Figgins not waiting for his number anymore

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

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

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

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

Read the whole story here.

How Mark Richt and Aaron Murray spent their spring break

Last week was spring break at Georgia, which meant pretty much everyone got out of town, forgot their troubles, tried to avoid the limelight. Or maybe not.

Georgia head coach Mark Richt and his family spent a couple days in Jamaica, where ... well I'll let him tell it:

"I’m not lying to you: The first time we laid down our stake at the beach – laid it down – just barely, I hadn’t even sat down yet, I was just trying to get it aligned with the sun ..."

Richt spun around to mimic what he saw next:

"Two Gators are right (next) to where my chair was, right where I was looking," Richt said, smiling and shaking his head. "No one said a word, but I said, man, I’ve gotta go back to Honduras.”

It didn't stop there at the beach.

"I got a couple of these,” Richt said, making the Gator chomp. “But I had a lot of great Bulldogs barking. So it was good.”

The moral of the story for Richt?

"“I tell you what man, the SEC’s everywhere. They’re everywhere," he said.

Several of Richt's players were at the beach too. Starting quarterback Aaron Murray was among a contingent that went down to Florida, where Murray tried his first hand at a trick-shot video.

The result, posted here on YouTube, was not quite up to par, even Murray admits.

“I was the one who drilled the guy," Murray said, smiling. "Wes (Van Dyk, a walk-on teammate) was supposed to put it in slow motion so people could see it a little better. But yeah, it was a little failed first attempt. We might try a little over the summer.”

Because I'm a hard-hitting reporter who doesn't back down from the tough question, I followed up by asking what Murray could do to to rival the others going around the web.

“It’s kind of hard. There’s like three out there. I don’t know how they think of all this crazy stuff," he said. "I don’t know, you’ve gotta think of some crazy stuff if you wanna compete.”

Well, there's always summer vacation.

The Todd Grantham Mystery

So you thought just because "Lost" was over, you were done reading between the lines, speculating on clues and trying to solve a potentially unsolvable mystery? Not so fast, says Mark Richt.

In the past couple of weeks, Richt has hinted on several occasions that there were some complications during the hiring process before he landed Todd Grantham, noting that he wanted Grantham more than a month before a deal actually got done. Mysterious circumstances prevented that from happening though.

“It’s a long story and I’m not going to tell it, but a lot earlier than the day he came, I thought he would be the guy," Richt said. "I was convinced he could be the guy probably a month earlier. It’s just that circumstances kind of moved me around in a different direction for a bit, but ultimately came around to a guy that (at least) a month earlier I thought probably should be the guy.”

Um… OK?

I get it. It's a long story. But I just invested six years of my life into "Lost," so I'm certainly open to hearing a long story -- assuming we don't all end up in purgatory at the end.

So what could possibly have been the hold-up that Richt doesn't mind hinting at but won't really discuss?

My obvious first suspicion was that money might have been the big issues, but Richt said it never came close to getting to that point.

“No, I just never made an offer or anything like that,” he said.

And while Damon Evans did express some concerns about escalating coaching salaries a while back, he reiterated at this week's SEC meetings that he was more than comfortable with the money Grantham is making now.

So, was it simply that the powers that be wanted Richt to look elsewhere, and it was only after Bud Foster and Kirby Smart, etc. said no that he was allowed to go back to his first choice?

“This entire process was strictly on my ability to do whatever I wanted to do," Richt assured me. "Damon was 100 percent behind what I wanted to do. There was never an issue with that.”

For his part, Evans gave a similar response, too.

“Mark always had a good pool of candidates, and Grantham was one of them," Evans said. "Grantham was someone that, from my understanding, Mark had known about and obviously had a great reputation as a coach, so as you went through the process, a lot of people thought it was long and took some time, but we did a good job and ended up getting a job that (Richt) knew about and was already on his radar. That’s good for us all.”

But if everybody's happy now… what was the hold-up?

I'm guessing something involving a smoke monster. But you're free to speculate for yourselves.

Changing His Stripes

It kind of slid under the radar, but this comment from Mark Richt at last week's Macon Bulldog Club meeting caught my eye...

"Even his high school coach said, 'Coach, I think he's on defense.' He said it the day we got him. But we were smarter than that, and we thought, no, once he gets to do it more, he's going to be something else."

The quote is in reference to Richard Samuel, who pretty much everyone seemed to understand would be better suited for linebacker, but instead spent two full seasons -- including the first half of last year as the starter -- trying to play running back.

Now, to Samuel's credit, he did study hard and he did have breakaway speed and he was a big, bruising body -- so if things had clicked, perhaps he could have been a heck of a running back.

But the quote above strikes me as the biggest reason fans were -- and in some cases, still are -- so upset with Richt last year.

For all the "never been in the arena" talk from the head coach, it sure seemed like the folks on the outside had a lot right.

The fans understood the defense was headed in a bad direction, and the result was five games in which UGA allowed at least 34 points.

Fans knew the kickoff strategy was flawed, and the result was a loss to LSU because of a bad kickoff late in the game. (And, to be fair, a ridiculous penalty on A.J. Green.)

Fans knew that personnel changes needed to be made, and while Bacarri Rambo helped save the Auburn game, far too many big plays also occurred while Bryan Evans chased futilely after a receiver destined for the end zone.

For all the talk about turnovers and penalties and off-field incidents… it still seems like if the defensive strategy had been adjusted, slumping seniors had been benched, kickoffs had gone deep and the answer at RB had been found a bit earlier, Georgia might well have enjoyed a 10-win season (or better) last year.

And the problem wasn't so much that fans recognized those problems last year. It was that they recognized them in 2008, when Georgia actually did win 10 games. And like with the Samuel situation, Georgia's staff knew better and stubbornly stuck to philosophies that utterly frustrated fans.

On the upside, virtually every one of those issues has been addressed this offseason (along with a handful of others, including a renewed emphasis on recruiting the state of Georgia, constant talk of fundamentals, etc., etc.).

So for the second straight year, I discount much of the "hot seat" talk about Richt. But I can't help but wonder if much of that talk could have been avoided altogether if just a few of this offseason's concessions had been made a year earlier -- regardless of whether or not Georgia still finished with five losses.

So here's my question: Have all the offseason moves left you with as much confidence in Richt as you ever had? Or did two years of stubborn insistence on a largely unsuccessful approach shake your belief?

Or perhaps more to the point -- will you stick by Richt if Georgia finishes 8-5 again this year, but does it with a more fundamentally sound D, a better approach to kickoffs and a duo at tailback that understands how to play the position?

Richt on Logan, Recruiting & Expansion

Some highlights from today's SEC coaches teleconference call with Mark Richt...

On Logan's decision...
“He wants to play, and right now he’s not sure that he can. I made it real clear – clear as a bell – that we just had a post-spring depth chart that did not name anybody the starter at any position, including quarterback. So the way it is, he’s No. 2 behind (Aaron) Murray, so I’m sure that’s what triggered it. So he’s trying to decide what he wants to do – whether he wants to stay here, and if he stays, what position he wants to play and all that kind of stuff. If he wants to be at Georgia, I’ll work with him on what position he plays. But this type of thing actually happens a whole lot more than anybody knows. It usually doesn’t become a public issue, but I guess nowadays with the way news travels, somebody caught wind that he’d come see me about discussing what to do. Usually those things are done in private, and those kids have a chance to think about it without everybody hammering them on it and wondering what everybody’s opinion of it is, but the bottom line is if he wants to be at Georgia, we’re glad to have him and we certainly are a better team with him than without him.”

On the possibility of going into the season with just two freshman QBs...
“That happens in different cycles. Even if Logan’s with us, it’s not like he’s thrown a bunch. He’s thrown maybe 10 or 15 balls. So whether he’s here or whether he’s not here, we have a tremendous amount of inexperience at the quarterback position.”

On Todd Grantham...
“I love his experience. He’s coached with some outstanding people. He coached with (Frank) Beamer and Nick Saban. He coached in the NFL with Dom Capers and Romeo Crennel and with the Cowboys. He’s got a great wealth of knowledge. People talk about football IQs, and this guy is very, very sharp. He gets it not only on the front end as far as the defensive front, which is mainly what he coached his pro career. But he understands what’s happening at the linebacker play and at the perimeter. He does have a great understanding of what’s going on. He’s a guy that a lot of people have gone to over the years to learn how to pressure people and to learn how to maximize their players’ ability to rush the passer and things of that nature. He’s a great communicator. He’s got a very strong presence about him. He’s a guy that has got a high level of intensity and energy, too. All of those things put together are why he’s here.”

On UGA's in-state efforts on the recruiting trail...
“We’ve always wanted to recruit Georgia first. What happens is you have four weeks to recruit, so strategically it might be better to get up north real quick and then come on back and get to our Georgia schools when they might be in spring ball and that kind of thing. But what happens is you end up going out of state before you go in state. One of the biggest differences is regardless of where we wanted to go out of the state, I was making sure within the first two weeks, we’re going to hammer Georgia the way it needs to be hammered, and do it in mass numbers. Usually during the four weeks we would get the same thing accomplished, but this year in particular, there’s maybe one or two days where we are going to sneak out of the borders, but the bottom line is every coach has got to cover his Georgia area within the first two weeks of this recruiting season rather than if it’s a little more convenient in Week 3 or 4. We’re not doing that. We’re saying Georgia is No. 1 as far as our thoughts, and that’s how we’re going to handle that and make sure we do that not only by philosophy but in actuality. The other thing is, we know we’re going to recruit out of state. We must, and we want to. But when we go out of state, he better be special.”

