."
On what other coaches think of him...
"Each of us have a different job for a different university, a different athletic director and a different team. I wouldn't thinkthere'd be any hard feelings for anybody. I think at the end of the day, everybody understands we all have specific jobs for our university."
Kiffin also said he had no further plans to apologize to Urban Meyer beyond the one he made immediately after signing day. In response to a question of whether he felt like Meyer would expect an apology, he joked that he was still waiting on an apology from SteveSpurrier for jokes Spurrier made at his expense. And best of all, Kiffin said when he was fired by the Raiders, he spent the next few months coming up with a specific game plan for how he would approach potential jobs, including Tennessee and said that the comments he has made thisoffseason were all part of that plan, months before he was even offered the job.
Of course, blame Kiffin if you must, but at least he's had some fun with it. On the other hand, there's Coach Meyers, who wasn't making any bones about how much he dislikes his compatriots at other programs.
Kiffin met with the media for about a half hour (and then some more after that) and had plenty to say about his first few months on the job. Here are some highlights...
On all the transfers...
"It's not an easy time to be a Tennessee football player. We have very high expectations for what you do on the field. Some guys weren't able to hold to those. So some guys we removed ourselves, some guys decided to leave themselves, and we wish them the best of luck."
On why he has been so outspoken/controversial...
"As you look at this job, you have to have a national presence. When you become a head coach, you take a specific plan into each job. This one as I looked at it needed to have a spark immediately as far as national exposure. The way recruiting is now, we've got to be able to have players around the country, talking about kids even in middle school, seeing Tennessee, talking about Tennessee, being familiar with our staff. As you look at the plan over six months, I think it's going extremely well."
On whether he thinks he has done the right thing by being in the spotlight so much...
"Do I love everything I had to do to get us to this point? No. But my job is not to love everything I do. My job is to do the best thing for our university and for our people."
On the reaction from his players to his comments...
"When you do some of the things we've done, it puts it back on our players because they know you've said some things about what you're going to do and what you can accomplish. When you go back from doing that and you're working out with your players and a couple of them come up and say, ‘Hey Coach, we really appreciate that because that makes us want to work that much harder.' It's a motivational tool for our players."
On how his comments affected recruiting...
"I don't think if you took a real conservative approach, I don't think there's any way you would have signed that class or signed the No. 1 player in the country. So in my opinion, there were things that had to be done specifically for this job."
On whether his comments make his team a target...
"If we didn't have this attention drawn to ourselves, would we not coach as hard? I don't think anything changes at all because we're going about it regardless of what's been said or who we're playing or what's in the media."
On what other coaches think of him...
"Each of us have a different job for a different university, a different athletic director and a different team. I wouldn't thinkthere'd be any hard feelings for anybody. I think at the end of the day, everybody understands we all have specific jobs for our university."
Kiffin also said he had no further plans to apologize to Urban Meyer beyond the one he made immediately after signing day. In response to a question of whether he felt like Meyer would expect an apology, he joked that he was still waiting on an apology from SteveSpurrier for jokes Spurrier made at his expense. And best of all, Kiffin said when he was fired by the Raiders, he spent the next few months coming up with a specific game plan for how he would approach potential jobs, including Tennessee and said that the comments he has made thisoffseason were all part of that plan, months before he was even offered the job.
Of course, blame Kiffin if you must, but at least he's had some fun with it. On the other hand, there's Coach Meyers, who wasn't making any bones about how much he dislikes his compatriots at other programs.
Thursday, March 26, 2009
Practice Notes: Competition at Kicker
By season's end last year, Mark Richt had promised to go to Poland to find a kicker who could reach the end zone on kickoffs. As it turned out, he only had to go as far as his mailbox.
Georgia announced Thursday that it had signed kicker Brandon Bogotay, a junior college transfer from San Diego, who only began playing football midway through his senior year in high school.
Bogotay still had another year of eligibility remaining at Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif., and his coach didn't send out any footage of the kicker, assuming he would return for his sophomore season. Bogotay decided to send out some tape on his own.
"He might have heard that Poland comment," Richt said. "I can't tell you how many times we watched that video."
It didn't take long for Richt to decide Bogotay had what Georgia was missing a year ago, but Georgia wasn't the only school interested. Bogotay had visited Hawaii a week earlier and had interest from several other schools, too, so Richt decided it was time to pull the trigger on a scholarship offer.
