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.
Showing posts with label Shawn Williams. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Shawn Williams. Show all posts
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Practice Notes: No Limitations for Dawgs' Offense
With all the new faces on offense this year, head coach Mark Richt might like to have a little time to break in the rookies and get a feel for how the unit functions before taking off the training wheels.
With high-powered Oklahoma State looming in Georgia’s first game of the season, however, that’s a luxury Richt said Georgia can’t afford.
“We’ve got to turn it loose,” Richt said. “We can’t sit there and think too much. We’ve got to let them all play, put them in a position to make plays, and hopefully they will.”
The combination of Oklahoma State’s quick-strike ability and potentially sizzling temperatures in Stillwater for the game, Richt said he’ll have little choice but to put his young players on the field and give them a chance to make an impact.
That list of new faces includes first-year starting tailback Richard Samuel, two freshmen tight ends in Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch, and freshmen receivers Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten, along with first-year starting quarterback Joe Cox. With so many inexperienced players on the field, there are plenty of questions for Richt and his staff, but he said the Bulldogs aren’t planning to wait long to find out who’s ready for the job.
“If you’re not quite sure of all your personnel, you’re more apt to make sure the right guys are getting the ball, which is not as much fun as a coordinator,” Richt said. “When you’re sitting there going, ‘Well, so-and-so is in the game, so I’ve got to do this or that,’ I hope that we don’t have to do that. We’re not going into this game saying that’s what we’re going to do because we feel like we’ve got to let these guys go out there and make plays.”
If there’s an upside, however, it’s that so much transition can affect both sides of the ball.
While all the changes on offense make game planning for the opener a tricky task for Georgia’s play callers, it also complicates the job for Oklahoma State’s defense, Richt said.
“I’m sure they’re sitting there not sure who’s going to be where or who’s going to make plays or who we’re going to put in position to make plays,” Richt said. “The only thing they probably know for sure is A.J. Green. Other than that, they’re probably guessing a little bit.”
MUCH IMPROVED
Saturday’s practice marked the official end of the preseason, with the focus Monday shifting entirely to Oklahoma State as Georgia begins its usual practice routine leading up to a game.
While not every question the coaches had entering fall practice has been answered, Richt said there’s no mistaking the improvements he has seen in the preparation his team has gotten this preseason.
“By a long shot, we were able to prepare the way we normally like to in terms of the number of days we scrimmage and tackle to the ground and every single day in inside drill was live tackling,” Richt said.
The biggest different, Richt said, has been a reduced number of injuries. While a number of players missed some action with minor hamstring injuries, there haven’t been any catastrophic injuries similar to what occurred last preseason.
The result has been an increased focus on the fundamentals – particularly tackling. Richt said in addition to the tackling during scrimmages and inside drills, the team added tackle work to perimeter drills as well – a new addition from past seasons.
“It’s a world of difference when you look at how many times we were in pads and tackled to the ground,” Richt said.
STILL WAITING ON O LINE
Offensive linemen Ben Jones and Chris Davis both missed practice again Saturday, each recovering from ankle sprains that Richt said shouldn’t cost them any playing time.
“I expect Ben to be practicing Monday, and Chris I’m not certain,” Richt said. “Ben might do everything, but my guess would be just scout work. Chris may be ready for scout work, too, I’m just not sure.”
For the second straight day, Kevin Perez handled the first-team snaps at center, and while the 265-pound junior might be a bit overmatched in size, Richt said he’s confident that Perez can get the job done if called upon.
“Perez knows what to do, his body just didn’t get as big as he would hope and we would hope it would,” Richt said. “But he’s very smart, he’s been tremendous in our meeting rooms, and now that he’s had this opportunity to play, he’s done a very admirable job. We could certainly function with him.”
SECONDARY THOUGHTS
Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said the depth chart in his secondary has taken shape, and it’s not exactly what Richt had discussed earlier this week.
Bryan Evans and Reshad Jones will be the starting safeties, with Brandon Boykin and Prince Miller the starting corners. Behind them, Sanders Commings, Baccari Rambo and Makiri Pugh will handle reserve duties at safety, with Branden Smith and Vance Cuff the first two corners off the bench.
Richt had suggested that Pugh and linebacker Nick Williams might handle the bulk of the work at nickelback, but Martinez indicated that role would actually belong to Miller, with either Cuff or Smith filling in at corner.
Smith’s emergence this preseason has been particularly impressive, Martinez said, given his mix of immense athletic ability and strong work ethic.
“He’s a very competitive player,” Martinez said of the freshman cornerback. “He’s a worker. He’s a fast learner. He’s always trying to do his best. He’s got a great attitude and with his ability, he’s coming on. He’s getting better.”