On Trinton Sturdivant...
“I expect him to be ready by the preseason. He’s been rehabbing. He’s been making very good progress. He feels like this repair just feels different to him, feels better to him. Whether that’s psychological or not, I don’t know, but we’re excited he feels that way. It’s just going to be a matter of going back out there and doing it again. I would think that we’re going to take a good pace and take our time and maybe not give him every single rep that he could take just to make sure that he’s healthy. We want him healthy. But he’s really projected to be a go.”

On the possibility of conference expansion...
“In my mind, it’s doubtful, but I don’t know. I haven’t really read it real closely of what’s going on, and I don’t know the possibilities if it’s just a discussion or there’s some kind of movement that’s more serious. But I’d be surprised if it happened any time soon. I could see the other leagues getting to the format we have which I think is a great format with six teams on each side and a championship game. There’s some leagues that might be trying to get to that. That would make more sense to me than trying to get these super conferences because you don’t get to play everybody if you do that. It’s almost like two different leagues when you do that.”

The Logan Gray Paradox: You Only Need Him When You Need Him

Mark Bradley wrote an interesting piece for the AJC today asking a simple enough question: What's the big deal about Logan Gray potentially leaving?

It's a fair question, really. After all, was anyone particularly enthusiastic about the idea of Gray starting at QB for Georgia at some point during the 2010 season? Chances are, if something happened to Murray and Gray had to step in, most fans would be covering their eyes in anticipation of the worst anyway.

And as Bradley writes, how often does the backup QB play anyway?

He mentions that D.J. Shockley never started a game while David Greene was in Athens. It's a good point. Of course, when Shockley became the starter in 2005, it turned out that his backup ended up playing a pretty vital role in how the Bulldogs' season played out.

That's the thing about backup QBs… you never need them until you need them.

So I agree with Bradley's overriding sentiment here: If Aaron Murray stays healthy in 2010, it doesn't matter if Gray stays, transfers or dons the Hairy Dawg costume and parades through the stands high-fiving small children. Murray is Georgia's future, and this season's success will in large part be measured by his production.

But in 2005, Shockley did everything asked of him, and yet Georgia still had to turn to the backup during a moment of crisis. These things happen from time to time, and while Joe Tereshinski's lone start didn't define Georgia's season, I'm willing to bet a few fans still sit back and think about what might have been had Shockley started against Florida that year instead.

So while Bradley reasonably asks what the big deal about Gray potentially bolting Athens would be, I might offer these 10 relatively reasonable questions, too...

1. What's Logan Gray going to do?

This is, of course, the biggest question. If he transfers, that leaves Georgia with just two scholarship QBs -- one of whom hasn't even arrived on campus yet. If he stays, he still could move to receiver, which would at least make him a viable alternative in an emergency situation -- but if playing receiver is the crux of his decision, does holding down the role of potential QB -- i.e., you can be a receiver until we tell you you're not anymore -- really appeal to him? And will it appeal to the rest of the team?

2. How does the lack of competition affect Aaron Murray?

My thought on this is not at all. Now, we may not be able to take everything coaches say about practice at face value. After all, things always seem a bit rosier when players are only dodging each other and not angry Florida, Alabama or LSU defenders on the field. But every report I got on Murray's preparation and dedication has been glowing, and Mike Bobo told me routinely that Murray prepared last year as if he were the starter, despite the redshirt. Of course, all the preparation in the world is no substitute for experience, and perhaps that's the biggest impact on Murray -- he'll be the elder statesman despite having never played a down on Saturdays.

3. How ready is Hutson Mason?

If you look at his high school stats, there's every reason to be excited about Hutson Mason's future. And at 6-foot-3, 190 pounds, Mason's probably better than just the upper middle class man's Joe Cox. He's a pro style QB and proved to be reasonably accurate during his days at Lassiter, so all those things work in his favor. Still, he'll be a true freshman, and that's a scary proposition. Matthew Stafford struggled as a true freshman -- 52.7% completions, 7 TDs, 13 INTs -- and he had far more physical tools and all of spring practice to prepare for the job. Mason may be a solid QB in the future (and you have to love the maturity he's displayed thus far), but he's not exactly being called a future No. 1 draft pick by Mel Kiper right now, so the expectations for him shouldn't be too high in the short term.

4. Who would be the third-string QB?

Mark Richt routinely praised Bacarri Rambo for his efforts leading Georgia's scout team offense in 2008 -- notably playing the roles of Josh Nesbitt, Randall Cobb and Tim Tebow to rave reviews. Rambo played QB in high school at Seminole County, so the job wouldn't be entirely unfamiliar to him. Of course, there are two not-so-small problems with that notion. First, Rambo's style doesn't fit what Georgia runs in the least. His arm strength isn't good enough to be a real threat at this level, and Georgia's offense is designed for a QB who can throw, not run the option. Second, Rambo does have some other responsibilities these days. He's perhaps Georgia's best defensive back right now (apologies to Brandon Boykin, who certainly can make a claim to that title, too) and moving him to the offensive side of the ball would be nearly impossible. So, beyond that, who would get the nod? Hard to say. A number of guys played QB in high school, but there's a reason they aren't still there now. No doubt Georgia will try to bring in a walk-on or three, too. But I'm also guessing no one is going to get too excited about a first-year walk on as a potential starting QB in an emergency situation.

5. Does this put a target on Murray's back?

So if teams know Georgia only has two QBs, one of whom is a true freshman, wouldn't that put a thought into the minds of a few defenders that Mr. Murray is the one thing standing between them and enjoying the spoils of tormenting Mason in a crucial SEC game? Perhaps a well-time shot at Murray's knee is just what an SEC defense needs to slow down the UGA offense? I'd like to believe that, at this level, most players and coaches would be above such shenanigans. I'd like to believe that, but I'm not that naive.

6. Wasn't Murray hurt the past two years anyway?

Indeed he was. His senior season at Plant High School, he broke his leg and missed the latter half of the season before returning in the playoffs and leading his team to a state championship. A broken leg is hardly an indication that a player is injury prone -- these things just happen in football -- but he does like to pull the ball down and run a bit more than some other QBs, which will invariably put him in the line of fire more often, too. (Which leads to a Question 6a. -- If Murray and Mason are all Georgia has, does this affect playcalling in terms of allowing Murray to run with the football?) Last season, Murray may have had a real shot at playing time as Joe Cox struggled midway through the season. Unfortunately for Murray (and perhaps for Georgia fans, too), Cox's struggles coincided with yet another injury for the freshman QB. Arm problems developed, likely as a result of throwing more often than he had in the past, and it cost Murray several weeks of practice time and any shot at avoiding a redshirt. So, do two injuries in two seasons offer enough to label a guy as an injury risk? Hard to say, but three in three years probably would, and that's not a question Georgia is looking to answer.

7. What happens if there's a longterm injury to one of the QBs?

This is perhaps the most important question if Gray should end up leaving because there really is no solution. If Murray went down, Mason would have to step in, which would likely mean a very watered-down version of Georgia's offense would be in place. Moreover, Georgia couldn't risk Mason getting hurt, too, meaning the Bulldogs would be facing playing out the season -- to use a basketball metaphor here -- with four fouls. The Dawgs would essentially be one play away from flushing their season down the drain, and at this point, there's really nothing Georgia can do other than hope and pray that the QBs stay healthy.

8. Does this really matter all that much?

Hey, Georgia returns 10 offensive starters, has a veteran offensive line and a stable of running backs that should be able to run early and often, right? So who cares about the QB situation? I can understand that mentality from fans who remember the Herschel Walker era so fondly, but it's a foolhardy notion. First off, as much as I like Caleb King and Washaun Ealey, neither of them are Herschel Walker. Secondly, the SEC has changed a lot in the last 30 years, and teams cannot win by simply running, running and running some more. Yes, Alabama won a national championship last season with a foundation of Mark Ingram and Trent Richardson, but the Tide had a better defense than UGA is likely to have, which kept scores low, and even then, Greg McElroy had to step up and lead Alabama to wins on more than one occasion. (Without McElroy, Alabama almost certainly would have lost to Virginia Tech and Auburn.) The fact is, Georgia can probably win six or seven or eight games this year by minimizing the role of the QB if the running game and defense play up to their potential. But if the Dawgs want to get to nine or 10 wins and have a chance at an SEC title, eventually the QB is going to have to win a game or two for them. And as The Senator pointed out earlier this week, Joe Cox's shoes might be a little harder to fill than most fans think.

9. How does this affect the 2011 recruiting?

It was Gray's flirtations with a move to wide receiver back in November that caused Georgia to change its recruiting strategy at QB last year, remember. Had he not discussed the idea then, Mason likely wouldn't be wearing a Georgia uniform this season… so at least there's that silver lining. But if Gray were to leave now, with Zach Mettenberger out the door, odds are the Dawgs would be looking to ink two quarterbacks in the upcoming class, and with Christian LeMay and Nick Marshall on their list of potential gets, people may not be too sad to see Gray and Mett hit the bricks.

