Does the Cream Rise to the Top?

A couple of weeks ago, SMQ posted this article showing that percentage wise, recruiting services have a pretty good eye for talent. It also shows that they can't pick out every diamond in the rough, but when they label a kid as a 5 star or 4 star recruit, that player will definitely have the measurables that would allow them to succeed on the collegiate level.

Early in the 2007 season, several message boards were started regarding talent levels at different schools. Out of curiosity, I went on rivals and started counting 4 and 5 star commits to most of the D-1A programs since 2003, which would have made them 5th year seniors. I didn't count the players that weren't on the 2007 roster, that's not really necessary for this comparison. It simply shows which schools are gathering the most talent. Anybody want to guess in the blind what the list looks like?.....

Here ya go, 5 & 4 star commits to these universities since 2003

1. LSU 76
1. USC 76
3, Florida 75
4. Florida St. 69
5. Oklahoma 67
6. Texas 62
7. Georgia 58
7. Miami 58
9. Tennessee 56
10. Michigan 55
11. Ohio St. 48
12. Auburn 47
13. Notre Dame 38
14. Alabama 36
15. Nebraska 35
15. Penn St. 35
15. South Carolina 35
18. California 34
19. Texas A&M 32
20. Oregon 29

And for quick reference, the final Coaches Poll top 10 with the number of 5 & 4 star commits:

1. LSU 76
2. USC 76
3. GEORGIA 58
4. OHIO ST 48
5. MISSOURI 15
6. WEST VIRGINIA 7
7. KANSAS 5
8. OKLAHOMA 67
9. VA TECH 23
10. TEXAS 62

Looks to me like Kansas, WVU, Missouri, and to some extent Va Tech are being "coached-up" pretty well. On the flip side, Miami and FSU are.....uhhhhh.....mmmm.......sucking? I'll have the numbers for the 2008 5th year senior class sorted out in the next couple of days.

Recruiting Tightrope

UGA's latest commitment and the suspected small overall recruiting class are noted in this article by AJC's Carter Strickland.


Coach Garner seems a little worried about the number of scholly's that will be available and how many offers that we can make.

Uncle Urban wants YOU.....and YOU......and YOU.....oh, and YOU too

Never fear. The simple solution regarding the number of offers is provided by Urban Meyer. Likewise, Nick Saban is the resident expert on the actual number of players that can sign LOI's.

You guys look smart.......academic schollys are in your future

After all, it's simple math.

Roll Tide?

A full moon + delusional fans = High Tide

Some humor in an otherwise overcast day.

ESPN poll question "Will Alabama win a BCS bowl game this season?"

Personally, I think the better question would have been "Will Alabama MAKE it to ANY bowl this season?". But anyhoo, here's the linkage to the very surprising results. Also notable is that more than 100 households in Mississippi have internet access.

tOOC

I was recently having a debate with a very good friend, who happens to be a tOSU grad, on the relatively weak OOC games on each team's schedule in previous years. The final conclusion, after 4 hours and more than 4 beers, was that money would always be the driving force when the schedules are set. Let's face it, giving up a home game with 100,000 paying customers is not something that an AD can overlook.

But if we could overlook the financial windfall, and schedule anyone in the 3 open slots on our yearly schedule, what match-ups would have the most interest for UGA fans. Personally, I'd like to see us play all of the traditional powers, especially ones that we rarely play or have never played.

Here's my list.....feel free to add yours in the comments section

All time record vs UGA......zero wins, zero losses, zero ties

1. Oklahoma: Never played 'em. We need to. 'Nuff said.


2. USC: 0-3 all time with last meeting in 1960.


3. Nebraska: 1 meeting, a loss in 1969


4. Michigan: Last meeting 1965. 1-1 record


5. Notre Dame: One meeting, one win, one MNC, 1980


6. Penn St: One meeting, one loss, one missed MNC, 1982


7. Texas: 1-3 all time record. Last meeting 1984 cotton bowl


8. tOSU: 1993 Citrus Bowl is the only meeting.....add one in the W column


9. Miami: Last meeting 1966. 7-4-1 all time


10. FSU: Last meeting 2003 Sugar Bowl. 6-4-1 all time

It'd also be great if we could renew the yearly game with Clemson. That game was the casualty of the SEC expansion and I always enjoyed the extra chance to wear the "I HATE ORANGE" t-shirt. The 47-17-4 all time record doesn't hurt either.

A look ahead at noteable OOC games tentatively scheduled for the next few years....

• 2008 Arizona State


• 2009 Arizona State, Oklahoma State


• 2010 Colorado


• 2011 Louisville


• 2012 Louisville


• 2013 Clemson


• 2014 Clemson


• 2015 Oregon


• 2016 Oregon

Of course we always have Georgia Tech, and it's not realistic to see any other big schools being added through 2016. If we can, I hope they're on my list.

Give and Take

Just a few impressions on the reports from Friday night's scrimmage.

Offense
Out of the approximately 100 plays, 49 were passes. The QB's had a very good night going 26 for 37, for 400+ yards, 5 td, 1 int.........and 12 sacks. Richt hinted that the starting O-line played pretty well but the 2nd unit struggled. 12 sacks. I know that the QB's are wearing the green jersey and just maybe some of the "sacks" were borderline, but 12 freakin sacks. There's only 2 good explanations for that.....(1) The O-line looks like swiss cheese or (2) Willie Martinez was the only person on the field allowed to blow the whistle.

The O-line was called out again for poor blocking in the run game. Dontavius Jackson popped a 40 yard run, ".......made a safety miss out in space and took it to the house....." . Richard Samuel had a 40 yd touchdown catch and "...made some nice runs out of nothing...". Knowshon Moreno is still being limited in his reps in order to keep him healthy but did turn a screen pass into a 70 yd td.

Mohamed Massaquoi and Kenneth Harris, the two current starters at WR were held out with minor injuries. Michael Moore, 3 catches - 77 yds - td; Walter Hill, 4 catches-74 yds- td; and Israel Troupe, 4 catches - 48 yds took up the slack. Tavarres King also hauled in a 42 yard td.

Defense
12 sacks......and by my count, allowed at least 4 plays of over 40 yards. A major case of "feast or famine".

Justin Houston (RFresh) was credited for 3 sacks.
Daryl Gamble, 7.5 tackles
Reshad Jones, 1 int

Ramarcus Brown is reported to be pushing Prince Miller for a starting spot at CB.

Both Richt and Martinez pointed out that this was the worst perfomance by the defense so far this spring.

Special Teams
2 blocked punts

GATA punt block team
Get your sh*t together punt team

Are we placing enough emphasis on special teams? More thoughts on that here.


Overall
Regardless of 2nd or 3rd string players getting tons of reps at these scrimmages, the O-line is beginning to look "suspect" at best. Coach Searels worked wonders last season and I've gotta believe that this unit will vastly improve by opening day.

On a positive note.......
The qb's completion percentage up (70% overall, Stafford 67%).
The offense making big plays.
The D picking up 12 sacks.

Bad news
The secondary allowing too many completions.
The D giving up too many big plays
The O-line giving up 12 sacks.

Strange how that works when you're playing yourself.

Men of Troy

USC rules the college football world. At least that's the general consensus by 99% of the national media and coaches. Pete Carroll took over the reins of a program that didn't have a top 10 finish in over a decade and has turned them into a powerhouse.

Carroll has basically locked down the borders when recruiting in the talent rich state of California. He also has done quite well recruiting on a national level, picking up selected 5 & 4 star recruits at will. All-Americans and NFL 1st rounders are flying out of there by the dozens. Pre-season #1 rankings are a given. USC has it all. 6 straight national championships.........wait a second, according to this, they have ONE? How could that happen. They certainly have more talent than anyone on their schedule. The coaching staff is solid. The schedule itself isn't brutal.

