Questions loom as Dogs open spring practice (updated)
Marlon Brown, your time is now. (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
Well, the Ray Drew affair has reinforced one thing for us. Just as the rule in nutrition is that if it tastes great, it’s usually bad for you, the same goes for college football: If it’s something that would make a fan smile and say, “That’s great,” then it probably violates some NCAA rule.
So now we know: A recruit isn’t free to have whoever they want at their signing ceremony. Next thing we’ll hear is that the bulldog puppy Isaiah Crowell held up has been declared a “representative of the university’s athletic interests.”
But enough of that. Drew and the rest of the 2011 recruits who didn’t enroll early won’t be around yet, but Mark Richt’s Dogs begin spring practice Thursday, followed by an 11-day break before the sessions pick up again, finally culminating in the G-Day game on April 16. And while the ultimate answers to some of the compelling questions looming over the state of the program won’t be answered until the incoming freshmen join the team, we should know more after the spring about these areas:
The defense, and how key personnel changes will shake out. We’ve already discussed last week how the recent move of Alec Ogletree from safety to inside linebacker leaves the secondary unsettled. Will the erstwhile “Hitman,” Jakar Hamilton, reclaim the other safety spot opposite Bacarri Rambo? Spring drills should provide a good indicator. Meanwhile, the reworking of the linebacking corps under new coach Kirk Olivadotti is a major project, with Justin Houston, Darryl Gamble, Akeem Dent and Marcus Dowtin all gone. The lone returning starter, Christian Robinson, will call the signals and the coaches are expecting big things from Ogletree and transfer Jarvis Jones. Cornelius Washington will get a chance to lay claim to the other outside linebacker spot before Drew joins the competition. And it’ll be interesting to see if converted tailback Richard Samuel is able to garner much playing time at linebacker. Meanwhile, Kwame Geathers will be keeping the nose guard position warm for big JUCO transfer John Jenkins, who’ll need a reliable backup. The end result of all this won’t be evident until well into the fall but will have a lot to say about how successful the Dogs are in 2011.
The tailbacks, and who’ll emerge as either the main challenger to Isaiah Crowell taking over the starting spot or, more likely, be Crowell’s main backup. Junior Washaun Ealey, recently reinstated from a suspension, was up and down last year and Caleb King had trouble staying in the lineup between injuries and suspensions. If those two falter, Ken Malcome, who drew a lot of praise in practice during his redshirt year last season, might make a move. Let’s hope little Carlton Thomas gets more use catching screen passes rather than futilely trying to run up the middle. Richt has said he just wants to see the returning backs “compete” and “prove they can hold off the young pup coming in.” Who knows, maybe the competition will give Georgia a fearsome two- or three-back attack. Most of us would settle for one consistently reliable back, however.
Will the offensive line finally live up to expectations under new coach Will Friend? The Dogs have experience here, as Trinton Sturdivant, Cordy Glenn and Ben Jones return, senior Justin Anderson is back on the OL and sophomore Kenarious Gates showed promise starting three games last year. There’s not a lot of playing time on the bench, however. Hopefully the change in leadership and a new strength and conditioning regimen will put an end to the Dogs’ offensive front getting pushed around late in games the way it did last year.
Who’ll replace A.J. Green and Kris Durham in the receiving corps? We know Tavarres King is pretty much a given to take over Green’s spot at flanker, but will Marlon Brown finally step up as the other wide-out? Will Rantavious Wooten and Israel Troupe remain forgotten men? What about Michael Bennett, who redshirted last year? Or early enrollee Chris Conley? A lot of folks are betting incoming freshman Malcolm Mitchell will be hard to keep out of the lineup once he learns the routes. But with so little experienced depth at wide receiver, will the Dogs split out hybrid tight end Orson Charles more? Will Aaron Murray throw to the fullback more with former tight end Bruce Figgins at that position? Mike Bobo needs some answers to keep his offense balanced. And speaking of Murray …
Who’ll end up as as Murray’s backup at quarterback? Last year’s backup, sophomore Hutson Mason, and highly touted early enrollee Christian LeMay will get a chance to show their stuff this spring, but this is a question that likely won’t be resolved until the end of preseason drills in August and perhaps beyond that. LeMay has a lot of talent but hasn’t played football in more than a year, so this could prove to be one of the more interesting competitions on the team. The loser likely will redshirt unless needed.
Because of the pressure for the Dogs to bounce back from their first losing season in many years, this is likely to be the most important spring practice of the Richt era. Here’s hoping the head coach gets the answers he needs.
