It may not be official, but Dogs’ quarterback battle is over
Logan Gray still could wind up playing somewhere other than quarterback. (Johnny Crawford / AJC)
There was only one real surprise out of Athens on Thursday, and it wasn’t the post-spring depth chart announced by Mark Richt or his kicking walk-on backup punter Trent Dittmer off the team. On the latter, once I heard he’d hit someone as well as being arrested for public intoxication, I figured he was gone.
As for the depth chart, which Georgiadogs.com has nicely displayed here and Richt discusses here, most of us expected Aaron Murray to be listed No. 1 all along. And it’s not even a surprise that Dean Legge of Dawg Post reports sources say the departed Zach Mettenberger would have been ranked No. 3 even if he hadn’t been dismissed. The guy was facing a one-game suspension and was the only QB not to get time with the first unit at G-Day. Of course, he would have been third.
While Richt said this depth chart is just “a snapshot of where we see our guys right now” and “by no means is this the starting lineup for the first ball game,” there’s not really much doubt that Murray is going to be the starter come fall. And like I said the other day, maybe knowing that will allow him to settle down and quit pressing so hard like he did at G-Day.
Richt again defended Murray’s showing in the spring game but also put him on notice that he has to continue to improve, saying, “He actually hit a much higher percentage of the deep balls in the other scrimmages and other practices than he did that day. But he must hit a higher percentage of deep balls than he hit in that game. But the other passes that were not so much throwing a bomb, I thought he did pretty good. The only thing I didn’t like was when the pressure got pushed into his face and he was trying to make a play and he threw the interception, that was the only one that was disappointing to me. But that’s part of the learning process is to understand that when a situation is bad, let’s not make it worse, and I don’t think there’s any question that’s helping him learn.”
No, Murray listed No. 1 wasn’t a surprise. But there was one eyebrow-raising moment Thursday when Richt indicated that Logan Gray still might play somewhere other than quarterback: “As far as another position goes, the bottom line for Logan is 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. But we just want to get him in the best position to help Georgia.”
Wow. That’s quite a statement. Georgia only has two quarterbacks right now and come fall the only other backup will be a totally inexperienced true freshman, Hutson Mason, and yet Richt is willing to talk about Gray possibly playing receiver. Yeah, like I said, it might not be official yet, but Murray will be the starter.
Elsewhere on the depth chart, it was a mild surprise on defense to see Christian Robinson listed ahead of the more experienced Marcus Dowtin at inside linebacker. Said Richt of Robinson: “He’s really come on. He’s learned it quickly, and he’s a guy that we can count on.”
Some observers were a little surprised to see redshirt sophomore Tavarres King listed ahead of senior Kris Durham, but considering Durham is coming back from missing a year due to injury, I wouldn’t read a lot into that. Durham showed in scrimmages and at G-Day that he’s going to catch a lot of balls for the Dogs and putting King ahead of him on the spring chart might be a way of offering encouragement to the younger player.
Likewise, junior college transfer Jakar Hamilton being behind Bacarri Rambo at free safety and Nick Williams listed No. 1 at strong safety probably doesn’t mean a lot. Those guys are going to move around between the safety spots and the coaches say Hamilton definitely is going to play a lot and still could wind up as a starter.
The same goes for tight end, where Orson Charles being listed ahead of last year’s starter, Aron White, might be considered a bit unexpected. The likelihood is that the Dogs will have two tight ends in quite often this year, and they’re absolutely loaded at the position, with Bruce Figgins and Artie Lynch also figuring to get on the field, particularly Figgins as a blocker. And Charles will be flexed out like a wide receiver some of the time.
Bottom line: The quarterback battle is over. Now Mike Bobo can concentrate on getting his starter ready.
WHAT DID YOU EXPECT HIM TO SAY?
MrSEC wonders whether a Richt comment to the Lake Country Bulldog Club earlier this week might wind up as bulletin board material in Gainesville. Asked by a fan if the Dogs are going to win in Jacksonville, Richt replied, “Are we going to beat Florida? You’re dadgum right.”
Of course, he did. Richt saying anything other than that at a booster club meeting would have been real news.
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83 comments Add your comment
Dr. Kenneth Noisewater
April 23rd, 2010
2:46 pm
murray needs to bulk up, and study as much film as possible and he should be fine come fall. it’ll be a rough start, but better to start murray and give him expereince, seeing how gray will be gone soon.
Dawg Tired
April 23rd, 2010
3:04 pm
Saint Simons is an embarrassment to the island.