Of course if you ask any USC fan, they'll tell you that they have 2 MNC's in that span. I've done the research.....USC is a member of the BCS. The BCS members have agreed to recognize the winner of the BCS Championship game as the MNC. USC has 1. I'm certainly not going to belittle the significance of winning one, just pointing out that the facts often are overshadowed by the general impression presented by the media.

The moral of the story.

UGA may enter the 2008 season as #1. They certainly have as much or more talent than anyone. The coaching staff is solid. The schedule IS brutal. Along with the usual SEC suspects, we pick up a pretty good ASU team at their house. I see comments all too often stating "UGA always seems to lose a game that they shouldn't". Fact is, you could insert any elite team into that statement. I like our chances this season, but finishing #1 is much more difficult than starting there. Just ask the Men of Troy.

How's it Hangin?

I've decided to do this every Friday. A quick recap of the week in the Georgia sports teams that I give a damn about and upcoming events. It'll help me keep up with it, and hopefully you'll find something of interest.



UGA Football

Currently wrapping up the 3rd of 4 weeks of spring practice. G-Day, Sanford Stadium, 4/5/08 @ 2 pm. Next Opponent: Opening day vs. Georgia Southern in 156 days.



UGA Basketball

One and done in the NCAA tourney. Recruiting news here.



UGA Baseball

Finished the week 3-2 winning 2 out of 3 vs Tennessee and splitting a pair with Kennesaw State. Opens a 3 game series with Miss. St. in Starkville today @ 7:30 pm. Overall record 13-9, 4-2 SEC



Atlanta Braves

Opening day @ Washington Nationals on 3/30. Home opener vs Pittsburg on 4/1.



Atlanta Hawks

Currently holding a 1/2 game lead over New Jersey for the 8th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Finished last week 2-1 with wins over Orlando and Milwaukee at home and a loss @ Chicago. Upcoming games: Today vs Chicago, 3/30 vs New York, 3/31 @ Memphis



Atlanta Thrashers

Officially eliminated from playoff contention after going 2-7-1 in their last 10. Upcoming games: Today @ Carolina, 3/31 @ Tampa Bay, 4/1 @ Florida



Atlanta Falcons

Upcoming events: NFL Draft, April 26-27. Michael Vick parole date....TBA

The Coaching Committee

I guess that I haven't given it much thought, but UGA doesn't have a coach whose sole responsibility is special teams. Instead, various members of the coaching staff are assigned a different unit, i.e. kickoff return, punt return, punt, field goal, etc.

Jon Fabris, Tony Ball, and John Lilly are involved and probably more. Maybe someone in the Dawgnation can help me out on this one. I'm also not certain if any one coach would be classified as the "head of the committee".

The special teams have been pretty solid in the CMR era. A few hiccups every now and then, but that can be expected anywhere. I'm guilty of taking the special teams for granted.

I was just thinking about the Joe T vs UF game and the Sugar Bowl vs WVU and those damned fake punts keep sticking in my mind. Both times we gained momentum and got the stop with a little over 2 minutes left. Both times I was screaming that they couldn't afford to give us the ball back. Had to be a fake........and it was......both times. Successful......both times. They proceeded to run out the clock.......both times. There's no doubt that the WVU fake was a direct result of the first one.

I don't know if one coach whose sole focus was on special teams would've handled the situation any differently. It's just a thought.

Somewhere over there>>>>>>>>>>>>>
is a poll for you to give your opinion, or as always, feel free to leave a comment.

Catching Up

Exactly what are the attributes of a great receiver? Are you born with them? Can they be coached? How do the items on this list rank in importance?

• Speed - You certainly can't have too much but "world class sprinter's" speed isn't a requirement. Is straight line speed, top end speed, or an explosive first step more important?

• Agility - Running good routes, being "shifty", snatching the ball out of the air, the ability to get yardage after the catch, having a good vertical leap.


• Height - Randy Moss is 6'4"......Wes Welker is 5'9". Both are effective.


• Strength - Definitely a plus against a physical corner playing press coverage.


• Hands - Not every great athlete has soft hands.


• Eyes - Coming out of a break and picking up the ball in a fraction of a second.


• Focus - Blocking out everything around you except the ball.


• Desire - The ball belongs to ME.

This man knows a thing or two about catching the ball

I recently watched a documentary featuring Jerry Rice and Cris Carter. I don't think that you can find someone with more expertise at the position than these two. When asked what are the most important attributes of a wide receiver, both placed alot of emphasis on the last two.

& This one knows the rest

It's a given that UGA's group of wideouts possess a great deal of the physical attributes, but how many have the focus and desire to be a standout. Are any of them capable of taking over a game?

Of course our guys aren't professionals. They don't get paid monstrous salaries to catch a football. However, they are playing at an elite level and can reasonably be expected to make all of the easy catches, most of the tough ones, and a few of the highlight reel verson. All too often, that hasn't been the case.

This report gives me some hope that our guys may be turning the corner. It's great to hear that balls aren't hitting the ground. I'm sure that everyone's seen the AJ Green highlight video, and he seems to be the total package.

For our offense to be consistent, we can't afford to drop the easy ones. We like to run the football, which results in many 3rd and medium yardage situations. We've gotta catch the ball to move the chains. It's my personal opinion that we could have avoided one of our losses in 2007 by simply catching the "easy" ones. To avoid repeating history, we need to catch all of 'em that we should. Anything above that will be a bonus.

****Update****

No b.s.

I finished this post about 10 minutes before I saw this.

Advances in Technology

Hear ye, Hear ye all brave supporters of the train wreck that is sometimes known as Yellow Jacket Nation.

In these times of adversity, it is common to lash out at your adversaries, to hide behind great deeds of times long gone. John Heisman, Bobby Dodd, Pepper Rodgers, Bobby Ross….those were simpler, better times. Greatness is but a distant memory and the future can be described as “bleak” at best. It can be a bit disheartening at times.

You have lost your mojo and it currently resides some 75 miles northeast, wrapped in one of Mohamed Massaquoi’s dirty game socks and buried in a time capsule, which will one day be unearthed and rightfully returned….in slightly less than mint condition.

You must not waver in your resolve. You must not simply accept the verbal barrage that is dumped upon you in seemingly unlimited quantities. What you really need is……ammunition. A quick retort when confronted with unflattering facts, an edge that will reverse the tides and give you the upper hand in any argument. I offer that to you now, as a gift, with humility, and ask for nothing in return.

Just consider……

(1) Since the Falcons have come to Atlanta, your football team has never been ranked lower than 6th in the state. In all honesty, most of those years, the Jackets can claim the prestigious 3rd spot. Sure, I know that occasionally a program of Georgia Southern’s caliber will knock you out of that spot. Maybe Valdosta State or Parkview or Lowndes County will sneak in every once in a blue moon. But, in general, you will consistently rank a solid third. You can take pride in the fact that in that same time period, UGA can only claim the top spot 15 or so times. Sometimes the Falcons are actually better than the Dawgs, but no one can diminish your accomplishment of consistently finishing in the top 5.

(2) You have a new coach that will bring a new space age offensive system with him. Trust me on this one, defensive coordinators are already experiencing sleepless nights in anticipation of facing the Techsters this season. Try dazzling your persecutors with your newfound knowledge of the triple / quintuple / multiple option power run, run, and run machine and watch as they tuck their tales and run, run, run away.