I'm not sure it's that simple an equation though. First off, odds are if Georgia signs two QBs, one of them is not going to be a stud in waiting. The fact that Murray and Mettenberger arrived in the same class met with questions about potential transfers from Day 1. It's a rare occasion that two top talents are willing to sign up for the same recruiting class. And then there's Murray. No one likes the idea of not having a solid backup for Georgia's top QB, but at the same time, no one should be too worried about Murray's long-term potential either. Odds are, he's going to be a very good QB for a long time. And while Stafford had NFL written all over him from Day 1 in Athens, Murray's road to the next level will be a bit tougher due to his smaller stature. So, while there was always a good chance that Stafford would be gone in three years, Murray's just as likely to be around through the 2013 season. The question then becomes, does a top-flight QB want to come to Georgia and sit behind Murray for the next three seasons? Maybe. Mark Richt has certainly convinced QBs to ride the pine before. But as Gray has shown us, watching from the sidelines isn't everyone's idea of a fun way to spent a Saturday in the fall.

10. How did this happen… again?

Once is a problem. Twice might be a sign of some chinks in the armor. Three times though? It's probably fair to ask Mark Richt (and Rodney Garner and Mike Bobo) some questions about how the QB situation in Athens has become so desperate yet again. In 2005, when Shockley got hurt, Georgia's national championship hopes rested on the notion that Joe Tereshinski could beat Florida in his first career start (and first significant playing time). As such, Georgia lost the game and Thomas Brown had the only TD pass of the day. Last season, Joe Cox played with a bum shoulder and struggled mightily at the midpoint of the year, and yet, there seemed to be no clear backup plan. (Of course, the caveat here -- and it's no small one -- is that Gray would have been the backup plan then, but obviously the coaches weren't thrilled with that option, so how does he become a more viable Plan B now?) And now, if Georgia hadn't changed its recruiting strategy at the last minute when Gray began discussing a position change, the Dawgs might have found themselves with just one scholarship QB in the fall. (And is it worth a side note here that the indecision on recruiting a QB played a role in Da'Rick Rogers bolting for Tennessee?)

In his career -- both at Georgia and at Florida State -- Richt has coached some of the best quarterbacks in college football and has rightfully gained a reputation for being one of the best in the business at preparing a QB. No one is arguing with that -- and given what he did with Shockley, Stafford and Greene (and heck, given what he got out of the limited resources of Cox), he deserves credit.

But that begs the question: If he's so good with QBs, why have there been so many times when he doesn't seem to have enough of them? In '05, Tereshinski was ill prepared to step in for Shockley. A year later, Tereshinski was still Georgia's best option until the coaching staff threw up their hands and decided to let Stafford take his lumps. When Stafford left early -- a move that surprised no one -- Georgia was left with Cox and little else. And now, here we are, on the precipice of entering the 2010 season -- a year in which Georgia returns 10 offensive starters and should be thrilled about its prospects for moving the football -- without a QB on the roster who has taken a snap in a game situation. It's hard to fault Richt & Co. for what happened with Mettenberger, but this has still been a precarious situation for a long time.

I've made the argument enough times throughout the past few years (and I'll continue to do so) that Georgia's lack of a national title has been as much about luck as it has been about talent. In 2002 and 2007, Georgia was as close as anyone, but things just didn't fall into place.

But sometimes you have to make your own luck. And if Georgia enjoys a 2010 season in which A.J. Green is an All-American and Orson Charles torments SEC defenders the way he's capable of doing and the tailbacks really do look a lot like Herschel and the defense really does turn around under Todd Grantham -- but the Dawgs still fall short of an SEC title because they had to play with a true freshman QB down the stretch, that will be more than just some bad luck.

So what say you? How big of a deal would a Logan Gray transfer really be in your opinion? How much of this situation should be blamed on Georgia's recruiting strategy? And how many of you have some years of eligibility left in case you're needed in November?

Who's to Blame for Off-Field Issues?

Has Mark Richt lost control of his program?

I'm not asking that question for my benefit. I'm asking it because the question has either been posed to me by people outside of the program or I've heard it said by Georgia fans enough times that I think it warrants exploration.

With the dismissal of quarterback Zach Mettenberger yesterday, the laundry list of off-field incidents grows by one more -- although perhaps only insofar as an incident we already knew about may have been a bit more serious than we first thought.

Since February of 2007, I count 37 different incidents (some of which were one event in which multiple players were involved) in which a Georgia player was arrested and charged with a crime or served some form of punishment in terms of a suspension by Richt for a violation that did not involve a criminal act. (*All of which I list below if you care to read through them.)

Thirty-seven.

If you go by the sheer numbers, that's a whole lot. And when it comes to public perception, little else matters beyond those aggregate numbers.

Of course, for those of us who occasionally enjoy firing up more than two or three brain cells to contemplate a situation, there is obviously much more to the story.

In Mettenberger's case, we don't quite know yet what happened. Obviously the facts we do have -- five charges stemming from a situation at a bar in Valdosta -- show some very poor decision-making by the quarterback. Beyond that, it's all conjecture. So let's set that aside for now.

Of the 37 incidents since 2007, here's the breakdown in terms of severity:

8 minor alcohol incidents, including public intoxication, underage consumption and possession of a fake ID.

5 DUIs. Of the five, however, one charge (against Clint Boling) was reduced and did not result in a conviction.

1 weapons charge. This came against Jeremy Lomax and was dropped completely.

7 were incidents involving an assault of some sort, although two of those belong to Montez Robinson. Two more -- charges against Trinton Sturdivant and Justin Anderson -- were also dropped. Another involved a recruit, Dexter Moody, who had not yet arrived on campus and was not charged with a crime.

6 were minor driving violations -- emerging from an alley and what not.

2 were for destruction of property, including one -- Darius Dewberry's run-in at St. Mary's -- that did not result in criminal charges and was handled internally.

8 were cases in which Richt levied discipline against players for violations of team rules that did not stem from any legal charges.

And in one case -- Taxi-gate -- Georgia's reputation took a hit, despite the fact that no criminal charges were filed against any players.

(And if you're doing the math, the lone missing incident is the most recent situation with Mettenberger.)

So let's put that into more context: Of the 37 incidents since 2007, only 13 would be something most of us would consider a particularly serious charge -- weapons, assaults, DUI. Of those, charges were dropped or reduced in four instances and in Moody's case, he was neither officially a UGA player, nor were charges filed against him.

So now we're looking at eight serious charges in a little more than three years -- four of which were DUIs and two of which were assaults all pegged to the same player (and one whose background adds further complexities to any judgment we might pass).

That's seven players who found themselves in serious trouble. Of those seven, the three who were charged with assault were all dismissed from the program. The four charged with DUIs all served suspensions, and in the cases of Jeff Henson and Donavon Baldwin, were dismissed from the program upon a second infraction.

(So... seven players charged with serious crimes in three years. Given that there have been roughly 220 players -- scholarship and walk-on -- pass through the program in those three years, that's roughly 3 percent who have gotten into significant trouble. I'd be curious to see how that correlates to the student body as a whole.)

And as I noted, on eight occasions, Richt levied punishment upon players whom the public never would have known were in trouble otherwise.

Seven players were involved in more than one "incident" (assuming you're counting Mettenberger's arrest and dismissal as separate), and of that group, four were kicked off the team permanently. In addition, Akeem Hebron served a year's suspension and spent that time at GMC, Bruce Figgins sat out six games -- and eventually redshirted for the season -- and the final player arrested twice, Vince Vance, was only charged with two minor traffic citations.

In fact, of the 28 players listed in incidents below, seven did not finish their careers at Georgia, one (Hebron) served a year's suspension, and four others were essentially cleared of any wrongdoing.

So while the program may be taking a hit, it certainly doesn't appear like that has been caused by a lack of consequences dished out on Richt's part. He has punished players, and I fail to see any instances -- with the possible exception of Montez Robinson's first two arrests -- in which additional punishment would have been necessary or possible.

Of course, this doesn't include academic issues like the ones that plagued Paul Oliver or John Knox. And it assumes that incidents that resulted in in-house punishment but not arrests were not of grave significance. And, obviously, these are only the things we know about -- the ones who got caught, so to speak. And it doesn't include stuff like THIS.

If you look at Florida -- a comparable program -- the Gators have had their fair share of arrests, too.

But if you look at how those schools stack up against others, it's also pretty clear that those aggregate numbers are higher than they should be.

So I ask… is this enough to consider Georgia a program out of control? And does that even matter? Are the simple problems that come with bad publicity enough to be of serious concern? (And before you answer that, ask yourself what you, as a Georgia fan, think of the discipline at places like Florida and Tennessee, and how it is you came to those conclusions.)

I've read arguments that Richt has failed to make his players understand the consequences of their actions. But what more can he do? Robinson was on probation, had a restraining order against him and knew that one more issue would cost him his scholarship. And he screwed up anyway. Mettenberger had a shot at becoming the starting quarterback, and he still screwed up. How much more can two players have at stake?

I've read that Richt is simply recruiting the wrong types of players. I'm not even sure what it means, though it strikes me as having some particularly ugly possibilities. But the truth is, Robinson and Mettenberger couldn't come from more divergent backgrounds. Robinson grew up in foster care and came from a high school in Indiana. Mettenberger comes from a strong family background, his mother actually works in the football offices, and he grew up down the road in Watkinsville, a lifelong Georgia fan. Both got in trouble. And if you look at the list of incidents during the past three years, it includes the names of rich kids and poor kids, black kids and white kids, veterans and freshmen. So who is this perfect group of athletes Georgia should be pulling from?

