Notes: Boykin Sets Goals High

Brandon Boykin isn’t interested in tempering expectations heading into the 2010 season. Instead, he’s raising the bar just about as high as possible.

After a stellar sophomore campaign in which Boykin in which he picked off three passes and returned three kickoffs for touchdowns, he’s not just looking to surpass those numbers. Boykin wants to obliterate them.

“My goal is, I’m trying to get to 10 picks this year,” Boykin said. “That’s a pretty high goal, but if I get anywhere near it, I think that’s pretty good. Kick return I want to get at least three or four (touchdowns). I’m setting it pretty high and we’ll see what happens.”

Only three players in Georgia history have intercepted at least 10 passes in a season – Ben Smith was the last in 1989 – so Boykin knows he’s aiming high. And realistically, he said, there probably won’t be enough opportunities for him to top that mark if he starts the season on a hot streak.

“I figure by the time I get about five or six they’ll probably stop throwing my way,” Boykin said.

But even while he doubts he’ll attain his lofty goal, he thinks the possibility remains. After all, he made huge strides in his first season as a starter a year ago, despite a lot of learning on the fly.

This time around Boykin will be armed with a much better understanding of what being a shut-down cornerback requires in the SEC, and a defensive philosophy under new secondary coach Scott Lakatos that allows him to flourish.

“I feel like I could have done a lot more last year because I wasn’t as knowledgeable as I feel like I am now just because I was kind of learning on the go being the newcomer to the secondary,” Boykin said. “(This year) it’s a lot more man-to-man at the corners, not as much zone. (Lakatos) is basically saying that my guy is better than your guy, and we’re going to see what happens. He’s basically putting you out there on that island, and you just have to have confidence in yourself.”

FINALLY FEELING GOOD

When Josh Davis hit the weight room in January, it had been nearly a year since he had done any serious weight training. Two offseason shoulder surgeries following the 2008 season kept him from lifting weights, and when he was finally recovered last fall, the season was already in full swing and there was little time to catch up.

“I really didn’t get to touch a weight until about (fall) camp,” Davis said of his rehabilitation last summer. “Then it was still like lifts, and I couldn’t do much weight because the surgeries hurt.”

Despite the setbacks, Davis stepped into the starting lineup on Georgia’s offensive line midway through the season, and the Bulldogs’ running game was instantly transformed. Georgia averaged more than 100 yards more on the ground per game after Davis was inserted at right tackle, and the offense finally began to click.

Now firmly established as a cornerstone on the Bulldogs’ line, Davis is bulking up and feeling good for the first time in nearly two years. He’s added nearly 20 pounds to his frame from his playing weight of about 290 last year, and the shoulder feels as good as new.

“I’m absolutely 100 times better than last year because last year I had shoulder surgeries,” Davis said. “I feel much better, my body feels healthy and I feel stronger.”

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT

T.J. Stripling arrived at Georgia at about 220 pounds, a weight head coach Mark Richt said likely won’t cut it at outside linebacker over the long haul. But while Stripling, one of Georgia’s top recruits in the class of 2010, might have some work to do to get physically ready for the SEC, fellow linebacker Justin Houston said adding weight just takes time.

“I came in weighing at 218 so I wasn’t the biggest guy,” said Houston, who now checks in at a robust 255. “I came in pretty small. I think he’s at least 220, so he actually weighs more than me coming in.”

Of course, the other lesson Houston has learned over the years is that size isn’t everything.

“I learned from Marcus Howard,” Houston said. “He’s not one of the biggest guys but he plays hard, fast and strong. It’s not always about the size; it’s about the technique and strength. If you can get your strength and technique just as good as the next guy, you’ll be all right.”

WHERE'S LOGAN?

One of the biggest questions of the offseason still doesn’t seem to have a definitive answer.
For the past two months, Richt has said he expects junior Logan Gray to get most of his summer reps at wide receiver after Gray failed to win the starting quarterback job in spring practice. But after the first few days of drills and voluntary practices, Aaron Murray, the likely starting quarterback, said he’s still not sure what Gray’s future might hold.

“We’ve only had a week-and-a-half of workouts and only done (pass drills) twice, and he’s been back and forth,” Murray said of Gray. “So I wouldn’t say he’s favoring one or the other at this point. I guess he’s going to feel it out the first couple weeks and see what he wants to do from there.”

FINDING A HOME

Of Georgia’s new batch of linebackers, only Demetre Baker appears destined for a role in the middle.

Recent transfer Jarvis Jones said he will open practices at outside linebacker, but could switch down the road. Houston said that Stripling, Brandon Burrows and Dexter Morant – all three of whom played defensive end in high school – are also working at outside linebacker this summer.

“I think Baker is at inside right now,” Houston said. Pretty much the rest of them are at outside.”

Freshman Alec Ogletree, Georgia’s highest-rated recruit, might also have a future at linebacker, but for now he’s working at safety, Boykin said.

“I saw him break out up a pass the other day, and just seeing that I’ll know he’ll be able to compete with the speed,” Boykin said. “As he learns the technique I think he’ll be fine.”

Gray Staying at Georgia

UPDATED w/ Richt quotes...

Logan Gray wants to play. But he wants to be with the Georgia Bulldogs even more.

While the possibility remains that the junior quarterback will get an opportunity to do both, he announced Wednesday that despite reservations about his role on the team, he’s staying in Athens for the remainder of his career.

“I have decided to stay at the University of Georgia because I truly do love being a Georgia Bulldog,” Gray said in a statement released by the school. “I want to be a part of this team getting back to the SEC championship game and winning it.”

Gray met with head coach Mark Richt last month to discuss a possible transfer after he finished spring practice as the team’s No. 2 quarterback for the second consecutive season. Gray was hoping for a larger role on the team and had openly considered a position change to wide receiver as far back as November.

Richt told Gray to think things over and said he would support any decision.

So when Gray called his coach Wednesday to reveal his decision, Richt’s first response was to inquire about Gray’s reasoning.

“He said, ‘Because I love Georgia, I love my teammates, I think we can win, and I want to win. I want to be there,’ ” Richt said, “That was all the right reasons to stay.”

While Gray’s motives were clear, his future still remains a bit murky.

Richt said Gray will likely work only at receiver over the summer, and that’s a possibility for the fall that Gray appears enthusiastic to pursue.