UPDATE: The situation at tailback already is looking a little intense. On Thursday, Mark Richt again summed up the challenge facing Washaun Ealey and Caleb King this fall when Isaiah Crowell joins the competition for playing time. “Isaiah is a very talented guy,” Richt said. “He’ll get a chance to show what he can do, and these other guys need to just solidify as much playing time as they can before he shows up, because we’re going to see what he can do.” [Emphasis added.]
Ealey didn’t talk to reporters after Georgia’s first spring practice, but King did and he doesn’t appear to be blinking at all in the glare of the spotlight Crowell is bringing to the position. Obviously referring to Richt’s comments about Crowell possibly “running that rock in the Dome” against Boise State, King said, “I understand what’s happening right now. Of course they are — I’m not going to say ‘boost it up,’ because he’ll probably come in here and be a great player — but I think it’s more for the fans, so they can be excited for next season. He’s still got to come in and work hard, because I know the rest of us are working hard.”
And that can only be a good thing for the Dogs in the long run.
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104 comments Add your comment
RabidDawgFan
March 10th, 2011
4:53 pm
Imagine Bruce Figgins (6′4, 265) charging through the hole to create a hole for his RB. That’s the biggest FB we probably have ever had. I’m excited to see the holes that he’ll create along with our O-line.
1953Dawg
March 10th, 2011
5:38 pm
This team has more questions than answers heading into the spring, and that is never a good thing. The O.L. has to be rebuilt completely. Just because Jones, Sturdivant, and Glenn were starters at the end of last year, doesn’t say a whole lot. The O.L was terrible last year, and i don’t see any improvement if these same 3 guys are going to start and be the leaders this team needs. There is no go to guy at W.R. And it want be hard for any defense with one shutdown corner to totally shut this passing game down. King is an average receiver in the SEC, and after that, you don’t have another quality SEC receiver. The running backs haven’t proven in 2 years that they are capable of breaking tackles or making people miss in open space, and with this line,they will have to be able to do that to be successful. The defense has more holes that a ten year old pair of socks. The d.l, has nobody back that had more than a couple of sacks, moving Tyson to end will not be the answer, as he has been another in a long line of major d.l. disappointments since Garner has been at UGA. Garner is overrated, and he can’t develop d.l’s. The linebackers may be the biggest group of misfits on the entire team. Robinson was probably the fifth best linebacker on the team last year, yet he will be the only player returning with much experience. He is undersized at inside backer, and he can’t get off of blocks very well. Ogletree and Jarvis Jones will both be playing new positions, and when you are trying to build a stout defense, you don’t have to time to experiment with so many new players. Washington is another major disappointment, and he has shown nothing being a part-time player the past two years. There is no way he will replace Houston, the only hope at this postion would be if Drew can come in and learn the system quickly. With a new positon coach and so many question marks, this could be a huge problem in the second line of defense. As far as the secondary goes, this has to be the least talented secondary UGA has had since Richt has been at UGA, and it is certainly one of the least talented in the SEC. There is no shutdown corner, Boykin has his moments, but he is an average SEC talent, and Cummings or Smith have yet to make a big play in the secondary yet. Other teams that will compete for the SEC title have several talented corners that make big plays in the clutch. Compare UGA’s corners to S.C, Al,Lsu,Fl, and the talent gap isn’t close. Auburn has no corners, yet they were able to win last year with their offense. Unfortunately UGA doesn’t have that type of offense. Last but certainly not least is the safety positons. This has to be the worst part of the whole team. Rambo hasn’t hit anyone since he was knocked out 2 years ago against Auburn, and he couldn’t tackle the cheerleaders of our opponents. And God only knows who the coaches think they will start at the other safety position. I guess they will take the least of 2 evils, Hamilton, and Williams, which neither of them could start ahead of Olgetree. Although Tree got beat several times late in the season in pass coverage, he is still heads and shoulders above the alternative. This coaching staff has done nothing to prove that they know how to evaluate or improve talent, so i don’t get why everyone thinks just because Grantham thinks moving Tree is a good move that it automatically becomes one. Time will tell on these coaches and these players, but i just don’t see the talent or the coaching coming back this year to warrant much improvement.
AltamahaDawg
March 10th, 2011
5:51 pm
But you like thier chances right, 53?
UGA? R U Kidding
March 10th, 2011
6:14 pm
Michael Adams, UGA President:
There was urination, there was defecation, there were 70 tons of trash. Buildings like the Law School or the library, we’ve had to close because when we left them open the destruction was too significant.