Dumbo
April 23rd, 2010
3:50 pm
To all the Techies and their very, very ugly women…please go somewhere else and pull out your slide rulers and play with ‘em.
dawgster
April 23rd, 2010
4:56 pm
Seriously people, what would you expect Coach Richt’s response to be at a Bulldog Club function whether we are going to beat the gators..I sure hope our Coach believes in his team and program..If the gators feel this is bulletin board matererial, have at it, but personally i don’t think the gators would consider this bulletin board worthy…Between now and the game, i’m sure there will be plenty of items that will be put on either bulletin boards…
CHDawg
April 23rd, 2010
4:58 pm
I thought it was interesting about CMR comparing Murray to Weldon. Same size, same number. I think Murray has a quicker release, but it was hard to tell from the grainy video. Anything could happen, but that is very high praise coming from CMR. Here is an old youtube of Weldon against Michigan, if you want to look. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RYQ3vrFJtU
TechSting
April 23rd, 2010
5:51 pm
Is murray even 6 feet tall? Someone told me he may only be 5′11″—bad news for the dawgs if true. Little QBs don’t make it in the SEC.
Las Vegas Chainsaw
April 23rd, 2010
8:12 pm
Tech Sting….what kind of troll are you to post in your rival teams blog? You belong on a Travelocity commercial you troll.
The midget
April 23rd, 2010
9:08 pm
Even USF has more players drafted this year than the humpers.
The keeper of the bulletin board
April 23rd, 2010
9:29 pm
UF thinks about UGA for about a week except this year its 2 weeks. UGA is not relevent until they can beat Ky and Vandy for about a ten year stretch.
JacketAll
April 23rd, 2010
9:43 pm
If richt has all these top 10 recruiting classes, why can’t he have any players drafted in 3 rounds of the nfl draft? That’s embarrassing. Florida’s had 7 players drafted so far–what gives?
The keeper of the bulletin board
April 23rd, 2010
9:52 pm
What happens to all these great players who come to UGA. Just heard Gruden bragging on Urban Meyer and Mack Brown for their development of players. Ummm wonder why he didnt mention the suntanned preacher?
yeah whatever!
April 23rd, 2010
10:21 pm
Greene average? Only the second most wins in the history of college football. Yeah I guess that is average.
Alaska Dawg
April 23rd, 2010
11:23 pm
Toga, what a joke you are. I realize the newspapers in Alabama aren’t available online, but you could at least use your 1995 computer for solitaire. The outcome would be more productive than your comments.
Alaska Dawg
April 23rd, 2010
11:25 pm
Since when is Gruden in a position to grade anyone. He is a 2 bit loser. Really nice of the keeper of the bulletin board to bring religion to the table. Really classless on your part. Obviously you are a Gator fan.
The keeper of the bulletin board
April 23rd, 2010
11:29 pm
alaska dawg you and the rest of your humping stuck in 1980 buddies are the jokes.
robdawg08
April 23rd, 2010
11:55 pm
I’m shocked Richt kicked a player competing for starting QB off the team. If FSU kicked players off for drinking and fake club ids then they couldn’t field a team. A little bit harsh and extreme reaction from Richt.
I’ve been a Dawgs fan since 1980 thanks mostly to Herschel walker. Richt better beat 3 of these (Tech,Auburn,Tenn,Fla) 4 this year to keep his job IMO. These top 5 recruiting classes HAVE to start paying dividends.
Tech Man
April 24th, 2010
12:46 am
All I know is that I got 11-27-10 marked on my calandar. The scoreboard will be turning off really FAST!! ..Just like 2008
CPJ likes playing in Athens!!
GoGators!
April 24th, 2010
6:52 am
“And it’s not even a surprise that Dean Legge of Dawg Post reports sources say the departed Zach Mettenberger would have been ranked No. 3 even if he hadn’t been dismissed.”
If the above is true then why does Richt have to defend Murray’s G-day performance and why was Buck Belue saying Zach was the man before and during the G-day game. Truth is, everyone knows Zach was the best QB but had issues and Murrays now the QB by default. Spin all you want Bill King, but at the end of the day, Murray’s still 5:11 and Georgia still needs a QB!
GatorRule
April 24th, 2010
8:45 am
Nothing will change. Ga talks big, will get upset early, get blown out by florida again, head to a minor bowl, and start talking about “next year!” But, Dawg fans can still play old larry munson calls in the parking lots before the game, talk about herschel and buck in 1980 and yell “gaytors” at florida fans—that’s all they have.