“I’m also looking forward to getting some work at receiver and am going to work hard to make the best out of my opportunity at this position as well,” Gray said. “I appreciate Coach Richt’s patience while I made this decision and his helpful advice. Now, I want to put all of this behind me and focus on getting to work on preparations for next season at UGA.”

Still, Gray remains the team’s No. 2 quarterback for now, with freshman Hutson Mason set to arrive on campus next month.

While Richt said Gray’s work at receiver would likely eliminate his chances of being the starter — and thus making Aaron Murray the de facto winner of the competition — the position change wouldn’t necessarily mean Gray would be dropped from the depth chart altogether.

“I don’t know what (Mason) can do,” Richt said. “If he’s ready, he’ll still play. If we don’t think he’s ready, I would be more than happy to have Logan continue to be our No. 2 and then just go from there.”

After spending all spring — and the first month afterward — assuring fans that no quarterback had won the starting job yet, Richt relented somewhat Wednesday, saying that it would be likely that Murray, a redshirt freshman, would be the starter and appeared ready for the job.

“He’s to the point, in my opinion, where he just needs to play,” Richt said. “The biggest thing though is he needs to understand that you don’t have to do anything spectacular. You don’t have to put the team on your shoulders. You’re not required to carry this football team. You’re required to do your job, and part of your job is to try not to be a hero.”

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

1. What's Logan Gray going to do?

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

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

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

3. How ready is Hutson Mason?

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

4. Who would be the third-string QB?

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

8. Does this really matter all that much?

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

9. How does this affect the 2011 recruiting?

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

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

10. How did this happen… again?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Gray Discusses Future With Richt

An already shallow depth chart at quarterback for Georgia could take another major hit as the Bulldogs anxiously await a decision on the future of junior Logan Gray.

After being named the No. 2 quarterback behind redshirt freshman Aaron Murray last week, Gray is considering a transfer, according to the school.

Gray met with head coach Mark Richt on Monday morning to discuss his future, and according to the Georgia sports information department, the quarterback is weighing his options on whether to remain in Athens or finish his career elsewhere.

Should Gray decide to transfer, Georgia would be left with just two quarterbacks on scholarship – Murray and freshman Hutson Mason, who will not arrive on campus for another month.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Zach Mettenberger was dismissed from the program earlier this month after an alcohol-related arrest in March.

Gray served as the team’s No. 2 quarterback last season but saw minimal playing time despite the struggles of starter Joe Cox. Gray threw just 12 passes last season, completing five and throwing two interceptions. He also operated occasionally in the Wildcat formation, running nine times for 35 yards.

The lack of playing time last season caused Gray to request a position change in January. Coaches toyed with the idea of moving him to receiver, but he was convinced to remain at quarterback through the spring in what was called an open competition for the starting job.

With Mettenberger’s dismissal, however, a position change would be difficult for Gray, but his chances of unseating Murray also appeared slim.

Gray completed 10-of-17 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown in Georgia’s spring game, and afterward he said he remained encouraged about his chances, regardless of where he might end up on the depth chart.

“It matters some, but ultimately everybody’s going to have to compete again during fall camp, go out and take reps and make plays and run the offense again,” Gray said. “So even though they may list the quarterbacks, it’ll be good to see where they’re judging us from a spring standpoint, but it can also be motivation to work even harder for fall.”

When Georgia’s depth chart was released last week, Richt said he was encouraged by Gray’s progress, but he didn’t rule out a change of position for the junior either.

"I want him to be in the best position to help Georgia win, and whether that’s No. 2 quarterback or getting some reps at receiver or something, that remains to be seen," Richt said last week. "But we just want to get him in the best position to help Georgia."


Video Blog: G-Day Wrap-Up

What better way to wrap up the spring than with some highlights and interviews from G-Day put together by the lovely and talented Mr. Brandon Spoon...

Mettenberger Shined During Scrimmages

Add this to the "For What It's Worth" category...

Final scrimmage stats for Georgia's quarterbacks this spring:

Aaron Murray -- 31-of-53 (59%) for 380 yards, two touchdowns and three INTs

Logan Gray -- 23-of-42 (55%) for 280 yards, two touchdowns and one INT

Zach Mettenberger -- 23-of-36 (64%) for 433 yards, five touchdowns and one INT

Again, this doesn't tell us how they performed during the 12 other days of practice, it doesn't distinguish between plays with the No. 1 offense and No. 2 offense, and it doesn't necessarily tell us what the coaches have seen in terms of the fundamentals that don't show up on a stat line.

But... going just by those numbers, Mettenberger certainly looks the best.

Video Blog: New D, Fair Catches and Aaron Murray's Love Life

Brandon Spoon gives us some video of Aron White talking about playing against the 3-4 and having the TEs pick up the slack for the lack of depth at receiver, while Logan Gray chats about his relationship with his fellow QBs and his interest in fielding punts. Enjoy...

Bobo Breaks Down the QB Battle

No, we still don't have a depth chart. And we probably won't for a while. (More on that in a minute.) But that doesn't mean each of the quarterbacks -- Aaron Murray, Zach Mettenberger and Logan Gray -- hasn't made some strong impressions with their coaches.

I talked to Mike Bobo this week about what goes into deciding who the starter will be, and while the overall winner is yet to be decided, he offered some interesting insight into the more detailed analysis of the competition.

Here's what he had to say about which quarterback has excelled the most at each area of interest:

Release mechanics: "Murray." One word answer, short and sweet. Bobo didn't take more than a fraction of a second to think about this one.

Footwork: "I think Murray probably and Logan does a nice job in the pocket, but the other day in the scrimmage, Zach probably moved better in the pocket than any guy we had out there just by being fundamentally sound and getting up in the pocket and stepping under a blitz. He did an outstanding job the other day."

Presence in the huddle: "I think all three have to work on that just because of being young. They’re in that role now of being that guy, and that was one of our main objectives this spring is we’ve got to take command of the huddle. That’s a work in progress with all three."

Knowledge of the playbook: "I would say Logan is probably ahead of everybody in the meeting room. His is just that he’s got to do it on the field. And on the field, I’d say all three are probably, they’re all doing well and I’ve been really pleased with how they’re progressing. We’re looking for a guy who can go through a progression and his feet and his eyes, and I think all three are doing a pretty good job of that."