I don't know the answers, but I do hear the criticism. I would submit that, given these numbers, Georgia may want to consider reviewing the training it does with players regarding alcohol and traffic issues. I would also suggest that, given the number of incidents that occurred concurrently, perhaps the players should be doing a bit better job of policing each other as well. And the scooters -- that's another issue altogether.

I'd also be curious, if you think Richt has failed in his role as head coach, mentor or disciplinarian, what would you suggest he could have done differently? And might your opinion change any if Georgia had gone 11-2 last season instead of 8-5?

I don't mean that to sound condescending to anyone upset about the situation either. I honestly would like to know.

Because it's easy to say that 37 off-field incidents in a three-year time span is too much. But it's a trickier question to start asking why it has happened and how it can be prevented in the future.

List of Off-Field Incidents Since 2007

(* I can't promise I didn't miss any, but this is the most comprehensive list I could come up with.)

Feb. 25, 2007 -- Linebacker Akeem Hebron arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol. Suspended two games.

Apr. 26, 2007 -- Linebacker Akeem Hebron arrested a second time and charged with underage possession of alcohol. Removed from team, but returned after a year at GMC.

Nov. 26, 2007 -- Snapper Jeff Henson arrested and charged with DUI. Suspended for Sugar Bowl.

March 23, 2007 -- Tanner Strickland arrested and charged with possession of fake ID. He was not suspended.

June 10, 2007 -- Blake Barnes and Tripp Chandler arrested and charged with open container. Barnes was also charged with furnishing alcohol to a minor and Chandler with underage consumption. Both served a one-game suspension, and Barnes later transferred.

May 25, 2007 -- Walk-on defensive tackle Tripp Taylor was arrested on assault charges.

July 18, 2007 -- Tailback Caleb King arrested and charged with operating a scooter without a license.

July 30, 2007 -- Tight end NeDerris Ward arrested and charged with operating a scooter without a license.

Jan. 20, 2008 -- Defensive back Donavon Baldwin arrested and charged with driving under the influence. He was suspended to be suspended for the start of the 2008 season.

Jan. 20, 2008 -- Fullback Fred Munzenmaier arrested and charged with underage possession of alcohol. He was suspended for the first two games of the 2008 season.

May 14, 2008 -- Left tackle Clint Boling was arrested and charged with DUI. He was suspended for two games, but the charges against Boling were later reduced, as was the suspension -- to one game.

June 3, 2008 -- Defensive end Jeremy Lomax arrested and charged with speeding and carrying a concealed weapon. He was cleared of all charges and was not suspended.

June 28, 2008 -- Linemen Trinton Sturdivant and Justin Anderson arrested and charged with simple assault for touching a pregnant woman's stomach. All charges were eventually dropped against both players.

June 28, 2008 -- Defensive end Michael Lemon was charged with felony battery after a fight at an off-campus party. He was dismissed from the program by Mark Richt -- later being arrested again in Athens -- but played a year at GMC and is now a member of the NC State football team.

Aug. 2 2008 -- Defensive back Donavon Baldwin and linebacker Marcus Dowtin are both involved in a fight at a downtown Athens bar. Dowtin served an internal punishment and was not suspended. For Baldwin, it was his second off-field incident in less than a year. He was suspended indefinitely, eventually deciding to leave the team in what Richt dubbed a mutual decision. No charges were formally filed against either player.

Aug. 2, 2008 -- Snapper Jeff Henson is charged with public indecency after he was found urinating in public in downtown Athens. This was his second charge in less than a year as well, and he was dismissed from the program by Richt.

Aug. 5, 2008 -- Linebacker Darius Dewberry is suspended for the first two games of the season after Richt announces he was involved in damaging property at Saint Mary's Hospital when he went to visit teammates Baldwin and Dowtin there the previous weekend.

Aug. 20, 2008 -- Tight end Bruce Figgins is benched for the entirety of Georgia's opening game for what Richt called a violation of team rules. He played the following week.

Oct. 19, 2008 -- Defensive tackle Brandon Wood is charged with driving under the influence and receives a two-game suspension from Richt.

Oct. 19, 2008 -- Lineman Vince Vance is arrested and charged with driving without a license. No suspension is levied, as Vance was already out for the season with a knee injury.

March 17, 2009 -- Mark Richt revokes the scholarship of recruit Dexter Moody after the player threatened at teacher at his high school.

May 8, 2009 -- Defensive end Justin Houston is suspended for two games for a violation of team rules, while tight end Bruce Figgins lands a six-game suspension, also for violating team rules. Wide receiver Tony Wilson was rumored to be involved in an incident as well, but he was instead given a medical disqualification and did not return to the program. He recently joined the football program at Bethune-Cookman and said the incident at Georgia involved him getting into a physical altercation with a member of the coaching staff.

Oct. 13, 2009 -- Cornerback Vance Cuff is arrested and charged with operating a scooter with a suspended license and the now infamous charge of "emerging from an alley." He was suspended for one game by Richt, but did not play for the next several weeks.

Oct. 25, 2009 -- An arrest warrant was issued for linebacker Rennie Curran, who was charged with failing to pay parking fines and theft by taking after he moved his scooter, which had been booted by traffic police. Curran cleared up the incident, paid a fine and was not suspended.

Oct. 28, 2009 -- Offensive lineman Vince Vance is arrested for the second time in the past year for driving without a license. Richt says Vance had a learner's permit, but not a proper driver's license.

Nov. 19, 2009 -- Lineman Jonathan Owens is arrested and charged with driving a motorcycle without a license.

Dec. 4, 2009 -- Defensive end Montez Robinson is arrested and charged with misdemeanor simple battery and felony criminal damage stemming from two separate incidents -- one involving pushing his girlfriend and one involving smashing a parking light on her car. He was suspended for two games.

March 7, 2010 -- Quarterback Zach Mettenberger is arrested outside a bar in Valdosta and charged with five misdemeanors, including underage consumption and possession of false identification.

March 31, 2010 -- A police report is filed by several UGA students claiming they were harassed and assaulted in a taxi cab by four Georgia football players. It was later revealed that only one player was involved -- running back Dontavius Jackson -- and he attempted to play peacemaker in the situation.

April 4, 2010 -- Montez Robinson is arrested for the third time in the past four months, again for misdemeanor simple battery of the same woman. He is immediately dismissed from the program.

April 18, 2010 -- Mettenberger is dismissed from the team for an undisclosed violation of team rules. UGA confirms the dismissal is not related to a new arrest.

Bulldog Road Tour Kicks Off in Columbus

It's going to be a long wait until fall camp kicks off in August, but you can get a small fix of Bulldogs football during the UGA Bulldog Road Tour this spring.

The first stop is in Columbus, where Mark Richt, Mark Fox and Damon Evans are scheduled to meet with fans at the Columbus Civic Center.

The event is sponsored by the Chattahoochie Valley Bulldog Club. Here are the details:

When: April 22, 2010 (Thurs.)
Time: 6 pm - Autographs, 7 pm - Question and Answer session
Where: Columbus Civic Center Hospitality Suite
Cost: Free to all 2010 paid members

If you're not a member but would like to join, you can find info at www.cvdawgs.com.

Notes: Dawgs Continue to Support Robinson

(Note: Check out my feature story in today's Telegraph on Mike Bobo's hope that Georgia's O line will go from good to dominant.)

Dismissed Georgia linebacker Montez Robinson will spend a few more days in jail after a Tuesday bond hearing, but he has already received visits and support from his former coaches.

Head coach Mark Richt said he visited Robinson in the Athens Clarke County Jail and said the linebacker was struggling with the situation.

“He’s just hurting. He’s suffering right now,” Richt said. “But we’re helping him understand that he can still have a bright future if from this point forward he does what he’s supposed to do, what he needs to do.”

Robinson’s arrest was his third in the past six months – all involving domestic disputes with a female student at Georgia – and he was already serving a two-game suspension set to begin with the Bulldogs’ opener in September.

The most recent arrest, however, was the final straw with the university, and it also violated the terms of probation following his previous arrests. The latter means Robinson will spend at least a few more days in jail, according to the Athens Banner-Herald, as a judge considers how to handle punishment for the probation violation.

Tuesday, Athens-Clarke Chief Magistrate Judge Patricia Barron set Robinson’s bail on the latest charge at $10,000.

“There’s some things I was expecting (from Robinson), there’s some things the Association was expecting, there’s some things the university was expecting, and the law for that matter,” Richt said. “And he wasn’t able to live up to that. That’s why he is where he is now.”

Defensive line coach Rodney Garner, who helped recruit Robinson out of Avon, Ind., also visited his former player in jail and imparted some positive words. But the optimistic slant on things was hardly enough to overcome Garner’s disappointment in Robinson’s inability to stay out of trouble. Robinson had spent the majority of his life in group homes and foster care, and Garner said this latest transgression was a blow to both the player and his family.

“I’m disappointed that we weren’t able to save him,” Garner said. “Me knowing personally where this kid came from, his background, how important it was for him to make it – not just for him, but for all those siblings – to see him go off and have a chance to go off and change the course of what they’ve known their whole lives – it’s disappointing.”

Despite the incidents, Robinson’s teammates remained in his corner.