UGA? R U Kidding
March 10th, 2011
6:44 pm
My apologies; I know I need new material but I’m too stupid to think of anything else to say.
Pago Pago DAWG
March 10th, 2011
8:38 pm
1953dawg….PLEASE, get somebody to teach you what a “paragraph” is. Gessh….
AltamahaDawg
March 10th, 2011
8:44 pm
or a smile
savannadawg
March 10th, 2011
9:42 pm
Good gosh people, give it a break. Right now we have no idea who is going to step up and take on the challenge each position requires. That is why we have practices. Lets get a few weeks of hitting and fundamentals in the books before we have this conversation. And even with that said, practices are closed, so we really only can see what we are told.
Tide Roll
March 10th, 2011
10:23 pm
Bill, In Sturdivant, Gates, Anderson and Glenn you have guys that are 6′5″ over 300 lbs and are ATHLETES!. Bobo needs to stop trying to show people how smart he is, line these guys up, along with Figgins at Fullback and win games with a physical offense. I would like to see Chris Burnette ahead of Jones, but that’s not going to happen. Never in its history ha UGA started 5 African Americans on their offensive line.
Mr. SEC
March 10th, 2011
10:27 pm
I don’t want to even comment on this article; but I would like to have had the opportunity to respond to the article Andy King wrote on “Ealey and King feeling the pressure”! As Michael Cole would say, “And I Quote”,
Ealey didn’t speak to the media Thursday, but King said he’s texted Crowell a couple of times.
“He’s still got to come in and work hard because the rest of us are working hard,” King said. “We’re all busting our tails.
I’m going to try to get him under my wing and go from there.”
This quote about Crowell going under King’s wing is so stupid! Who’s wing is King under? This may had been the stupidest comment ever coming out of UGA’S present tailbacks! Somebody needs to text King and tell him to shut up and work harder, or just a little bit! He is one of the worst tailbacks UGA has ever had; he should be embarrassed to make such a comment. I need a drink!
patrick
March 10th, 2011
10:28 pm
1953Dawg
March 10th, 2011
5:38 pm
===========================================
.
In promulgating your esoteric cogitation’s or articulating your superficial and sentimentalities toward UGA beware of platitudinous ponderosity.
Let your conversational communications possess a clarified conciseness, a compact comprehensibiliness coalescent consistency and a concatenated cogency
.
Eschew all conglomerations of flatulent garrulity, jejune babblement and asinine affectations.
.
Let your extemporaneous descantings and unpremeditated expatiation’s have intelligibility and veracious vivacity without rodomontade or thrasonical bombast
William Lee
March 11th, 2011
12:42 am
Q.B. Back up? Coach Ritch will play Murray 99% for this year and next Then he will start another inexperienced Q.B. for the next 2 or 3 years, then repeat the cycle. Start from scratch every 3 years…
Ted Striker
March 11th, 2011
7:03 am
Excellent article, Bill. Thanks for contributing it!
FanSince59
March 11th, 2011
8:14 am
Not only are there a lot of questions that need to be answered about the football team, there are a lot of questions that need to be answered about Richt as well.
Auburn grad
March 11th, 2011
8:29 am
Hey patrick, cut that out!! you know no one speaks Latin around here!!
UGASlobberknocker
March 11th, 2011
8:34 am
Patrick, in case you havent noticed, there is a ton of rodomontade and thrasonical bombasting going on around here.
UGASlobberknocker/translator
March 11th, 2011
8:45 am
For all of my Auburn and Alabama buds: a translation of patricks post
In promulgating your esoteric cogitation’s or articulating your superficial and sentimentalities toward UGA beware of platitudinous ponderosity.
^^^^Translation: When rambling on endlessly about the Dawgs…….,
Let your conversational communications possess a clarified conciseness, a compact comprehensibiliness coalescent consistency and a concatenated cogency
^^^^Translation…keep your blogs short and on point….
.
Eschew all conglomerations of flatulent garrulity, jejune babblement and asinine affectations.
****Translation…dont be a shameless homer and dont post stupid comments….
.
Let your extemporaneous descantings and unpremeditated expatiation’s have intelligibility and veracious vivacity without rodomontade or thrasonical bombast,
^^^Translation…be spontaneous and clever without a lot of bragging and bad mouthing..
Well . there you go..Now if anyone would just do it.
UGASlobberknocker
March 11th, 2011
8:48 am
Would it be possible to choose another wing for Crowell to be under rather than Caleb King????? What, is he going to teach him how to do dumb things while injured?.
