Richt dangles possibility of Dome start for Crowell
Isaiah Crowell could start in the first game of the season, Mark Richt says. (Associated Press)
Most of the time, college football coaches downplay the possibility of true freshmen competing right away, or hedge about it at best.
Mark Richt wasn’t doing any hedging Wednesday when he talked with ESPNU about running back Isaiah Crowell, who had just signed to become a Georgia Bulldog.
Richt said Crowell will contribute “heavily” this coming season.
“I expect him to come right in and compete right away,” the coach said. “I wouldn’t be shocked to see him running that rock in the Dome against Boise State on the opening play if he does what he’s supposed to do.”
Talk about giving an incoming player some incentive …
Some might see going with an untested back in a big, nationally televised game as a gamble. Will he have picked up all the nuances of Mike Bobo’s offense by then? Can his pass protection possibly have progressed enough strictly in practice?
Probably not. Doesn’t matter. Richt sees Crowell as a game-changer and knows he’s in a position where playing it safe isn’t going to cut it.
Let’s face it, coming off a losing season and needing to get both his program and his fan base back in the right mindset, Richt faces a tremendous challenge in opening with what’s going to be a heavily hyped game in Atlanta against one of the flashiest teams in the nation.
Can he rise to the occasion, as Erk Russell would say? So far, with Georgia’s tremendous Dream Team recruiting class, Richt has. Now the Dogs have to do it on the field, and Richt obviously recognizes that what Georgia’s been doing in its running game isn’t getting the job done.
So if that means starting a true freshman tailback against Boise State, so be it.
Looks like Richt is going “all in,” as the Auburn folks would put it.
Sounds like a plan to me. How about you?
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376 comments Add your comment
Murphy
February 3rd, 2011
11:12 am
Malcome should have gotten playing time last year.He shouldnt have been red-shirted
SmyrnaDawg
February 3rd, 2011
11:13 am
Mind that was w/out A.J. for 4 1/2 games(2nd half CU) the nations #1 receiver.
1eyedJack
February 3rd, 2011
11:15 am
Our fullback situation last year hurt us more than we realize, with Chapas hurting. Figgins should be an earth grader at fullback.
Crowell may get the start and the first carry against Boise St. (Richt may have promised this in recruiting), but I’m not sure he will heavily contribute until 3 to 4 games in. In the meantime Washaun and Boo can carry the load. Let’s just wait and see if Caleb can remember to show up for practice. He can be the designated pass blocker.
Of the starting 22, 17-18 should be Juniors and Seniors.
Of the other signees who could come in and help:
John Jenkins (hopefully) starts right away.
Ray Drew gets significant playing time by the end of the year.
Malcome Mitchell and Chris Conley get reps at WR.
Damian Swann in the rotation at CB.
Several contribute on special teams.
AltamahaDawg
February 3rd, 2011
11:20 am
I’m just glad that Richt learned his lesson in 2010. Those other 19 years coaching QB’s at a high level probably didn’t do much for him.
duh
February 3rd, 2011
11:22 am
im pretty sure just about anyone can pick up all the nuance’s of bobo’s offense after watching about three offensive drives. how hard can it be to memorize 4 plays?
tony
February 3rd, 2011
11:23 am
U think H.Walker had to wait to become a good pass protector in his 1st season? NO! Dooley threw him in the fire and won a championship with him. I don’t care if Ealey got 5.5 yds a carry or not…..if Crowell is the better back he should be the starter.
You win championships with your best players and with the best assistent coaches. Mr.Richt has ruin this team with loyalty(freinds/seniors) long enough. He need to hire Ralph Friedgen. The SEC is the best conference so the head coaches and the assistent coaches should be the absolute BEST.
Rooster
February 3rd, 2011
11:23 am
Ealey #1, King #2, Malcome #3 and Crowell #4. If Richt does not play favorites, it should go in that order. But we all know Richt does play favorites. Why even mention a freshman over Ealey when he has led the team in rushing for the past wo years. Ealey has ran hard over the past two years with too few carries and a coach that benches you half the time.