(3) This one’s the absolute clincher. Be forewarned, it takes some intestinal fortitude. If you’re going to sell this one, you have to reach down and grab your stinger, lower the estrogen level just a bit, because you know as well as I, it’s coming. There’s no avoiding it. You will be harassed by a Dawg fan….. “7 in a row, 7 in a row, 7 in a row”. I can’t stress the importance of maintaining your composure at this point, but it is key. This is your chance to stifle that obnoxious co-worker, friend or relative once and for all. You’ve gotta suck it up, look ‘em eye to eye, and repeat verbatim “So freakin what….FSU’s got 12 straight on us & runnin…..Yeah, that’s right, who’s our daddy now?”

Guaranteed to work every time. Glad I could help.

Turnabout is Fair Play

Ok, so I took a shot at tOSU. Sue me.

But in the name of fairness, I'll admit that the Dawgs have avoided the Big 10 like the plague. 8 games against a conference with the history of the Big 10 isn't something to be proud of. A 7-2 all-time record on the other hand, is. (ok, that makes 9 but I threw in the pre big 10 loss to Penn st.).

How do the Dawgs fare all time vs. the rest of the BCS conferences? Note: It would take a MIT grad a couple of weeks to break down the conference merry-go-round of the Big East and ACC and who was in which conference when etc etc.......so I'm goin with where they are now.

ACC........................152-91-18
Big 12.....................14-7-0
Big East.................2-5-1
PAC 10..................8-4-1

####.......we're getting hammered by the Big East. We needa change that.

A Fragment of My Imagination

.........or is it?

Is it just my opinion, or do the fans of tOSU have a major complex when it comes to the SEC? On any SEC related thread or message board, it seems that at least one true blue Buckeye will become extremely irate to the point of being hostile. Of course, that's half the fun of message boards. I fully understand tOSU and UM throwing barbs at each other and I'll admit, they show absolutely no mercy towards each other (that adds up to great family fun). I just can't see the extreme dislike for the SEC.

In the 100+ years of OSU football, they've only faced a SEC team 20 times. That's certainly not enough times to create any sort of rivalry. 9 of those games have been bowls.

Other than that minor blemish, their record is a stellar 7-2-2. How does it break down vs.

Alabama 0-3-0

Auburn 0-1-1

Florida 0-1-0

Georgia 0-1-0

Kentucky 3-0-0

LSU 1-1-1

South Carolina 0-2-0

Tennessee 0-1-0

Vandy 3-1-0

They haven't played Arkansas, Ole Miss, and Miss St.

While I'm pretty sure tOSU's AD doesn't regularly receive calls from his SEC counterparts requesting a regular season home-and-home, I'm just as certain that he doesn't have any of our AD's on speed dial either (with maybe the exception of KY and Vandy).

I feel better now.

Spring Update

Spring practice opened 3 weeks ago and we have 2 weeks left. That puts us at the halfway point.......with the week of spring break.


Position Battles

When spring practice opened, there were only 5 starting spots that were really wide open.
1 defensive end
2 offensive line spots
1 wide receiver
1 placekicker

Jeremy Lomax was listed as the starter at DE opposite Roderick Battle. Lomax hasn't been singled out to this point but two of his counterparts have drawn praise, Jarius Wynn and Demarcus Dobbs. Look for this battle to get pretty intense as we start to focus on G-Day.

With so many offensive linemen banged up or out for the spring, a great opportunity has been given to the guys that are healthy and ready to go. Justin Anderson has been solid so far and Ben Jones has been moved up to the #2 center spot. This may turn out to be the most wide open race of the spring.

To my surprise, the wideout receiving the most praise to this point is Kenneth Harris. I'll admit that I didn't see that one coming. Tony Wilson is reported to have shed a little of the bulk that he put on last year and his quickness and agility have improved. Israel Troupe has entered the mix with a few nice sessions. Mohamed Massaquoi, while not fighting for a position, is having an excellent spring.

The placekicker position of course won't be decided until fall.

Other Notables

Matt Stafford has been singled out a couple of times for showing improvement in his decision making.

Logan Gray's name is coming up almost every day and Joe Cox's name......none. Look for the #2 QB spot to become hotly contested.

Caleb King continues to have a good spring, but maybe not a great one. Dontavius Jackson impressed during Saturday's scrimmage. Knowshon Moreno, as widely reported, is not getting alot of reps.

Tripp Chandler has looked good so far. Figgins has been banged up a little.

Reshad Jones and Quentin Banks are standing out at the safety position. John Knox is also having a good spring.

Darryl Gamble used Dannel Ellerbe and Rennie Curran's absence in the scrimmage to make a statement for more playing time at LB. Gamble finished the scrimmage with 6 tackles and 2 picks (one for a TD).

Saturday's Scrimmage

The scrimmage was closed to the media. Coach Richt had other duties following the scrimmage and turned the press conference over to the capable hands of Coach Willie Martinez.

Defense good then Defense not so good
Offense not so good then offense good

I hereby ban Coach Martinez from all future press conferences.


Bumps & Bruises
OG Chris Little is out until fall after having surgery to repair bones in his foot. OG Clint Boling will miss the rest of spring practice with mononucleosis. OL Tanner Strickland has been nursing a sore ankle. OL Kevin Perez has missed several sessions. TE Bruce Figgins recovered from a high ankle sprain over the spring break. WR Demiko Goodman (leg) also returned to practice after spring break. LB Darius Dewberry had surgery to relieve pressure on a tendon in the groin area and will be out until early summer. Marcus Washington had surgery to repair a damaged shoulder and anticipates missing the 2008 season. QB's Matt Stafford (thumb, non throwing hand) and Logan Gray (ankle) have not missed practice.

A Quick Hoops Note

I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate the Dawgs hoops team for at least making it to the dance. While this should not be a major accomplishment in and of itself, the circumstances that led up to it made it very special.

The team has been in basketball purgatory since our beloved Michael Adams vetoed the evil Vince Dooley and chose Jim Harrick to oversee the program. How'd that turn out? For extra credit, how many halves are in a game? Maybe Coach Felton and the team have turned the corner and making the dance will become an automatic.

Checking out the rivals 150 for 2007, 2008, and 2009, the the State of Georgia ranks 2nd, 1st, and 2nd of the home states represented. Maybe winning the SEC will be a building block that allows Felton to at least grab a handful of the top in-state talent.

Felton also has to take his fair share of the blame for the current state of affairs. Maybe his staff could have performed a more thorough background check on some of the kids that have come thru lately. Of course, I'm sure that the top recruits in the country haven't exactly been beating down the door to come to UGA.

Hopefully, this is the first step to bringing stability to the program.

Knockin at the Door

Chasing the crystal ball. There's a handful of teams that can realistically expect to have a shot at the trophy at the beginning of every college football season. It requires hard work, dedication, a negotiable schedule, a veteran team in most instances, a "fortunate" bounce (or two), and on occasion it just falls into the hands of our knowledgeable and unbiased cfb media personnel.

For the last 6 years, UGA has been hangin around the top 10 and doesn't have the hardware that they need to complete this team's resume. UGA has 5 top 10 finishes in the last 6 years. I thought that I'd check out other top programs to see how the Dawgs compare.

Everybody's got six shots, here's the list, crystal ball owners are highlighted.

6 - USC
5 - OHIO ST, GEORGIA
4 - LSU (2), TEXAS , OKLAHOMA
3 - IOWA, MICHIGAN, VIRGINIA TECH, WEST VIRGINIA
2 - AUBURN, LOUISVILLE, MIAMI, WASHINGTON ST
1 - FLORIDA, ALABAMA, BOISE ST, CALIFORNIA, FSU, KANSAS, KANSAS ST, MISSOURI, PENN ST, TCU, UTAH, WISCONSIN

Analysis
Just pencil USC in every list until further notice.
UGA is sticking out like a sore thumb at the top of the list.
Iowa has fallen like a rock.
Mike Price is a pretty good coach with an excellent eye for talent. (nsfw, maybe)
Florida got the most bang for their buck.
Nebraska, Tennessee, and Notre Dame, oh wherefore art thou?

