It took a little longer than expected, but Georgia's 2009 freshman class is finally complete.
Head coach Mark Richt confirmed Thursday that lineman Kwame Geathers was cleared by the NCAA and will be on campus when Georgia holds its fourth day of fall practice today.
Richt said he was informed Tuesday morning of the decision, but Geathers still won't be a full participant in the Bulldogs' practice sessions for a few more days. The NCAA mandates that players are given five days of acclimation time before participating in contact drills, which means Geathers will be in shorts today when his teammates are in shoulder pads, and he'll still be in shoulder pads when the team holds its first full-contact practice Monday.
Geathers brother, Robert, played at Georgia and is currently a member of the Cincinnati Bengals, and his uncle, James, played 13 years in the NFL as well, so Richt said he's confident Kwame Geathers will be in good shape upon arrival.
"He comes from a family that has a lot of football players," Richt said. "They know how to work."
DOWN AND OUT
Safety Reshad Jones injured his hamstring Wednesday and was held out of Thursday's practice. Although the injury is not serious, Richt said Jones will miss some time.
"It's too bad because he was really practicing well and leading," Richt said. "He'll be healthy enough by the time the season starts and he has enough quality reps and playing time that I don't think it will be a huge deal, but he quite frankly had a lot of positive momentum coming into this camp."
Quintin Banks took reps with the first team in place of Jones on Thursday, with Baccari Rambo and Sanders Commings working with the second team.
SHOWING IMPROVEMENT
With Justin Houston suspended for two games and nearly every one of Georgia's other defensive ends coming off an injury, the start of fall practice figured to be rough at the position. Instead, Richt said the defensive ends have been among the most impressive groups in camp.
"(Demarcus) Dobbs is in great shape, (Rod) Battle's in great shape, Cornelius Washington, we're getting a chance to see him do some things," Richt said. "I see a lot of good."
BACK AND FORTH
Sophomore Nick Williams arrived as a safety, moved to linebacker midway through the season last year, then was switched back to safety this offseason when John Knox transferred. The changes didn't end there, however, and Williams is back to weakside linebacker yet again.
The change during the offseason was made to strengthen the numbers among the safeties, but now that Georgia's freshmen have arrived on campus, Richt said the coaches made the decision to move Williams where they thought he would have the biggest impact.
"You want as much speed on the field as you possibly can," Richt said. "We feel like he's one of the guys that's going to make an impact for us, and right now we're trying to find where he's best going to be able to do that. I don't want to give away too much of the game plan, but we think he can help us there."
MOVIN' ON UP
Richt wasn't sure how much Chris Davis would be able to practice before the team took the field for its first practice Tuesday afternoon, but by the end of the day, the junior offensive lineman was back with the first team.
Davis started all 13 games last year, but underwent hip surgery during the offseason and was slow to recover. After three days of practice, however, Richt said Davis is doing much better.
"I don't think it feels great, but he played with it last year, and he says its better than it was a year ago," Richt said. "He's fighting through it, and it doesn't seem to be slowing him down."
Davis joins Trinton Sturdivant, Ben Jones, Cordy Glenn and Clint Boling with the first-team offensive line, bumping senior Vince Vance to the second team. Vance is coming off ACL surgery, and while his knee is close to 100 percent, Richt said he still has a ways to go in terms of conditioning and mentally preparing for the grueling pace line coach Stacy Searels insists upon.
"Coach Searels has a way of getting guys to practice a certain way, and it takes a while to get there," Richt said. "I think he was at that point before he got hurt, but he was away from it a while, and now he's got to get back into that mode."
ODDS AND ENDS
-- Darryl Gamble recovered a fumble Thursday, marking the third straight practice in which he has come up with a turnover. "He's just making plays," Richt said.
-- The buzzword all offseason has been leadership, and while that has come naturally to a lot of Georgia's veterans, Richt has been particularly pleased with one senior who has had to work a bit harder at become a vocal leader. "Prince Miller has probably done one of the best jobs of getting out of his comfort zone and becoming more of a vocal leader."
-- Richt on who has impressed so far:
"It's so great to have Geno (Atkins), Jeffrey (Owens) and Kade (Weston) inside. Those three seniors know the ropes and they're doing a great job."
"A.J. Green, he just makes plays every day. A.J. is practicing very well."
"I do like how our running backs seem to be very focused and are competing very hard. I think they truly believe it is a wide-open competition, which it is."
-- Freshman tight end Arthur Lynch has been working as the long snapper on special teams for the past three days. Richt said Lynch is likely the third man on the depth chart at the position. Ty Frix is considered the front-runner for the job.
-- Logan Gray got another vote of confidence from his head coach, but Richt isn't setting anything regarding the No. 2 QB job in stone just yet. "I like how Logan's practicing. Today, in my opinion, he's still a very solid No. 2, but we'll continue to rep everybody and see."
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Video Blog: New Attitude for Georiga D
UGA linebacker Rennie Curran talks about the Bulldogs' quiet offseason and the increased leadership on this year's roster.
Without Stars, Dawgs May be More Dynamic
I took some questions from my Twitter followers before interviewing Mark Richt last week, and @Grayson47 had an interesting query: "I really love our offense but has (Richt) ever thought of adding sum spread stuff in now that we have a few more breakout speed players?"
The question looms even larger beyond this year, as Logan Gray and Aaron Murray -- the top two quarterbacks in line to succeed Joe Cox -- are far more athletic than Georgia's recent run of pocket passers.
That potential is not lost on Richt.
"I think you have to look at your quarterback's skill sets and do what he does best," he said. "You have to do that. I think historically, whether it's at Georgia or Florida State, we've been able to do that with our offensive systems."
Richt pointed to his use of Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke -- two completely different styles of QBs -- at Florida State as evidence of a more dynamic offensive scheme and said that even at Georgia, when both David Greene and D.J. Shockley were on the roster, he tried to incorporate non-traditional sets in his offense to accommodate the more diverse set of skills.
"We did more things that Shockley could do well, we did more things that Greene could do well," he said. "It was the same system, but we emphasized certain elements of it to do what our quarterback does best."
The bottom line, Richt said: "We have elements of the spread in our offense right now.”
Ah, but perhaps the better question is -- how many of those elements will fans see in 2009?
The loss of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno would seem to indicate a step back for Georgia's offense, and in many ways, it probably does. But while those two stars are gone, the overall roster may actually be a bit more functional than last year's more traditional sets.
At SEC Media Days, Richt said he expected to use Gray in a Wildcat type of package regardless of how the team's depth chart shakes out, and Murray would obviously offer similar possibilities. But it doesn't end with the quarterbacks.
Tight end Orson Charles is big enough to handle the traditional role of Georgia blocker, but his speed and athleticism allow him to split out wide, too. Carlton Thomas may have his troubles in pass blocking due to his small stature, but as a ball carrier, he's as dynamic and shifty as any tailback Georgia has had during Richt's tenure. Freshman Branden Smith, a high school track star, was being mentioned as a two-way player at Georgia before he even committed, and with a thin corps of receivers, that plan is still very much alive.
Add all of that with a veteran offensive line and you have the formula for what could be a very dynamic offense in 2009.
"Usually you either have to protect an inexperienced quarterback or an inexperienced line, and we've had to juggle that," Richt said. "Three years ago, very inexperienced quarterback. Last two seasons, very inexperienced line. Now, we have an experienced offensive line and really Joe is an experienced player in my mind because he knows the system much. We don't have to protect him much or protect our line, and I think we'll be free to do pretty much whatever we want."
That's exciting news for Gray, who knows cracking the starting lineup might be tough, but finding opportunities for backups like him to make a few plays a game is an intriguing possibility.
"It's nice to have guys that are versatile and can do different things and make defenses have to game plan for a lot of different stuff. You can throw a lot of different things at them. It's real early right now, but hopefully we'll do some different things and get people in different situations. I'm not Coach (Mike) Bobo or Coach Richt, but I feel like we've got some guys that can definitely change things up from the traditional Georgia running game and passing game."
As it turns out, Bobo and Richt both agree -- assuming that offensive line holds up the way they expect, and Cox proves to be the same veteran leader on the field this fall that he has been during the offseason.
No, fans won't have Stafford and Moreno to watch this year, but there's a good chance they'll get to see some plays on Saturday that they haven't seen in a while -- if ever.
"Now the line is mature, the quarterback's mature," Richt said, "there'll be nothing from a schematic point of view that will hold us back, which is exciting for our coaches."
-- And a side note: How about changes to defensive schemes, you ask?
Well, we talked with Willie Martinez on Tuesday, and he wasn't exactly forthcoming with a lot of details. He did say that he expected Jeff Owens, Geno Atkins and Kade Weston to each see the field a lot this year -- though probably not at the same time.
The biggest change that will almost certainly be in store on that side of the ball is the use of linebackers as pass rushers, something Richt said will now be the standard philosophy on defense after experimenting with it with Brandon Miller two years ago and again with several veteran LBs this spring.
"We felt like with Brandon Miller we probably didn't take advantage enough of his abilities," Richt said. "He played Sam linebacker and when the Sam left the game he was standing on the sideline. He wasn't really producing for us. It was late in his career that we really found out that we should let this kid rush the passer in nickel situations. So we're basically making that our normal mode of operation now. If you're a Sam linebacker and it's nickel time, you're going to learn how to rush the passer. The more that people spread the less that you're going to play the Sam linebacker. We've got to get those Sam linebackers working."
-- As a second side note, if you're waiting to learn if some new tricks might be up Jon Fabris' sleeve on kickoffs this year, keep waiting. Here's what Blair Walsh had to say: "I'm being completely honest with you: I have no idea."
The question looms even larger beyond this year, as Logan Gray and Aaron Murray -- the top two quarterbacks in line to succeed Joe Cox -- are far more athletic than Georgia's recent run of pocket passers.
That potential is not lost on Richt.
"I think you have to look at your quarterback's skill sets and do what he does best," he said. "You have to do that. I think historically, whether it's at Georgia or Florida State, we've been able to do that with our offensive systems."
Richt pointed to his use of Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke -- two completely different styles of QBs -- at Florida State as evidence of a more dynamic offensive scheme and said that even at Georgia, when both David Greene and D.J. Shockley were on the roster, he tried to incorporate non-traditional sets in his offense to accommodate the more diverse set of skills.
"We did more things that Shockley could do well, we did more things that Greene could do well," he said. "It was the same system, but we emphasized certain elements of it to do what our quarterback does best."
The bottom line, Richt said: "We have elements of the spread in our offense right now.”
Ah, but perhaps the better question is -- how many of those elements will fans see in 2009?
The loss of Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno would seem to indicate a step back for Georgia's offense, and in many ways, it probably does. But while those two stars are gone, the overall roster may actually be a bit more functional than last year's more traditional sets.