ATLSportsNation!!!
February 3rd, 2011
11:24 am
If you’re an Atlanta/Georgia Sports fan and want to talk with other fans, check out our NEW message board.
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We have team forums for the Falcons, Bulldogs, Hawks, Braves, Yellow Jackets, Thrashers, etc. Please register and post! Be apart of a huge site in the early days of existence. See ya there!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
February 3rd, 2011
11:26 am
Someone needs to lite a bonfire in King, Ealey, the offensive line, Bobo, the playbook, Richt, etc
AltamahaDawg
February 3rd, 2011
11:29 am
Must be some new rule last year in D-1 college football that allows your Starting QB be be enrolled in a Jr College 4 states away.
Vance Duly
February 3rd, 2011
11:33 am
“Nuances of Mike Bobo’s offense”? Would that include our mandatory run between the tackles on 2nd down following an incomplete 1st down pass?! (Who knows – maybe Crowell and turn that predictable running play into a 4 yard gain instead of our usual 0-2 yard gain). That way, we’re only left with 3rd and 6….
Nuances…!?!?!?! I hope we have some of those in 2011…!!
AltamahaDawg
February 3rd, 2011
11:35 am
If by “favorite” you mean he prefers to use the boy he thinks will be the best option to win a football game…wouldn’t you?
Do you have any example of a time he played somebody that he did not think was the best option to win the football game?
Vance Duly
February 3rd, 2011
11:35 am
Rats…..someone swiped my “can” and replaced it with an “and”. Must have been that groundhog from yesterday………
tony
February 3rd, 2011
11:37 am
The youth got alot to learn. #1 Crowell, #2 Ealey, #3 Malcome. King should ask for a transfer.
Vance Duly
February 3rd, 2011
11:39 am
Take away Ealey’s killer fumbles and his performance wasn’t so bad. But, that’s like saying Siberia would be a great vacation spot if it weren’t for the cold weather……..
JB
February 3rd, 2011
11:40 am
Did I read ” learn Bobo’s offense? It’s 20 plays. He better learn to block when Richt abandons the run a starts passing.
St. Bernard
February 3rd, 2011
11:40 am
Ealey and King can pass block?!
SmyrnaDawg
February 3rd, 2011
11:40 am
Whats D.J. Shockley doing these days? We ought to go get him and bring him into the program a la Brown. He was an awesome mobile QB who could work with these guys. He was a real Dawg too sitting behind Greene and not transferring out(albeit Greene did hold the winnningest QB record).
IF is a big word
February 3rd, 2011
11:43 am
IF Crowell learns the UGA system he will tote that rock. Apparently, Moreno did not initially pick up on the system. This then is a big IF> of course, IF Ealey is a man, he will coach up the new kid in town, and Ealey will also compete for toting that rock.
Caleb King is probably toast, so forget him. Ealey? he might want desperately to play this next year …………… as he likely thinks that he is NFL caliber and could turn pro.
This situation can only be to UGA’s benefit ………….. for a change. King and Ealey both knew that UGA had no choice in 2009 and 2010.
IN 2011 Ken Malcom and Crowell will put Ealey on the bench. Too bad ………….. he had his shots. King/ Oh yeah, go find your drivers license.
Gooooooooooooooooo Dogs.
dawgfan
February 3rd, 2011
11:44 am
If he’s the best running back on the team he should start. Its that simple. This doesn’t seem to be as much of an issue at some other schools. Didn’t Florida play something crazy like 18 true freshmen one year? If they’re ready and can contribute let them freaking play. All this crap about bringing them on slowly and learning “the Georgia way” is a waste of time. Currently the Georgia way is to go 6-7 and lose to Conference USA teams in bowl games. I don’t want to hear any crap out of Mark Richt or Bobo about Crowell’s pass protection skills or how he needs to learn this and learn that before he plays. If he’s as talented as everyone says you work the offense around him and let him do his thing. This is a coaching staff that would have had Cam Newton, arguably the most dominating college football player of the modern era, at TIGHT END. My advice to Mark Richt is this: whatever instincts you have at this point, do the opposite.