How finicky is college football......the ten years prior to this list, Nebraska would have 8 appearances to USC's.......zero.

We've been knockin at the door for 6 years. As Bum Phillips would say "It's time to kick the damn thing in".

Grinding it out

You must run the ball to win. That old statement doesn't ring as true as it once did, but an effective running game should equal positive results even in this "age of the spread offense".

If you read enough articles that are devoted to the UGA offense, you'll often see the word "balance" being used as a goal. Balancing the run with the pass is the objective, but the numbers in 2007 show that the desired balance was not achieved. While having 874 offensive plays in 2007, 509 of those plays were running plays, which puts the total at 58.2 %. Of course, the opposing defensive personel and the scoreboard have a large influence on those numbers.

Anyway, this entire line of thought got started when I looked at the 2008 schedule and wanted to see what our opponents' offensive balance has been. I'm factoring in the new coordinators and head coaches in the list.

Here's the breakdown of how often they ran the ball in 2007:

1. Georgia Tech 85.5 %


2. Georgia Southern 75.2 %


3. LSU 58.1 %


4. Vandy 57.5 %


5. Florida 57.4 %


6. Arizona St. 56.2 %


7. Alabama 50.9 %


8. C. Michigan 48.2 %


9. Kentucky 47.9 %


10. Auburn 47.2 %


11. S. Carolina 46.3 %


12. Tennessee 46.2 %

The first 2 on the list believe in the old saying "when you put the ball in the air, 3 things can happen, and 2 of them are bad". I think Paul Johnson will be forced to throw a little more often if he is to enjoy success in the ACC.

Central Michigan, Florida, and Auburn will run a spread option with the QB being a large part of the running game.

Tennessee, South Carolina, and Kentucky like to spread the field also. They don't utilize the option, but use the pass to set up the run.

Alabama, LSU, Vandy, and Arizona St. will give more traditional looks the majority of the time. Arizona St will likely spread it out more than the others in this group.

The way the schedule breaks down, it seems that every week the opponents' offensive tendency's will shift from one extreme to the other. It's enough to make Coach Martinez pull his hair out.

I rest my case

Coincidence?

Coach Mark Richt now has 7 full years in the books as Head Coach of UGA. Having married into a family of FSU alumns, I take great pleasure in pointing out the paths each of these programs have taken since Richt came to town. So, I decided to chart the results just to get a better picture. I'll put this post in the catagory "Because I Wanted To Know"

In the 7 years prior to Richt's arrival in Athens, UGA never topped FSU in wins in any season. In the 7 years since, the opposite has been true. Helluva coincidence, I'd say.

Just for Kicks

Let's face it. Settling for a field goal basically sucks. Unless, of course, you nail one to win it at the horn. 2007 vs. South Carolina........field goals suck. 2007 vs. Vandy.....field goals rock. I'm confused, but whichever the case, Brandon Coutu was very reliable when he was healthy.

Looking foward to the 2008 season, the position of placekicker has me worried more than any other. Coutu is gone and when we need 3 points, it's going to be on the shoulders (or foot) of a true freshman. This is the last of a series in which I've gone through the UGA roster, position by position. Today, we'll be looking at special teams, and kicking off the topic is none other than........
Blair Walsh (Fr, 5-10, 163) That's one hundred and sixty-three pounds. I hope about 30 pounds of that is in his right foot. DO THEY FEED YA'LL BOYS IN SOUTH FLORIDA?? Get your butt to the dinner table, son. I want you looking like Janikowski (without the felonies) when you hit Athens in August. Gottit?

Walsh must now learn to do the "Gator Chomp"

Walsh is listed as the #7 kicking prospect by rivals.com, #1 by scout.com, and #7 by espn. One of the three services seems to know what they're talkin about. Anyway, at least we know that he can kick. He attempted a 69 yarder last year and missed.......wide right. Yup, it was long enough.

That's good enough for me. Prior to that, he made a 59 yarder in back to back games. Now the question becomes can he hit 'em when the lights come on and the camera starts rollin'. Kicking in high school doesn't quite compare to some of the nasty places that we travel. Can he nail it when 90,000 drunks wearin orange are screaming at the top of their lungs? That's the real question.

Walsh seems to have a great attitude and the mentality to succeed at the next level. He's got a monster leg that comes in handy when kicking off and from all reports has a great work ethic. Of course he'll have to perform on the field, but it seems the placekicking job is in good hands.


The Punter

Hopefully, this guy will be this year's "Maytag Repairman"

Brian Mimbs (Sr, 5-11, 205) had a fantastic season in 2007, his first as a starter. The Dawgs have a history of playing tight ballgames and field position battles are always at a premium. Having Mimbs cranking out his average 42 yard punt takes a great deal of pressure away from our offensive and defensive units.

Plan B(utler), Drew (Soph, 6-2, 205), son of Kevin. Sorry folks, he just punts. Pretty well too from published reports.


The Return Game

Mickey Henderson and his electric punt returns are gone. Thomas Flowers also had pretty good success in the punt return game and.......he's gone too. Asher Allen has 5 career punt returns with decent success, but we really need someone to step up at this position. My personal choice (which to date hasn't mattered) is Israel Troupe. He returned punts in high school and prefers to take the ball upfield rather than go sideline to sideline.

Asher Allen is our most experienced kickoff return man also. He has a solid 23.6 average and will pop a long one every once in awhile. Ramarcus Brown also showed some potential in the Sugar Bowl with a 90 yarder.

Incoming freshman RB Carlton Thomas also returned kicks in high school. He was the featured return guy in the UA High School All-American Game. In a previous post on the running back position, I noted that Richard Samuel and Dontavius Jackson have a head start on Thomas since both enrolled in January and are currently getting reps in practice. However, Thomas should have a great shot to earn a roster spot in the return game. Personally, I hope he does as it would take our starting corner out of one of the more dangerous situations in the game. If Thomas does make it in the return game, look for one of the other freshmen RB's to get the redshirt.

Thats a wrap. A look at the entire pre-season depth chart, and it only took me two weeks to do it. How's that for bottled lightning?

Every Train Needs an Engineer

No, not the kind that you'll find at the North Ave Trade School. I'm referring to the driver, the person that calls the shots, makes the decisions......the Quarterback.

While I don't necessarily believe that the quarterback has to win it by himself, a la Vince Young, there have been several instances of the qb throwing it away. The qb needs to be the game manager. He's gotta protect the ball and make solid decisions. Experience is definitely a plus at the position.

Alot of hopes and dreams ride on Matt Stafford's right arm

Matt Stafford (Jr, 6-3, 237) made great strides in his sophomore season in each of those intangibles. I think it's safe to assume that he will improve even more in 2008. After the severe growing pains that Matt went through as a freshman, he rebounded well last year by improving his td-int ratio to 2:1 on the plus side. Let's face it, every qb makes bad decisions on occasion. Matt greatly reduced that number last year as compared to his first. He's proven beyond any doubt that he is the leader of our offense. A recent article noted that Matt would like his completion percentate to increase to 65%. That would be great, but I don't think that will be the deciding factor on the success of the season. What I've stated for the last 2 seasons was mentioned by Matt and the coaches. It's all about footwork. When Matt plants the right foot and steps into the throw, there's no other qb in college football that will throw better. It truly is a thing of beauty.

Matt has proven to be a winner. He knows what it takes to get it done. It's definitely time to step up and deliver.

Joe Cox has been solid when called upon

Joe Cox (Jr, 6-1, 208) came from an elite high school program and found himself in the race for the starting job in 2006 as a freshman. He came off the bench to lead UGA to a win over Colorado and actually started the Ole Miss game before stepping aside for Stafford. He doesnt' have ideal height but he does have some talent and is an adequate backup.