“Montez is a good guy,” fellow linebacker Reuben Faloughi said. “Situations happen like that all the time, and we’re all praying for him. I think all is going to be all right with Montez. He’s going to be a good player somewhere, and we’re just all keeping him in our prayers.”

More from Garner on his message to Robinson: "I told him I wanted him to stay positive and I wanted him to know that this is a hurdle he’s got to clear, but he can still be positive, he can still achieve his goals, his dreams, and that’s still out there. He’s got to deal with this, he’s got to move forward, and he’s got to learn from it.”

And see all of Richt's comments on the situation HERE.

BETTING ON GAMBLE

With Robinson gone, the on-field repercussions were immediate for the Bulldogs.

Senior Darryl Gamble moved from inside to outside linebacker Tuesday, helping to add some depth to the position that was down to just three scholarship players after Robinson’s dismissal.

As it turned out, however, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham said the move had been planned even before Robinson’s dismissal.

“This was in the works,” Grantham said. “It’s just the way it’s kind of unfolded, but we were actually going to move Darryl to outside backer this week so now he can play outside and inside for us. With the situation that just came up, it’s obviously a natural fit now.”

Grantham said Gamble looked sharp during his first day of practice at the new position, and Richt said it was a move the senior seemed happy with.

“I saw Darryl during practice and asked him how he liked it,” Richt said. “He had a big smile on his face. I think he really liked it. I think that was a good change for him.”

During spring practice last season, Gamble played at outside linebacker and rush end after a series of injuries left Georgia’s defensive ends depleted. That gave him a leg up in this transition, and Richt said he thinks there’s a good chance the move will be permanent.

Even with Gamble’s move, however, Richt admits the Bulldogs will be particularly thin at outside linebacker moving forward. That means several of the incoming freshmen scheduled to arrive in June are likely to play immediately, and Richt is already making the sales pitch for future linebackers to move Georgia up their list of potential college choices.

“If you’re a recruit, and you want to play outside linebacker in a hurry, sign up,” Richt said. “We need help.”

A few more quotes on Gamble's move:

Grantham on the timetable for Gamble at Sam and Reuben Faloughi playing Will…
“We’ll be like that for this week, and once we get through this week, we’ll kind of re-evaluate it and see where guys need to be in the fall.”

Grantham on Gamble's strengths at OLB...
“He’s strong at the point. He does have some stoutness. He understands the coverage aspect pretty good because, being the Mike, he understands the inside aspect of it pretty good, where as the Sam is the outside half. So he has a feel for where guys need to be, he understands the terminology and the call, and that transition for him was pretty easy. I thought he did a good job today, I thought he made some plays. I thought it was a good first day.”

Richt on the impetus of the Gamble move...
“I mentioned to Coach Grantham and the defensive staff that I really believed Darryl could do it. He can play Mike, he can play Sam, so I think all spring long, Coach Grantham had the intention of moving him. But if he didn’t have that plan, that probably would have had to be the plan by necessity because of Montez’s situation.”

Richt on the incoming freshmen playing at OLB...
“Somebody’s got to play, so sometimes, ready or not, you play. One of them’s going to be most ready. Another will be next most ready. That’s just how we’re going to peck ‘em.”

KING STILL SITTING OUT

Tailback Caleb King missed his third straight practice Tuesday with a knee injury, and Richt said his prospects of playing in Saturday’s spring game were still up in the air.

“If we thought it felt good enough to go, he’d go, and it just doesn’t feel good enough yet,” Richt said. “He’s not able to go full speed, cut full speed. You don’t want to put him out there wounded. But we’re still hopeful he’ll be able to play in the spring game.”

Tailback Dontavius Jackson returned to work after missing several practices, while Washaun Ealey was “closer to 100 percent” Tuesday after experiencing some knee soreness during last week’s scrimmage.

Wide receiver Marlon Brown practiced in a green non-contact jersey Tuesday, and fellow receiver Israel Troupe was sidelined with a concussion that Richt said was likely to keep him out of the spring game.

(*Note: I mentioned Troupe wearing sunglasses in my practice notes yesterday. Obviously, that was due to his concussion symptoms... so no need to lock him in a closet, Coach Leach.)

SCRIMMAGE REDUX

Last Saturday's scrimmage was an overall win for the offense, but by Tuesday, the defensive side had enough to feel good about that it couldn't be called a complete loss.

Mark Richt on the overall performance…
“Offense really had a pretty good day. Defense didn’t have as much success as they’d had during the mid-week, although they made some big plays at the tail end of some drives that were really impressive. The defense won the short-yardage drill at the end of practice.”

Todd Grantham on his thoughts on the D's performance…
“Everybody was pretty much on the same page coming in, so he was pretty much right with everybody. He’s picked up on the speed a little more, he’s been in the film room, knows what to expect from receivers routes. He’s pretty much the same as everybody else in doing the things everybody expects him to do.”

Brandon Boykin on how he felt the D played...
“There was good plays, and I think there were plays we need to improve upon. We’ve got to work to be consistent. I think there has been some progress, and I’m pleased with their effort. I’m pleased with the way things go, but at the same time, we’re not where we want to be as a football team. So right now, guys need to make plays for us, and then we’ll feel better.”

EXTRA POINTS

-- Richt said that he's not trying to deliberately conceal the name of the one player involved in the taxi situation, but he said he didn't want to release any information that might inadvertently impede the ongoing police investigation.

Still, Richt didn't avoid comment on the player. "The bottom line was the only thing he did was to try to make a bad situation better. He didn't do anything that was -- when you talk about what happened in the cab, he did nothing but what I would hope our guys would do, try to diffuse the situation."

-- Richt on Tuesday's practice: "Today was about what I thought it would be. It was one of our longer practices, it was by far the hottest practice. I knew it was going to be a grind, I knew it was going to be tough physically and mentally to push through, and I thought they did a pretty good job considering all those things. It was not the most crisp of all the practices, but considering the heat, I think they did pretty good. They pushed, and I think when we watch the film, we'll probably like it more than when we observed it."

-- Richt on Vance Cuff: "He's playing with the most confidence by far since he's been at Georgia. … He's really taken well to Coach Lakatos' style and he's really done a lot of great things. I think he's played the best of the corners this spring."

(*Note: Marc Weiszer has more details on Cuff's emergence.)

-- Two more practices remain before G-Day, with Thursday's practice in shells and Friday's practice -- which is closed to media completely without post-practice interviews -- in shorts.

Richt on Robinson, Taxi Controversies

Richt on the Montez Robinson situation:

On the decision to dismiss Robinson...
“Montez had some things he knew he had to do, disciplinary-wise. Then there were some things he knew he couldn’t do if he wanted to stay. There’s some things I was expecting, there’s some things the Association was expecting, there’s some things the university was expecting, and the law for that matter. And he wasn’t able to live up to that. That’s why he is where he is now.”

On his feelings about what happened...
“I’ll say this about Montez – I really love that kid. I really do care very much about all the guys at Georgia, whether they’re on scholarship or a walk-on or whatever it may be. And when we sign a kid at Georgia and he becomes one of ours, I feel like it’s my responsibility to help him grow up into a man, and hopefully realize all his dreams athletically and academically, too. I take it seriously trying to help these guys make it in life. Some guys have farther to go than others, and if a guy makes a mistake or even a couple, you try like mad to find a way to keep them in the fold and hope that they can learn from it and become better for it in the end. But there are times when a guy does enough where he’s lost the privilege to play for Georgia, which is where Montez is at right now. But do we still care about him? Yes. Do we still want to make sure he lands somewhere where he can continue on and finish strong? If we remember Michael Lemon’s situation, Michael went through some things, and he got to the point where he couldn’t stay at Georgia. But we helped him get into junior college at Georgia Military College and he did a good job there. I’m thankful that Coach Bert Williams gave him a chance and when he left there, he was able to say this kid deserves another opportunity. I’m very thankful for Coach O’Brien to take a chance, because he had to stick his neck out a little bit to get him in there at NC State. But from what I hear, the kid is doing fantastic, and he’s got a chance to realize all the dreams he had. Even though he’s not here, we think about him and we want him to succeed, and we feel the same way about Montez.”

On his visit with Robinson in prison...
“He’s just hurting. He’s suffering right now. But we’re helping him understand that he can still have a bright future if from this point forward he does what he’s supposed to do, what he needs to do. He still has the goal of getting an education. He still has the goal of playing college football. And so I don’t think he’s been robbed of that opportunity. It’s just not going to be at Georgia. But he loved it at Georgia.”

Richt on the taxi situation:

On the eventual outcome...
“I’m just glad that it all came out and that none of our guys were a problem. The only gentleman involved in it was a peacemaker. The thing that’s hard to take is just all the time and speculation and everybody just assuming it was our guys and assuming they would do these things.”

On any feelings of vindication...
“I just hope that as much time as everybody spent reporting that, I hope they spend as much time reporting that it was not our guys, and if anything, somebody was trying to help out some people that needed help. But I just learned that’s part of the way things are.”

Scrimmage Notes: Richt Reserves Comment on Cab Controversy

(Note: CLICK HERE to see the stats from Saturday's scrimmage. The rest of my notes from the day's work are below...)

Two days after reports surfaced that as many as four Georgia football players may have been involved in an incident in which three university students were threatened and assaulted in a taxi, head coach Mark Richt remained mostly silent on the matter – for now.