"Word started to get going, and I didn't want to get in a position where somebody closer to home got him," Richt said.
From Bogotay's highlight footage, Georgia's coaching staff was convinced he could be the answer on kickoffs -- an area the Bulldogs struggled mightily with a year ago.
"If you've seen tape on him, the obvious thing is that he has a very strong leg," Richt said. "Now, can he do it here? I don't know if the air is different in San Diego. There's just things you don't really know for sure. But we saw enough to think he has a chance to help us get really great field position when we kick the ball off."
Richt had said finding someone to handle kickoff duties this year would be a top offseason priority, but until he signed Bogotay, it appeared freshman Blair Walsh would land the job again by default.
"My goal as head coach is to make sure that we're better than we were a year ago, and we feel he gives us a chance to do that," Richt said. "If we get the exact same production that we got a year ago, did we really get better? I felt like we saw enough that this guy can help us be better, and that's what you want."
Richt said it will be an open competition this fall for all kicking duties, including extra points and field goals, and he expects that Bogotay's presence will push the current crop of Georgia kickers even if he doesn't win the job.
After a freshman season in which he delivered mixed results in the kicking game, Walsh said he is open to the challenge, but hopes to retain his job as both the field-goal and kickoff man.
"The mind-set that I have is they are bringing him in to compete at both positions, and that's what they're saying right now," Walsh said. "I've just got to treat it like that."
DAWGS SHOW RENEWED ENERGY
Tuesday, head coach Mark Richt lamented his team's lack of energy on the practice field, referring to the performance as "luke warm." Before the Bulldogs hit the field Thursday, Richt told his players he wanted to see more hustle, and that's exactly what he got.
"I really did like today," Richt said. "Tuesday I wasn't too thrilled. I thought we lost a little bit of that edge, but we really ran hard today. Guys were flying around. Both sides of the ball, great hustle, a lot of enthusiasm."
The strong day of practice was a good sign, quarterback Joe Cox said. While he admits that maintaining a high level of energy day in and day out is a tough task, he said bouncing back from a lackluster performance two days earlier illustrated the team's desire to stay motivated.
"That's the main goal is not to take any steps back and have a day where everybody knows it wasn't what we should have done," Cox said. "It's hard trying to keep people motivated every day for practice, but that is my main goal."
One of the day's biggest stars was freshman cornerback Brandon Boykin, who had two interceptions, but Richt said there has been no shortage of players who have impressed this spring.
"Our offensive line has had a couple times where they picked up some tough blitzes," Richt said. "Joe did a good job of working the pocket, threw some nice balls. ... Caleb (King) had a nice day running the ball in inside drill and on 11-on-11."
One play in particular stood out for Richt. It came on a pass from Cox to freshman Tavarres King, and Richt said it underscored how well the entire offense was working together.
"(The pass was) square over the middle that was within inches of Rennie (Curran) knocking it down, but it was a great catch on the run," Richt said. "There was a nice pick up of a blitz, Joe moving in the pocket, throwing a beautiful ball, Tavarres reaching out to snatch it on the dead run. It was impressive."
DOMINANT DOG
From Cox to Carlton Thomas to Bryan Evans and Rennie Curran, the spring platitudes have been plentiful. But if Richt had to narrow down his list to one MVP of spring practice, there's no doubt who would get the award.
"The most dominating player to this point has been Geno Atkins," Richt said.
Atkins has been a beast stopping the run and getting to the quarterback, and Tuesday he even returned an interception for a touchdown. The performance hasn't been particularly surprising, Richt said, as Atkins has been among Georgia's top defensive players the past two seasons, but this spring, the senior defensive tackle has taken things to a new level.
"They all struggle with him," Richt said. "Even a guy like Cordy Glenn, Ben Jones, he's tough as heck. They're talented guys, and Geno just kind of has his way with everybody right now."
A LOT ON THE LINE
Georgia will hold its first scrimmage of the spring tomorrow, and Joe Cox said no one on the team is taking it lightly. While coaches figure to use the practice to give some of the younger players a few more opportunities than they might normally get, Cox said Mark Richt already issued a warned his veterans that there will be a lot on the line for everyone.