Is Logan the future?

Logan Gray (RFr, 6-2, 185) drew rave reviews from the 1st team defense while running the scout team in 2007. A legit 4.45 in the 40 and a good arm, Logan is more suited to the offense that we ran with DJ Shockley. Coach Bobo has designed a few plays to get him on the field this year, maybe as a wideout. Coach Richt has since stated that Logan will get reps only at qb for awhile in order to get a better grasp on running the offense. Logan would seem to be the heir apparent to Stafford at this time.

I can't recall the last team to win a MNC with a backup QB. I'm sure it's happened sometime along the way, I just don't remember when. It's extremely important to the success of the program for Matt to remain healthy throughout the season.

A King and His Court

caleb king....Caleb king.....Caleb King......CALEB KING.....have you heard of this guy? Who's getting more hype coming into this season, King or AJ Green? Coaches are impressed with Caleb King. The players are impressed with Caleb King. Caleb King is impressed with Caleb King. There's only one wee little problem. He's second on the depth chart to.........

KNOWSHON MORENO (RSoph, 5-11, 207) 1st Team Freshman-All American, 1st Team All SEC, 1396 yards (2nd SEC), 14 TD's, and is on a short list of 2008 Heisman Candidates. He is a sophomore. He has started a grand total of 6 games.

Where's this Tre Blackmon fella I keep hearin' about?

We've had the good fortune of having some very good running backs over the years. Kregg Lumpkin and Thomas Brown were good backs. Musa Smith and Lars Tate were good backs. Tim Worley and Horace King were good backs. But there's another level of running back. Herschel, Garrison Hearst, Robert Edwards.......when they touched the ball, something electric usually followed. That's Knowshon Moreno. Moreno has the combination of quickness, determination, peripheral vision, and pure instinct that makes him better than good. He can hit the hole in a split second, cutback when necessary, picks up blitzes in pass protection, catch the swing passes and screens, and oh my.......the spin move. Every play is full speed ahead. After being tackled, Moreno pops up and sprints to the huddle faster than any Auburn Wideout at full speed. The one thing Moreno is not is....superman. That title belongs to Timmy Teebone. Moreno would not last the season if he played every snap. Therefore he needs...........

Superman dat

Caleb King (RFr, 5-11, 202) - There's not alot that I can add here. I've seen the video's and read the clippings. One of the very best high school running backs in the 2006 recruiting class. Unfortunately, I didn't get to see him play in high school. I actually had a game penciled in for late in the season, but he broke his leg and only played in 6 games as a senior. He's had a full year to rehab the leg and learn the offense. I'll admit to being very eager to see him hit the field for G-Day on April 5th.

Coronation date: April 5th

Due to the lack of depth at rb, UGA recruited hard at that position last year and brought a ton of talent in.

Richard Samuel (Fr, 6-2, 215) is a straight up runner that looks like Darren McFadden or Adrian Peterson on tape (same style). He has already enrolled and is currently on the spring roster. Samuel has stated that he actually prefers defense but the coaches have decided to have him play offense this spring. If rb doesn't work out, maybe linebacker or safety is in his future. Samuel will compete for a spot on the roster this fall. OBTW, he turned 17 in February.

Dontavius Jackson (Fr, 5-10, 190) is just like Caleb King.......he broke his leg in his senior season too. He has also enrolled early and seems to have recovered from his injury. Jackson is also going to compete for a roster spot.

Carlton Thomas (Fr, 5-7, 159) - CMR says that Thomas is the "Warrick Dunn type" back that he's been looking for since coming to UGA. The other 2 freshmen have a head start on Thomas which will more than likely mean a redshirt.

Ya can't do a running back piece without giving a little love to the fullbacks.

Brannan Southerland (Sr, 6-0, 240) - The hardest working man in show bizness has 18 career TD's to show for his efforts.

Shaun Chapas (RSoph, 6-2, 236) - Gives Brannan a breather every now & then. Also had some reps as RB.

Fred Munzenmaier (RSoph, 6-2, 233) - Fred's a pretty good ball player, likes to have a few drinks (even though he's not 21 yet), and will tell a cop to kiss his ass if the mood strikes him. That adds up to a 2 game suspension to start the season.

Quick Recap -

Knowshon's a known commodity.

Caleb King is the next big thing.

Alot of true freshman talent will be on campus this fall. Who redshirts, who doesn't?

Brannan Southerland will continue being a badass.

Pitch & Catch

This is the 8th post in an 11 part series in which I’m breaking down the Dawgs by position for the 2008 season. It’s time to discuss the wideouts and what to expect from this unit when August rolls around. There’s a lot of buzz and anticipation in Athens that has been generated by the new commits at the position, but I’ll get to that later.

Sean Bailey, Mikey Henderson, and A J Bryant are gone. Bailey was a legit deep threat and really liked that black jersey. I’m going to remember Mikey for the “one and done” in the Alabama game and the thrills in the return game. Bryant was the phenom who never quite lived up to the hype due to injuries and various other reasons.

We return 6 guys that actually have at least one reception –

Always a Tech Fan Favorite, MoMass assumes the leadership of the WR's

Mohamed Massaquoi (Sr, 6-2, 198) will take on the role as the leader of this group in ’08. MoMass has 100 career receptions and is far and away the most experienced.

Kris Durham (Jr, 6-5, 200) has been a very effective possession receiver in his first two years. Kris has 16 career receptions.

Kenneth Harris (Sr, 6-3, 215) saw his production drop last year. Harris finished 2007 with only 4 receptions after having 11 and 15 in his first two years. With his height and size, it would be nice if Harris can return to form.

Demiko Goodman (Sr, 6-2, 190) is also on the UGA track team and is a bonafide lightning bolt. He’s also shown willingness to come across the middle and has pretty good hands. Goodman finished the year with 7 receptions that averaged 17.7 yds.

Tony Wilson (RSoph, 5-11, 198) is a guy that has huge potential for YAC. The coaching staff ran some plays especially designed for Tony in ’07 and he should get more touches next year. Wilson finished the year with 14 receptions.

Michael Moore (Jr, 6-2, 188) received a great deal of praise from the coaches as the year progressed, however the on-field results never came. Moore had 3 catches in 2007.

We also have 2 redshirt freshmen and 1 early enrollee who will be fighting for playing time this fall.

Israel Troupe (RFr, 6-1, 215) is a homerun waiting to happen. Literally. He splits his time with the UGA baseball dawgs. The kid has great speed and the ability to create in space. I actually saw him play 3 times in ’06 and he was an absolute terror to defend.

Walter Hill (RFr, 6-4, 214) has received praise from the coaching staff and the players as being a threat for the Dawgs this year. Asher Allen says “He’s hard to defend when he gets his big body in position”.

Tavarres King (Fr, 6-1, 172) has enrolled early and impressed also. One defender compared him to Percy Harvin of Florida. That may be going a little too far, but it sounds promising.

The talent is there for the Dawgs to open up a little more this year with the passing game. Stafford’s growing pains are over and there’s reason to hope that he’ll be getting more balls into the hands of these wideouts than in the previous two years.

We’ll be checking out the running back position in the next post.

Oh yeah, one more thing………A J Green is a BEAST

Riches to Rags.......Tight Ends

Maybe it's not that bleak of a picture, but if you'll recall just about 2 months ago............

UGA returns 4 scholarship TE's for the '08 season and has a commitment from highly touted Dewayne Allen to add to a very talented group. After having recently put our fair share of quality tight ends into the NFL...Randy McMichael, Ben Watson, and Leonard Pope.....the outlook for this year's crop looks as good as ever.