At SEC Media Days, Richt said he expected to use Gray in a Wildcat type of package regardless of how the team's depth chart shakes out, and Murray would obviously offer similar possibilities. But it doesn't end with the quarterbacks.
Tight end Orson Charles is big enough to handle the traditional role of Georgia blocker, but his speed and athleticism allow him to split out wide, too. Carlton Thomas may have his troubles in pass blocking due to his small stature, but as a ball carrier, he's as dynamic and shifty as any tailback Georgia has had during Richt's tenure. Freshman Branden Smith, a high school track star, was being mentioned as a two-way player at Georgia before he even committed, and with a thin corps of receivers, that plan is still very much alive.
Add all of that with a veteran offensive line and you have the formula for what could be a very dynamic offense in 2009.
"Usually you either have to protect an inexperienced quarterback or an inexperienced line, and we've had to juggle that," Richt said. "Three years ago, very inexperienced quarterback. Last two seasons, very inexperienced line. Now, we have an experienced offensive line and really Joe is an experienced player in my mind because he knows the system much. We don't have to protect him much or protect our line, and I think we'll be free to do pretty much whatever we want."
That's exciting news for Gray, who knows cracking the starting lineup might be tough, but finding opportunities for backups like him to make a few plays a game is an intriguing possibility.
"It's nice to have guys that are versatile and can do different things and make defenses have to game plan for a lot of different stuff. You can throw a lot of different things at them. It's real early right now, but hopefully we'll do some different things and get people in different situations. I'm not Coach (Mike) Bobo or Coach Richt, but I feel like we've got some guys that can definitely change things up from the traditional Georgia running game and passing game."
As it turns out, Bobo and Richt both agree -- assuming that offensive line holds up the way they expect, and Cox proves to be the same veteran leader on the field this fall that he has been during the offseason.
No, fans won't have Stafford and Moreno to watch this year, but there's a good chance they'll get to see some plays on Saturday that they haven't seen in a while -- if ever.
"Now the line is mature, the quarterback's mature," Richt said, "there'll be nothing from a schematic point of view that will hold us back, which is exciting for our coaches."
-- And a side note: How about changes to defensive schemes, you ask?
Well, we talked with Willie Martinez on Tuesday, and he wasn't exactly forthcoming with a lot of details. He did say that he expected Jeff Owens, Geno Atkins and Kade Weston to each see the field a lot this year -- though probably not at the same time.
The biggest change that will almost certainly be in store on that side of the ball is the use of linebackers as pass rushers, something Richt said will now be the standard philosophy on defense after experimenting with it with Brandon Miller two years ago and again with several veteran LBs this spring.
"We felt like with Brandon Miller we probably didn't take advantage enough of his abilities," Richt said. "He played Sam linebacker and when the Sam left the game he was standing on the sideline. He wasn't really producing for us. It was late in his career that we really found out that we should let this kid rush the passer in nickel situations. So we're basically making that our normal mode of operation now. If you're a Sam linebacker and it's nickel time, you're going to learn how to rush the passer. The more that people spread the less that you're going to play the Sam linebacker. We've got to get those Sam linebackers working."
-- As a second side note, if you're waiting to learn if some new tricks might be up Jon Fabris' sleeve on kickoffs this year, keep waiting. Here's what Blair Walsh had to say: "I'm being completely honest with you: I have no idea."
Thursday Links (8/6)
Another quick batch of links, as I have some early interviews planned. Ideally, that means more good reading for you tomorrow though...
-- I have a story on just how serendipitous Georgia's decision to move Bryan Evans to safety turned out to be. Plus, it gave me an excuse to use the word "serendipitous" in a post.
-- The Orlando Sentinel profiles Jeff Owens as part of the paper's "One to Watch" in the SEC series.
-- I'm actually surprised no one asked me this yet, but Bill King has a list of all the jersey numbers for the new freshmen.
-- Rex Robinson adds a little more to the discussion when talking about the importance of numbers.
-- Bubba N Earl take a look at a player who I think is seriously flying under the radar this preseason.
-- T Kyle King gets some firsthand info on the one team on the Bulldogs' schedule you probably don't know much about.
-- Chris Low looks at the commitments from the ESPN150 and sees the SEC continuing to dominate.
-- Get the Picture offers probably the best breakdown of the SEC West race I've seen so far, yet it's still ultimately fruitless.
-- Georgia's basketball schedule is rounding into shape with the addition of Pepperdine.
-- ESPN has a really nice story on the Eagles' former defensive coordinator Jim Johnson, who died earlier this week.
-- I'm not one who enjoys spoilers, so I haven't read this, but if you're interested here's some gossip about what's in store on the new season of "The Office."
-- And speaking of great comedies, here's every word Tracy Morgan said on Season 3 of "30 Rock." It really needs no context.
-- And finally, with all the bad '80s remakes, I think I'm actually happy to see "Fraggle Rock" get the big-screen treatment. Although, "The Dark Crystal" scared the heck out of me when I was 5, and I'm fairly certain this movie will, too.
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."
Practice Notes: QBs Struggle Early
If Mark Richt has an early complaint after two days of practice, it's about his quarterbacks. A handful of fumbles and a fair number of interceptions – including two picks and two fumble recoveries by Darryl Gamble – have been the result of some sloppy play early on by his group of passers.
"Most of the picks happened because of the quarterback just throwing the ball where he shouldn't have thrown it, making a bad decision," Richt said. "They've got to take better care of the ball."
It's all about fundamentals said sophomore Logan Gray, who currently is second on Georgia's depth chart at quarterback.
"Just getting back to the little things that are kind of sloppy the first couple of days," Gray said. "We've got to make sure we're touching up on those every single day – not fumbling the snap, fumbling giving the ball to the running back, missing a read and throwing into traffic – whatever it might be, every quarterback needs to be careful with the decisions they're making with the ball."
For now, however, Georgia's secondary is enjoying the early gifts, and they're making sure the quarterbacks know how much they appreciate it.
"We've got to talk a little smack to them," safety Nick Williams said. "That's what makes it fun."
SO FAR, SO GOOD
The first two days of fall practice have been the first full workouts of any kind in quite a while for a hefty contingent of players returning from injuries. While the Bulldogs haven't reached a particularly grueling part of their routine just yet, the early results for players like Jeff Owens, Trinton Sturdivant and Vince Vance have all been positive.
"You see no ill effects," Richt said. "You don't see them favoring anything. Again, until we have that first day of contact, you won't really know how that guy is feeling on the inside. I'm sure they're a little anxious about that first hit, but they no their best shot is to play full speed, and they're doing that now."
Richt said tailback Richard Samuel's wrist has not limited him at all thus far and said that he didn't expect any players to be held out of contact drills when the Bulldogs begin two-a-days Monday.
A HARD-LINE APPROACH
Georgia was one of the most penalized teams in the country a year ago, and Richt said he's taking steps this fall to ensure there isn't a repeat performance in 2009.
During practice, he's pulling players out of drills after they commit a penalty, and numerous players are being singled out when they're flagged. Assistants are tracking each penalty during practice, as well, and for the first time, Richt is personally monitoring the results.
"You've got to drill it, discipline it and the guys have to be serious about never wanting it to happen again," Richt said. "But so far, I see a good healthy attitude toward it."
The hard-line tactics even apply to Georgia's assistant coaches, Richt said.
In the past, assistants could argue a flag with the team's practice refs, but this year, they're not even allowed to joke about it.
"It's, 'Yes, sir, thank you for your help,' and go discipline your player," Richt said. "We can't let anything at this point get in the way of taking a very serious attitude toward every flag that's called."
A MINOR PROBLEM
Linebacker Christian Robinson played with his hand wrapped after a minor thumb sprain, Richt said. The injury may require a cast, but surgery would not be needed and Richt expects Robinson to continue practicing.
"Most of the picks happened because of the quarterback just throwing the ball where he shouldn't have thrown it, making a bad decision," Richt said. "They've got to take better care of the ball."
It's all about fundamentals said sophomore Logan Gray, who currently is second on Georgia's depth chart at quarterback.
"Just getting back to the little things that are kind of sloppy the first couple of days," Gray said. "We've got to make sure we're touching up on those every single day – not fumbling the snap, fumbling giving the ball to the running back, missing a read and throwing into traffic – whatever it might be, every quarterback needs to be careful with the decisions they're making with the ball."
For now, however, Georgia's secondary is enjoying the early gifts, and they're making sure the quarterbacks know how much they appreciate it.
"We've got to talk a little smack to them," safety Nick Williams said. "That's what makes it fun."
SO FAR, SO GOOD
The first two days of fall practice have been the first full workouts of any kind in quite a while for a hefty contingent of players returning from injuries. While the Bulldogs haven't reached a particularly grueling part of their routine just yet, the early results for players like Jeff Owens, Trinton Sturdivant and Vince Vance have all been positive.
"You see no ill effects," Richt said. "You don't see them favoring anything. Again, until we have that first day of contact, you won't really know how that guy is feeling on the inside. I'm sure they're a little anxious about that first hit, but they no their best shot is to play full speed, and they're doing that now."
Richt said tailback Richard Samuel's wrist has not limited him at all thus far and said that he didn't expect any players to be held out of contact drills when the Bulldogs begin two-a-days Monday.
A HARD-LINE APPROACH
Georgia was one of the most penalized teams in the country a year ago, and Richt said he's taking steps this fall to ensure there isn't a repeat performance in 2009.
During practice, he's pulling players out of drills after they commit a penalty, and numerous players are being singled out when they're flagged. Assistants are tracking each penalty during practice, as well, and for the first time, Richt is personally monitoring the results.
"You've got to drill it, discipline it and the guys have to be serious about never wanting it to happen again," Richt said. "But so far, I see a good healthy attitude toward it."
The hard-line tactics even apply to Georgia's assistant coaches, Richt said.
In the past, assistants could argue a flag with the team's practice refs, but this year, they're not even allowed to joke about it.
"It's, 'Yes, sir, thank you for your help,' and go discipline your player," Richt said. "We can't let anything at this point get in the way of taking a very serious attitude toward every flag that's called."
A MINOR PROBLEM
Linebacker Christian Robinson played with his hand wrapped after a minor thumb sprain, Richt said. The injury may require a cast, but surgery would not be needed and Richt expects Robinson to continue practicing.
From the Mailbag: Rapping with Richt
With the start of practice yesterday, I got a little caught up in all the excitement and totally forgot to post the replies to your questions for Mark Richt from last week.
I actually still have a bunch of stuff from that interview to get posted, but the beauty of practice starting again is that there's no shortage of material, so while I'll definitely get to it all eventually, I'm having to parse it out in staggered doses. It's a lot like Jagermeister in that respect.