Reading defenses and making progressions: "All three considering they’re going against a new defense this spring and not really having a 100 percent of what they’re doing or what they’re trying to do, as opposed to the last few years when you’re going against the same defense all the time. But I think all three have done a nice job of taking what they give us and protecting the football."

Decision making: "(Tuesday) there wasn’t anybody very good. They’ve all had their moments, and I think a lot of decision making is just facing something new for the first time. But I wouldn’t say one’s better than the other right now. I’d say some are a little faster at picking it up a little bit, but that’s a lot to do with the look or the protection or some of that stuff you get up front."

That last one is particularly important because, for everyone who falsely blamed Joe Cox's noodle arm for the turnovers, the truth was that it was a series of bad decisions that were the cause of most of Cox's interceptions. (Just think about the Arizona State and Kentucky games for a minute.) So for me, I'd call decision making a top concern.

Bobo wasn't providing an answer on who's ahead overall, and neither was Mark Richt, but the head coach did provide a little insight.

“When you watch them play, you’ve got days where one guy may be a little hotter than the other, but I’ve been pleased with the accuracy of our quarterbacks," Richt said. "I’ve been in every single meeting, I’ve listened to Coach Bobo go through their assignments, the progressions of their reads, their understanding of the running game and protections, and these guys are on the ball. They really understand it. They’re good students of the game. They’re very diligent, and then when you watch practice, you see them putting what they’ve learned in the meeting room to practice."

And, of course, there's also the little issue of Zach Mettenberger's potential suspension to start the season. That's an issue Mike Bobo is hoping to avoid for the time being.

"Right now, what we’re trying to do is get better," Bobo said. "I know that’s not the answer you want, but right now, we don’t want them looking ahead, and I want us trying to get better. We have a lot to get better at, and it’s too early to decide that. We’ll cross that bridge when it comes to it. In a perfect world, I don’t want to rep two or three quarterbacks before the first game because we’ve still got to get a guy ready. But all of that is the head coach’s decision, too, so we’ll see.”

So, when might we actually get an answer on the depth chart? Sounds like it won't come until a few weeks after G-Day.

"We’ve got some good players, and when you rotate them like we have, you could grade every three days or something if you wanted to, but I’m more inclined to just take it all in and then when the spring is over, try to look at it again," Richt said. "I will take our practice film and we can click a button that will sort every play by No. 11, then every play by No. 6 and every play by No. 5, and you can watch them in succession and get a better overall feel of how they did in the spring. That’s probably the first time I’ll really sit there and go, Hey, let’s start trying to pack up a little bit of a pecking order.”

Notes: Tuesday's Practice Short on Energy

Mark Richt spent the meeting time Tuesday praising his players for their tempo throughout last week’s scrimmage. He spent the practice time eating his words.

“Out of nine practices, I would rate it the ninth as far as just the tempo,” Richt said. “It kind of fizzled on us a little bit. I’d been pretty pleased with it all spring, but (Tuesday) it kind of gave way a little bit. I think we’ve got to learn to push through when we’re tired, and I didn’t think we practiced like champions.”

The result was a particularly long practice – likely the longest of the year, and one that had many of the offensive players still on the field working as most of the defensive players shuffled out of the locker room to head home for the day.

Offensive coordinator Mike Bobo was among the most upset with the performance, calling it a “bad day” in which his offensive players spent too much time simply going through the motions.

That could have been a result of a small hangover from last Saturday’s scrimmage – the first of the spring – or a hefty week of exams for many players, but excuses aren’t something Bobo wanted to hear.

“That’s the easy way out, after the first scrimmage we came out and relaxed,” Bobo said. “But if we’re a team that wants to be champions, we’ve got to have guys come out ready to practice. We do have young quarterbacks, but we have a veteran-laden offensive line that needs to come out and set the standard for how we’ll practice.”

The silver lining, Richt said, is that Tuesday’s lackluster effort was the exception to what had been a strong spring thus far, which leads him to believe things will get back on course when the Bulldogs hit the practice field again Thursday.

“The good news is, Thursday’s another day, and we’ll have another opportunity to do better,” Richt said. “Hopefully they will.”

COULD BE WORSE

Based strictly on the numbers from last Saturday’s scrimmage, rising junior Logan Gray might have taken a step back in the competition for the starting quarterback job, but he’s not ready to give up on the battle just yet.

“I didn’t think it was my best day, but there’s always room for improvement, and that’s not our only scrimmage of the spring,” Gray said.

For the day, Gray was 6-of-14 passing for 37 yards and one interception and was sacked three times.

That last number resonates, as Gray played all but one series behind the second-team offensive line, which has been decimated by injuries. Gray said that’s something he thinks will change going forward.

“I just missed some throws, some things didn’t really go my way,” Gray said. “I would have liked to have gotten a few more reps with the ones, but I’m sure that will probably even out on Saturday and G-Day, too.”

Even more than the players surrounding him was the situations he found himself in, Bobo said. The scrimmage was a controlled practice, meaning that rather than allowing play to unfold naturally, many situations were predetermined before they were run. This means in some cases, Gray was asked to make more high-risk throws, while the other quarterbacks may have been in a position to complete more of their passes.

For the scrimmage, Aaron Murray completed 10-of-15 throws, while Zach Mettenberger connected on seven of his 10 passes.

"I thought the two young guys did a nice job of that, and I’m sure Logan would like to have a couple back that he could have completed," Bobo said. "Logan had a couple of plays that were drops, but he could have been a little bit more accurate.”

STILL EVEN

Bobo still hasn’t formulated a depth chart at quarterback after Saturday’s scrimmage, and that’s not likely to change before G-Day, Richt said. The plan, he said, will be to extend the rotations they’ve employed this spring right through to the end.

“More than likely the quarterbacks will just be fluid,” Richt said. “They’ll roll. They’ll be a red and a white team, and they’ll be wearing black and I’m sure Mike (Bobo) will just roll them like we have been. I’m not sure if it’ll be by quarter or by series, but we’ll just keep rotating those guys with both units.”

Notes: Injuries Underscore WR Shortage

By FLETCHER PAGE

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

GEATHERS LOVES THE 3-4

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

QB RACE STILL UNSETTLED

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

Three men remain.

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

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

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

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

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

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

COACHES GET DRENCHED

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

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

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

Video Blog: Perusing the Passing Game

Some practice highlights of Georgia's quarterbacks and receivers...



