The offseason attrition may mean depth issues for the Georgia football team, especially on the offensive line. But if you go by the preseason awards lists, the team still has plenty of potential star power.
Two Bulldogs - tackle Cordy Glenn and guard Ben Jones - are among the 65 players on the watch list for the Outland Trophy. That award goes to the nation's best interior lineman (in other words, O-line and D-line.) Here's the link to that release and full list of players.
Cornerback Brandon Boykin is also among 87 players on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski award, bestowed upon the nation's best defensive players. Here's the link to that release and full list.
Georgia players have been on a slew of other watch lists released this week, all for positional awards: Punter Drew Butler, kicker Blair Walsh, tight end Orson Charles, receiver Tavarres King, quarterback Aaron Murray and safety Bacarri Rambo.
So let's try to answer the intriguing headline to this blog post: As we pointed out before, the watch lists are really just a chance to get some advance publicity for the season. Players will fall on and off from consideration. And there are, for example, 17 SEC players on the Nagurski list, so that should tell you the level of competition Georgia faces this season.
But it's a hopeful sign for Georgia that:
a) it's quarterback is highly-rated not only at his position, but overall on offense.
b) three of his receivers are nominated, considering all the concerns left by the departures of A.J. Green and Kris Durham.
c) two offensive linemen are highly-regarded, reflecting that if the Bulldogs can shore up the other three spots and keep injuries to a minimum, all is not lost up front.
That's just the offense. And we already knew the special-teamers and Boykin would be highly-regarded. Rambo has been inconsistent, but he's done enough to be noticed entering his junior year.
The front seven hasn't seen any nominees yet. Maybe those are forthcoming, maybe not. But we know there are questions there:
a) Christian Robinson is a good leader, but is he an all-SEC type of inside linebacker?
b) will Alec Ogletree be a good fit at inside linebacker?
c) will Jarvis Jones (assuming he's on the field the first two games) be a playmaker?
d) just how much of a difference will John Jenkins make at nose tackle?
(OK, so I turned a few rather innocuous awards into a full-fledged analysis of the Bulldogs entering the 2011 season. But hey, there ya go.)
If you had to go by the watch lists, I'd say the quick, one-sentence analysis for Georgia football in 2011 is ... "Lots of questions, but still plenty of hope."
Friday, July 8, 2011
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9 comments:
Seth, speaking of eternal questions and/or rumors, another popular one is making the rounds again.
This one is that Caleb King has officially flunked out and will not play this year.
I hate to do it........but.........heard anything?
BulldogBen, not to sound snippy, but if I had heard anything like that, don't you think I'd report it?
I'm told Caleb is enrolled in summer session II right now, for what it's worth.
"More Watch List Honors: Does It Mean Much?"
You're kidding, right?
Seth, not to sound snippy, but haven't you also posted before that you refuse to report on rumors? BulldogBen's question is appropriate...I assume he knows that you don't report on rumors, and is therefore asking if you will address the rumor informally via comment (which you have done, so thank you).
Jake, I appreciate that, but nothing I write on here is "informal." It's all on the record, which is why I have to be careful. Have I heard things? Of course I have. But it would be unfair to people to write ANYTHING - a story, a blog, or a blog comment, or a tweet - until I have it nailed down.
Caleb King academically ineligible for fall season....figures
Though I often don't agree with Seth on a lot of things from writing style to the sometimes snarky language he uses (see above), I will commend him for his stance on rumors.
Look, if you come to this blog you need to be aware that you are basically reading the newspaper here. The message boards and recruiting sites are where all the rumors catch fire and where you go to discuss them. Seth is not going to bite when it comes to addressing rumors unless it is clear that they are true or untrue.
News breaks faster on those other sites because, well, most of them don't hold themselves accountable for passing along incomplete or untrue stories. Seth takes his time, makes sure he has the story straight, and reports on it with a very high standard.
Thank you, Sam Axe.
Allow me to add, yes, I am making efforts to confirm. No, I have not confirmed it. Please do not misread a lack of a story or blog post for not being attentive or not working. It's simply being cautious.
I'm not afraid to get beat on a story. I'm afraid to be wrong. And don't hold me out there for being the only one on the beat who thinks that way - you may notice that others have held off reporting it too.
Ever since the rumors started to pop up I have been refreshing Seth's blog to see if it' true. I know that Seth won't report it unless it is true.
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