"If you're a starter, tomorrow is where you solidify your spot," Cox said. "If you're a guy looking for playing time, tomorrow is where you get playing time. It is really good for the younger guys because they do get more reps, but it's not a period where the older guys can chill. It's time to prove ourselves that we can stay where we need to stay."
GREEN FEELING BLUE
A.J. Green wasn't sure how much he would be able to participate this spring due to a nagging groin injury, but through five practices, he was a full go. Thursday, however, he felt some soreness, and coaches decided to play it safe, sitting him out of most of the team's work.
"I wasn't 100 percent today," Green said. "I just had a little soreness. I did one-on-ones and stuff like that. They just told me to sit everything else out."
Both Richt and Green said they hoped he would be a full participant in Friday's scrimmage.
A LOT TO LEARN
For most of the Bulldogs, the spring is about picking up where they left off after their bowl game. For Georgia's receivers, however, new coach Tony Ball has implemented some major changes from the program they were used to.
"He's not changing the system, but he's changing how we do a lot of the little things," wideout Michael Moore said.
Where former coach John Eason took more of a big-picture approach to coaching, Moore said Ball has gone back to the basics. Instead of learning a plays, the receivers are working on fundamentals like coming out of breaks and gaining leverage on a defender.
"(Eason) stressed more the play, while Coach Ball stresses how to run your route," Moore said.
That has made this spring more of a learning experience for the receivers than for many of their teammates at other positions, and Moore said he has had to put in a bit of extra time at the office just to keep up.
"For us, we can't have enough time," Moore said. "After practice, me and A.J. (Green), we're still out there working on the stuff that Coach Ball is teaching us."
FLAG FIXATION
A year ago, penalties were the bane of Mark Richt's existence. Flags cost Georgia crucial yardage in nearly every game overturned several of the team's biggest plays of the year. Eventually, the penalties became the hot-button issue of the team's practice sessions, and punishments were in store for the whole team if it was flagged for too many infractions on game day.
"I can't say why we had as many penalties as we had a year ago because we didn't do anything that we hadn't done since I'd been here," Richt said. "As the season went along, we spent a lot more time emphasizing it, but it just got away from us."
Richt said Georgia's coaches aren't punishing players for penalties as much as they are encouraging a renewed focus on fundamentals. If a player is making smart decisions and getting into the proper position on a play, the odds of drawing a flag decrease significantly.
"By no means are we going to ignore it, but we're going back to the basics," Richt said. "The better our fundamentals and the better position we're in, I feel there's a lot less chance we'll have those kinds of penalties."
SPEECHES, BUT NO PLAQUES
Matthew Stafford had an arm so impressive it could earn him the distinction of becoming the top overall pick in the NFL draft. That's an asset Joe Cox knows he can't match, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a strong weapon of his own.
"Joe's No. 1 thing is his leadership abilities," wide receiver Michael Moore said. "I don't want to say we didn't have leadership last year because we definitely did with people like Mohamed (Massaquoi) and Corvey Irvin. But Joe's a more rah-rah guy. He'll get in your face and get you amped up. It's little things like that. That's the No. 1 thing that stands out to me between him and Matt."
Down the road at Florida, the Gators have a smooth-talking quarterback of their own. In fact, Florida thought so highly of Tim Tebow's post-game speech after a loss to Mississippi last season, that the school had his words etched into a plaque that will now hang outside the team's new football facility.
Moore said he thinks Cox can bring that same type of fire to the Georgia locker room, but he doubts he'll see any halftime speeches plastered to the locker room wall anytime soon.
"I wouldn't put it past him," Moore said. "Joe has some good quotes. But as far as hanging them up, I don't know if the head man will do that."
KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE...
A reporter joked with Mark Richt before Thursday's news conference that Lane Kiffin had called Richt "a good buddy."
The compliment might have seemed a bit odd after Kiffin had reportedly made some less-than-kind statements about Richt's recruiting abilities earlier this year, but the Georgia coach at least attempted to appreciate the olive branch.
"Well, that's good," Rich said with a wry smile. "I need friends."
Georgia announced Thursday that it had signed kicker Brandon Bogotay, a junior college transfer from San Diego, who only began playing football midway through his senior year in high school.
Bogotay still had another year of eligibility remaining at Grossmont College in El Cajon, Calif., and his coach didn't send out any footage of the kicker, assuming he would return for his sophomore season. Bogotay decided to send out some tape on his own.