Anyway, I didn't want to keep my fellow Twits waiting too long (lest a few choice words be tweeted in my direction) so here ya go...
-- Our good friend @BernieDawg had two questions: From his perspective, what will the secondary do 2 create more turnovers this season? That, & can I ride shotgun to StillH2O?
First off, I'd be remiss not to encourage you to visit Bernie's Dawg Blawg HERE.
Secondly, Richt's answer to Bernie's question doesn't really have a lot to do with the defensive backs. He sees the solution coming from the boys up front.
"I think a lot of people think the turnover is created by a guy catching the ball, but it's usually created by the pressure you put on the passer when it comes to interceptions – whether it's interior D line, D end, pressure from a linebacker, whatever," Richt said. "Make the quarterback throw it when he doesn't want to, make him throw it out of a space that's more confined than he's comfortable in. When it comes to fumbles, you get fumbles when you hit QBs when they're not looking. You get fumbles when you stick your face on the ball. So we have to emphasize it in practice – not only talk about it, but drill it – and hopefully play hard enough and fast enough that those things happen."
I think that's a mantra that most Bulldogs fans can get behind, though I'll admit, those defensive ends still seem like a pretty big concern to me.
As for your second question, Bernie, I think you're gonna have to work on your pass-rush skills to make the cut for the travel team.
-- And actually, there is a bit of news on who might be riding shotgun with Richt on the road this season, and that comes from this question posed by @cbrannon: Coach, how do you manage to make time for your family?
Seems like an appropriate query for this time of year, so here's what Richt had to say...
"In season, I have breakfast and take my kids to school every day. We work late, so I don't see them at night, but I see them every morning. One night a week we have family night – Monday. We go to church together and have lunch together on Sunday before I get cranked up. And then any time they're able to come to practice or by the office or whatever – they come Thursday night after practice and then we go home and I have that evening with the family. My wife's been on the sideline. My boy, David, has been on the sideline. Zack's about to probably get a little sideline work. Zack and David will probably be my traveling buddies. Anya's been on the sideline, too. And I've asked my kids if they'd want it any other way and they say, ‘This is all we know.' They're fine with it. But I think the every single morning, getting up together, spending time together, getting them off to school, that's a big deal seeing your dad every day. Doing those kinds of things helps them feel like they're normal kids."
-- This one actually came via email from Jim Franklin: Did the SEC rule banning Asst coaches from HS run "clinics" get changed? Big topic w CMR & Corch Myers @ Destin?
Jim's referring to the rule Richt took issue with during the SEC league meetings this spring that prevents coaches from attending clinics they aren't hosting themselves. This creates a distinct disadvantage to schools like Florida, South Carolina and Georgia, each of which have in-state ACC counterparts who are allowed to attend these events.
Unfortunately, any attempts at changing the rule seem to have hit a wall. First off, there's the typical bureaucracy that goes on, where rule changes must also be approved by the athletics directors and presidents, too.
The bigger problem with this one, however, was actually the other coaches. Since the majority of SEC schools don't have big-time out-of-conference rivals in their home state, the coaches weren't as inclined to add more work to their offseason. I'll let Richt explain...
"I think that actually lost a little steam in our room because one thing I discovered is part of the reason why the SEC was not allowing coaches to do it was because if they're allowed to go to every single one of these things, then all of a sudden your assistant coaches are going all over creation. They lose some of their sanity because they think, well if they're there then we have to be there. On one end, you don't want an ACC school in your own state, for us Georgia Tech, you don't want them to be able to be at something that we can't be at. And the perception is that we don't care or we don't want to be there, which is not true. So that was where we were coming from. But there are some schools that don't have that in-state issue. They don't have that competition factor."
So bottom line... sucks for Georgia, Florida and South Carolina, but Ed Orgeron and Monte Kiffin have got better things to do.
-- I did manage to get one more answered, this one from @Grayson47, who wanted to know if Georgia might start using a few more aspects of the spread in its offense in the future. For that answer, however, you'll need to come back tomorrow, as I'll actually have a much more in-depth post on the issue.
For anyone else who posed a question, sorry, but I ran short on time with Richt and couldn't get to all of them. We'll keep doing this throughout the season though, so let me know when you have a burning question you want asked. (If anything else is burning though, I'd prefer you just consulted a physician.) And remember, you can follow me on Twitter HERE.
Practice notes coming later this evening...
UGA Announces Radio Details
From UGA release...
A new Georgia football season is also bringing a revamped lineup of personalities to the broadcast booth and to the official Bulldog website, "georgiadogs.com" according to an announcement Wednesday by the University of Georgia Athletics Association and rights-holder ISP (International Sports Properties).
The new season will also provide an additional hour of pre-game programming prior to kickoff which will now total four hours. A two-hour post-game call-in show will also continue.
As previously announced, longtime Bulldog radio personality Scott Howard will provide the gameday play-by-play with former Georgia All-America quarterback Eric Zeier adding color analysis. The pair has done road games the last two seasons and handled home games after the early season retirement of Larry Munson last year.
Longtime "Tailgate Show" co-hosts Loran Smith, who also provides in-game sideline reporting, and Neil "Hondo" Williamson will continue in those roles along with Howard and Zeier. New to the broadcast will be several familiar faces and voices: WSB TV sports director Chuck Dowdle will conduct the post-game locker room interviews; long-time versatile Georgia radio personality Jeff Dantzler will co-host the new first hour of the pre-game show and also the post-game call-in show; former Georgia quarterback David Greene will co-host with Dantzler the first hour of the pre-game show and post-game call-in for road games; and former Bulldog All-America placekicker Kevin Butler will fill the same role for home games.
"We are pleased to have such an outstanding group broadcasting Georgia football," said UGA Director of Athletics Damon Evans. "It's a group that can uniquely provide the coverage and analysis to the Bulldog Nation and we look forward to them being a big part of Georgia football Saturdays."
In related programming, Dantzler and Butler will also host the Sunday morning Bulldog Brunch radio show. Howard will continue hosting the Monday night Bulldog Hotline show with Georgia head coach Mark Richt. Dowdle will continue as host of the Sunday "Inside Georgia Football" television program with Richt.
Howard, Zeier, Dowdle, Williamson, Dantzler, and Butler will also serve as contributors to "georgiadogs.com."
A new Georgia football season is also bringing a revamped lineup of personalities to the broadcast booth and to the official Bulldog website, "georgiadogs.com" according to an announcement Wednesday by the University of Georgia Athletics Association and rights-holder ISP (International Sports Properties).
The new season will also provide an additional hour of pre-game programming prior to kickoff which will now total four hours. A two-hour post-game call-in show will also continue.
As previously announced, longtime Bulldog radio personality Scott Howard will provide the gameday play-by-play with former Georgia All-America quarterback Eric Zeier adding color analysis. The pair has done road games the last two seasons and handled home games after the early season retirement of Larry Munson last year.
Longtime "Tailgate Show" co-hosts Loran Smith, who also provides in-game sideline reporting, and Neil "Hondo" Williamson will continue in those roles along with Howard and Zeier. New to the broadcast will be several familiar faces and voices: WSB TV sports director Chuck Dowdle will conduct the post-game locker room interviews; long-time versatile Georgia radio personality Jeff Dantzler will co-host the new first hour of the pre-game show and also the post-game call-in show; former Georgia quarterback David Greene will co-host with Dantzler the first hour of the pre-game show and post-game call-in for road games; and former Bulldog All-America placekicker Kevin Butler will fill the same role for home games.
"We are pleased to have such an outstanding group broadcasting Georgia football," said UGA Director of Athletics Damon Evans. "It's a group that can uniquely provide the coverage and analysis to the Bulldog Nation and we look forward to them being a big part of Georgia football Saturdays."
In related programming, Dantzler and Butler will also host the Sunday morning Bulldog Brunch radio show. Howard will continue hosting the Monday night Bulldog Hotline show with Georgia head coach Mark Richt. Dowdle will continue as host of the Sunday "Inside Georgia Football" television program with Richt.
Howard, Zeier, Dowdle, Williamson, Dantzler, and Butler will also serve as contributors to "georgiadogs.com."
Palm Reading Tells Berry's Future
ESPN's Chris Low blogs today about Eric Berry's recruitment by Georgia and comes to the conclusion that Georgia screwed up.
The evidence comes from a story on Volquest.com, and I guess when you read the quote that Low uses, it does look pretty bad for the Dawgs.
Two issues though:
1.) As Low points out, Berry's father played at Tennessee, so Georgia was certainly no sure thing to land the Fairburn native...
and 2.) While it seems to have upset Berry, this quote made me laugh out loud:
"I remember when I went on my recruiting visit, coach (Mark) Richt had my name and stats written on his hand. I guess he thought I didn't see it or something, but I did."
Every Thursday during the season, Richt holds an informal meeting with reporters. Before one of those meetings last year, Supreme Court justice Clarence Thomas had paid Richt a visit. Richt then came upstairs to talk to reporters, sitting in a chair right next to me. As he discussed his excitement over meeting Thomas, I looked down at his hand. Printed on it in smudged blue ink was this:
Clarence Thomas
Supreme Court
1:30
Talking to the Tailbacks
Just a quick bit of info from yesterday's practice that I meant to include, but it slipped my mind:
Richard Samuel was among the players available to media early in the day, and I was the first to talk to him. My obvious first question was simple enough: "How's the wrist feeling?"
SAMUEL: "OK."
ME: "So are you back to 100 percent?"
SAMUEL: "(Trainer) Ron (Courson) knows all the details and he told me I was good."
Not exactly a ringing endorsement of his own health, right?
Now, you might read into it that Samuel doesn't feel his wrist is quite as strong as the training staff does, or you might read into it that he was quickly surrounded by reporters and a bit overwhelmed by the whole scene. Or maybe you read nothing into it at all, which is probably the most likely scenario.
But then you read this in a notebook from the Red & Black:
Redshirt freshman Carlton Thomas took most of the second team snaps, alternating with Richard Samuel, who was expected to get all the looks with the second team.
Of course, the next sentence in the notes says Samuel "indicated he was 100 percent," so perhaps all of this was cleared up long after I determined I wasn't going to get any useful quotes from Mr. Samuel.
Again, all a bit of speculation for now, but it will be interesting to see if Samuel is getting more action today and the rest of the week.
Oh, and as a side note, I spoke with Caleb King after practice, and here's what he had to say: "My main focus was to get in more shape before the season started, and I believe it showed out here. I'm honestly not tired. I could go out for another practice right now."
And as those of you who follow me on Twitter know, Caleb managed to dodge interviews for the better part of the past two months. When I asked if he'd been avoiding me, he laughed and said, "Nope, I'm just staying focused on getting better."