“I believe by Monday we’ll have all the information needed,” Richt said. “There’s things I’d like to say about it, but I won’t. I’ll wait. I’ll wait until Monday.”

The report first came to light in a story in The Red & Black last Thursday, in which three people filed a police report claiming that four black men had shared a taxi from downtown Athens with them, making violent and sexual comments on the ride while slapping or hitting two of the accusers multiple times. The report indicated that the accusers believed the men were members of the Georgia football team.

Police continue to investigate the incident, but as of Saturday, no players had been charged with a crime, and Richt indicated that the only players who missed Saturday’s scrimmage were due to injury.

DURHAM, CUFF STEAL THE SHOW

Georgia’s scrimmage proved to be a big day for the offense, particularly senior receiver Kris Durham.

Three of the Bulldogs’ four offensive touchdowns went to Durham, Richt said, and the senior finished with four catches for 74 yards.

“I was about the second best (receiver),” said A.J. Green, who caught six passes for 80 yards. “But I didn’t compare to Durham though.”

Durham caught a fade pattern from Logan Gray on the first drive of the scrimmage then hauled in two post pattern passes for touchdowns, too. The big numbers were a welcome after Durham missed all of last season with a shoulder injury.

“He’s doing good, and I know he’s excited about practicing again and playing football again,” Richt said.

Added Green: “From Day 1, I know he’s going to be a weapon. The question is just going to be can he stay healthy, but he’s going to make some big plays, and it was good to see him out there with three touchdowns.”

While the defense didn’t have quite as impressive a showing Saturday, corner Vance Cuff managed to turn in the day’s highlight, making a one-handed interception of an Aaron Murray pass in the back of the end zone.

“Vance is really gaining confidence daily, and he’s making some really nice plays – plays that I hadn’t seen him make on a consistent basis,” Richt said. “I think you can just see his demeanor, his confidence level has really risen.”

Green said Cuff has grown by leaps and bounds this spring and, although he’s still involved in a stiff competition with Branden Smith for the open starting cornerback job, Cuff has added an element of physicality to his repertoire that makes him a touch matchup.

“He’s getting more aggressive. He has the speed to go with anybody, but he’s getting much better,” Green said. “He’s more slender, tall, and I feel like he can get his hands on you quicker than some of the shorter ones because he has long arms. And he’s just jamming a lot of the receivers at boundary, and he’s been real aggressive.”

FEWER FLAGS SATURDAY

There were so many penalties during Thursday’s practice that Richt said he hardly cared how the offense and defense performed. When practice ended, he had his players rolling the length of the field – twice. It was enough punishment to have several players on the verge of vomiting, but it seemed to get his point across.

Georgia’s offense committed just one infraction during Saturday’s scrimmage – a false start on one of the receivers – and the defense had just three.

Richt said he hoped Saturday’s more refined play would be the rule, and said Thursday’s lackluster performance was likely based more on a bit of displaced energy from his players.

“Spring ball, you’re smacking that same guy day after day after day,” Richt said. “You’re competing with him, and sometimes they just lose their patience with each other and you get a dumb foul. He’ll lose his composure because he wants to whip that guys o badly. It wasn’t all bad because the energy level and the fight was great, but we just had too many penalties.”

BUMPS & BRUISES

Aside from players out for the remainder of spring practice, Georgia had just three players miss Saturday’s scrimmage. Tailbacks Caleb King and Dontavius Jackson and receiver Marlon Brown all sat out, but all are expected to be back for the final week of practice.

“It’s getting better,” King said of his sore knee. “They just wanted me to rest on it, and I know for sure I’m coming back on Tuesday. It was just flaring up.”

Fellow tailback Washaun Ealey was also limited during the day’s scrimmage due to a minor knee injury, getting just five carries, leaving the majority of the tailback work to Carlton Thomas and walk-on Kevin Lanier.

“I got a little banged up, so it was mostly Carlton,” Ealey said. “I just got a little knee bruise, but I’m still practicing. It’s not a factor.”

FINAL THOUGHTS

While the offense was the winner Saturday, Richt said the defense had it's moments, too.

“Offense really had a pretty good day," he said. "Defense didn’t have as much success as they’d had during the mid-week, although they made some big plays at the tail end of some drives that were really impressive. The defense won the short-yardage drill at the end of practice.”

And while there is still one more week of spring practice yet, Aron White adds that today's work was a crucial moment for many of the players involved in position battles.

“We’ve still got a couple more practices to get in, so it’s by no means over, but it was definitely a day to go out and see where we’re at," White said. "It’s close to a game as we’ll get before the (fall), and guys tried to take advantage of that.”

While the quarterbacks said the rotation between the first and second-team units was about even, Clint Boling said he was fairly impressed with how the backup offensive line performed.

“There’s a little bit of different experience-wise," Boling said. "Us in the first group, we’ve been playing together for two or three years, and we have a continuity between all of us. Those guys rotate around a lot. But they’re doing a good job out there.”

QB COMPETITION

I'm writing my feature for tomorrow's Telegraph on the quarterback derby, so be sure to check that out. In the meantime, here's a few of the quotes about the QBs following Saturday's scrimmage.

Logan Gray on his performance...
“I felt good today. It was nice on the first drive getting some rhythm going and completing some balls, and we kept it going throughout. Me, Aaron and Zach, it seemed like the whole offense had a pretty solid day.”

Aaron Murray on his spring...
“I think I’ve definitely improved, and that was my main goal this spring. So I just want to keep improving this week and have a good G-Day.”

Richt on how the QBs have done this spring...
“It has been a good competition and I am pleased with it. I’m pleased because by sitting in there every day and listening to Coach Bobo install and coach and teach, watching how they react and watching how quickly they can answer the questions correctly, and just to see them have their notepads and making notes, they’re just good students of the game. And you can see it out on the field. They’re really making very few mistakes, and we’re pretty complicated when it comes to declaring linebackers for blocking schemes and deciding whether you should run this way or that way or check to a pass or change the protection or if you’re throwing hot. All these things, there’s a lot to think about and they’re really processing it very well.”

Notes: Richt Mum on Taxi Incident

What seemed like an April Fool’s joke turned out to be no laughing matter, and Georgia coach Mark Richt is still working to get to the bottom of a story that several of his players made threats to a couple in a cab in Athens last week.

The Red & Black reported that four men physically and verbally assaulted a couple in a taxi on March 29 and the victims believed the men were Georgia football players.

That was the extent of the report as of Thursday evening, Richt said, and he was in the dark about further details.

“Right now, it’s speculation,” he said. “We don’t really know anything for sure. I’m aware of the report, and we’ll just wait and see what’s going to happen from here. I don’t want to over- or under-react at this point.”

The police report said that the four men harassed the couple and slapped the victims multiple times while making suggestive sexual remarks.

Richt said he is working to get more information, but he said he only learned of the incident moments before practice began and had not had a chance to discuss it with the team.

“I had (the story) stuck in front of my face real quick right as I was walking on the field, and I really wasn’t aware of it.,” he said. “I don’t even know enough about it to answer that question.”

(NOTE: More from Marc Wiezser on the incident.)

THE RIGHT DIRECTION

Georgia’s kickoff philosophy was one of the most talked-about issues of the year last season, but kicker Blair Walsh said that should change in 2010.

Under former coach Jon Fabris, Georgia routinely employed a directional kicking philosophy in which the kicker aims his kickoffs to a specific spot on the field. In the past two years, however, Walsh had trouble keeping those kickoffs in bounds and Georgia ranked 117th in the nation last season, allowing nearly 26 yards per return on kickoffs.

This spring, Fabris is gone, and new coach Warren Belin has taken the restraints off of Walsh and will let him boot a few more long ones. Walsh led the SEC with 17 touchbacks last year.

“It’s not like it was here the past two years directional-wise,” Walsh said. “It’s a lot more use of my talent I would say. I was fine doing what they wanted me to do. I’m a team player, and I can go along with it. But it’s a lot more use of my talent, and I’m happy about it. I don’t feel like there’s a restraint on me anymore. Without giving too much away, it’s different.”

KING SITS OUT

Tailback Caleb King did not participate in Thursday’s practice due to a combination of an illness and a sore knee.

Richt said King hurt the knee in high school and occasionally has problems with swelling and soreness. Those symptoms returned after Tuesday’s practice, but Richt was still hopeful that King could participate Thursday. Instead, the tailback was further hindered by nausea Thursday morning and sat out the day’s workouts as a precaution.

“It wasn’t like there was some kind of incident that happened on the field that made it happen,” Richt said of the knee injury. “It just got a little irritated.”

Richt said the injury was “nothing serious” and called it a sprain. He said the team was hopeful that King would be able to participate fully in Saturday’s scrimmage.

WORKING OVERTIME

Outside linebacker Justin Houston dripped sweat and staggered to do an interview in front of a camera following practice. Safety Jakar Hamilton said he was holding back vomit. Nick Williams doubted he’d be able to eat when he got home because he was too tired.

The reason for such post-practice anguish was a grueling bit of discipline done by the team before they left the field Thursday. A rash of penalties during practice meant the entire team had to roll 200 yards – up the field and back – before wrapping up the hottest day of practice so far this spring.

Williams said the rolling may actually have been a bit better than being forced to run, but by the looks of his teammates, they hardly caught a break. But Williams wasn’t complaining. He said he understands the need for the punishment.