As to Georgia’s other two freshmen defensive backs, the news is a bit more tepid.
Cornerback Jordan Love has been limited in practice for the past week due to a toe injury, and the reduced reps have been a setback.
Safety Shawn Williams, on the other hand, has gotten more looks than expected due to some other injuries at his position, but Martinez said Williams still isn’t close to being where he needs to be to earn significant playing time on game day.
“We like him, but how much he’ll play this year, right now, that’s undetermined,” Martinez said. “He’s got a ways to go. But that’s expected for a young kid, particularly at safety, which is pretty difficult.”
PASS RUSH PROJECTIONS
With Justin Houston suspended for the first two games of the season, Martinez pronounced Demarcus Dobbs and Rod Battle the starters for Oklahoma State – a move that hardly comes as a surprise given the lack of experience further down the depth chart.
Martinez said Dobbs and Battle have both looked good, but the challenge now will be finding players who can fill in as backups consistently.
“Those are the two guys with a tremendous amount of experience, and they’ve been doing a good job,” Martinez said. “The other group of guys are just mixing in there trying to develop the depth. Some guys are getting better.”
FAST AND FURIOUS
Georgia ran through a final scrimmage against the scout teams Saturday, albeit a particularly regimented one.
Richt said the Bulldogs’ first-team offense and defense each ran 20 scripted plays against the scout team, and each of the six kicking units took three reps apiece. Some goal-line and short-yardage work involved tackling, but the majority of the practice was thud drills.
While the workout was brief, Richt said the team got what it needed from the practice.
“We had what I hoped we’d have today – a situation scrimmage that was thud the majority of the plays where we got good tempo, the sense of a game where you have to substitute,” Richt said. “It was good energy. We had 20 plays on each side of the ball. It was spirited, it was organized.”
Georgia returns to practice Monday, and will spend the first two days of the week in full pads. The Bulldogs will go to shorts and shoulder pads Wednesday and Thursday, then have an off day Friday before the game.
NOTABLE TWEET
According to Jeff Owens' Twitter feed, he found a nice note in his locker after coming off the practice field Saturday. It was an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game. Next up, according to Owens, is a similar invite to the Senior Bowl.
With high-powered Oklahoma State looming in Georgia’s first game of the season, however, that’s a luxury Richt said Georgia can’t afford.
“We’ve got to turn it loose,” Richt said. “We can’t sit there and think too much. We’ve got to let them all play, put them in a position to make plays, and hopefully they will.”
The combination of Oklahoma State’s quick-strike ability and potentially sizzling temperatures in Stillwater for the game, Richt said he’ll have little choice but to put his young players on the field and give them a chance to make an impact.
That list of new faces includes first-year starting tailback Richard Samuel, two freshmen tight ends in Orson Charles and Arthur Lynch, and freshmen receivers Marlon Brown and Rantavious Wooten, along with first-year starting quarterback Joe Cox. With so many inexperienced players on the field, there are plenty of questions for Richt and his staff, but he said the Bulldogs aren’t planning to wait long to find out who’s ready for the job.
“If you’re not quite sure of all your personnel, you’re more apt to make sure the right guys are getting the ball, which is not as much fun as a coordinator,” Richt said. “When you’re sitting there going, ‘Well, so-and-so is in the game, so I’ve got to do this or that,’ I hope that we don’t have to do that. We’re not going into this game saying that’s what we’re going to do because we feel like we’ve got to let these guys go out there and make plays.”
If there’s an upside, however, it’s that so much transition can affect both sides of the ball.
While all the changes on offense make game planning for the opener a tricky task for Georgia’s play callers, it also complicates the job for Oklahoma State’s defense, Richt said.
“I’m sure they’re sitting there not sure who’s going to be where or who’s going to make plays or who we’re going to put in position to make plays,” Richt said. “The only thing they probably know for sure is A.J. Green. Other than that, they’re probably guessing a little bit.”
MUCH IMPROVED
Saturday’s practice marked the official end of the preseason, with the focus Monday shifting entirely to Oklahoma State as Georgia begins its usual practice routine leading up to a game.
While not every question the coaches had entering fall practice has been answered, Richt said there’s no mistaking the improvements he has seen in the preparation his team has gotten this preseason.
“By a long shot, we were able to prepare the way we normally like to in terms of the number of days we scrimmage and tackle to the ground and every single day in inside drill was live tackling,” Richt said.
The biggest different, Richt said, has been a reduced number of injuries. While a number of players missed some action with minor hamstring injuries, there haven’t been any catastrophic injuries similar to what occurred last preseason.
The result has been an increased focus on the fundamentals – particularly tackling. Richt said in addition to the tackling during scrimmages and inside drills, the team added tackle work to perimeter drills as well – a new addition from past seasons.