"He might have heard that Poland comment," Richt said. "I can't tell you how many times we watched that video."
It didn't take long for Richt to decide Bogotay had what Georgia was missing a year ago, but Georgia wasn't the only school interested. Bogotay had visited Hawaii a week earlier and had interest from several other schools, too, so Richt decided it was time to pull the trigger on a scholarship offer.
"Word started to get going, and I didn't want to get in a position where somebody closer to home got him," Richt said.
From Bogotay's highlight footage, Georgia's coaching staff was convinced he could be the answer on kickoffs -- an area the Bulldogs struggled mightily with a year ago.
"If you've seen tape on him, the obvious thing is that he has a very strong leg," Richt said. "Now, can he do it here? I don't know if the air is different in San Diego. There's just things you don't really know for sure. But we saw enough to think he has a chance to help us get really great field position when we kick the ball off."
Richt had said finding someone to handle kickoff duties this year would be a top offseason priority, but until he signed Bogotay, it appeared freshman Blair Walsh would land the job again by default.
"My goal as head coach is to make sure that we're better than we were a year ago, and we feel he gives us a chance to do that," Richt said. "If we get the exact same production that we got a year ago, did we really get better? I felt like we saw enough that this guy can help us be better, and that's what you want."
Richt said it will be an open competition this fall for all kicking duties, including extra points and field goals, and he expects that Bogotay's presence will push the current crop of Georgia kickers even if he doesn't win the job.
After a freshman season in which he delivered mixed results in the kicking game, Walsh said he is open to the challenge, but hopes to retain his job as both the field-goal and kickoff man.
"The mind-set that I have is they are bringing him in to compete at both positions, and that's what they're saying right now," Walsh said. "I've just got to treat it like that."
DAWGS SHOW RENEWED ENERGY
Tuesday, head coach Mark Richt lamented his team's lack of energy on the practice field, referring to the performance as "luke warm." Before the Bulldogs hit the field Thursday, Richt told his players he wanted to see more hustle, and that's exactly what he got.
"I really did like today," Richt said. "Tuesday I wasn't too thrilled. I thought we lost a little bit of that edge, but we really ran hard today. Guys were flying around. Both sides of the ball, great hustle, a lot of enthusiasm."
The strong day of practice was a good sign, quarterback Joe Cox said. While he admits that maintaining a high level of energy day in and day out is a tough task, he said bouncing back from a lackluster performance two days earlier illustrated the team's desire to stay motivated.
"That's the main goal is not to take any steps back and have a day where everybody knows it wasn't what we should have done," Cox said. "It's hard trying to keep people motivated every day for practice, but that is my main goal."
One of the day's biggest stars was freshman cornerback Brandon Boykin, who had two interceptions, but Richt said there has been no shortage of players who have impressed this spring.
"Our offensive line has had a couple times where they picked up some tough blitzes," Richt said. "Joe did a good job of working the pocket, threw some nice balls. ... Caleb (King) had a nice day running the ball in inside drill and on 11-on-11."
One play in particular stood out for Richt. It came on a pass from Cox to freshman Tavarres King, and Richt said it underscored how well the entire offense was working together.
"(The pass was) square over the middle that was within inches of Rennie (Curran) knocking it down, but it was a great catch on the run," Richt said. "There was a nice pick up of a blitz, Joe moving in the pocket, throwing a beautiful ball, Tavarres reaching out to snatch it on the dead run. It was impressive."
DOMINANT DOG
From Cox to Carlton Thomas to Bryan Evans and Rennie Curran, the spring platitudes have been plentiful. But if Richt had to narrow down his list to one MVP of spring practice, there's no doubt who would get the award.
"The most dominating player to this point has been Geno Atkins," Richt said.
Atkins has been a beast stopping the run and getting to the quarterback, and Tuesday he even returned an interception for a touchdown. The performance hasn't been particularly surprising, Richt said, as Atkins has been among Georgia's top defensive players the past two seasons, but this spring, the senior defensive tackle has taken things to a new level.
"They all struggle with him," Richt said. "Even a guy like Cordy Glenn, Ben Jones, he's tough as heck. They're talented guys, and Geno just kind of has his way with everybody right now."