“It was high energy (at practice), but we just had a lot of penalties,” he said. “That’s something we’ve got to fix. We were a penalized team last year, so that’s something we’re working on. And hopefully this year it won’t be a burden on why we may or may not win games.”

EXTRA POINTS

Richt said he cut practice about 25 minutes short Thursday, due in part to the high temperatures – which reached into the mid-80s – and in part to ensure a strong showing at Saturday’s scrimmage.

“I wanted them to be really fresh and excited about scrimmaging because it’s really the last scrimmage where we can do all the things we want to do schematically,” Richt said. “This Saturday is really the last big test with all the stuff we’ve installed.”

Because the team’s final scrimmage on G-Day is open to the public, Richt said the team will employ a more vanilla scheme then, making Saturday’s work crucial because it will be the final time coaches can see the team execute everything that has been installed this spring.

On the injury front, linebackers Marcus Dowtin and Chase Vasser were among a small group of players who missed practice with injuries. Receiver Marlon Brown was in a green non-contact jersey but participated in most of the team’s workouts.

The Real Impact of Richt's New Role

The least surprising thing that's happened today has been the reaction of fans to Mark Richt's announcement that he's spending more time in the offensive meetings this year than he had in years past.

On one hand, you have the folks, like Senator Blutarsky, who see this as sort of a tacit endorsement of the work Todd Grantham is doing. Richt says one of the jobs he's no longer doing is sitting in on defensive meetings, so perhaps he's simply a bit more comfortable with what Grantham is doing than he had been in years past.

"The head coach has decided he can afford to spend less time being involved with the defense that’s being coached by three newcomers, including a new coordinator who’s installing a scheme that’s a fairly radical departure from what he’s had in place since coming to Athens than he did with a bunch that for the most part had been with him from the inception running a scheme that had been in place since 2001. Hmmm. Why do you think that’s the case?"

On the other hand, I've gotten a handful of comments like this one, from JRL:

"Maybe I'm reading too much into this but I see a subtle message directed at Bobo. Get better or...

I think as painful as it was to fire Willie Richt likes the results so far.

Part of the growing process of becoming a better head coach. The next firing will be much easier and won't take 2 or 3 years of hand wringing."

Sitting in the media workroom after talking with Richt yesterday, a few of us discussed what the fallout would be from these quotes. The two obvious answers were that fans would look at it as an endorsement of Grantham and/or a warning shot to Mike Bobo. Not surprisingly, that's been the response.

But how much truth is there to either of these sentiments?

On the defensive front, I think it's probably a bit overstated. I do think that Richt hired Grantham for a reason -- because he believes in Grantham and trusts his ability to handle his job without a ton of oversight. And when you figure that Georgia is paying Grantham $750k a year, you'd hope that's the case.

So it makes some sense that Richt would be taking a more hands-off approach. Richt has to know that Grantham understands the defense much better than he does, so why waste his time second-guessing the new guy? Richt is still meeting with defensive coaches after practices and scrimmages, but sitting in the meetings where Richt would likely be as lost -- or moreso -- than any of the players is probably not an effective use of his time.

On the offensive side, I can completely understand why this is seen as an indictment of Bobo. In fact, Richt has to know that, too. And part of me believes that he wouldn't have made this information public without being aware of some of the ramifications it would have for the perception of Bobo by fans.

But I'm also inclined to take what Richt says on the subject at face value: "I told Mike, I’m not in there to make him crazy at all, but I’m in there because I do miss it, number 1, but I want to be able to add as much value as I can as we go,” he said.

Richt said he has not missed a single offensive team meeting or individual quarterback meeting this spring, and that will continue into the season. From what he says, he's not running the meetings, but he's getting a firsthand feel for how the meetings are run and how the players respond. He's closer to the action now, and it really sounded to me more like that's what it was about for Richt. He missed being there.

If anything, I tend to like what this one anonymous commenter offered as an explanation:

"I think this move is a pre-emptive effort to help Bobo so he doesn't have to fire him like he did Willie."

That's a good point, because while Willie Martinez was a peer for Richt, Bobo is more of a protoge who learned his craft from Richt. That's a different type of relationship, and while Bobo has had his moments of exceptional play calling, he also might not be done learning.

So as a whole, while the comments regarding Bobo and Grantham may have some merit, I'm not sure they're the most important things to take from this story.

I think the most intriguing part of all this was how Richt -- without provocation from us in the media -- tied so much of it back to his days at Florida State.

I've said several times over the past few years that you could watch Richt at practice or around his players and almost envision a young Bobby Bowden. In many ways, that's a very good thing.

Of course, I covered Florida State a bit earlier in my career, and Bowden wasn't just playing the role of CEO of the team. He really was detached -- and to this day I'm convinced that was part of the problem the Noles have had over the past few years.

For Richt, that detachment was a good thing during his days at FSU. It allowed him to grow as a play caller and coach. But not everyone learns and thrives that way. And while Bowden had plenty of success during the 1990s, the best coaches today aren't the ones who let their assistants handle the day-to-day. They're the ones who are forced to take a medical leave because they're so stressed about football. They're the ones who value the process above all else.

On a personal level, I hope Richt never goes quite that far. But I do think this announcement from Richt says something important. It says that Richt has made a decision about what kind of coach he wants to be, and that doesn't mean simply following in the footsteps of his mentor.

This last offseason was the first time Richt had to step outside of his comfort zone in terms of dictating his legacy as a coach. It was painful for him, I have no doubt.

But I think he's learned a lot from the experience, and this is another step toward creating a different identity than the one he'd been working on for the first nine years of his career at Georgia.

Whether it has any real impact, I don't know. But for a coach accused so many times of being too stubborn in his approach, fans should take a big sigh of relief to see Richt so interested in a new approach.

Richt Getting More Involved With the Offense

One of the many lessons Mark Richt learned from his mentor, Bobby Bowden, is that giving his staff room to learn and grow is important for any coach.

One of the things Richt has learned from the past few seasons at Georgia, when he’s taken a step back from the day-to-day coaching, is that he needs to be a bit more involved than his mentor was.

Richt said he has sat in on every offensive team meeting and quarterback meeting this spring, and he’ll continue to do so throughout the season after taking a more reduced role during the past several years.

“A lot of times I would watch practice film separate from the staff and maybe make my notes and talk to the staff about things I saw, but what I decided to do was just be in there every day as we’re going over it and make sure we’re all on the same page,” Richt said. “It’s good medicine for me, really.”

Part of the decision, Richt said, was simply that he missed having a more hands-on role with the offense after giving up play-calling duties late in the 2006 season, then promoting Mike Bobo to offensive coordinator in 2007.

Another part of the decision was so that Richt could have a firsthand look at how the current crop of quarterbacks are handling the battle to become the starter in 2010.

“I want to know what those adjustments are and I want to see them react to coaching and see them answer the questions Mike is asking,” Richt said. “I want to get a taste of how they are handling the pressure.”

That’s a big departure from the past few years, Richt said, when he was spending increased time with the defense and working on secondary chores such as signing memorabilia or answering mail during some meetings.

The idea, Richt said, was to give his coaches enough autonomy to grow – a process he enjoyed during his days as offensive coordinator at Florida State.

“Sometimes when the head man’s in there, they may be worried too much about what I think,” Richt said. “I always respected Coach Bowden and what he thought, but he also backed away enough to kind of let us work our way through it. Because of that, I know I was able to grow as a coach and I appreciated that, so I was doing the same.”

Richt said he hopes that will still be the case and said he explained to Bobo that his presence in meetings was meant only to allow Richt to provide more insight and remain up-to-date on the daily changes being made rather than to undermine the autonomy of the offensive coaches.

“I’m not in there to make him crazy at all,” Richt said. “I’m in there because I do miss it, No. 1, but I want to be able to add as much value as I can as we go.”

***

A few more quotes from Richt on the subject:

On the progression of his involvement:
“I was actively coaching the quarterbacks in the very beginning. After some time, Mike was coaching them and I was basically an observer. It had been that way, and then I’d say the last maybe two or three years, I was not just sitting in every single meeting. I’d spend more time looking at defense or whatever. Now I’m just going to get in the offensive room where I feel I can add the most value from the knowledge I have of coaching over the years, and I’ll spend time with the defense after scrimmages and after games watching film with them as they grade and things of that nature. Same with the kicking game.”

On compartmentalizing responsibilities:
“I’m just making sure that I’m not scheduling any kind of outside meetings. I was starting to let some of those extra things roll into those meeting times. Now some of those extra things are just going to have to wait. It’s not like they aren’t going to get done. They’re just not going to get done as quickly as some people may want it.”

On why he's becoming more involved:
“I just want to do that period from here on in just because I miss it and this spring in particular we’re trying to make a decision on the starter, and I want to make sure I understand completely. I know our offense, I know the system, but day to day, things change. You might have a certain read or progression or adjustment on a blitz, and then a defense is doing something different and you have to adjust, I want to know what those adjustments are and I want to see them react to coaching and see them answer the questions Mike is asking. I want to get a taste of how they are handling the pressure. So I’ve been more involved in the offensive meeting room and the quarterback meeting room mostly by being at every one of them. A lot of times I would watch practice film separate from the staff and maybe make my notes and talk to the staff about things I saw, but what I decided to do was just be in there every day as we’re going over it and make sure we’re all on the same page.”