“It’s a world of difference when you look at how many times we were in pads and tackled to the ground,” Richt said.
STILL WAITING ON O LINE
Offensive linemen Ben Jones and Chris Davis both missed practice again Saturday, each recovering from ankle sprains that Richt said shouldn’t cost them any playing time.
“I expect Ben to be practicing Monday, and Chris I’m not certain,” Richt said. “Ben might do everything, but my guess would be just scout work. Chris may be ready for scout work, too, I’m just not sure.”
For the second straight day, Kevin Perez handled the first-team snaps at center, and while the 265-pound junior might be a bit overmatched in size, Richt said he’s confident that Perez can get the job done if called upon.
“Perez knows what to do, his body just didn’t get as big as he would hope and we would hope it would,” Richt said. “But he’s very smart, he’s been tremendous in our meeting rooms, and now that he’s had this opportunity to play, he’s done a very admirable job. We could certainly function with him.”
SECONDARY THOUGHTS
Defensive coordinator Willie Martinez said the depth chart in his secondary has taken shape, and it’s not exactly what Richt had discussed earlier this week.
Bryan Evans and Reshad Jones will be the starting safeties, with Brandon Boykin and Prince Miller the starting corners. Behind them, Sanders Commings, Baccari Rambo and Makiri Pugh will handle reserve duties at safety, with Branden Smith and Vance Cuff the first two corners off the bench.
Richt had suggested that Pugh and linebacker Nick Williams might handle the bulk of the work at nickelback, but Martinez indicated that role would actually belong to Miller, with either Cuff or Smith filling in at corner.
Smith’s emergence this preseason has been particularly impressive, Martinez said, given his mix of immense athletic ability and strong work ethic.
“He’s a very competitive player,” Martinez said of the freshman cornerback. “He’s a worker. He’s a fast learner. He’s always trying to do his best. He’s got a great attitude and with his ability, he’s coming on. He’s getting better.”
As to Georgia’s other two freshmen defensive backs, the news is a bit more tepid.
Cornerback Jordan Love has been limited in practice for the past week due to a toe injury, and the reduced reps have been a setback.
Safety Shawn Williams, on the other hand, has gotten more looks than expected due to some other injuries at his position, but Martinez said Williams still isn’t close to being where he needs to be to earn significant playing time on game day.
“We like him, but how much he’ll play this year, right now, that’s undetermined,” Martinez said. “He’s got a ways to go. But that’s expected for a young kid, particularly at safety, which is pretty difficult.”
PASS RUSH PROJECTIONS
With Justin Houston suspended for the first two games of the season, Martinez pronounced Demarcus Dobbs and Rod Battle the starters for Oklahoma State – a move that hardly comes as a surprise given the lack of experience further down the depth chart.
Martinez said Dobbs and Battle have both looked good, but the challenge now will be finding players who can fill in as backups consistently.
“Those are the two guys with a tremendous amount of experience, and they’ve been doing a good job,” Martinez said. “The other group of guys are just mixing in there trying to develop the depth. Some guys are getting better.”
FAST AND FURIOUS
Georgia ran through a final scrimmage against the scout teams Saturday, albeit a particularly regimented one.
Richt said the Bulldogs’ first-team offense and defense each ran 20 scripted plays against the scout team, and each of the six kicking units took three reps apiece. Some goal-line and short-yardage work involved tackling, but the majority of the practice was thud drills.
While the workout was brief, Richt said the team got what it needed from the practice.
“We had what I hoped we’d have today – a situation scrimmage that was thud the majority of the plays where we got good tempo, the sense of a game where you have to substitute,” Richt said. “It was good energy. We had 20 plays on each side of the ball. It was spirited, it was organized.”
Georgia returns to practice Monday, and will spend the first two days of the week in full pads. The Bulldogs will go to shorts and shoulder pads Wednesday and Thursday, then have an off day Friday before the game.
NOTABLE TWEET
According to Jeff Owens' Twitter feed, he found a nice note in his locker after coming off the practice field Saturday. It was an invitation to the East-West Shrine Game. Next up, according to Owens, is a similar invite to the Senior Bowl.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Seniors Lead, Freshmen Impress
Georgia wide receiver Michael Moore made a point to do a little bragging with head coach Mark Richt on Wednesday.
Moore wasn't sharing praise of his own play, but instead he wanted Richt to know how impressed he was with Georgia's true freshmen, 16 of which made their Bulldogs debut at Tuesday's first fall practice session. Moore said Georgia's seniors made sure the freshmen knew the ropes this summer – an advantage Moore's fellow veterans didn't get when they first arrived on campus.