Pholiriduh
April 24th, 2010
10:53 am
GatorRule-You forgot about jort/mullet wearing, beer bellied, Florida scuz trailer trash rednecks who scream out “go gators” yet never set foot in a classroom at UF, such as yourself. You are probably some Florida community college reject, who makes himself feel better by having a ‘ gator’ tag on the front of his Jeep….hmmmm? Yeah! That is what I thought, loser. I hope you relaize we see you gatornecks in ATL and we just snicker at the loserville life you lead. You are a joke…..ha ha ha ha ha.
TPHS
April 24th, 2010
4:47 pm
TOGA-
Murray had offers from Bama and Florida but chose UGA because of Richt and Bobo. Bama’s QBs are a complete joke (except Joe Willie Namath, Bart Starr, and Ken Stabler but that goes back 40+ years).
Murray will be just fine. He has a very strong arm. 6′1 is functional height and he has quickness and mobility. Not everyone has to be an NFL prototype to be a good college QB and lead teams to championships (Shula, Barker, etc. ring a bell?).
Enjoy your title Bama. When Saban bolts in 2 years and probation quickly follows, we’ll all have a good laugh.
Delores
April 24th, 2010
6:21 pm
Now that we’re officially in the off-season, wouldn’t this be the perfect time to take an in-depth look at UGA and have a free-ranging discussion about the problems at UGA and why the arrest rate of players is the highest in the country? it’s common knowledge that UGA is a party school, but have any football players every actually graduated with a real degree? Jan Kemp exposed the school and the coaches almost three decades ago, but there is no sign that anything has improved; if anything, the arrest rate shows that things are getting more outrageous every year while Mark Richt – a decent fellow with no coaching skills – has no clue what to do.
UGA has become a major embarrassment to all Georgians, and we want some answers starting now.
Tennille
April 24th, 2010
6:27 pm
GatorRule: “Nothing will change. Ga talks big, will get upset early, get blown out by florida again, head to a minor bowl, and start talking about “next year!” But, Dawg fans can still play old larry munson calls in the parking lots before the game, talk about herschel and buck in 1980 and yell “gaytors” at florida fans—that’s all they have.”
That sounds pathetic and comical, but GatorRule has the UGA fans pegged perfectly. And about six months from now, the blogs will be full of demands to fire Richt, especially after the annual beatdown in Jax.
Bama Ramma
April 24th, 2010
8:00 pm
Bama wins #14 in 2010—take it to the bank. This bama team will be better than the 2009 team, Look for an easy bama win over florida in the SEC title game, and then a beatdown of ohio state in the BCS!! Tide rolls again baby!!!!
Columbus Dawg
April 25th, 2010
6:24 am
Just like the ol’ boy said, “It ain’t hard to find a dumb… in Alabama”.
GoGators!
April 25th, 2010
10:18 am
“Murray will be just fine. He has a very strong arm. 6′1 is functional height and he has quickness and mobility.”
TPHS- If you think Aaron Murray is 6:1 then you’ve already clearly demonstrated how much you actually follow UGA and college football in general. Murray may not be a legit 5:11 which is why when he saw John Brantley (6:3) at Florida he chose UGA. Heck, it was clear with them standing next to each other that Matt was at least 5 inches taller than Murray.
AceDawg
April 26th, 2010
10:00 am
I’m sure Bobo is showing Murray his favorite plays on EA Sports NCAA Football right now so that he can better understand where his bozo calls are coming from when UGA is in the redzone.
Tom, Resident Georgia Fan
April 27th, 2010
9:52 pm
St. Simons … you’re a coward.
Sammlia
April 29th, 2010
12:06 pm
Who really cares about any of this stuff at UGA. The biggest thing that will determine who the starters will be is who is left after the police arrest everyone?
A really pathetic situation at UGA with some player arrested every few days. By the way, this doesn’t happen at other schools. Have you happened to notice that, you rednecks.
Sammlia
April 29th, 2010
12:11 pm
Actually, Saint Simons is a patriot. You, Tom, are the cowardly redneck who tolerates UGA playing a bunch of illiterate thugs and says nothing to stop it.
Teresa
April 29th, 2010
12:13 pm
No, Tom, you’re the coward, afraid to speak out against the abuses you see going on at UGA every day.
GeoffDawg
April 29th, 2010
3:25 pm
Saint Simons is a patriot Sammlia??? Of where, East Smokin’crackistan?
ugaclassof2004
April 29th, 2010
4:00 pm
Jeez we’re going to be awful this season. Richt was seriously considering Gray as our 1# QB? Is this the Ray Goff days where we play WR’s at QB?? **Face in Palm**