MLK
March 11th, 2011
9:42 am
Tide Roll: “I would like to see Chris Burnette ahead of Jones, but that’s not going to happen. Never in its history ha UGA started 5 African Americans on their offensive line.”
So you think a three year starter at center, entering his fourth year, is being played over another guy because that guy is black and Richt/UGA doesn’t want too many blacks on the O-line?
There are some incredibly stupid, illogical comments made on these blogs, but this one is a class of its own.
You are an imbecile.
UGASlobberknocker
March 11th, 2011
9:44 am
Some dolt posted above that there was a 90% chance of the Dawgs going 4-8. So, I guess what he is saying is that Ga will beat the 4 weakest teams..Coastal Carolina, NMxSt, Vandy, and Ole Miss. Losing to Ky, Tenn and everyone else? I really wish there was an intelligence test on this blog..idiots like this wouldnt stand a chance.
UGASlobberknocker
March 11th, 2011
9:49 am
portion of post from Tide Roll
“Never in its history has UGA started 5 African Americans on their offensive line.”
And Alabamans wonder why their state has been left in the dust by Ga and every other state. There is a reason that Bhm’s skyline still looks like it is 1966..because there,it still is.
It is posts like this that perpetuate the common stereotype among the other 49 states that everyone in Alabama is an ignorant racist.
UGA Insider
March 11th, 2011
9:52 am
Already the first day of practice and CMR is making excuses for NOT playing his freshman RB. Saying “we will have to see how he progresses with his pass protection”. How many times have you heard that UGA fans?…. That basically sets the stage for CMR to not play the freshman immediately. That is so frustrating to me. Come one coach! It’s your job to get him ready to pass protect! No more excuses, get these kids ready to play.
Dawg Gone
March 11th, 2011
9:52 am
Between Tide Roll and Patrick its hard to crown the King of the Morons!
DawginLex
March 11th, 2011
11:01 am
where are my posts?
Fire Mark Richt
March 11th, 2011
11:05 am
Patrick, you are too smart by half.
slapajacket
March 11th, 2011
12:01 pm
tide roll! If BOBO stops trying to show how smart he is, will you do the same? You’re the pot calling the kettle black.
Big Dawg
March 11th, 2011
12:09 pm
Sogadawg– Samuel was a 5 star athelete and linebacker not at running back, he was not rated as a RB as far as I remember, but I could be wrong.
LawDawg
March 11th, 2011
1:02 pm
You have to earn the name “Hitman” . . . At this point, he is more like Get Burned Man
UGA FRIEND
March 11th, 2011
3:29 pm
The article written by Andy King includes previous quotes by CMR that indicate he has already given the starting tailback job to Crowell. I believe Ealy and/or King should be feeling the pressure since they will apparently be relegated as backups. Crowell has made comments abouting wanting to be a feshman All-American and gain 1000 yards, etc. He sounds like he is full of himself and needs to have a special large size helment and cap made for himself.
saban
March 11th, 2011
3:37 pm
Another year of pain and sorrow.
Boise State 50 Dawgs 8
Ohio-on-the-Gulf Dog
March 11th, 2011
4:15 pm
“Crowell has made comments abouting wanting to be a feshman All-American and gain 1000 yards, etc. He sounds like he is full of himself and needs to have a special large size helment and cap made for himself.”
Crowell’s aspirations are not arrogant at all, UGA “FRIEND’s” argument to the contrary notwithstanding.
First, Crowell would not be Georgia’s first freshman All-American and he wouldn’t be Georgia’s first freshman tailback to gain 1,000 yards in his first season.
Second, Crowell would only gain 62 percent of the yards another Georgia freshman gained in order to equal 1,000 yards.
Third, every coach in the world wants players who have high aspirations and strive to achieve them on the field. I don’t think Vince Lombardi, for example, would be much impressed by a rookie running back whose goal it was to gain 30 yards in a season.
Finally, if Crowell is anywhere near 62 percent of that other Georgia freshman running back, we should all be well pleased, sycophants of other, less worthy, and green with jealous envy college football programs excepted.
To observe true hubris on the hoof, look elsewhere “FRIEND.”