"He was halfway bragging on himself because the veterans did a good job (preparing the freshmen)," Richt said. "He said, "We did a much better job teaching these guys than those guys did teaching us."
While the players have yet to practice in anything more than shorts, Richt agrees with Moore's assessment, saying the freshmen have been well ahead of the game in the early workouts.
"We're putting in second-day installation and they don't seem lost. But I see it on the sideline all the time – whatever it is the guys are doing a great job of instructing the young players."
And it's not just the veterans on the team, Richt said. Even the sophomores and redshirt freshmen are chipping in with advice.
"Marcus Dowtin's a second-year guy and I saw him talking to (Chase) Vasser today about how crucial it is to find the ball and go pursue it, even if you made a mistake," Richt said. "So it doesn't have to be a senior."
So... what does Richt think of some of the freshmen in particular? Here are some quotes....
On Marlon Brown: "I saw Marlon Brown going up strong for a catch. Guys were trying to rake the ball out of there and couldn't do it because he's got such strong hands."
On Rantavious Wooten: "I saw Rantavious Wooten running routes looking like he's been doing it for quite a while, and he's got outstanding hands."
On the tight ends: "Orson Charles made some nice catches. He needs to be much more precise in his route running, but he just got here. He's getting a good feel of what to do, but he's got to refine his route running. Artie Lynch actually made a couple of plays in our skeleton drills."
On Washaun Ealey: "I like how Washaun looks. He's a good-looking guy and runs with a great center of gravity. He looks like he's not going to get knocked off his feet very easily. He looks like a running back."
On the O linemen and linebackers: "It's hard to say much about the linemen other than they're all athletic. Linebackers are learning, but there's so much to learn. They're good-looking kids."
On Shawn Williams: "If nothing else I see the guy practicing hard, still learning what to do. You could tell that maybe he's a little behind getting here in the middle of the summer instead of the beginning because those veterans did a very good job of teaching the young guys."
On Montez Robinson: "Montez has tremendous size and athleticism, but you could tell for him, for all those D linemen, they're just trying to figure it out. They're not getting a ton of reps, but when you're in shorts it's hard to gauge. But does have the ability we thought he did and more? Probably yes."
Moore wasn't sharing praise of his own play, but instead he wanted Richt to know how impressed he was with Georgia's true freshmen, 16 of which made their Bulldogs debut at Tuesday's first fall practice session. Moore said Georgia's seniors made sure the freshmen knew the ropes this summer – an advantage Moore's fellow veterans didn't get when they first arrived on campus.
"He was halfway bragging on himself because the veterans did a good job (preparing the freshmen)," Richt said. "He said, "We did a much better job teaching these guys than those guys did teaching us."
While the players have yet to practice in anything more than shorts, Richt agrees with Moore's assessment, saying the freshmen have been well ahead of the game in the early workouts.
"We're putting in second-day installation and they don't seem lost. But I see it on the sideline all the time – whatever it is the guys are doing a great job of instructing the young players."
And it's not just the veterans on the team, Richt said. Even the sophomores and redshirt freshmen are chipping in with advice.
"Marcus Dowtin's a second-year guy and I saw him talking to (Chase) Vasser today about how crucial it is to find the ball and go pursue it, even if you made a mistake," Richt said. "So it doesn't have to be a senior."
So... what does Richt think of some of the freshmen in particular? Here are some quotes....
On Marlon Brown: "I saw Marlon Brown going up strong for a catch. Guys were trying to rake the ball out of there and couldn't do it because he's got such strong hands."
On Rantavious Wooten: "I saw Rantavious Wooten running routes looking like he's been doing it for quite a while, and he's got outstanding hands."
On the tight ends: "Orson Charles made some nice catches. He needs to be much more precise in his route running, but he just got here. He's getting a good feel of what to do, but he's got to refine his route running. Artie Lynch actually made a couple of plays in our skeleton drills."
On Washaun Ealey: "I like how Washaun looks. He's a good-looking guy and runs with a great center of gravity. He looks like he's not going to get knocked off his feet very easily. He looks like a running back."
On the O linemen and linebackers: "It's hard to say much about the linemen other than they're all athletic. Linebackers are learning, but there's so much to learn. They're good-looking kids."
On Shawn Williams: "If nothing else I see the guy practicing hard, still learning what to do. You could tell that maybe he's a little behind getting here in the middle of the summer instead of the beginning because those veterans did a very good job of teaching the young guys."
On Montez Robinson: "Montez has tremendous size and athleticism, but you could tell for him, for all those D linemen, they're just trying to figure it out. They're not getting a ton of reps, but when you're in shorts it's hard to gauge. But does have the ability we thought he did and more? Probably yes."
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