Video courtesy of the lovely and vivacious Brandon Spoon.

Practice Notes: Samuel Moving Inside

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

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

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

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

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

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

NICKEL FOR YOUR THOUGHTS

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

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

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

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

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

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

NOWHERE MAN

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

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

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

BUILDING LEADERSHIP

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

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

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

EXTRA POINTS

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

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

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

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

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

Practice Notes: Ealey Looks Improved

It took Washaun Ealey more than four games before he saw any action last season, and it wasn’t until the final few weeks of the season that he really came into his own as a running back. But when he found his stride, he turned in huge results. Ealey tallied at least 70 yards rushing in each of his final seven games, including a huge 183-yard performance in a win over Georgia Tech.

In the months since the season ended, head coach Mark Richt said Ealey has only managed to climb even higher up the learning curve, and when he hit the field Tuesday at practice, his head coach marveled at how far Ealey had come.

“Washaun is just a whole lot different than a year ago in my opinion,” Richt said. “He was a true freshman. He wasn’t in the greatest of shape, and now he’s in much better shape, he knows what to do, and he’s having fun out there practicing with a lot of tempo and confidence.”

RETURNING TO RETURNER

Logan Gray may still be in the running for Georgia’s starting quarterback job, but that doesn’t mean he’ll be giving up his part-time gig on special teams.

Richt said that, while Gray isn’t likely to see much special teams action this spring, the rising junior quarterback is likely to resume his duties as a punt returner once fall camp opens in August. While Gray is unlikely to be the full-time return man, Richt said Gray has proven he’s adept at fielding deep punts that require the returner to decide whether to fair catch the ball or allow it to bounce into the end zone. Gray played on several other special teams as well, but Richt said those duties would depend heavily on his position on the depth chart at quarterback.

“In the fall I think he will either be the guy or be a very strong candidate to do what he did last year on the punt team,” Richt said. “When we’re backed up and you’ve got a guy at his heels on the 10-yard line to decide should I field it or let it go, he did a very good job of that last year, and that’s kind of a hard thing to teach. I think he would do that, and we’ll just see what the future holds. I’m not counting him out for any other special teams either. It just depends how this QB race goes.”

NO DOUBTING THOMAS

As for the primary punt returner job, tailback Carlton Thomas appears to have the inside track on landing the role that was filled by Prince Miller for the past two seasons.

“I’m pretty confident back there,” Thomas said. “Prince talked to me a lot while he was here and showed me the ropes. So that’s been one of my main focuses since he’s been gone for me to pick up his slack where he left off.”

Bobo said he was hopeful to find several ways to get the undersized but speedy Thomas on the field and said the special teams work would be a good option.

“A role for him on special teams as a return guy is very possible,” Bobo said. “He’s a hard worker in practice and if he continues to do that, he’ll get an opportunity in the fall.”

ON THE MOVE?

With Mettenberger’s arrest and possible suspension, the future could also be cloudy for Gray, depending on how the depth chart at quarterback shakes out this spring.

Gray had considered swapping positions from quarterback to wide receiver before the spring, but decided to stay put for the time being. But Richt left the door open for a potential position swap after spring practice ended, which could then leave the Bulldogs with only Murray and incoming freshman Hutson Mason at quarterback, should Mettenberger miss time due to a suspension.

Tuesday, Richt said a potential suspension for Mettenberger would not necessarily preclude a position change for Gray, but that the bottom line was that Gray could be called upon any time.
“No matter what happens,” Richt said, “he’s got to be ready to play quarterback.”

BUILDING CONFIDENCE

Bobo said A.J. Harmon was working extensively at left tackle this spring in hopes of building some additional depth on the offensive line.

“We’re rotating him a lot in with the ones just to get him some experience playing with those guys and get him some confidence," Bobo said. "He moved over at the end of his redshirt freshman year. This is his second spring, and he’s a little bit behind. It’s learning what to do from a confidence standpoint because there’s no doubt he’s got some ability. We just need him to take that on the field and be able to execute offensively.”

Video Blog: The Underdog

Logan Gray talks about his place in the QB competition this spring...



Video courtesy of Brandon Spoon.

Video Blog: White Breaks Down the QBs

If you guys have never checked out Brandon Spoon's great Dancing in the Endzone blog, be sure to give it a look.

Brandon's going to be helping us out here a bit over the next few weeks, too, shooting video and doing some more multimedia stuff for the blog. Next up... here's Georgia tight end Aron White breaking down each of the horses in the QB race this spring, including his former high school teammate, Logan Gray.

Bobo Talks Spring QB Race

More notes coming in a bit, but here's a bunch of stuff from Mike Bobo about the race for the starting QB job this spring...

On whether he expected Logan Gray to play more last season...
“We did hope to play him more last year going into the season and it just didn’t work out that way. Not that we had this game plan going into each game that we were going to play him X number of snaps. Certain games did not dictate that, and sometimes performance in practice did not dictate playing in games. He had a lot of opportunities to prove that you’re ready to play. He knows what he has to work on, he’s been working on it hard, and he’s excited about this spring.”

On whether Aaron Murray's injury cost him a chance to play last year...
“I think it was a make-or-break thing. I can’t sit here and say if he wasn’t injured he would have played, but I think it definitely sealed the deal that he did not play when he misses 21 practice opportunities. It just hurt his progression of playing quarterback. It was not in his best interest or our best interest to play him based off of some potential we might have seen in the spring.”

On Zach Mettenberger's improvement with his footwork...
“He’s improved tremendously and a lot has to do with getting himself in good physical condition. He’s always going to be a big boy. He’s always going to weight around 240. But being in good physical shape where he doesn’t get tired and his legs get tired – he’s never going to be the fastest or the quickest guy, but if he’s in good shape and good condition, he’ll be able to improve his foot quickness.”

On what Mettenberger needs to work on with his footwork...
“People have told him all his life he’s slow and you’ve got to work on your feet. So a lot of times he overcompensates and tries to speed things up when he’s really in good timing and good balance, because in his mind, he’s thinking, I’m slow, I’m slow, I’m slow.”