I'm guessing fans would love to start hearing a lot more of that talk from Caleb.
Wednesday Links (8/5)
I thought I remembered just how busy the first few days of practice would be, but I think I underestimated it in my mind. I've got a ton I'm hoping to accomplish today, so we're only going to have a few links this morning -- and will a little luck and a significant dose of motivation, there's an outside chance I squeeze in a trip to the gym today before practice...
-- I have a story in today's Telegraph on the immense amount of preparation Joe Cox has put in for a job he was never sure he would get.
-- Senator Blutarsky is revamping the Mumme Poll, which is definitely a very good thing. And if all goes well, there may even be a little commentary on poll's new site from a certain Georgia blogger you all know and tolerate.
-- Get used to the talk of the team concept, as the great David Pascall writes. We'll be hearing a lot about it this season.
-- The Red & Black's Fletcher Page writes about a new attitude on the defense that was audible from Day 1 of practice.
-- I've been hoping to squeeze in a trip to Falcons practice in the next week or two, but wasn't sure I could find the time. Now... I have no choice.
-- Gordon Beckham earned the American League rookie of the month honors, but he's not letting it go to his head.
-- Florida's Riley Cooper passed on a future in baseball to stick with the Gators' football team for another season.
-- The Gym Dogs' picture day festivities have been scheduled.
-- The bad economy doesn't seem to have bothered UGA much, as the school had a record fundraising year.
-- Here are a couple of YouTube videos you should enjoy:
Courtesy of Jeff Owens' Twitter feed, here's a fan video that should ensure you are psyched for the season (and you may have to break out your dusty copy of "Appetite for Destruction").
And in the interest of keeping my job, I will make no additional comments about this video featuring Urban Meyer's daughter, who will be attending Georgia Tech this fall. (h/t Jamie Brooks)
-- As I predicted earlier this week, Screech has been banned from the "Saved by the Bell" reunion. My guess is he'll attempt to sneak in anyway wearing the Bayside Tiger mascot outfit.
-- A couple of "Lost" links for you: 1.) The Season 5 Blu-Ray discs will come with admission to Lost University, which as far as I can tell involves a whole heck of a lot of background info for the show, and 2.) If you think you're the type who could ace Lost University, try taking this quiz on what happened in Season 5.
-- And finally, I saw "Funny People" over the weekend. It was such a departure from Judd Apatow's earlier films that I wasn't quite sure how I felt about it afterward. Upon further reflection, I'm certain that I liked it, but I think it was a lot like "24." It's incredibly enjoyable, but somewhat frustrating because it's plainly obvious it could have been more. (Which leads me to my side note that is, if "24" had been on HBO instead of FOX, it might be the greatest TV show ever.)
Anyway, I thought the two best parts of the movie were the jokes about Delaware that allowed me to be the only person in the theater laughing and the scenes with Jonah Hill and Jason Schwartzman, who overall ended up pretty marginalized in the movie.
The good news though: Both will star in a new movie together and they'll work with another of my favorite comedy actors, Jason Segal.
Video Blog: Day 1 Practice Highlights
Here are a handful of videos with some of the highlights (or, perhaps better stated, some of the nondescript events) from Georgia's first practice of the fall.
And this one's my favorite, likely for obvious reasons...
And this one's my favorite, likely for obvious reasons...
Bobo Tempers O Line Expectations
The popular notion among most pundits is that Georgia's offense will miss Matthew Stafford and Knowshon Moreno, but a healthy and experienced offensive line will make up a good chunk of the difference. Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo isn't exactly buying into that notion just yet.
"We've got some experience coming back at O line, but we don't have five guys who have played the same position next to each other," Bobo said. "I know everybody thinks we're going to be awesome on the offensive line, but we've got to find some continuity right now."
While Georgia does return nine linemen with playing experience this season, the numbers aren't quite as impressive as they might seem at first glance.
Two potential starters -- Trinton Sturdivant and Vince Vance -- are both coming back from ACL surgery, and Sturdivant hasn't played a single down since the 2008 Suger Bowl.
Two other former starters may not see much action at all, at least early on. Josh Davis underwent two shoulder surgeries during the offseason and is not expected to participate in practices during the preseason, while Chris Davis, who started all 13 games last year, has been slow to recover from offseason hip surgery.
"We'll have to observe Chris Davis some more coming off the injury, and the same is true of Trinton and Vince, but Chris was not quite as far along," head coach Mark Richt said.
Tanner Strickland played in reserve duty last season but will miss all of 2009 with a shoulder injury he suffered while lifting weights this offseason, and Kiante Tripp, who started three games at left tackle last year, has moved to the defensive line this season.
Richt said the battle for starting jobs this fall is essentially between just six players -- Sturdivant, Vance, Ben Jones, Clint Boling, Cordy Glenn and Justin Anderson. Anderson also battled injuries down the stretch last season but appears healthy now.
That leaves just three linemen -- Boling, Jones and Glenn -- who return with both significant playing experience and no questions about health. The depth behind that group is still thin, too, Bobo said, but Richt sees a few players capable of stepping up.
"Casey Nichols is a guy who has put himself in a pretty good position to be a very reliable guy. I don't know if he'll break the starting lineup, but he could be productive," Richt said. "A.J. Harmon had a productive spring, and from what I've seen just looking at his body, he's done a really good job there. But again, he's got to learn what to do and get comfortable in that area. Then you have a bunch of young guys that are trying to prove that they're ready to play."
That group includes freshmen Dallas Lee, who enrolled early this spring but missed the G-Day game with an injury, and Chris Burnette, who Boling thinks could be ready if pressed into service.
"Chris is a really smart guy, and this summer he picked up things right away," Boling said. "I think if we had to, he could play for us right away."
So the question of the offensive line's success is really more a matter of perspective.
For Bobo, he's taking a cautious approach. There is ability, he said, but seeing is believing.
"We've still got to find five guys that we feel comfortable with in there right now on what we can do," he said. "Just because those guys have played, they haven't played together, and we've got a long way to go."
Richt, on the other hand, is a bit more optimistic. After seeing a patchwork line piece together a strong season a year ago, any sense of stability seems like a dramatic improvement.
"We're counting on the offensive line to perform well," Richt said. "We do have more maturity, more experience under our belt, so we're expecting better play. I think we progressed pretty darned well considering what we were playing with (last year), but now I think we can expect a little more. Their bodies are certainly bigger and stronger. Their knowledge is better. I really do think they'll perform better."
"We've got some experience coming back at O line, but we don't have five guys who have played the same position next to each other," Bobo said. "I know everybody thinks we're going to be awesome on the offensive line, but we've got to find some continuity right now."
While Georgia does return nine linemen with playing experience this season, the numbers aren't quite as impressive as they might seem at first glance.
Two potential starters -- Trinton Sturdivant and Vince Vance -- are both coming back from ACL surgery, and Sturdivant hasn't played a single down since the 2008 Suger Bowl.
Two other former starters may not see much action at all, at least early on. Josh Davis underwent two shoulder surgeries during the offseason and is not expected to participate in practices during the preseason, while Chris Davis, who started all 13 games last year, has been slow to recover from offseason hip surgery.
"We'll have to observe Chris Davis some more coming off the injury, and the same is true of Trinton and Vince, but Chris was not quite as far along," head coach Mark Richt said.
Tanner Strickland played in reserve duty last season but will miss all of 2009 with a shoulder injury he suffered while lifting weights this offseason, and Kiante Tripp, who started three games at left tackle last year, has moved to the defensive line this season.
Richt said the battle for starting jobs this fall is essentially between just six players -- Sturdivant, Vance, Ben Jones, Clint Boling, Cordy Glenn and Justin Anderson. Anderson also battled injuries down the stretch last season but appears healthy now.
That leaves just three linemen -- Boling, Jones and Glenn -- who return with both significant playing experience and no questions about health. The depth behind that group is still thin, too, Bobo said, but Richt sees a few players capable of stepping up.
"Casey Nichols is a guy who has put himself in a pretty good position to be a very reliable guy. I don't know if he'll break the starting lineup, but he could be productive," Richt said. "A.J. Harmon had a productive spring, and from what I've seen just looking at his body, he's done a really good job there. But again, he's got to learn what to do and get comfortable in that area. Then you have a bunch of young guys that are trying to prove that they're ready to play."
That group includes freshmen Dallas Lee, who enrolled early this spring but missed the G-Day game with an injury, and Chris Burnette, who Boling thinks could be ready if pressed into service.
"Chris is a really smart guy, and this summer he picked up things right away," Boling said. "I think if we had to, he could play for us right away."
So the question of the offensive line's success is really more a matter of perspective.
For Bobo, he's taking a cautious approach. There is ability, he said, but seeing is believing.
"We've still got to find five guys that we feel comfortable with in there right now on what we can do," he said. "Just because those guys have played, they haven't played together, and we've got a long way to go."
Richt, on the other hand, is a bit more optimistic. After seeing a patchwork line piece together a strong season a year ago, any sense of stability seems like a dramatic improvement.
"We're counting on the offensive line to perform well," Richt said. "We do have more maturity, more experience under our belt, so we're expecting better play. I think we progressed pretty darned well considering what we were playing with (last year), but now I think we can expect a little more. Their bodies are certainly bigger and stronger. Their knowledge is better. I really do think they'll perform better."
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Practice Notes: Fine First Day
Jeff Owens hasn't participated in a full practice in 11 months, and he nearly missed his triumphant return. He spent the weekend in New York and a weekend bomb scare at the airport delayed his return until Monday afternoon, arriving back in Athens just a few minutes before the team's first meeting.
The hectic journey paled in comparison to the work he put in to rehab a torn ACL, however, but after one day of practice the effort seems to have paid off.
"I think I did quite well," Owens said. "I even conditioned with the team and I wasn't held out of anything. I think it's going pretty good."
That doesn't mean the practice was easy, however.
Georgia spent nearly three hours on the practice field Tuesday, the team's first practice session with coaches since April. The players only donned shorts and practice jerseys and there was no contact, but brushing away the cobwebs still meant breaking a pretty hearty sweat.
"The first day's always tough," Owens said. "It was tough for me, but overall, I think it went pretty well on both sides of the ball. The guys competed and got after it."
Tuesday not only marked Owens return from injury, but it was also the first chance coaches had to meet with Georgia's incoming freshmen class.
The findings on Day 1 weren't significantly different from the reports coaches had gotten from players throughout a summer of voluntary workouts – the freshmen were prepared and eager to learn more.
"When you can walk into a meeting room for the first time with guys this morning and ask them some questions and they can fire the answer back at you, it certainly means a lot at this point," tight ends coach John Lilly said.