My, how things have changed. Of course Dewayne wavered on the fence before choosing Clemson on signing day (baffling, considering that the tiggerz don't include the tight end in their offensive scheme) and Naderris Ward decided to transfer. That leaves us with 3 scholarship TE's on the roster and makes this the only position, other than QB, that we don't have considerable depth.

I'm not going to dwell on what we don't have. Here's what we do have.

Nike's new super sticky gloves.......I highly recommend them

Tripp Chandler (Sr, 6-6, 263) - Tripp was the starter going into 2007, although he did serve a one game supspension to open the season. Last year was basically a tale of two seasons for Tripp. The first half of the season was filled with dropped passes and missed opportunities. As a team built to run the football and the tight end being featured in 3rd & short to medium situations, Tripp's miscues often were highlighted. A couple of crucial drops in the SC game gave the boo-birds plenty of fodder and Tripp heard them early and often. Tripp received tons of sarcastic cheers for making any catch for a period. Thankfully, he turned his season around by mid year and actually made some crucial catches for the Dawgs. Chandler finished the season with 21 catches and 2 TD's. The sarcasm is gone, the cheers genuine, and his senior season has a bright outlook.......GATA Tripp.

Starting my first game as a true freshman.......it doesn't get better than this

Bruce Figgins (Soph, 6-4, 254) - Due to Chandler's opening game suspension, Figgins started in his very first game as a Bulldog, collecting his only TD catch in the process. He did play in each of the 13 games and finished with a modest 3 receptions. Figgins was the least heralded of the young tight ends and to earn a spot over the talent that was on the roster at that time, this should be considered quite an accomplishment.

Aaron White (RFresh, 6-4, 228) - A bit of a hybrid TE/WR, White now finds himself exclusively at TE. Reports are that he has good hands and very good speed for the position. He'll have to bulk up some to handle the everyday chores at the position and hopefully, his speed won't suffer to greatly as a result.

As mentioned earlier, there isn't alot of depth here. In situations that require 3 TE packages, a tackle or one of the fullbacks will more than likely be used as the 3rd. We just can't afford an injury to one of these guys.

Disclaimer

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The content and opinion included in the contained posts are mine, unless linked to another source. I make no claims to be an expert journalist or privy to exclusive information on any subject matter that relates to these posts.

The majority of the posts on this site are the result of some fairly intensive research of available print media and video outlets. Otherwise, these posts are based on opinion and should be treated as such.

If you happen to disagree with anything that is contained in these posts......you're probably wrong.

I knew I shouldda been a freakin lawyer......second choice of course would have been a comedian

The Big Uglies

You’d have a better odds playin roulette at your favorite Vegas nightspot than nailing down the starters for this year’s O-line. Not necessarily the players that will start, the question is at what position. There’s quite a few scenarios being bounced around and it all boils down to the Center position. The easiest way to make any sense out of the situation is to start with the facts and then go down a subtle road into pure speculation.

First……the facts. Just hours prior to Colt Brennan being rubbed into the Superdome carpet as a permanent splotch around his own goal line, our O-line consisted of 2 seniors, 2 redshirt freshmen, and 1 true freshman. Just a few months prior to that, we opened fall practice with 2 seniors, 2 juco transfers, and a bunch of kids that had never taken a college snap. How that ragged group morphed into a very effective line last year has to be credited to 2 things…..talent and coaching. It’s a real credit to O-line coach Stacy Searels when we consider how well that line played by midseason. So, with the 2 seniors gone, who do we have coming back?

Seniors – a big whopping zero, zip, zilch, nada

Juniors –
Vince Vance 6-8, 320 played in 11 games last season at tackle

Sophomores – (R) =redshirt
Josh Davis (R) 6-6, 293 played in 10 games last season at guard
Chris Davis (R) 6-4, 292 started 13 games at guard
Kevin Perez (R) 6-3, 270 saw action in 6 games at center
Kiante Tripp(R) 6-6, 270 played in 8 games at tackle
Trinton Sturdivant 6-5, 293 started 13 games at right tackle
Clint Boling 6-5, 290 started the final 11 games at guard

Freshmen –
Tanner Strickland (R) 6-5, 328
Ben Harden (R) 6-3, 310
Justin Anderson (R) 6-5, 328
Chris Little (R) 6-6, 330
Ben Jones 6-3, 300 true freshman enrolled in January ‘08

The spring depth chart has the starters listed as:
LT – Trinton Sturdivant
LG – Vince Vance
C – Chris Davis
RG – Clint Boling
RT – Kiante Tripp

That lineup looks good to me…….let’s run with it. No can do. The Center position, it seems, may not be finalized until this fall. Depending on the outcome, a domino effect could take place throughout the line. I guess the best thing for now is just to breakdown the positions and wait for the outcome.

Easy on the facemask bud......Freshman All American Trinton Sturdivant

Tackle –
Trinton Sturdivant earned freshman All-American honors in 2007 and is a stone cold lock at left tackle.
Kiante Tripp has moved from OL to DL back to OL in his short career and would seem to have a handle on the RT starting job.

Kiante Tripp has found a home at OT

Depth is provided by Josh Davis, who can play guard or tackle, and Vince Vance (currently listed as starting LG).

Clint had 11 starts as a redshirt freshman

Guard –
Vince Vance and Clint Boling are listed as the current starters. Boling seems to have a stronger grip on his position. Chris Davis would take one of these positions if he doesn’t start at center.
Justin Anderson is also pushing hard to take one of these spots. Chris Little (foot surgery, out for spring) should return in the fall to compete.

Chris Davis started every game as a redshirt freshman......he's a lock to start in '08, but where?

Center –
Chris Davis is listed as the starter. Ben Harden, Kevin Perez, and Ben Jones are expected to compete for the job.

Ben Jones, the true freshman that enrolled in January, has been pumped up by the media, and even the coaches to some extent, as a favorite to earn the starting center job. Jones basically came out of nowhere with his performance at the UA High School All-American game. He consistently handled the best of the best H.S. defensive tackles throughout practices and during the game. The first day of contact this spring, Jones was reminded of the fact that these guys aren’t high schoolers. The AJC noted that Ricardo Crawford pretty much tossed him around like a chew toy.

Other newcomers to Athens this fall:
Cordy Glenn - rivals 16th ranked OT

A.J. Harmon - rivals #2 ranked OG (currently listed by UGA as D-lineman)

Jonathan Owens - rivals 49th ranked OG

Ok, here’s the super condensed summary of the OL for 2008.
Guaranteed starters –
Sturdivant, Tripp, and Chris Davis

Possible Starters -
Vince Vance, Clint Boling, and …..Ben Jones?

Very close and haven’t been ruled out yet -
Josh Davis, Justin Anderson, Kevin Perez and Chris Little

Will see limited playing time –
Tanner Strickland and Ben Harden

With 12 scholarship OL seeing playing time this year, Glenn, Harmon, and Owens are headed for redshirts.

What does it all mean? This year's OL should come out of the gate much stronger than in '07. The loss of the seniors will be more than offset due to the experience of the entire line as a group. If Jones does nab the starting center position as a true freshman, you can bet he's as much a badass as advertised. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of sophomores who have some talent, some experience, and a track record of success to build upon for 3 more years.

A-Dime-a-Dozen

That's the attitude that alot of UGA fans have toward the Defensive End position. It seems like it doesn't matter who we plug in at DE, they make the opposing qb's life hell. Pollack leaves, in steps Quentin Moses. Charles Johnson breaks out in '06. Marcus Howard steps up in '07. Who's next? That could turn out to be an interesting question.

Ahhh.....Reggie Ball.....fond memories......my bad, Marcus Howard, DGD


I would argue that Howard's loss to the NFL will be the most difficult hole for the UGA coaching staff to fill this season. Howard was the SEC's sack leader in '07 with 10.5 and turned in a verified 4.47 forty at this year's NFL combine. At 6'2", 250 lbs. that just ain't right.