On what he would like to do differently with this QB competition than he did in 2006...
“We probably should have weeded it down a little bit sooner. We went into two, two-and-a-half weeks of fall camp before we ranked them. It’s just tough to get that many guys reps and get them quality reps and get them ready for the season. I don’t see us going that far this year. Not to say it won’t go into the fall, but to wait until the second scrimmage, it’s a little bit difficult to get a guy ready to play for the first game. You’re trying to get them all an opportunity, but you’ve still got to get a guy ready for that first game.”

On how he views the QB competition this spring...
“The way we’re viewing it going into the spring is it’s wide open. There is not a clear-cut No. 1 going into the spring. Logan Gray will take the first reps with the No. 1 offense, but we’re planning on rotating all three, and giving all three equal amount of looks with the first group.”

On whether he could play two QBs extensively in 2010...
“I’d definitely be comfortable with that. Sometimes it takes that. You have to play it out sometimes if it’s close. You can’t overestimate playing in a game-like atmosphere and experience. I’m not saying yes or no, that’s what we’re going to do, but I would not be against it.”

On when he might begin to narrow down the options at QB...
“I can’t say it’s one week, two weeks, three weeks. It might be the end of spring, it might be into the fall. It depends on which guys step up, show an ability to lead the offense and execute the offense.”

On what the QBs need to do to impress this spring...
“The big thing for them is to worry about improving themselves and not worry about where they are on the depth chart, what their statistics were for the day or certain scrimmages. It’s about getting better every day and trying to put them in the best position to lead the offense. They need to worry about that, and we’ll figure out all that as we go.”

On the fact that each QB brings a different set of skills...
“You’ve got to put them into positions where they can be successful when you’re scripting plays and in practice. You know what they can do and what they can’t do. I want to do things they can be successful in.”

On how those skill sets could fit into the 2010 offense...
“A lot is going to depend on the personnel group around them, who steps up and who we think the playmakers are as to what direction we need to go at quarterback or what type of quarterback we might need to have. But the bottom line for the guy that plays quarterback for us, he’s got to make good decisions in the run and pass game, he’s got to be able to execute the offense and throw the ball accurately, and respect the football. Coming off last year, that’s going to be a big focus of ours is taking care of the football and not turning it over. Now if you add something to that with your legs or athletic ability, that’s a bonus.”

On what kind of physical shape the QBs are in...
“They’re all three doing a nice job in the winter workouts. The two young guys, Zach and Aaron, having come in last year and gone through mat drills definitely benefited them. They know what to expect. Logan going into his third or fourth mat is really doing a nice job of leading and competing. … All of them look great. Zach came in last year at about 245, 250. He’s down to about 234. He’s really changed his body. Murray’s at like 210, 211. He looks really good and does a good job in the weight room. His body looks great. Logan, when we signed that kid, he might have been 170, 175 pounds. Now he’s like 196, a really good athletic body. All three of them are in good shape physically, all of them are ready to go and excited about the opportunity they have this spring.”

Notes: Gray Sticking at QB

By Tyler Estep

Rumors have abounded in recent weeks that Georgia quarterback Logan Gray would be moving to wide receiver, transferring or a number of other things.

Wednesday, though, Gray said he’s not going anywhere.

“The coaches never even really confronted me about the whole issue,” Gray said. “It was interesting that all this whirlwind talk started brewing up, because it seemed like to me that [offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Bobo] was planning on me playing quarterback the whole time, back through the spring.”

All this talk began for several reasons:

1) Two young quarterbacks in Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger, now redshirt freshmen, are waiting for their shot. Many fans and message boards have already all but anointed Murray, not fourth-year junior Gray, the starter.

2) Gray was ineffective in his appearances in relief of Joe Cox last season, albeit usually brief ones and in tough situations.

3) Gray’s mobility, speed and elusiveness, which were attempted to be displayed on select punt returns in 2009, make him a natural fit elsewhere.

But Gray said Wednesday, like Murray and Mettenberger, that he’s still aiming for the Georgia quarterback role, it’s still an open competition, and he’s still in.

“I thought about it some,” Gray said. “I think ultimately I just want to try to do what’s best for me and what’s best for our team, and helping out the team. I’ve thought about it, and nothing’s really changed dating back to any time really. I’m planning on playing quarterback. If it doesn’t work, I’m not opposed to playing receiver, trying to play defense or whatever it may be. Ultimately I just want to try and help the team win, contribute.”

With a three-horse race headed into spring practice, the three quarterbacks weren’t sure exactly what will the deciding factor would be between them — but they knew they better be good.

“I think it’s pretty much whoever just does the best that’s going to be the starter, really,” Murray said. “He hasn’t said if you throw this many touchdowns or this many picks you’re not going to be the starter.”

Added Gray: “I’ve just been trying to work hard this offseason and do what I can to get better. Just get stronger, get faster and make sure there’s no way they can keep me off the field, even if it’s not quarterback. So we’ll see.”

SAMUEL 'MORE COMFORTABLE' AT LB

After lots of talk and plenty of speculation, Richard Samuel made his transition from tailback to linebacker official earlier this month. Wednesday, the former two-way high school star from Cartersville spoke with the media for the first time since.

“I missed it a lot,” Samuel said of playing defense. “Just the whole being able to play free instead of worrying about certain fundamentals. And the whole enjoyment of tackling and all that. I missed it a lot.”

Samuel was Georgia’s starting tailback in its season opener with Oklahoma State. But Caleb King got healthy, freshman Washaun Ealey burst onto the scene and the Bulldog ground game began to flourish, and Samuel’s carries dwindled.

“I didn’t have tremendous playing time [at tailback],” Samuel said. “I didn’t get very many snaps. Plus how well the backs were doing last year, my future wasn’t looking too good at running back.”

But, he said, it wasn’t a move necessitated by lack of success running the ball, or one coaches approached him with. It was a comfort thing, and it was blocking that he just couldn’t get a handle on.

“I felt uncomfortable because, all throughout high school, most of the backs didn’t have to block a whole lot,” Samuel said. “That was something I had to come in and learn, and the fundamental steps, for some reason I couldn’t get it down right.”

Samuel, who’s already put on about 10 pounds since last season, said he wasn’t sure yet whether he would be one the inside or outside of defensive coordinator Todd Grantham’s new 3-4 scheme. He did, however, say he planned to be a starter come the fall. His transition should be eased because, well, in a way, all the linebackers are transitioning.