Georgia will practice in shorts again today before putting on shells for the next three days of practice. Monday will feature two practice sessions, including the first with full pads and contact.
"It won't be the same until you get into your first day of pads and contact," safety Bryan Evans said. "We've been running all summer, but when you put on the weight and start banging on each other, that's when you really see where our team is at physically."
GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The Bulldogs' first practice session may have been an eye-opener for many of the new faces on campus, but freshman tight end Orson Charles couldn't get enough.
After wowing his teammates during voluntary workouts this summer, Charles gave coaches a taste of his high-energy approach, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was impressed.
"He loves to play." Bobo said. "He wanted to take every rep. He didn't want to sit out a single play. He's hungry, and when the ball was thrown to him today, he made some catches. He didn't know everything that was going on, but neither did A.J. Green last year, but he made plays."
The comparisons to Green are impressive enough, but the Georgia wide receiver said Charles actually reminds him more of another prominent Bulldog.
"He reminds me of Knowshon a little bit," Green said of Charles. "He's got one of those motors that never stops."
ENJOYING THE SILENCE
Before his team took the field for its first day of practice a year ago, Mark Richt spent the morning answering questions about two players who had been arrested and a third who earned a suspension for damaging property at a local hospital. So when a reporter asked about the quiet offseason this year, Richt's response was relief.
"Amen," he said with a laugh.
The troublesome offseason a year ago foreshadowed a problematic season on the field in which Georgia was among the most penalized teams in the nation. Richt said his hope is that the trouble-free break this year will be precede a similar on-field turnaround.
"Have we been a more disciplined team from January to August than we were a year ago? To this point, we have," Richt said. "We hope that will translate to being a more disciplined team on the field."
The hectic journey paled in comparison to the work he put in to rehab a torn ACL, however, but after one day of practice the effort seems to have paid off.
"I think I did quite well," Owens said. "I even conditioned with the team and I wasn't held out of anything. I think it's going pretty good."
That doesn't mean the practice was easy, however.
Georgia spent nearly three hours on the practice field Tuesday, the team's first practice session with coaches since April. The players only donned shorts and practice jerseys and there was no contact, but brushing away the cobwebs still meant breaking a pretty hearty sweat.
"The first day's always tough," Owens said. "It was tough for me, but overall, I think it went pretty well on both sides of the ball. The guys competed and got after it."
Tuesday not only marked Owens return from injury, but it was also the first chance coaches had to meet with Georgia's incoming freshmen class.
The findings on Day 1 weren't significantly different from the reports coaches had gotten from players throughout a summer of voluntary workouts – the freshmen were prepared and eager to learn more.
"When you can walk into a meeting room for the first time with guys this morning and ask them some questions and they can fire the answer back at you, it certainly means a lot at this point," tight ends coach John Lilly said.
Georgia will practice in shorts again today before putting on shells for the next three days of practice. Monday will feature two practice sessions, including the first with full pads and contact.
"It won't be the same until you get into your first day of pads and contact," safety Bryan Evans said. "We've been running all summer, but when you put on the weight and start banging on each other, that's when you really see where our team is at physically."
GOOD FIRST IMPRESSIONS
The Bulldogs' first practice session may have been an eye-opener for many of the new faces on campus, but freshman tight end Orson Charles couldn't get enough.
After wowing his teammates during voluntary workouts this summer, Charles gave coaches a taste of his high-energy approach, and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was impressed.
"He loves to play." Bobo said. "He wanted to take every rep. He didn't want to sit out a single play. He's hungry, and when the ball was thrown to him today, he made some catches. He didn't know everything that was going on, but neither did A.J. Green last year, but he made plays."
The comparisons to Green are impressive enough, but the Georgia wide receiver said Charles actually reminds him more of another prominent Bulldog.
"He reminds me of Knowshon a little bit," Green said of Charles. "He's got one of those motors that never stops."
ENJOYING THE SILENCE
Before his team took the field for its first day of practice a year ago, Mark Richt spent the morning answering questions about two players who had been arrested and a third who earned a suspension for damaging property at a local hospital. So when a reporter asked about the quiet offseason this year, Richt's response was relief.
"Amen," he said with a laugh.
The troublesome offseason a year ago foreshadowed a problematic season on the field in which Georgia was among the most penalized teams in the nation. Richt said his hope is that the trouble-free break this year will be precede a similar on-field turnaround.
"Have we been a more disciplined team from January to August than we were a year ago? To this point, we have," Richt said. "We hope that will translate to being a more disciplined team on the field."
Fan Picture Day Info
From UGA release...
The annual University of Georgia Fans’ Picture Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 22, at Sanford Stadium and will feature Bulldog football coaches and players, other UGA athletic teams and Uga VII.
Uga VII and the other University of Georgia sports teams will be available from 1:00-3:00 p.m. The Georgia football players and coaches will be on hand for photographs and autographs from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Concessions and merchandise sales will be available throughout the event on the 100 level concourse of Sanford Stadium.
Fans will be able to enter Picture Day through Gate 6 located off East Campus Road and Gate 2 located on Sanford Drive across from the UGA Bookstore and Tate Student Center. Both gates will open at noon. Fans may bring in just two items to be signed, and Picture Day event staff will enforce this number at both the main entrances and autograph line entrances.
Parking is available to the general public in the following campus lots: any lots along East Campus Road, Journalism-Psychology Building, Clarke Howell Hall, Legion Field and Tate Center lots. Handicapped parking will be available in the Tate Center lots.
All activities associated with Picture Day will take place only on the 100 level between Sections 101-125. Signage will be displayed throughout the concourse directing all fans to the team locations and concession and merchandise stands.
The Georgia offensive unit and head coach Mark Richt will be located throughout the North side concourse of Sanford Stadium between Sections 101-109, while the defense will be located on the Gate 6 Plaza between Sections 121-125.
Other Georgia teams in attendance will include the cheerleaders, the defending national champion equestrian and women's gymnastics teams and the baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field and volleyball squads. Those representatives will be located between Sections 113-119.
Beginning at 9:00 a.m. that morning, fans can pick up a ticket at the East End Ticket Windows located off East Campus Road to reserve their place in line for the Uga VII photo opportunity. The first 150 fans will receive a ticket and guaranteed opportunity for a photo with Uga VII.
Also beginning at 9:00 a.m. that morning, fans can pick up a ticket at the East End Ticket Windows located off East Campus Road to reserve their place in line for a photo opportunity with Coach Richt. The first 250 fans will receive a ticket and guaranteed opportunity for a photo with Richt.
Complimentary schedule cards and posters will be available.
The annual University of Georgia Fans’ Picture Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 22, at Sanford Stadium and will feature Bulldog football coaches and players, other UGA athletic teams and Uga VII.
Uga VII and the other University of Georgia sports teams will be available from 1:00-3:00 p.m. The Georgia football players and coaches will be on hand for photographs and autographs from 3:00-5:00 p.m. Concessions and merchandise sales will be available throughout the event on the 100 level concourse of Sanford Stadium.
Fans will be able to enter Picture Day through Gate 6 located off East Campus Road and Gate 2 located on Sanford Drive across from the UGA Bookstore and Tate Student Center. Both gates will open at noon. Fans may bring in just two items to be signed, and Picture Day event staff will enforce this number at both the main entrances and autograph line entrances.
Parking is available to the general public in the following campus lots: any lots along East Campus Road, Journalism-Psychology Building, Clarke Howell Hall, Legion Field and Tate Center lots. Handicapped parking will be available in the Tate Center lots.
All activities associated with Picture Day will take place only on the 100 level between Sections 101-125. Signage will be displayed throughout the concourse directing all fans to the team locations and concession and merchandise stands.
The Georgia offensive unit and head coach Mark Richt will be located throughout the North side concourse of Sanford Stadium between Sections 101-109, while the defense will be located on the Gate 6 Plaza between Sections 121-125.
Other Georgia teams in attendance will include the cheerleaders, the defending national champion equestrian and women's gymnastics teams and the baseball, men's and women's basketball, men's and women's golf, soccer, softball, men's and women's swimming and diving, men's and women's tennis, men's and women's track and field and volleyball squads. Those representatives will be located between Sections 113-119.
Beginning at 9:00 a.m. that morning, fans can pick up a ticket at the East End Ticket Windows located off East Campus Road to reserve their place in line for the Uga VII photo opportunity. The first 150 fans will receive a ticket and guaranteed opportunity for a photo with Uga VII.
Also beginning at 9:00 a.m. that morning, fans can pick up a ticket at the East End Ticket Windows located off East Campus Road to reserve their place in line for a photo opportunity with Coach Richt. The first 250 fans will receive a ticket and guaranteed opportunity for a photo with Richt.
Complimentary schedule cards and posters will be available.
Video Blog: Charles In Charge
The freshmen were one of the bigger topics of conversation at Georgia's preseason media day today (along with Joe Cox and the running backs) and the name that has seemed to bring about the most kudos is tight end Orson Charles. In fact, wide receiver A.J. Green managed to give him a particularly impressive compliment:
"He reminds me of Knowshon (Moreno) a little bit," Green said. "He has one of those motors that never stops."
Quarterback Joe Cox puts gives a few more details on Charles' work ethic in this video...
"He reminds me of Knowshon (Moreno) a little bit," Green said. "He has one of those motors that never stops."
Quarterback Joe Cox puts gives a few more details on Charles' work ethic in this video...
Geathers Still Waiting
Georgia's players reported to fall camp on Monday and held their first walk-throughs this morning, but freshman lineman Kwame Geathers was not among them.
Geathers is still working to finalize his qualification, and the process of reviewing his materials is taking longer than expected, head coach Mark Richt said.
"He's still going through his NCAA review," Richt said. "He's still jumping through hoops. Every hoop that's been in front of him, he's jumped through successfully to this point. We're still very optimistic he'll be here soon, but you can't really predict how long (the review) will take."
While the delay has caused some concern regarding Geathers' eventual arrival, Richt said the school has not been made aware of any problems in the process thus far, but rather is simply waiting for the final approval.
"We're very confident that everything's going to go through," Richt said. "We've not hit a wall, it's just kind of a slow process."
Richt said there were no other absences by players during Day 1 of camp.
Geathers is still working to finalize his qualification, and the process of reviewing his materials is taking longer than expected, head coach Mark Richt said.
"He's still going through his NCAA review," Richt said. "He's still jumping through hoops. Every hoop that's been in front of him, he's jumped through successfully to this point. We're still very optimistic he'll be here soon, but you can't really predict how long (the review) will take."
While the delay has caused some concern regarding Geathers' eventual arrival, Richt said the school has not been made aware of any problems in the process thus far, but rather is simply waiting for the final approval.