Notes: Injuries Underscore WR Shortage

By FLETCHER PAGE

The line on Georgia’s current wide receiver unit has been quality over quantity.

Coach Mark Richt says he’s impressed with his receivers, headlined by A.J. Green, and said barring injuries he’s expects big things. But Richt’s injury fears hit the team Thursday, and although not serious, they show just how precarious this position is.

Both Marlon Brown and Israel Troupe sat out practice Thursday, creating razor-thin depth, leaving only four scholarship receivers to participate in drills. Both Brown (shoulder) and Troupe (hamstring) are expected to be 100 percent soon, but their absence indicates what could happen if injuries crop up in the future.

“We just asked some of the walk-ons to step up,” said sophomore Rantavious Wooten. “We just, as receivers, have to suck it up.”

Now, the group still had Green, senior Kris Durham, Wooten and Tavaress King going full speed Thursday. The talent of the crew is not in question. Especially not with Green out there, as Richt says, “A.J. makes plays every day.”

“We don’t have a lot of quantity, but the quality is unbelievable,” said quarterback Aaron Murray. “Our guys can play anywhere in the country, all of them.”

Injuries have plagued these players in the past. Durham and Green had shoulder issues last season. King had to redshirt in 2008 after hurting his ankle.

Even when Brown and Troupe return, the group is slim. Receivers coach Tony Ball has structured practice to help alleviate the stress.

“Coach Ball has us in set groups that he has going to at a certain time,” Wooten said. “I feel like that helps very much. You don’t have to worry about a specific player at a specific time. You’ve got your group that you go with. That’s helping out with the receivers being thin.”

Despite the recent attrition, King says the receivers have made strides this season, and expect to make an impact.

“If our guys continue to progress, and stay healthy, we’ll have a tremendous time,” Murray said. “Those guys are going to be able to make some plays. We just have to hope they stay healthy, and we’ll be fine.”

GEATHERS LOVES THE 3-4

Kwame Geathers feels at home in the new 3-4 scheme.

The redshirt freshman nose tackle has done everything he possibly can do to get ready for spring ball. In fact, he’s dropped over 30 pounds since August, now weighing in at a modest 308.

“Just my first step is a little quicker, and I think I’m a little quicker off the ball,” he said.

When Geathers made his way to Athens in late August last season, he found out a lot about himself. He was overweight and out of shape. He was also determined to fix both of those problems.

He’s done that, and is starting to generate a name for himself on the practice field.

“I try to compete every day,” Geathers said. “Some days you’re going to have bad days, some days are going to be good days. I go out there and compete every day.”

And he says he fits right in playing over the center. The 3-4 scheme made things easier for him.
“I think it’s not too hard play wise,” Geathers said. “I think it’s just heads-up football. It is just ‘get after the football.’”

QB RACE STILL UNSETTLED

Three men entered spring practice with a shot at securing the coveted Georgia starting quarterback position.

Three men remain.

Logan Gray, Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger are still each receiving the same amount of reps with the No. 1 unit.

“We’ve been getting equal reps with every single drill we’ve done,” Gray said. “Everybody’s had really good days, and days that need improving.”

The coaching staff has given no timetable on when a starter will be announced, but with Saturday’s scrimmage approaching the pecking order may shake out sooner, rather than later.

Mettenberger, despite a likely one-game suspension, is still seeing time with the No. 1 group. Gray, who once considered a position change, says he’s completely focused on the starting quarterback job.

Essentially, nothing has changed the past two weeks of practice, with the spot still up for grabs.
Richt, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo have not indicated if they are leaning toward one player, or another.

“No, [Bobo] or coach Richt, they haven’t really said too much,” Murray said. “I don’t really know what’s going on with that.”

COACHES GET DRENCHED

Several hundred high school coaches lined the sideline during Georgia’s practice Thursday.
The Bulldogs invited them to Athens for the annual spring football coaching clinic, giving them a taste of the ‘Georgia way’ in rainy conditions in Sanford Stadium.

"We had all of our high school coaches here,” Richt said. “There must be 300 to 400 of them, and we're excited about them being here.”

The two-day clinic offers former NFL coach Tony Dungy as the featured speaker, delivering his message today at 10:45 a.m.

Practice Notes: Samuel Moving Inside

Richard Samuel is on the move again, although this time it’s not quite as drastic as his switch from offense to defense earlier this offseason.

After a brief tryout at outside linebacker, new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham decided Samuel was a better fit playing inside linebacker, where he’ll be better able to utilize his speed in coverage.

“He can run, he can cover, and by playing inside, you can still blitz, but there’s a little more coverage element involved, and that would utilize his speed,” Grantham said.

Grantham said all his inside linebackers have crosstrained at both inside positions – the Mike and Mo, as Grantham is calling them – and Samuel will work at each.

That still leaves Georgia a bit thin at outside linebacker, but head coach Mark Richt said the staff felt the best option was to put Samuel where he had the best chance to succeed rather than trying to fill out a depth chart.

“It’s probably a little bit more natural for him (to play inside),” Richt said. “We started him outside a little bit because of some issues with numbers at outside linebacker, but to give him a more fair opportunity, we moved him inside.”

NICKEL FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

Georgia’s new-look secondary has been a work in progress so far this spring, with Brandon Boykin, the lone returning starter, switching from boundary corner to field corner, and three other starting jobs up for grabs.

Bacarri Rambo appears to have one of the open safety jobs locked down, but the other two players working with the No. 1 unit have been a bit of a surprise – sophomore Shawn Williams at safety and senior Vance Cuff at corner.

“I like what I see out of Vance, he’s definitely competing hard,” Boykin said. “I definitely think (Williams) has gotten better and is continuing to compete. Nothing’s set in stone, but I think he could definitely have a shot at that safety spot.”

Nick Williams, Jakar Hamilton and Quintin Banks are also in the running for the vacant starting safety job, while Sanders Commings, Jordan Love and Branden Smith are battling for the open cornerback role.

At nickel, Boykin said he and Smith have gotten the most work, but even that remains an open competition.

“As of right now, we’re the nickels,” Boykin said. “I plan on being the nickel once the season starts, but we really don’t know. Right now we’re just trying to learn the system, so we’ll see.”

NOWHERE MAN

Senior offensive lineman Clint Boling said he has been pleased with the progress of Trinton Sturdivant, who is recovering from his second knee surgery in as many years. Sturdivant has been jogging and doing some light workouts, but won’t be a full participant in spring practice.

That leaves the future for Boling wide open once again. Boling started as a freshman at guard, then shifted to right tackle as a sophomore. After Sturdivant went down, he eventually moved to left tackle, but swapped back to the right side again to start the 2009 season. Midway through last year, however, Boling was on the move again to replace Sturdivant, so by the time his senior season is ready to kick off, he has no idea where he might end up.

“I really don’t know,” Boling said. “I’ve switched around so much that it’s all kind of run together so it doesn’t matter which position I’m playing, I guess.”

BUILDING LEADERSHIP

Georgia held its first character education meetings of the spring on Thursday, and Richt talked to his seniors about developing their leadership on the practice field. The result was the most spirited day of practice so far, Richt said.

Identifying some leaders within the locker room will be a key step this spring. Last year’s veterans – Joe Cox, Jeff Owens and Rennie Curran – are all gone, and while Richt singled out Clint Boling, Darryl Gamble and Akeem Dent as players who have stepped into that leadership role, he said there are plenty of jobs available and plenty of candidates for the gig.

“I don’t want to discourage anybody by not calling him out because all those guys are really doing a good job,” Richt said.

EXTRA POINTS

-- Richt on Thursday’s practice: “It’s a great energy bunch right now. They’ve got a lot of enthusiasm. It was the first day in some form of pads where they could actually hit somebody, I think they were excited about that. But both sides of the ball came out to get better. We’re making a ton of mistakes, I know that. But when we’re making mistakes with the type of tempo and energy we’re having, it’s fun to see. We see really good athletes out there making plays on both sides of the ball, and I’m really encouraged right now.

-- On the injury front, offensive lineman Dallas Lee left practice for about 10 minutes due to some asthma issues, but returned for the completion of workouts. Safety Jakar Hamilton left practice early Tuesday with a foot injury, but he was back to a full workout Thursday.

-- Richt singled out an unnamed blogger who he thought misunderstood how the team planned to use Logan Gray on special teams this season. While Richt didn’t name names and said he “rarely, if ever” reads blogs, he felt the need to clear the air because, “the gentleman just didn’t understand why he was back there returning punts”

“When Logan is back there, it’s a time when the offensive team is punting it in, it’s a pooch kick,” Richt said. “Our defense, our punt return team, is in punt safe to keep them from faking the punt because they’ve crossed our 50-yard line. So all Logan is doing is making the decision on whether to make the fair catch or let the ball hit. The fine gentleman who writes the blog, I don’t think he really understood that very much. I just thought if everybody got educated on that, they might understand a little bit better why Logan would do that. He was 100 percent last year on making those decisions and never bobbled the ball. That’s not a hard thing to do, and we’re not expecting him to return the punt because those punts don’t get returned.”

Re-reading what I wrote Tuesday about Logan, I’m fairly certain I wasn’t the offending party. Then again, Richt was looking in my general direction during his remarks. Or perhaps he was simply checking out the score of the UNLV-Northern Iowa game.