A LOT ON THE LINE
Georgia will hold its first scrimmage of the spring tomorrow, and Joe Cox said no one on the team is taking it lightly. While coaches figure to use the practice to give some of the younger players a few more opportunities than they might normally get, Cox said Mark Richt already issued a warned his veterans that there will be a lot on the line for everyone.
"If you're a starter, tomorrow is where you solidify your spot," Cox said. "If you're a guy looking for playing time, tomorrow is where you get playing time. It is really good for the younger guys because they do get more reps, but it's not a period where the older guys can chill. It's time to prove ourselves that we can stay where we need to stay."
GREEN FEELING BLUE
A.J. Green wasn't sure how much he would be able to participate this spring due to a nagging groin injury, but through five practices, he was a full go. Thursday, however, he felt some soreness, and coaches decided to play it safe, sitting him out of most of the team's work.
"I wasn't 100 percent today," Green said. "I just had a little soreness. I did one-on-ones and stuff like that. They just told me to sit everything else out."
Both Richt and Green said they hoped he would be a full participant in Friday's scrimmage.
A LOT TO LEARN
For most of the Bulldogs, the spring is about picking up where they left off after their bowl game. For Georgia's receivers, however, new coach Tony Ball has implemented some major changes from the program they were used to.
"He's not changing the system, but he's changing how we do a lot of the little things," wideout Michael Moore said.
Where former coach John Eason took more of a big-picture approach to coaching, Moore said Ball has gone back to the basics. Instead of learning a plays, the receivers are working on fundamentals like coming out of breaks and gaining leverage on a defender.
"(Eason) stressed more the play, while Coach Ball stresses how to run your route," Moore said.
That has made this spring more of a learning experience for the receivers than for many of their teammates at other positions, and Moore said he has had to put in a bit of extra time at the office just to keep up.
"For us, we can't have enough time," Moore said. "After practice, me and A.J. (Green), we're still out there working on the stuff that Coach Ball is teaching us."
FLAG FIXATION
A year ago, penalties were the bane of Mark Richt's existence. Flags cost Georgia crucial yardage in nearly every game overturned several of the team's biggest plays of the year. Eventually, the penalties became the hot-button issue of the team's practice sessions, and punishments were in store for the whole team if it was flagged for too many infractions on game day.
"I can't say why we had as many penalties as we had a year ago because we didn't do anything that we hadn't done since I'd been here," Richt said. "As the season went along, we spent a lot more time emphasizing it, but it just got away from us."
Richt said Georgia's coaches aren't punishing players for penalties as much as they are encouraging a renewed focus on fundamentals. If a player is making smart decisions and getting into the proper position on a play, the odds of drawing a flag decrease significantly.
"By no means are we going to ignore it, but we're going back to the basics," Richt said. "The better our fundamentals and the better position we're in, I feel there's a lot less chance we'll have those kinds of penalties."
SPEECHES, BUT NO PLAQUES
Matthew Stafford had an arm so impressive it could earn him the distinction of becoming the top overall pick in the NFL draft. That's an asset Joe Cox knows he can't match, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have a strong weapon of his own.
"Joe's No. 1 thing is his leadership abilities," wide receiver Michael Moore said. "I don't want to say we didn't have leadership last year because we definitely did with people like Mohamed (Massaquoi) and Corvey Irvin. But Joe's a more rah-rah guy. He'll get in your face and get you amped up. It's little things like that. That's the No. 1 thing that stands out to me between him and Matt."
Down the road at Florida, the Gators have a smooth-talking quarterback of their own. In fact, Florida thought so highly of Tim Tebow's post-game speech after a loss to Mississippi last season, that the school had his words etched into a plaque that will now hang outside the team's new football facility.
Moore said he thinks Cox can bring that same type of fire to the Georgia locker room, but he doubts he'll see any halftime speeches plastered to the locker room wall anytime soon.
"I wouldn't put it past him," Moore said. "Joe has some good quotes. But as far as hanging them up, I don't know if the head man will do that."
KEEP YOUR FRIENDS CLOSE...
A reporter joked with Mark Richt before Thursday's news conference that Lane Kiffin had called Richt "a good buddy."
The compliment might have seemed a bit odd after Kiffin had reportedly made some less-than-kind statements about Richt's recruiting abilities earlier this year, but the Georgia coach at least attempted to appreciate the olive branch.
"Well, that's good," Rich said with a wry smile. "I need friends."
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