"We're very confident that everything's going to go through," Richt said. "We've not hit a wall, it's just kind of a slow process."
Richt said there were no other absences by players during Day 1 of camp.
What to Watch as Practice Begins
Happy first day of fall practice. Today is Georgia's preseason media day, which means we'll get a Mark Richt news conference at noon, followed by interviews with a handful of players. I'll update any news from those as they happen via Twitter (you can follow me HERE) and I'll have notes posted throughout the day on the blog. Practice begins at 3:30, and the first 12 periods are open to media, so I'll try to get some video and additional notes up after that.
In the meantime, I put together a list of 10 intriguing depth chart battles to watch this month. Here's a preview...
1.) Starting tailback
The departure of Knowshon Moreno for the NFL leaves a gaping hole on Georgia's offense, and sophomore Caleb King failed to capitalize on a chance to nail down the job this spring. While Richard Samuel, who is recovering from wrist surgery, Carlton Thomas, Dontavius Jackson and new freshman Washaun Ealey could all push for the job, too, it's perhaps as likely that the Bulldogs will instead employ a committee approach when the season begins.
2.) No. 3 receiver
Michael Moore had a breakout game against Michigan State in the Capital One Bowl, and Georgia hopes he can fill the void left by Mohamed Massaquoi, but Moore is best as a slot receiver, leaving the split end job open for someone to help take the pressure off A.J. Green. Tavarres King, Israel Troupe and freshman Marlon Brown are the top candidates.
3.) Middle linebacker
Junior Darryl Gamble filled in admirably for injured senior Dannell Ellerbe last season, but it's Akeem Dent's name atop the depth chart at middle linebacker this fall. Gamble is listing as the starting Sam linebacker, but with more teams running the spread offense, that position spends plenty of time on the sideline as defense are forced to use five or more defensive backs. Gamble will push for playing time in the middle, along with senior Marcus Washington, who returns from injury this fall, and sophomore Marcus Dowtin, who impressed in limited action last year.
4.) Kicker
Mark Richt grabbed headlines last season by promising to go to Poland to find a kicker whose leg could reach the end zone on kickoffs. As it turned out, he only had to go to California. Junior college transfer Brandon Bogotay arrives this fall to push sophomore Blair Walsh for kickoff duties and perhaps more.
5.) No. 2 quarterback
Joe Cox is firmly established as Georgia's quarterback this year, but the future remains up for grabs and this fall could go a long way to determining who is under center in 2010. Sophomore Logan Gray is No. 2 on the depth chart now and had a nice spring, but Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger both have tons of talent, too. Richt said if either freshman can prove they deserve to be the No. 2 guy, he'll find a way to play them this year.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Players Report for Fall Camp
From UGA release...
The University of Georgia welcomed its football student-athletes to campus Monday as they officially reported for the start of fall camp.
On Monday, the team’s activities included physicals, meetings, freshmen orientation and a team dinner. Fall practice begins Tuesday following the team’s first media session of the season.
All 104 players expected to report arrived. Bulldog freshman signee Kwame Geathers of Georgetown, S.C., is slated to report once he receives clearance from the NCAA Clearinghouse, according to Georgia coach Mark Richt.
"We're ready to start camp and begin the next phase of preparation for another season," said Richt. "It's good to see everybody together again."
Georgia’s first five practices will serve as the NCAA-mandated acclimation period. The acclimation period went into effect by the NCAA in 2004 with the intent to lessen injuries and heat-related illnesses. The period is free of multi-practice days that were common in college football prior to the legislation.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the team will practice in helmets and shorts, while on Thursday and Friday the squad will wear shoulder pads as well. After a Saturday practice in shells, the first two-a-day practice will take place on Monday, Aug. 10 with a full-pads practice during the morning session.
The fall semester begins Monday, Aug. 17. The annual Fans Picture Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 22 at Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs open the season with a Top 25 contest at Oklahoma State on Saturday, Sept. 5. Kickoff against the Cowboys is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised by ABC.
The University of Georgia welcomed its football student-athletes to campus Monday as they officially reported for the start of fall camp.
On Monday, the team’s activities included physicals, meetings, freshmen orientation and a team dinner. Fall practice begins Tuesday following the team’s first media session of the season.
All 104 players expected to report arrived. Bulldog freshman signee Kwame Geathers of Georgetown, S.C., is slated to report once he receives clearance from the NCAA Clearinghouse, according to Georgia coach Mark Richt.
"We're ready to start camp and begin the next phase of preparation for another season," said Richt. "It's good to see everybody together again."
Georgia’s first five practices will serve as the NCAA-mandated acclimation period. The acclimation period went into effect by the NCAA in 2004 with the intent to lessen injuries and heat-related illnesses. The period is free of multi-practice days that were common in college football prior to the legislation.
On Tuesday and Wednesday, the team will practice in helmets and shorts, while on Thursday and Friday the squad will wear shoulder pads as well. After a Saturday practice in shells, the first two-a-day practice will take place on Monday, Aug. 10 with a full-pads practice during the morning session.
The fall semester begins Monday, Aug. 17. The annual Fans Picture Day will be held Saturday, Aug. 22 at Sanford Stadium. The Bulldogs open the season with a Top 25 contest at Oklahoma State on Saturday, Sept. 5. Kickoff against the Cowboys is slated for 3:30 p.m. ET. The game will be televised by ABC.
Richt Talks Recruiting, Redshirting and Redemption
I had a chance to do some preseason chatting with Mark Richt last week. I have more to come from our conversation, which hit on a lot of different subjects, but I figured I'd post a few portions of the interview verbatim, too.
So, here are some thoughts from Richt on Georgia's successful offseason on the recruiting trail, the lessons he learned from last season (something he's getting tired of talking about apparently) and what he thinks is in store for this year.
David Hale: You talked a bit as SEC Media Days about the rush of commitments that you got during the past two months while so many of your assistants were on vacation or out of town. How hard is it to keep tabs on all of that when you're not meeting regularly to make sure everyone is in the loop?
Mark Richt: It was tough. It's not like the whole staff was on vacation the whole time, but somewhere along the way, two or three were out, and we were never all in the building at the same time from our June camp to our next camp. It's difficult to get up with everybody and do a good job of staying in contact.
DH: When a class starts to fill up, does it become nearly impossible to really control the numbers? I know you've talked about never wanting to pull a scholarship from someone already committed or on the team, but how do you manage that when commitments start coming so quickly?
MR: What happens is you have X amount of spots at every position really. Your overall number certainly comes into play, but if you target X amount at this position, X amount at this position, you might be at the end of the road in a hurry at a particular position. So you're kind of dealing with it all the way through, and it's never easy to say when enough is enough because you don't know what's going to happen with your attrition. You're making decisions on stopping the recruiting number when you are literally 13 months away from having to declare who your 85 are. It's very difficult to do when you're six or seven months away from the signing date.
DH: Do you have an idea of what your number is this year, how many more you plan to sign?
MR: I never like to give it away because if I say one thing today, it could change a month from now, it could change at the midyear, and then someone will say that, 'You said this here, and then you did that.' I try to avoid it because I don't want to get nailed down on something that I can't nail down. I wish I could. I wish I could know exactly how many juniors would go pro. I wish I knew how many young men who might decide to transfer, I wish I knew what that number might be. Hopefully it's zero, but I wish I knew how many guys would get hurt and have a medical DQ. I wish I knew who may or may not qualify. There's so many factors going on and spinning around that you can't know what the right answer is. You have to just work your way through it.
DH: Looking at the commitments you do have, it looks like you went very defense heavy this year. Was that part of the plan from the beginning? Did you see more glaring needs there?
MR: Not necessarily. I didn't look at our data to say we offered more defensive players than offensive players. I can't say we did that. We probably did. It just so happens that that's where the run came. Sometimes the run happens because a kid at a certain position, one or two decides they want to come, and another young man who might be playing that same position might say if I don't make my decision than I may not have a space. It's a supply and demand thing sometimes.
DH: I want to ask you a couple questions about last season, and then we can put 2008 behind us.
MR: Please, that would be great.
DH: I assume at the end of every season, you're re-evaluating the things you do, your methods for coaching and putting a team together.
MR: Always.
DH: So I'm curious what the lessons are you took from last year? What did you learn from the season?
MR: If you don't practice a certain way, you're not going to get the mental edge and the physical edge that you need to be a championship football team. We made some decisions to change the way we go about our business due to the bodies laying on the ground. In order to create this energy and this edge and this confidence, it needs to be happening throughout camp. It needs to be happening throughout the season. Because we modified what we do, I think that might have been one of the biggest things I learned was that even if we've got some injury issues, we'd still probably be better served to keep going, to keep banging away, because if you don't, you will lose what you need to really play at your optimal level.
Now, with the injury factor the way it was, I'm not so sure we didn't do one of our better jobs coaching. It's hard for me to even say. On one hand, you wanted to meet an expectations that really couldn't be exceeded. You're preseason No. 1, you want to meet that expectation, you want to win the East, you want to have a chance to play for the SEC, and we fell short of that.
So we'll never sit there and say that was a great year. It's not a great year. If you don't win the East, it's not a great year. If you don't play for and hopefully win the SEC, it's not a great year. It could be a good year though. I think most teams across the country would be excited about a 10-win season and a top-10 finish. That's what happened, but it wasn't what we were hoping for. If we were in Year 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or whatever, and we get 10 wins and finish in the top 10, everybody's celebrating. It didn't happen that way this past year.
DH: Looking ahead to this coming season...
MR: We want to win the East and the SEC.
DH: I figured you might. I wanted to ask you a little about some things you might do differently this year though. You mentioned earlier this week that you planned to play all your true freshmen at a fairly broadly defined term of "skill positions." What changed that has you convinced redshirting isn't worthwhile for so many players?
MR: I'll tell you one of the main reasons behind that is the fact that our academic people are doing such a nice job of taking young men who don't redshirt and getting them graduated in three-and-a-half years. We really weren't getting that done some years ago. I don't know if anybody was getting that done years ago. It just wasn't happening.
So what happened was, if they play four years, senior year that's a semester really. They're here three years and a semester when their eligibility is up if they don't redshirt. Well, not many guys graduate in three-and-a-half years. Hardly any students do. Part of my reason behind redshirting kids was I wanted these kids to graduate. As you look at the big picture academically, you're seeing the guys that didn't redshirt, as soon as that three years is over, they go to Arizona, they go to Atlanta, wherever they go to train. They get ready for the combine, and you can't blame them for that. So they put their academics on hold, so they don't graduate. Then they come back after the six-year limit where they define what your graduation rate is – and we've done a phenomenal job of graduating guys past that date, guys have come back from trying all that and realizing how important their degree is – but we're like, 'We've got to get them graduated on the front end.'