Thanks.
St. Bernard
February 3rd, 2011
11:47 am
How about we teach Crowell how to pass block? If he doesn’t get it…. teach him again
AltamahaDawg
February 3rd, 2011
11:48 am
Great article in the ABH today about the instate recruits we did NOT get in 2007. Pretty easy to imagine the difference had they been upperclassmen here over the past 2 seasons.
St. Bernard
February 3rd, 2011
11:50 am
These guys get paid what they get paid to coach. Surely a million dollar coach can teach one kid to pass block before Boise St.
sandman053
February 3rd, 2011
11:53 am
I’m still trying to figure out which Ealey these folks were watching in 2010 who was so awesome?
edumacated
February 3rd, 2011
11:53 am
Just remember this everyone. If Richt loses to Florida AGAIN next year, then he is pretty much gone either way. It’s all about that one game.
This recruiting success this year just proves that these coaches were being lazy last year.
Old Dawg
February 3rd, 2011
11:54 am
If Isaiah Crowell wants to make an immediate impact, he needs to enroll for the summer semester and work with the rest of the team to learn to system and get in SEC shape … no if, and or buts about it!!!
sandman053
February 3rd, 2011
11:55 am
edumacated: I am not sold on that proposition…if we go all the way to SEC CG with one loss (and that being FL) and win it, then he ain’t going no where except to the BCS NCG. Now am I a homer who believes that would happen? no, but I’m hoping..
What if we split the first two games? And the one loss is close? like 1 or 2 points on last minute FG? Will folks on here call for his head?
AltamahaDawg
February 3rd, 2011
11:56 am
JB, most teams have 20 plays they know that can do well. The problem is that we did not. I suspect the playbook is already 3 times thicker than anything they were able to do. Let’s try actually doing those 20 plays well first, see how that works.
sandman053
February 3rd, 2011
11:57 am
AltamahaDawg: I agree…execution is the key. I hate to say it, but Saban’s teams don’t make mental mistakes often and it shows. They execute plays as designed and do it well. But I think these Dawgs will hunt! Go Dawgs!
sandman053
February 3rd, 2011
11:58 am
But for the record….the black jerseys ARE undefeated in Dome play!
John
February 3rd, 2011
12:00 pm
Start him now, Georgia RB’s & QB’s get worse the more they’re “coached up” by Georgia coaches.
Joey
February 3rd, 2011
12:01 pm
“Pure genuis by Richt.”
**************************
Too bad it leaves him on fall Saturdays . . .
Joey
February 3rd, 2011
12:03 pm
“Did I read ” learn Bobo’s offense? It’s 20 plays.”
*********************************
It doubled for 2011?
saban
February 3rd, 2011
12:03 pm
Give it to choakdawg.
Boise State 50 Dawgs 8.
sogadog
February 3rd, 2011
12:04 pm
CMR learned his lesson with Knowshon Moreno who redshirted one season, played two and went on to the NFL. CMR wont waste a year with Crowell. CMR is also calling out King and Ealey who need to get their heads out of their @$$%$ and play ball or ride the bench while a true freshman takes their job.
really?
February 3rd, 2011
12:05 pm
“he’s mine” What were you saying Saban? How many jr’s and sr’s is your jerk of a coach going to run off this year to make room for all 60 recruits you just brought in.
Yeah, Roll tide baby….
AltamahaDawg
February 3rd, 2011
12:11 pm
Exactly, and Saban’s teams not exactly working out of some kind of creative, unpredictable playbook. They are extremely predictable. 2nd and 10, you know damn well they are going to run between the tackles (and also because you could guess that on any random game and have a 80% chance of being correct)
JaxDawg05
February 3rd, 2011
12:12 pm
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
February 3rd, 2011
11:26 am
Someone needs to lite a bonfire in King, Ealey, the offensive line, Bobo, the playbook, Richt, etc
You call a wrecker yet? I know a good one if you need it.