Auburn thugs
March 11th, 2011
5:17 pm
4 AUBURN FOOTBALL PLAYERS KICK OFF TEAM FOR 1 ST DEGREE ROBBERY TODAY.
JdawgT
March 11th, 2011
6:10 pm
Auburn, AHAHAHAHHHAAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAHHHHAAAHAHAHAHAHA
bitter larry munson (9") size does matter
March 11th, 2011
6:38 pm
to all the fake”"” names that have to bowel to talk down on brother VINCE DOOLY—–
———————IN SHORT —GO F——— YOURSELF——-TREE KILLERS
bitter larry munson (9") size does matter
March 11th, 2011
6:43 pm
AUburthugs–robbery—hears an idea—-spend more time shinning your crystal football
———please stop acting like your on a team run by lame kitten!! just saying
bitter tide roll --aka--tolit paper
March 11th, 2011
6:52 pm
got kill som-mo-trees yaaaawww——-yehaw—–poison ya ya —-gonna hav sex wed me sistar first
den kill so-mo–stuff—-allburn stinks—–momma coming home got to pro-vide fo her to yaaww
PS—anybody got crack-crank-or jack—then i can poison trees–watch out tumors coonner–im-a-comming
woebegong
March 11th, 2011
7:45 pm
The Dawgs have a favorable schedule this year. Sure there are questions at some positions and competition at a lot of them. Isn’t that why you have practice before the real games begin? UGA has a lot of good atheletes, that can make a very good team, if they all come together and work as a team. That is the coachs job, and I have faith that CMR and staff can put a good team together.
I would ask that some of you negative blggers on here, please donate your B.S. so we can strengthen the turf on the football field here. Of course, I realize most of it is often repeated manure, and hopefully, you will have the strength to carry your load to the place where it can best be applied.
GOOOOOOOO DAWGSSSSSSSSSSSS
ken kilpatrick
March 11th, 2011
8:34 pm
watch what i say…ealey will run this year like his hair is on fire…and will be the star good for
the team and good for the bulldogs…….
UGADawg83
March 11th, 2011
9:10 pm
So many original thoughts in this column Bill, so much in here I haven’t already heard.
JSillaGA
March 11th, 2011
9:11 pm
Congrats to Auburn on maintaining the title of scumbag program of the decade. All AU resumes go straight in the trash, where they belong! This weeks tally: 6!
JDAWG
March 11th, 2011
9:12 pm
http://isportsweb.com/2011/03/11/georgia-football-5-biggest-questions/
funny...
March 11th, 2011
9:25 pm
@Ohio-on-the-gulf-dawg—
#10 should be #1. Florida is the class of the SEC east (have been since ‘91). Beat Florida, hell, I’ll take it every other year – just split that game. Florida changed the history of their program by first beating that school from Athens (that OWNED them). Then they focused nationally. Georgia is trying to focus nationally when they can’t even win their division. To get Georgia where the “fans” want them to be the focus has to come away from the BCS and focused on JAX first.
No Dawg
March 12th, 2011
12:13 am
hi
No Dawg
March 12th, 2011
12:14 am
DID Soccer game break out at practice?
bar employee
March 12th, 2011
12:19 am
just want to inform all the bloggers that quite a few starters from the team were downtown until 2am after the first day of practice. explains quite a bit…
GR82BAG8R
March 12th, 2011
7:08 am
The biggest question is: How can UGA keep pace with Auburn to retain the Fulmer Cup?
UGASlobberknocker
March 12th, 2011
7:31 am
I enjoy the bloggers comments.. but the quality of this column is not major newspaper material. Im talking all of the columns not just this one. There is never anything in here that hasnt already been posted somewhere else. Tim Tucker had more oiginal thoughts in the bathroom this morning than King has had all year.
Pls AJC, doesnt the largest fan base in the city deserve a real journalist?????
GR82BAG8R
March 12th, 2011
7:53 am
UGASk, perhaps when the team that the largest fanbase in the world followes does something with all that talent they get, the AJC will upgrade the “journalist” assigned to cover the team. Until then…
dog hater since 1993
March 12th, 2011
8:06 am
6-6. Shut up Georgia.
markfromtenn
March 12th, 2011
8:48 am
Its interesting to me how you’ve penciled in a new starting nose tackle with K.Geathers already a backup to the highly touted jc stud before he demonstrates that he can even pass a sports physical. I hope he’s good enough to do that, but just like we learned from other junior college transfers (most recently “hitman” Hamilton)…it often takes quite a while before their performance is up to SEC standards. Also hope Mr. Isaiah is not like Mr. Jasper was a few years back as far as coming in and effectively replacing our current stable of running backs. I’ll be pleasantly surprised when he turns out to be the next Hershel or even the next Knowshon, but until then….seems like we might want to temper some of these expectations!…Heck, I guess I’m just being cynical and need to start taking more antidepressants..can I get some of what your taking?