“I feel like it’s a good advantage,” Samuel said. “We’re all back to ground zero, nobody knows the playbook, nobody knows the scheme. Everybody’s at zero again.”

BROWN HUNGRY FOR IMPROVED 2010

To say Marlon Brown’s freshman season was a disappointing one would be a gross understatement.

One of the nation’s most highly-touted receivers out of high school rarely saw the field in 2009, and looked utterly lost at times when he did. With Georgia being snubbed by a few big-name wide receiver prospects on national signing day, even more pressure will be put on him to perform come August.

Bring it on, he says.

“I’m real hungry. Really hungry,” Brown said. “I’m in the weight room, just sitting there lifting weights thinking about playing next season. I’m in the film room damn near every day just trying to get everything played out in my mind. Learning defenses, learning coverages, learning routes, all of that.”

Brown didn’t chart a reception until Week 6 against Tennessee last year, while fellow youngsters Rantavious Wooten, Tavarres King and Orson Charles excelled in the passing game. He finished the season with two catches for 15 yards, both against the Vols.

“I like playing football, that’s why I came here,” Brown said. “I was kind of upset after a while [in 2009]. It was a setback, but it was like, my time will come. I just started grinding. It’s just gaining the confidence in coach Bobo and [receivers coach Tony Ball], that when I’m out there they’re like, ‘Oh, OK, he’s Marlon, he knows what to do on this play, he knows what to do on that play.’”

UGA Notes: Samuel Expects to Stay at RB

He opened the year as Georgia’s bell-cow tailback, but the pickings got slim for Richard Samuel by midseason, and 2010 remains a bit of a mystery at this point.

But while rumors have swirled surrounding a potential move to linebacker for the rising junior, Samuel said he’s happy to stay right where he’s at. In fact, that’s the plan – for now.

“Going into spring my thought is that I’m still going to be playing running back,” Samuel said. “If coaches decide to do anything with me, I’ll be glad to do whatever helps the team win.”

Head coach Mark Richt said that there could be several position changes in the works for Georgia players, but he declined to comment on any specifics, saying those announcements would likely come following national signing day when the Bulldogs have a better idea of what their new recruiting class will look like.

“I'm not saying there's some certainty that there'll be some changes but there's going to be some thought about that as a staff,” Richt said. “What you want to do at this point of the season, which is very young and brand new, is to get everybody in the right spot where they'll have the greatest chance of success.”

That’s the lingering question surrounding Samuel, who landed the starting tailback job to start the year after a strong fall camp coupled with an injury to Caleb King made the decision easy.

Samuel had 51 carries in Georgia’s first three games and had more than 85 yards of total offense in each, including a 16-carry, 104-yard game against Arkansas. But his yards-per-carry slipped throughout the early season, and when King returned from injury and freshman Washaun Ealey exploded onto the scene, Samuel’s role virtually disappeared. He failed to earn a single touch in any of the Bulldogs’ final four games.

Georgia has two running back commitments for 2010 so far -- Ken Malcolme and Alexander Ogletree (who is likely to end up at fullback or linebacker) -- and King and Ealey appeared to have secured the bulk of the carries out of the backfield by year's end.

“He got some nagging injuries, and I think he lost a little confidence at times,” offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “Richard’s a guy who needs some confidence, too. He’s relatively new at playing the position and developing those instincts. We’re not disappointed in Richard that he’ll never play running back. I think he has a bright future and a lot of ability, but it’s growing into his role. He just hasn’t figured it out totally yet, but I would not say Richard Samuel’s done and he’ll never play running back.”

He may not be done, but Richt publicly acknowledged that a move to linebacker, where Samuel played in high school, was a possibility earlier in the season. So the speculation continues, and that’s fine with Samuel.

While he wants to stay at running back, and he believes he can ultimately succeed there, he said the difference between playing tailback and linebacker isn’t such a broad leap for him.
“I liked both of them about the same,” Samuel said of his high school days. “It’s hard to choose between running back and linebacker.”

QB BATTLE BEGINS

When Georgia left the field following an Independence Bowl win over Texas A&M, it officially marked the end of Joe Cox’s career at Georgia and the start of a new era at the quarterback position.

Rising junior Logan Gray will enter the spring as the Bulldogs’ only experienced quarterback, but the Georgia coaches are still waiting to learn whether Gray even plans to play quarterback when practice begins again.

"I think he's trying to make a decision right now,” head coach Mark Richt said of Gray, who has considered moving to wide receiver where he could earn more playing time down the road. “I don't know for certain what he'll come up with but we want to respect what he wants to do. We didn't put a timetable on that."

Whether or not Gray swaps positions, it appears that freshmen Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger are far enough along that the coaching staff believes Georgia can win with one of them as the starter in 2010.

While both redshirted last season, Cox said they both showed enough on the practice field to inspire confidence.

“They both have the ability and they’re both really smart kids,” Cox said. “I look at them and I know that both of them are past where I was my true freshman year in understanding what’s going on. They adjusted rather quickly, and once both of them get a chance to compete with the first team and understand that it’s open and this is their chance to play, that does a lot for your confidence level.”

Confidence has been a key for both young quarterbacks, but both have made strides, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said.

For Mettenberger, the goal was to improve his footwork and fundamentals to match his impressive arm.

“He’s got to continue to improve with his foot quickness,” Bobo said. “Just seeing a lot of strides there, and he’s not just relying completely on his arm.”

Murray was clearly the better performer in Georgia’s scrimmages, and his preparation has been lauded by coaches and teammates, despite his role as a redshirt. But there are still small things to polish, Bobo said, if Murray wants to step into the starter’s role with confidence.

“Being able to progress faster, seeing it faster and understand the concepts, and that will come with reps,” Bobo said. “He can move in the pocket, he can use his legs and he has a really quick release. He can get rid of the ball quickly. He’s got a lot of confidence and belief that he can get it done, and that carries over when he’s in the huddle.”

ROOM FOR IMPROVEMENT?

It’s hard for coaches to ask much more of A.J. Green, the All-SEC wide receiver who was virtually Georgia’s only playmaker during the early part of the 2009 season. But when putting his entire season into context, Bobo thinks there are still a few chinks in the armor that Green could improve upon during the offseason.

“He’s got to stay healthy for a full season,” Bobo said. “He’s got to get bigger and stronger. He’s got to be able to run routes with a little more consistency. There’s no denying his playmaking ability of catching the ball in the air and doing things when he has the ball in his hands. But it’s being more consistent and being able to finish the season and a good offseason in the weight room will help that.”