John
February 3rd, 2011
12:12 pm
Martin..I agree with you. CMR said yesterday NO ONE job is safe. AM jock sniffers seem to be afraid of competition. If AM earns it in the spring game, he has the job with no complaints from me. However if LeMay gives you the best chance at winning a BCSC, he should be allowed to progress. AM hasn’t shown to proform superiorly against top tier competition, he built his stats on non winning teams, besides the fact he’s only 5′11 and can’t see most TE’s over the middle of the field. Against SC, FL, Auburn and several other teams he didn’t perform well in the redzone, LeMay gives Georgia more options inside the 30 yd line, besides he’s taller & faster.
Roll Tide
February 3rd, 2011
12:17 pm
It won’t matter because the mutts will still be 6-7 and in last place in the SEC East next year
John
February 3rd, 2011
12:18 pm
sandman053…the last time Georgia wore black, Alabama torched them black. They beat Hawaii in the black in a dome, but the key is coaching not the attire. Actually I would like them to wear pink for Breast Cancer awareness to save the tatas.
Joey
February 3rd, 2011
12:22 pm
“Do you have any example of a time he played somebody that he did not think was the best option to win the football game?”
***************************************
Surely Richt wouldn’t really do that, but it sure looked like it when he started Joe T over Stafford. I know Joe T was a good teammate and all, but he was hard to watch as a QB.
sandman053
February 3rd, 2011
12:23 pm
Yeah I was referring to playing in the dome. I had to drink for six hours to get the Bama beat-down out of my mind. And I’m all about saving the ta-ta’s
John
February 3rd, 2011
12:24 pm
Here we go again, Crowell needs to learn to block. Guess who was a poor blocker? Knowshon Moreno…if you’re a good back the last thing teams will focus on is his blocking, they spent all their time chasing him. Stop thinking defensively and start making them stop you, instead of deciding how best to block them. I’m not saying Crowell doesn’t need to learn blocking, but the focus should be on getting him in positions to get downfield into the endzone.
AltamahaDawg
February 3rd, 2011
12:24 pm
Better get ready for a bunch of media and SEC coaches to be AM jocksniffers, because he is going to be a preseason All-SEC pick.
And of cource he has to earn it to play this year. He had to last year, as did everybody that started.
John
February 3rd, 2011
12:25 pm
sandman053…I love the tatas too…
icallbs
February 3rd, 2011
12:28 pm
The canard about UGA would have had Cam at tight end and it being some sort of egregious error in judgment shows a rather shallow understanding of the situation. First, the guy was as big or bigger than most tight ends. That was a need at the time; qb not so much. Also, the guy may have had a better long-term future as a tight end, we’ll soon find out. It is very common for some of these high school guys to be so much more athletically gifted than teammates that they end up where the high school coach most needs them. Put them with other just as gifted athletes and maybe they belong at a different position. He turned out to be a great one-year wonder as a qb in college. Let’s see what happens now.
Leon
February 3rd, 2011
12:31 pm
Have we forgotten Ken Malcome??
John
February 3rd, 2011
12:31 pm
AltamahaDawg…I’m no AM basher, but the reason Georgia didn’t throw to O.Charles or the TE’s is because AM can’t see over the middle (He’s more like 5′10 than 6ft) Most of his passes were towards the sidelines, and down the field. He won’t have AJ Green out jumping CB’s this year, and the 10 yard cushion they gave him to catch short passes. When Georgia scored it was usually on big plays, but was poor driving inside the 30 because they are limited. What’s wrong with a taller more mobile QB that will spread the field, creating wider running lanes for Crowell? Ask Auburn how that worked out for them last year.
JCDAWG11
February 3rd, 2011
12:33 pm
I think its great we made the dream team a reality. lets put in into action and kick boise’s overrated tails.