Ted White (director of Georgia's student-athlete academic center) came in and had a really sound plan to do that, and you'll see more and more of our players who don't redshirt graduate after three-and-a-half, and because of that, it gives me more peace on the front end to say, even if this kid plays as a freshman, he can graduate in three-and-a-half, because we've got a plan in place. It's not easy, but it can be done and it has been done. So that in itself has been more of the reason why we do that.
DH: Another change for this season is what I've found to be the team's unofficial motto for 2009 -- the star of the team is the team. I've had numerous players repeat it to me, and even the cover of your media guide this year, there are no individuals, just a team photo. So I'm curious, what does that motto mean to you?
MR: Sometimes it isn't obvious, but it's obvious to us that football is a team sport. There aren't many sports like it. Even the diversity of the teammates that have to come together to make it work, you can't just have two stars and consider it a slam dunk that you have what it takes to be a champion.
We didn't try to don Matthew (Stafford) and Knowshon (Moreno) as stars. They played well, and they separated themselves in people's minds as elite players. I don't think they tried to separate themselves as being a prima donna or anything like that, but the perception of Georgia, everyone wanted to talk about Stafford and Moreno. So the more that gets thrown out there, the tougher it is to focus on the reality of the team. The most important thing that can happen to us is to put the team first and realize it's going to take everybody to get where we're going to go.
So, here are some thoughts from Richt on Georgia's successful offseason on the recruiting trail, the lessons he learned from last season (something he's getting tired of talking about apparently) and what he thinks is in store for this year.
David Hale: You talked a bit as SEC Media Days about the rush of commitments that you got during the past two months while so many of your assistants were on vacation or out of town. How hard is it to keep tabs on all of that when you're not meeting regularly to make sure everyone is in the loop?
Mark Richt: It was tough. It's not like the whole staff was on vacation the whole time, but somewhere along the way, two or three were out, and we were never all in the building at the same time from our June camp to our next camp. It's difficult to get up with everybody and do a good job of staying in contact.
DH: When a class starts to fill up, does it become nearly impossible to really control the numbers? I know you've talked about never wanting to pull a scholarship from someone already committed or on the team, but how do you manage that when commitments start coming so quickly?
MR: What happens is you have X amount of spots at every position really. Your overall number certainly comes into play, but if you target X amount at this position, X amount at this position, you might be at the end of the road in a hurry at a particular position. So you're kind of dealing with it all the way through, and it's never easy to say when enough is enough because you don't know what's going to happen with your attrition. You're making decisions on stopping the recruiting number when you are literally 13 months away from having to declare who your 85 are. It's very difficult to do when you're six or seven months away from the signing date.
DH: Do you have an idea of what your number is this year, how many more you plan to sign?
MR: I never like to give it away because if I say one thing today, it could change a month from now, it could change at the midyear, and then someone will say that, 'You said this here, and then you did that.' I try to avoid it because I don't want to get nailed down on something that I can't nail down. I wish I could. I wish I could know exactly how many juniors would go pro. I wish I knew how many young men who might decide to transfer, I wish I knew what that number might be. Hopefully it's zero, but I wish I knew how many guys would get hurt and have a medical DQ. I wish I knew who may or may not qualify. There's so many factors going on and spinning around that you can't know what the right answer is. You have to just work your way through it.
DH: Looking at the commitments you do have, it looks like you went very defense heavy this year. Was that part of the plan from the beginning? Did you see more glaring needs there?
MR: Not necessarily. I didn't look at our data to say we offered more defensive players than offensive players. I can't say we did that. We probably did. It just so happens that that's where the run came. Sometimes the run happens because a kid at a certain position, one or two decides they want to come, and another young man who might be playing that same position might say if I don't make my decision than I may not have a space. It's a supply and demand thing sometimes.
DH: I want to ask you a couple questions about last season, and then we can put 2008 behind us.
MR: Please, that would be great.
DH: I assume at the end of every season, you're re-evaluating the things you do, your methods for coaching and putting a team together.
MR: Always.
DH: So I'm curious what the lessons are you took from last year? What did you learn from the season?
MR: If you don't practice a certain way, you're not going to get the mental edge and the physical edge that you need to be a championship football team. We made some decisions to change the way we go about our business due to the bodies laying on the ground. In order to create this energy and this edge and this confidence, it needs to be happening throughout camp. It needs to be happening throughout the season. Because we modified what we do, I think that might have been one of the biggest things I learned was that even if we've got some injury issues, we'd still probably be better served to keep going, to keep banging away, because if you don't, you will lose what you need to really play at your optimal level.
Now, with the injury factor the way it was, I'm not so sure we didn't do one of our better jobs coaching. It's hard for me to even say. On one hand, you wanted to meet an expectations that really couldn't be exceeded. You're preseason No. 1, you want to meet that expectation, you want to win the East, you want to have a chance to play for the SEC, and we fell short of that.
So we'll never sit there and say that was a great year. It's not a great year. If you don't win the East, it's not a great year. If you don't play for and hopefully win the SEC, it's not a great year. It could be a good year though. I think most teams across the country would be excited about a 10-win season and a top-10 finish. That's what happened, but it wasn't what we were hoping for. If we were in Year 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 or whatever, and we get 10 wins and finish in the top 10, everybody's celebrating. It didn't happen that way this past year.
DH: Looking ahead to this coming season...
MR: We want to win the East and the SEC.
DH: I figured you might. I wanted to ask you a little about some things you might do differently this year though. You mentioned earlier this week that you planned to play all your true freshmen at a fairly broadly defined term of "skill positions." What changed that has you convinced redshirting isn't worthwhile for so many players?
MR: I'll tell you one of the main reasons behind that is the fact that our academic people are doing such a nice job of taking young men who don't redshirt and getting them graduated in three-and-a-half years. We really weren't getting that done some years ago. I don't know if anybody was getting that done years ago. It just wasn't happening.
So what happened was, if they play four years, senior year that's a semester really. They're here three years and a semester when their eligibility is up if they don't redshirt. Well, not many guys graduate in three-and-a-half years. Hardly any students do. Part of my reason behind redshirting kids was I wanted these kids to graduate. As you look at the big picture academically, you're seeing the guys that didn't redshirt, as soon as that three years is over, they go to Arizona, they go to Atlanta, wherever they go to train. They get ready for the combine, and you can't blame them for that. So they put their academics on hold, so they don't graduate. Then they come back after the six-year limit where they define what your graduation rate is – and we've done a phenomenal job of graduating guys past that date, guys have come back from trying all that and realizing how important their degree is – but we're like, 'We've got to get them graduated on the front end.'
Ted White (director of Georgia's student-athlete academic center) came in and had a really sound plan to do that, and you'll see more and more of our players who don't redshirt graduate after three-and-a-half, and because of that, it gives me more peace on the front end to say, even if this kid plays as a freshman, he can graduate in three-and-a-half, because we've got a plan in place. It's not easy, but it can be done and it has been done. So that in itself has been more of the reason why we do that.
DH: Another change for this season is what I've found to be the team's unofficial motto for 2009 -- the star of the team is the team. I've had numerous players repeat it to me, and even the cover of your media guide this year, there are no individuals, just a team photo. So I'm curious, what does that motto mean to you?
MR: Sometimes it isn't obvious, but it's obvious to us that football is a team sport. There aren't many sports like it. Even the diversity of the teammates that have to come together to make it work, you can't just have two stars and consider it a slam dunk that you have what it takes to be a champion.
We didn't try to don Matthew (Stafford) and Knowshon (Moreno) as stars. They played well, and they separated themselves in people's minds as elite players. I don't think they tried to separate themselves as being a prima donna or anything like that, but the perception of Georgia, everyone wanted to talk about Stafford and Moreno. So the more that gets thrown out there, the tougher it is to focus on the reality of the team. The most important thing that can happen to us is to put the team first and realize it's going to take everybody to get where we're going to go.
Monday Links (8/3)
Because Dawg Bone is back up and running again, I'll just post a small handful of links and instead let you surf over there and enjoy the new site for a while.
Remember though, players report for fall camp today and practice begins tomorrow. Who's excited?
-- I have a pretty standard pre-practice preview (whew, that's hard to say) in today's Telegraph, but it's probably worth reading just for the quotes.
-- Former Bulldog Hines Ward talks Georgia football with Total UGA.
-- The quarterback that caused all the uproar at Carver High is now headed to Maryland.
-- If you follow Jeff Owens on Twitter, you know he had a heck of a weekend in New York and a few problems trying to return to Athens. Tim Tucker has a story about Owens' return to the football field, which has been equally long-awaited.
-- The Sporting News has a great list of the worst coaches of all time. As an Eagles fan, I'm thrilled to see so many people truly appreciated the awfulness that was the Rich Kotite era. As Georgia fans, you'll no doubt enjoy this line about Ray Goff: "Watching Ray Goff coach football was like watching a colorblind man tackle a Rubik's Cube." (h/t Jim Franklin)
-- Dennis Dodd ranks Georgia as the eighth-best team in the country during the zeroes decade.
-- Battle Hymn Notes takes a look at how the SEC West race could shake out.
-- Georgia added Florida Atlantic to its basketball schedule for the upcoming season.
-- Zach Cone and Steve Esmonde will have a former high school teammate playing with them at Georgia next season.
-- In honor of the film's release, here's an overly detailed timeline of every minor fact you could ever want to know about G.I. Joe.
-- And finally, I think during my many travels over the past two months I neglected to brag about seeing Eddie Vedder in Cobb County this summer. I was sporting a free Syracuse t-shirt I had gotten and was actually in the middle of making fun of the rather extensive contingent of people wearing Pearl Jam shirts to an Eddie Vedder show (to quote Jeremy Piven in "PCU," "Don't be that guy...") when someone came up behind me and asked if I was a Syracuse grad. It turned out he was a Syracuse grad, too -- class of 1980 -- and we chatted about the Orange for a minute. Then he asked where we were sitting. I said somewhere in the mezzanine. He said, "not anymore" and handed us two front-row tickets. Apparently he worked for Eddie Vedder and wanted to make sure a fellow Orangeman was well taken care of. It almost makes those student loan payments seem worthwhile.
Anyway, on a related note, Pearl Jam has an interview with Billboard about their upcoming album here if you're interested in reading it.Is Richt on the Hot Seat?
Read that headline again, then ask yourself, on a scale of one to 10, how stupid does it sound? Much like Nigel Tufnel's amp, that scale should really go to 11.
And yet, it hasn't stopped dozens of writers and columnists from asking it this offseason, most notably Paul Finebaum, who posed the question in a recent column for the Mobile Press-Register. A year ago, there would have been little tolerance for such hypotheticals, but apparently 10 wins doesn't get you what it used to.