Green finished his freshman campaign by nearly eclipsing the 1,000-yard mark, but a nagging groin injury hampered him throughout the year.

As a sophomore, Green finished with 53 catches and 808 yards receiving, but he missed three of Georgia’s final five games and reached the end zone just once after Oct. 3.

“He’s a tough kid and a physical kid,” Bobo said. “I think he wants to stay healthy for the entire season so he can do what he does for 12 games, and there’s no telling how good he can be or how many plays he can make for a full season.”

SURGERY-FREE SPRING

A year ago, January was filled with doctor’s visits and trips to the hospital for many of Georgia’s players. This year, Richt said the Bulldogs are hopeful that they’ll avoid the operating table altogether before spring practice begins in March.

“I don’t think there’s any,” Richt said. “The surgeries that have already happened are the only ones we anticipate this offseason, and that would be tremendous for us.”

Right tackle Josh Davis, who underwent two offseason shoulder surgeries last year, missed Georgia’s bowl game against Texas A&M, but Richt said he should be fine to return for spring practice.

Left tackle Trinton Sturdivant, who tore his ACL for the second straight season in Georgia’s opener against Oklahoma State, isn’t likely to participate in spring drills, Richt said, but is recovering quickly.

“I am glad it’s nothing serious with Josh and that he’ll be back and won’t have to deal with any offseason surgery,” Richt said. “I don’t think we expect Trinton to participate in any live contact in the spring, although we think he’ll be far enough along to do some walkthroughs.”

ON THEIR OWN

For the past four years, Kade Weston, Jeff Owens and Geno Atkins have been virtually inseparable as Georgia’s big three defensive tackles. But now all three are preparing for the NFL draft, and Weston said he’s still getting used to the idea of life without his partners in crime.

"Right now, it’s starting to be a business," Weston said. "It can’t be, oh, we want to go here together. It’s what’s best for me from a business perspective.”

TOUGH LOVE

In the wake of scandals at Texas Tech and Kansas, coaches are getting a more critical look at how they motivate and push their players, but Richt said that won’t make much difference in Georgia’s preparations.

“It won’t change one thing in regard to what we’re trying to get accomplished on the field,” Richt said. “I want our coaches to push the young men to do their very best. Not many young men can be at their best unless someone pushes them beyond their comfort zone. But there’s a way to do that that’s well within what every parent would want to be done.”

Practice Notes: Robinson Happy to Get His Chance

At first, the award was little more than a nice sign of recognition following a season of hard work. But when Montez Robinson told his foster father he won the SEC’s defensive lineman of the week honors after a two-sack performance against Tennessee Tech, the weight of the award suddenly hit home.

“My dad, he was crying because he was just overwhelmed,” Robinson said. “Everybody was just congratulating me, but I was just like, it’s just an award. But it really does mean something to me, and it obviously means a lot to other people in their eyes.”

Robinson isn’t the first Georgia player to win the award this season, but when he took notice of the other Bulldogs to earn the honor, it put into perspective just how far he had come in a short period of time.

“The more and more I think about it, I see how prestigious it is,” Robinson said. “Geno Atkins and Justin (Houston) have been in the game a couple of years, and I get it as a freshman. I’m just thinking that’s pretty good.”

Robinson finished the game with five tackles – 2.5 for a loss – in his first extended action of the season. He said he hoped the performance had earned him more playing time going forward, but at the very least, it has caught the eye of some of his teammates.

“He has worked hard, earned the coaches trust and finally got that playing time,” linebacker Rennie Curran said. “I was in the same position when I came in my freshman year. It took me a little while for the light to come on and for me to earn the trust of my teammates and my coaches, but I always believed in myself and I feel like he is the same way. He believes in his ability and what he can do, and we need all the player makers that we can get on defense, especially at defensive end.”

JUMP AND SHOUT

Before last week’s game, Mark Richt decided any player flagged for a penalty would leave the game for the remainder of that series. As it turned out, he had to pull a player from action 11 times.

Six times an offensive lineman was flagged for a false start, and quarterback Joe Cox said the infractions should have gone the other way.

Tennessee Tech’s defensive linemen were routinely mimicking Cox’s cadence at the line of scrimmage – an infraction according to NCAA rules – causing Georgia’s linemen to flinch.

“You could see the guy right in front of Ben Jones in a three point stance, you could see him (flinch) and yell something, and that's when the whole line moves,” Cox said. “He said, ‘Set, go.’ I remember that. And we all pointed right at him, looking at the referee saying, 'He's yelling out the snap count.'"

For whatever reason, the referees didn’t take notice, but Georgia line coach Stacy Searels did. This week in practice, Searels has been doing his best to recreate the situation, hoping to keep Georgia’s linemen steady, even if the other team offers a distraction.

“We’ll focus on it more in practice because they’re not the only team that shifts and has somebody say, ‘Move,’ when they shift,” Cox said. “Coach Searels made it a point (in practice) that every single time we ran a play that he would just start yelling stuff while I was in the middle of my snap count, trying to see if anybody would jump, and nobody did.”

For his part, Richt said he planned to continue pulling players from the game when they are flagged for a penalty, but he may adjust his mandate that they sit the remainder of the series.
Cox said it was difficult to keep a lot of continuity on the line when players were being substituted so often, and left tackle Clint Boling said the rule took its toll on the offensive line.

“It was definitely a little bit different, but Coach Richt is just trying to clean things up and make sure we play a bit more disciplined,” Boling said. “I’m not really sure whether it slows guys down or what it does, but it does make you think a little bit that you want to play hard, but at the same time you don’t want to get any penalties.”

NO PROMISES FOR GRAY

After Richt announced Cox would remain his starting quarterback last week, he also promised a series early in the game for backup Logan Gray. As it turned out, it took six drives before Gray got his taste of action, and that ended with an interception.

Richt said he still had confidence in Gray, but against a more formidable opponent this week, there won’t be any further assurances of playing time for the sophomore quarterback.

“I wouldn’t sit here and promise it right now publicly, although we would like to continue to help him grow as a quarterback,” Richt said. “I wouldn’t say going into this game we are going to nail it down, at least not publicly.”