Talent-wise, the DE position looks to be very good for 2008. We also have 5 guys that actually saw some playing time last year. Whereas the speed rush was so successful for Howard, the guys fighting for that spot are pretty evenly divided between speed vs. power. Here are your candidates.


Roderick Battle R-Jr, 6-4, 261
Jarius Wynn Sr, 6-5, 275
Jeremy Lomax Sr, 6-4, 247
Demarcus Dobbs R-So, 6-2, 266
Michael Lemon R-So, 6-4, 274
Neland Ball R-Fr, 6-6, 232
Justin Houston R-Fr, 6-3, 240

Roderick Battle........A lock at one starting position?......i think so


Roderick Battle started opposite Howard in every game last year. He hasn't put up huge numbers (24 tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3 forced fumbles), but he has been very solid. He also played in each game in '06 (4 tackles, 2 sacks....gotta love that percentage). CMR has stated that Battle's starting spot is not guaranteed ( a little motivation, perhaps?), but I'd be surprised if he's not starting on one side when fall arrives.

Jeremy Lomax.......Always gives 100%......will that get him the job?

Jarius Wynn and Jeremy Lomax, both seniors, seem to have the inside track on landing the other starting spot. Wynn is the power guy, Lomax has the quickness. Lomax has 5.5 career sacks vs Wynn's 1. Both played a good number of snaps last year, Lomax averaged around 23 per game. The winner of this battle is gonna have one helluva spring. My hunch is Lomax.

Jarius Wynn......size, strength, talent, experience......is that enough?

Demarcus Dobbs played sparingly in 13 games last year, but he's not likely to compete for the starting job. He's a "high-motor" guy that coaches love and his reps this fall should reflect that.

Michael Lemon has all of the measurables to be a beast at this position. The knock on the kid coming out of high school was his tecnique. He has a huge wing-span and better than average quickness. Michael played in 7 games last season, recording 7 tackles. Maybe he'll continue to develop and reach his potential.


Neland Ball and Justin Houston are both quick, undersized, redshirt freshmen. That does not equal a large number of reps. Houston is learning the position this spring after switching from OLB.


The new guys:

Toby Jackson
Jeremy Longo
Cornelius Washington


Toby Jackson is listed as rivals #5 strongside defensive end. Opinion varies however on whether he'll end up at DE or DT. When UGA D-line coach Rodney Garner was asked to clarify the situation with Toby, he replied "God blessed him more than he blessed some". Ya think he like's him? On a side note, I actually went up to Griffin to watch a game this year and Toby played MLB ???? Seems like teams ran away from him when he was on either end, so the coaching staff came up with the solution.


The skinny on Jeremy Longo is just that well.......he needs to bulk up. The scouts have praised his technique. Jeremy will have this redshirt season to get ready for 2009.


Cornelius Washington comes in as rivals #3 rated weakside defensive end. A few scouting notes....great speed but needs to work on his first step......needs to develop technique, needs more strength, has relied on speed only to this point......has plenty of room on his frame to add bulk. Hit the weight room hard, make at least 3 trips thru the buffet line daily, & GATA in '09.


Of the three, Toby would seem to have the best shot at playing as a true freshman. Personally, I hope the guys that are here already will perform at a level that would put the redshirt on his back.


As it stands, Battle, Lomax, & Wynn should share the bulk of the snaps. Dobbs & Lemon should continue to develop and see action in every game. Ball & Houston may get some mop-up duty.


Will anybody step up to fill the shoes of Marcus Howard.........stay tuned.

D-Line.....the Tackles

This is the 4th of 5 posts breaking down our defense for the 2008 season......position by position.

Time to take a look at the DT's, and it's really quite simple.



Both starters return from last year and should be considered for all-SEC honors.

Jeff Owens....could move into the 1st round with a solid senior season

Jeff Owens (Sr) got all of last year's pre-season hype from this group, and had a pretty good season to back it up. Ya gotta love his high motor and the way that he plays "through the whistle". Owens started all 13 games, picking up 27 tackles, 4 tfl, and 22 qb pressures.

Kryptonite

Geno Atkins (Jr) grabbed the other starting spot midway thru '07. The coaching staff had no other choice. Atkins finished with 7 starts, picking up 41 tackles, 14.5 tfl, 7.5 sacks, 37 qb pressures, and probably saved kittens from a burning building along the way. If Atkins can put up the same kind of numbers while starting the entire season, All-American isn't a stretch.

Kade Weston (Jr) and Corvey Irvin (Sr) will be the first ones off the bench. Both played in every game last year with Weston having started the first 5. Weston picked up 19 tackles and 2.5 sacks, while Irvin had 13 tackles. Both are extremely solid and the coaches have no problem with either being in the game, no matter the situation.


Brandon Wood and Ricardo Crawford, both redshirt sophomores are talented and each had their SEC initiation last year. Wood saw duty in 6 games, while Crawford saw snaps in 5.


Our coaching staff loves to keep fresh players in the game, so look for all 6 of these guys to play in every game.


We have a couple of very highly regarded recruits coming to campus this year at this position.


Deangelo Tyson ranks in the top 5 DT's in every recruiting service. A very humble kid that grew up in a foster home, cranks it up at gametime. I didn't have a chance to see him in person this year, but the experts rave about his athleticism. Tyson stated in an interview that with the status of our depth chart, he fully expects to redshirt this season.


A.J. Harmon comes in after being highly rated as an OT, OG, and DT. Harmon's preference is to play DT and Coach Garner has made a deal with him...."I told A.J. that if he can report to camp at below 300 pounds, that he will work with the defensive line. Over 300 pounds, he's going to the OL."


We'll see if Harmon has more love for the defensive line or the buffet line. Either way, he'll redshirt.

Linebacker U

We actually can't claim the name "Linebacker U", but at last count, we had 7 lb's earning a check on Sunday's......not too shabby.

Anyway, I went over some of our linebacking situation for the coming year in this post, so I'll keep this one short.

All of our starting LB's are returning for 2008.
Dannell Ellerbe - SR - 11 starts in 2007. The leader of the 2008 Defense

Rennie Curran - Soph - With this talented group, becoming a starter as a true freshman says it all

Akeem Dent - RSoph - Passed Brandon Miller for the starting Sam slot in 2007.

Key backups
Marcus Washington - SR - Had 6 starts in 2007.
Darius Dewberry - JR - 5 starts in 2007
Daryl Gamble - RSoph - Played in 13 games in 2007
Akeem Hebron - RSoph - Super talent returns after the 1 year suspension.
Charles White - RFr - Impressed the coaching staff last fall while redshirting.

New signees, each rated 4 stars by rivals
Marcus Dowtin
Christian Robinson
Nick Williams

No way any of those guys see the field this year.

8 solid linebackers to fight for pt this year. It's going to be a helluva spring.

Cornerstones

Quality play from the cornerback position has become more and more essential with the advent of the spread offense. A shutdown corner not only can take the opponent’s star receiver out of a gameplan, he also allows a DC to take a few more chances with some blitz packages that may not be available otherwise. I’m trying very hard to come up with an example here, but I’m drawin a total blank…..maybe…uhhh…maybe…CHAMP F’N BAILEY!! DGD

Bonafide Badass

The Next Generation, Asher Allen

Asher Allen returns as our version of the shutdown corner this year. A very highly sought after recruit in 2006, Allen was thrown into the fire as a true freshman and performed quite well, getting playing time in all 13 games, recording 24 tackles. As a starter in 2007, Allen finished 2nd on the team in tackles with 64 tackles, had 3 picks, and 2 sacks. He is a strong candidate for All-SEC honors next year as a true junior.