For his part, Richt isn't paying much attention to any of the talk -- although he is aware that it has been talked about.
"I don't really dwell on those things so I don't know exactly what everybody said or what they think about me," he said. "When it comes to that kind of thing, I try to focus on what I can control. My job is to do the best I can for this university to prepare players and coaches to reach all the goals and expectations they have. ... I'm focusing on the process of building a championship team and doing it in a first-class manner. That's all I can do. I really can't control the perceptions or anything else for that manner."
Nor should he have to. But since players report for fall practice today, I think it might be worth trying to do a little of that perception control now.
First, it's always good to get a little perspective. As the Senator pointed out last week, what Richt has accomplished in just eight years at Georgia is beyond anything fans could have expected upon his arrival.
Then let's take a look at how Richt stacks up against the competition.
Best winning percentage, all active coaches:
Pete Carroll, USC (88-15, .854)
Urban Meyer, Fla. (83-17, .830)
Bob Stoops, Okla. (109-24, .820)
Mark Richt, UGA (82-22, .788)
*Note, it should probably be pointed out, too, that A.) Richt's bowl record (6-2) dwarfs that of Stoops (4-7) and that the majority of Meyer's record, as impressive as it is, was built in lower conferences (not that he's done too bad in the SEC).
How about closer to home? Here are the top SEC team's record during the past eight seasons:
Georgia 82-22
LSU 82-22
Florida 77-27
Auburn 72-30
Tennessee 69-33
Of course, all four of the non-Georgia teams on that list have had coaching changes in that time, so perhaps wins and losses don't have much to do with it.
After all, all the talk regarding Richt's job performance has never been about wins and losses. It essentially surrounds one key fact: He hasn't won a national championship yet, while Florida and LSU have each won two during his tenure.
That's really the big problem for Richt. While the chips have never fallen just right for a national title at Georgia, a few other coaches have managed to make the process look pretty simple. It's not.
Yet the argument I hear most from people who are, let's say, less than enthusiastic about Richt is this: The guy's not a bad coach, he's just not going to get it done at a national-championship level.
First off, Richt is a lot better than "not a bad coach," but let's humor the notion for a minute anyway. Since Richt arrived at Georgia, there have only been four non-voluntary coaching changes at a school that won eight or more games the previous season. (Of note: I'm defining non-voluntary in the most liberal of interpretations, so any instance in which there appeared to be even minor pressure for a coach to step aside is included.) Here's the list:
2008
Arkansas - Houston Nutt (8-5) to Bobby Petrino 5-7
Michigan - Lloyd Carr (9-4) to Rich Rodriguez 3-9
2004
Nebraska - Frank Solich (9-3) to Bill Callahan 5-6
2003
UCLA - Bob Toledo (8-5) to Karl Dorrell 6-7
The first thing to note is, most schools aren't stupid enough to dump a good coach, and my guess is that Georgia fans don't want to see their school lumped in with the UCLAs and Arkansas of the world.
The bottom line is, you don't get rid of a good coach because there aren't that many of them, and Mark Richt is better than a good coach.
Which leads me to the biggest reason people need to stop wondering about Richt's future. If you're going to make a change, you better be sure you have a better plan in place for the future, and that's no easy task.
Maybe Richt can't win a national title. There's really no way of knowing until either a.) he wins one or b.) he stops trying. But that's true of all coaches who have yet to win a title. In fact, here are the only active (or potentially active) coaches we're 100 percent positive have what it takes to lead a team to a national championship: Urban Meyer, Les Miles, Mack Brown, Pete Carroll, Bob Stoops, Nick Saban, Jim Tressel, Butch Davis, Phil Fulmer, Bobby Bowden, Steve Spurrier, Joe Paterno and Dennis Erickson.
That's it. That's the list.
I know this entire post has been preaching to a very small minority of Georgia fans (and probably mostly to a fair number of college football columnists who have far too little to write about), so I apologize if this was a wasted exercise for the rest of you.
But here's the question I want to ask that vocal minority (and anyone else who wants to answer it): Look at that list again and tell me, which of those coaches would drop what they're doing now to come to Georgia? And of those, is there even one that you'd spend more than two seconds considering swapping Mark Richt for?
Sunday, August 2, 2009
They're Baaaaack!
We're one day away from Georgia's players returning to the practice field, but before that, there's an even bigger return Bulldogs fans should be excited about.
Dawg Bone is back!
After a brief hiatus, Dawg Bone is back up and running and now updating with a wider variety of links every hour. Be sure to cruise on over -- the new site is www.thedawgbone.com -- bookmark the site on your browser and, of course, click on all the Macon Telegraph/Ledger-Enqurier/Bulldogs Blog links they have.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
10 Wins is No Easy Task
As I mentioned in my posts this week on players I think will break out and players I think need to step up, we put together a package for the Telegraph this weekend on five reasons Georgia will be better and five reasons they'll be worse.
Perhaps surprisingly, putting together the five reasons to think the Bulldogs can improve wasn't difficult. There's a lot to like about this team, starting with its attitude -- and that's a pretty big departure from last year.
Even on the field, the talent is pretty solid. It's just less experienced than you might want, particularly in the same division with big, bad Florida.
When I put together the five reasons for concern, the list was a little more difficult. Obviously the loss of Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno and company is huge, so by grouping it together as one reason the team will be worse is probably understating the impact.
Then again, if you have to trade Stafford, Moreno, Asher Allen and Mohamed Massaquoi and in exchange you get this year's freshman class along with all of last year's injured players -- Trinton Sturdivant, Vince Vance, Jeff Owens, Marcus Washington, Rod Battle -- isn't that a trade you'd feel OK about?
Beyond that, it was tough for me to actually come up with five reasons to think Georgia could struggle this year. Yes, the defense was bad last season -- but doesn't the unit almost certainly have to be better this year?
No, there isn't a ton of experience in a lot of areas -- but the Dawgs do have veterans in all the key positions like O line, quarterback, interior D line, linebacker and safety.
Sure, the pass rush off the edge looks problematic -- but that interior line might be one of the best in the country.
So all of that forced me to ask one key question: If it's so easy to find reasons to be hopeful and so difficult to find causes for concern -- shouldn't we expect Georgia to be better than it was in 2008?
The answer depends on how you define "better."
Yes, I think this team has a good chance to be better in terms of sheer performance. When you watch the games on Saturdays, I think you'll see a team stronger in the fundamentals, more dynamic in what it can do overall, more reliable at key moments in games. Those would be welcome improvements.
But in terms of wins and losses, it's just hard to find more than nine or 10 wins on this schedule. Are any marginal improvements enough to close that 49-10 gap with Florida? Haven't teams like LSU and Georgia Tech improved, too? And remember how bad Georgia played the week after its two biggest road wins last year? That should probably have you worried about the South Carolina game this season.
The bottom line is, Georgia may well be better. You could even make the argument that the Dawgs should be better. But when you put all of it into the perspective of wins and losses, it should also illustrate just how hard it is to put together a 10-win season and serve as a good reminder that maybe last year wasn't so bad after all.
Anyway, below is the full list of my "Five Reasons" from today's Telegraph. You might also want to check out the story I wrote to accompany the list, which focuses on Georgia's biggest reason for hope in 2009 -- the offensive line.
Five Reasons Georgia Will Be Better in 2009
1.) The offensive line. Eight different offensive linemen started games for Georgia last year, and that doesn't include left tackle Trinton Sturdivant, who hurt his knee in fall practice and missed the year. The upside is that the Bulldogs now have a bevy of veteran lineman that could become one of the top units in the country – a huge benefit to an offense that will have a lot of new faces elsewhere.
2.) Joe Cox's leadership. Georgia will certainly miss the cannon arm of Matthew Stafford, but what the Bulldogs lose in talent, they may make up for in heart with new quarterback Joe Cox. Cox is a vocal leader, a true rah-rah guy, and a veteran who isn't afraid to call out a teammate who isn't getting the job done. He's been the backbone of a dramatically more focused offseason, but only time will tell if that pays dividends this fall.
3.) Lower expectations. Last year, Georgia began the season as the No. 1 team in the country and faltered miserably under the spotlight that comes along with such lofty expectations. This year, the Bulldogs are flying quietly under the radar, and that's a role Mark Richt and company say they're far more comfortable playing.
4.) Dominant defensive tackles. Jeff Owens hurt his knee in Week 1 last year, depriving Georgia of what could have been a dynamic tandem on the interior defensive line. This year, he's back to full health and will pair with Geno Atkins to give the Bulldogs a dominant defensive front up the middle that can cause plenty of havoc in the backfield while still shutting down the run.
5.) They have to be healthier. There's virtually no way Georgia could be bitten any harder by the injury bug this year than they were in 2008. More than 30 players missed action or were hindered in practice last year due to injuries, and the run of bumps and bruises caused Richt to scale back practice. This year, the injured Bulldogs are on the road to recovery and everyone's keeping their fingers crossed that last year's bad luck is balanced by an injury-free 2009.
Five Reasons Georgia Will Be Worse in 2009
1.) So long to the stars. The talent possessed by Matthew Stafford, Knowshon Moreno, Mohamed Massaquoi, Dannell Ellerbe and Asher Allen were big reasons why Georgia was last year's preseason No. 1. All will be playing on Sundays this season, and it remains to be seen whether Joe Cox, Caleb King and company can fill the void left by so many stars.
2.) The pass rush lacks pressure. Georgia finished 10th in the SEC in sacks last season, and things didn't improve much over the offseason. All but two defensive ends missed all or parts of spring practice with injuries, and one of the healthy ones – Justin Houston – will be suspended for the first two weeks of the season. When the Bulldogs open against Oklahoma State, they'll do so without a single defensive end who recorded so much as half-a-sack in SEC play last year.
3.) The schedule looks tough. Phil Steele ranks Georgia's 2009 slate as the seventh hardest in the country with 11 games against BCS conference opponents. The opener against Oklahoma State may be the toughest of Mark Richt's tenure and dates with South Carolina and LSU and a trip to Arkansas in the first five weeks mean things won't get easier for a while.
4.) Skill position experience. There is talent at Georgia's offensive skill positions, but not many veterans. Cox threw just 15 passes last season, tailbacks Caleb King and Richard Samuel both struggled in minimal reserve duty in 2008 and beyond Michael Moore and A.J. Green, there isn't anyone on the roster with more than 10 career catches.
5.) Defensive struggles. The defense could be better this season. In fact, it might be tough to be worse. But as much as the Bulldogs' D struggled last year, no significant changes have occurred – on the coaching staff or in terms of personnel. So can Brandon Boykin and Bryan Evans replacing Allen and CJ Byrd make them better or will it be another year of shootouts for Georgia?
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