HE’S GOT WHEELS

Cox admits he won’t be winning any foot races in the near future, and for the season, the quarterback has just 13 rushing attempts that didn’t end in sacks.

“I’m definitely not a dual-threat guy,” he said.

But against Tennessee Tech, Cox did pick up eight yards on a nifty run that, while not exactly wowing fans with his speed, managed to catch the defense off guard. Not coincidentally, he said, it was also his first game without an interception this season, and Cox hopes that making a few more plays with his legs can keep that trend going.

“I probably should have (run) it more,” Cox said. “That’s one thing I said last week is, if I don’t like how it looks, I’m just going to take off and run. So I’ll probably end up doing that more but just make sure I take care of the ball.”

NO REGRETS ON BROWN

Richt decided before the season began that freshman receiver Marlon Brown would see action this year, and by the second week of the season, Brown had indeed taken reps on offense.

But in the seven games since, Brown’s playing time hasn’t increased much, and even against an overmatched Tennessee Tech team last week, the freshman saw little action and wasn’t targeted on a single pass.

Despite Brown’s minimal role, however, Richt said that the decision not to redshirt him has paid dividends.

“He is absolutely improving as a route-runner, as a ball-catcher, a blocker. He’s understanding what we’re doing much better,” Richt said. “He’s so much further ahead right now than he would have been hanging around on the scout team. We think he’s going to be making a big impact sooner than later. I don’t regret that right now.”

FEELING BETTER

Richt said defensive end Justin Houston was expected to return to action this week after sitting out against Tennessee Tech with an elbow injury.

Receiver A.J. Green also missed last week’s game with a bruised lung, but returned to full practice Sunday and said he’s completely healthy.

“I’m 100 percent. I’m rested, I’m ready to go,” Green said. “I felt it like the first day or so, and then it just went away.”

PRACTICE IN THE RAIN*

The Georgia Bulldogs practiced for two and a half hours in a steady rain that fluctuated between a wind-blown, driving drizzle to a solid, soaking downpour on Tuesday afternoon. The final 30 minutes of the full pads workout were conducted under the heaviest rainfall of the day. By the time the team wrapped up, puddles were commonplace on the FieldTurf surface and an inch-high stream was flowing from the driveway that goes from the upper grass fields to the lower section of the facility.

"I can probably remember one or two we've had like this but not too many," Richt said. "Over the course of nine years, you're bound to have a couple. I was relatively happy with the effort. We got the work in. It wasn't the best throwing and catching but we got the work in, which was most important."

Richt said the staff decided to practice in the elements as opposed to indoors due to the nature of Tuesday's routine.

"We have about 45 minutes of special teams practice on Tuesdays," Richt said. "You just can't take that inside. Those are things you have to be out and simulate and get a good feel for. If you don't get them in today, you spend the rest of the week trying to cram in too much."

(*From UGA press release)

EXTRA POINTS

-- Richt announced the captains for Saturday's game would be quarterback Joe Cox, center Ben Jones, cornerback Prince Miller and defensive tackle Jeff Owens.

-- Jon Fabris came in for interviews following practice wearing a soaking wet, long black rain jacket and hood, which made him look quite a bit like the villain from "I Know What You Did Last Summer," but another reporter topped that, noting he resembled the Gorton's fisherman. Either way, comedy gold.

Gray to Play, But How Much?

Joe Cox will start this week, but...

"We do think that we need to give Logan (Gray) an opportunity to play and see if he can become very productive," head coach Mark Richt said.

OK, where have we heard this before?

Yes, Georgia's coaching staff has been promising a larger dose of Logan Gray since August, but we haven't seen it. The No. 2 QB has been in for mop-up work against Vanderbilt (all handoffs) and put-an-end-to-the-misery duty against Tennessee and Florida (a total of 1-of-7 passing with a pick-six).

But this week will be different, offensive coordinator Mike Bobo promises.

"It'll probably be in the first half, but we haven't nailed down precisely what series it'll be," Bobo said. "But we'll get him in there and change up some things and get him some work."

Earlier in the season, this might have been accompanied by huge applause from fans. Now, some will call it too little, too late. Other will point to Gray's work thus far and say, "Eh, how about Aaron Murray instead?"

But Bobo and Richt both are quick to accept some blame for failing to give Gray a real shot at success and even quicker to write off his shortcomings thus far.

"I talked to him after the game (against Florida) and said, 'Look, we're not going to hold that against you,'" Bobo said. "'You were put in a bad situation backed up against a very good defense. It's something we can learn from and take advantage of your future opportunities because you might have some in the near future.'"

And while Gray's interception that Brandon Spikes returned for a score was ugly, to say the least, Richt said it was excusable, and it isn't likely to have any lasting effect on Gray's confidence.

"We don't look at it like,' Oh my gosh, he was awful,'" Richt said. "We ran a play-action pass at a time where they probably didn't care a whole lot about play-action, so a linebacker that would probably get close to the line of scrimmage wasn't too concerned about the run. Logan's got a vision the receiver that he's throwing to and he kind of buzzed in it. Does he need to expand his vision on that? Probably, yes. That play certainly was one that is much more effective on first-and-10 when the game is close rather than late in the game and we're trying to get something going in the passing game."

The better question might have been why Richt put Gray in at that time in the first place. For all the opportunities the staff has had to give Gray a taste of action this season, that seemed like one of the worst. Georgia wasn't likely to win the game, but it wasn't over by any means. Georgia was backed up deep, and the O line was struggling -- and without Clint Boling. Gray never stood a chance. Besides, for all the times they left Joe Cox in to win a close ballgame, it only seemed fair he stayed in to clean up a mess caused, at least in part, by his three interceptions in the second half.

But again, things will be different this week, Bobo said, and not just in terms of the personnel. Bobo promises we'll not only see Gray in action, but we'll get to see him work his magic with some play calling that doesn't fall in line with the same stuff Georgia has been running all season.

"We'll do things that we think he can be successful with, whatever we feel that may be," Bobo said. "It'll be stuff he can operate, and some of it's within our system and some of it we haven't done. Some of it will be a little bit of a change up and some of it will be the basis of our offense."

Even if you disagree with Bobo's handling of his quarterbacks so far, you have to at least admit, it's nice to see a coach willing to adjust what he does to fit his players and to change things up when the status quo hasn't been working.

Even if it does come a few weeks too late.