Prince has improved weekly

The other side of the field is patrolled by Prince Miller, another true junior. Miller earned the starting role midway thru 2007, taking over for Bryan Evans. This position was supposed to be filled by All-American Paul Oliver, but due to a wee bit of a GPA problem (gone in the supplemental draft), was basically relegated to cornerback by committee. Miller has played in every game since he became a Dawg in ’06, which should say something about his talent level. He has struggled somewhat, especially in run support, but did improve throughout the year and finished with 24 tackles and 1 pick.

Bryan Evans

The aforementioned Bryan Evans, after 2 starts last year, will be the #1 nickelback. Evans played in 12 games in 2006 gathering 26 tackles that included 1 sack. Last year, Evans had 17 tackles & 1 pick while playing in a total of 11 games. Evans is a redshirt Junior.

Step it up Mr. Brown

Ramarcus Brown started 9 games in 2006 registering 39 tackles and 1 forced fumble. He went into spring 07 as the starter, but was 3rd on the depth chart by the time the season started. He did play in 11 games and pick up 10 tackles, but 2007 was a major disappointment for him. It's quite a luxury to have this amount of experience stashed this far down on the depth chart. GATA and get those reps up.

Only the beginning for Vance Cuff.......monster talent

True freshman Vance Cuff earned his way into the corner rotation and played in 12 games with 6 tackles. At 6' 2" with a 4.4 forty time, this kid has lights-out potential.

This looks to be a very strong group and each of the 5 will get extensive PT throughout the season. There is a chance that new signees Brandon Boykin and Makiri Pugh could see some action if they impress the coaches enough this fall.

Time will tell.

It's a deep subject

We're taking a break from spring practice and got a peek at the spring depth chart.

I want to take a look at each position and see how we stand right now and speculate a little on changes that may take place in the fall. Today, I'm tackling the Safety position. Over the course of the next few days, I'll take a look at CB, LB, DE, DT, OL, WR, TE, RB, QB, & special teams.

By taking what we know based on performance and from just a few of the coaches observations that have come out this spring, we can get a pretty good picture of how these Dawg's are stacking up as they begin a very tough schedule.

SAFETIES

Kelin Johnson is one of a handful of starters that we lost, but he's leaving his position in the excellent hands of Reshad Jones. Jones ranked 3rd on the team in tackes last season while backing up Johnson. He picked up 3 tfl and 1 pick. Oh, did I mention that he was a redshirt freshman? A 5 star recruit listed as the best safety prospect in the country in 2006, Reshad certainly didn't disappoint when he hit the field this year. He's a ballhawk and a playmaker. Look for the int total to go up this year.

The other safety position is manned by returning starter and senior C.J. Byrd. Byrd had a solid season starting all 13 games, racking up 44 tackles, 1 pick, and 1 fumble recovery. Rated as a 4 star athlete in 2005, C.J. came up big when he finally took his place as the starter in '07.

We have some pretty good talent backing these guys up, but not much experience.

Quentin Banks - RSoph - played in 12 games recording 8 tackles

Donavon Baldwin - RJun - no significant playing time

John Knox - RFr - the coaches seem to like the progress this kid is making

As far as incoming freshmen, Xavier Avery would seem the most likely prospect to see any time at all this year. Baccari Rambo is a real longshot. Both are likely to redshirt.

As it stands, the starters will be very strong, with Banks giving both a breather while gaining experience to take Byrd's spot the following year. Knox and Baldwin will see some time in select situations also, gaining valuable experience in the process. A little insurance doesn't hurt.

(h/t ching, cstv)

Where have I heard that before?

Straight from the Orange and Blue Hue (not on my normal reading menu, but I clicked one too many damn times)

Okay, so UF returns incumbent Heisman winner and part-time superman Tim Tebow. But with that being said, it’s time for Tim to impress the NFL draft scouts. Even with a trophy case of awards, the pros still have some concerns about #15:

* Criticism of Meyer’s system. After all, he did coach a first overall draft pick in Alex Smith, who has yet to reach his potential. And Tebow is cut from the same cloth as Smith.
I've been preaching that for the last 6 months.

* His rushing must drop, but not disappear. NFL teams hit harder, bigger, and faster than in college, and with sixteen games in an NFL regular season compared to twelve in college, scouts are worried that he’ll land in a hospital.Also, they want to see a slightly more elusive running style. Ideally, he’ll be a more athletic Ben Roethlisberger or Donovan McNabb.
Ditto that........the well publicized shoulder boo-boo and the broken hand are the ones that we know about. Those things have a tendency to accumulate.

Oh Oh Oh.....easy on the arm fellas

* His mechanics. Scouts would like to see tighter spirals and a slightly higher release point to take advantage of his height.
Ok, my take on this one has been the he throws alot of ducks....same thing

I call this my "Tim Wakefield" delivery

* Intangibles. Not everyone will view Tebow’s emotional displays after wins or losses as an asset.
I've called it "cryin like a bitch"

If Tim can do all of that, he’ll be in good shape for the draft should he choose to turn pro. But based upon his priority list, I think he’ll stay another year, get his degree, and only then turn pro.

But if he’s not careful, he might wind up switching positions on an NFL roster. Think it’s impossible, Tim?

Ask Antwaan Randle-El.
Ok, dude, you just entered the twilight zone.

That last comment really knocked me out. How in the bloody blue hell does Tebow resemble Randle-El in any way? Teebone's not slow, but he's not NFL caliber WR talent either. Tight end or safety, maybe. Let's keep it real.

******************************UPDATE**********************************

For the record, he'll still be a QB in the NFL

SAMS Club

Senator Blutarsky points out the diminishing role of the SAM linebacker as a result of more teams going to a spread offense. Basically, it requires the use of a nickel package and the SAM linebacker is the odd man out.

Looking to the '08 schedule, no less than 6 of the teams that we play use the spread as their primary formation.

1. Central Michigan


2. South Carolina


3. Tennessee


4. Florida


5. Kentucky


6. Auburn ( the Spread Eagle _________________) insert appropriate comment

You'll also see a great deal of it from everybody else with the exception of Ga Southern & Tech.

Breaking up the gang?

I'm mainly disappointed due to the fact that we have alot of depth at LB and it's a shame that the PT has to be split up so many ways. Dent & Gamble have been getting time at MLB but that still gives us somewhat of a dilemna. Do we really want Ellerbe and Curran off the field any more than necessary? If Hebron has atoned for his transgressions (and all reports are that he has), he's a monster talent that needs some reps too. Good luck to the coaches that are trying to work it out.

Just Because

I wanted to see how UGA stacked up in the win column this decade vs. the rest of the SEC. I wasn't shocked to see where we are on the list, but there were a few suprises overall.

WINS THIS DECADE

1. LSU 82
2. UGA 80
3. AUB 75
4. UF 74
5. UT 71
6. ARK 58
7. USC 54
8. UA 53
9. UM 42
10. MSU 33
11. UK 32
12. VAN 25

I guess Alabama being in 8th is the biggest shocker for me. Now we've just gotta bump LSU out of that top spot. GATA

As a footnote, here's how we stack up against the rest of the BCS

WINS THIS DECADE

1. OKLAHOMA 90
2. TEXAS 85
3. LSU 82
4. USC81
5. OHIO ST 81
6. GEORGIA 80
7. VA TECH 79
8. MIAMI 76
9. AUBURN 75
10. FLORIDA 74
11. LOUISVILLE 74
12. MICHIGAN 73
13. TENNESSEE 71
14. FSU 69
15. WISCONSIN 69
16. BOSTON COLLEGE 69
17. WEST VA 67
18. OREGON 66
19. NEBRASKA 65
20. CLEMSON 63