Caleb King as 2011 Dawgs’ savior?
Can Caleb King really be the lead Dog in 2011? (Brant Sanderlin / AJC)
I’m afraid there’s probably an awful lot of wishful thinking fueling Buck Belue’s take on Caleb King, but I’d like nothing better than for old No. 8 to be right on the mark.
I think Buck’s right that Isaiah Crowell isn’t likely to be ready to be “the lead Dog” early on, especially considering the pass protection duties a Georgia tailback has.
Belue thinks that leaves King as “a young man in a good position. He’s motivated to have a big senior season. It’s his last shot to impress NFL scouts. He’s in the best shape of his life and can play physical at 220-plus. Caleb can hold up between the tackles, burst it outside, catch it and protect. Solid all-around skill set.”
Of course, Belue allows, King has proved disappointing in the past. “There have been injuries and issues.”
“The track record says Caleb King is going to disappoint you,” Buck writes. “Understand that. But I’m not buying it this time. I see a 1,000 yard season. 200 carries and 12 TD runs. A 5-yard per carry average. And as it turns out, a positive influence on Crowell.”
What do you think? A likely scenario or just a summer fan dream?
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319 comments Add your comment
Rich
June 23rd, 2011
10:00 am
The only reason why Malcome is out of shape is because he’s been hampered by an injury during the spring. That’s also probably why he was dropped to 4th on the depth chart. I expect him to compete for the starting job come fall.
DpDOG
June 23rd, 2011
10:15 am
Against winning teams, Georgia called LESS running plays than any SEC team.
Called 4th most passing plays. Other losing teams like Ole Miss, Vanderbilt passed more.
DpDOG
June 23rd, 2011
10:16 am
Malcomb will never get than 3 or 4 plays game. Over King , Murray & Crowell, no reps left for him & Thomas, Thomas’ 3 biggest games were all against really bad teams.
DpDOG
June 23rd, 2011
10:17 am
King only scored 2 td’s last year on 70+ carries. 35 to 1 td to carry ratio, is 2x worse than Ealey’s.
AltamahaDawg
June 23rd, 2011
10:17 am
I would hope so. We had a terrible running game, and it’s stupid to just keep punting against the better teams without trying to advance the football forward. Good job recognizing that Coach Bobo.
EK II
June 23rd, 2011
10:20 am
As the O-line goes, so shall Caleb (and Crowell and any other rb) follow.
old time dog
June 23rd, 2011
10:30 am
Other than what I’ve read, I don’t know anything about King or any other player than just watching their past playing performance. If King had Samuels ability to hit the hole quick he would be hard to contain. To me that has always been his holdback. The Crowell kid looks quick,shifty and hard to pin down on film I’ve watched but I question his attitude in that game last year when for all practical purposes he quit. That bothered me then and it still bothers me now. Whoever gets the ball better hope this OL can produce because in reality that is the key. A tremendous rb can make up for some shortcomings but match that kind of back up with a strong line and opposing defenses have a hard time stopping them consistently.
AltamahaDawg
June 23rd, 2011
10:32 am
No Tim, what IS the problem. Richt has said often that Crowell will play, so what’s your issue? Nobody that has any idea about college football thinks you shouldn’t be concerned about a lack of experience in picking up blitzing LBs in a passing situation. Are you seriously saying that is not a concern? Or perhaps that was just some less than well thought out barb at Richt, with no apparent merit.
SC was in the bottom half of the league in sack surrendered, total offence, pass offense AND most notably Rushing offense. Did you have some point to make about SC having a freshman in the backfield? Really?
What do you wanna bet if you asked Steve Spurrier about the risks of having true freshman in the backfield in every situation (which he didn’t do either), he would say exactly what Richt said about it?
Jborodawg
June 23rd, 2011
10:34 am
King has the ability. I too hope he has a breakthrough year. We could play for the SEC championship and some of you would find fault….and make negative comments.
Big Albany Dawg
June 23rd, 2011
12:02 pm
Caleb King 2010: Ranked 200th in the country behind offensive juggernauts like Deonte’ Jackson from IDAHO, and Louisiana-Monroe’s Frank Goodin. REALLY?????????????????????????????????????????????
damngooddawg!
June 23rd, 2011
4:23 pm
Caleb King…..hummmm…..nah! Been there…done that!
Redacted
June 23rd, 2011
4:35 pm
I dunno, boys. I dunno……………
It Ain't Rocket Science
June 23rd, 2011
4:36 pm
Caleb Continuity can run with the best of them, when he dedicates himself to the team and program. You don’t think that he is just a little more than upset, that a freshman is being looked on as the NBR 1 RB before he even puts on a uniform. King will come alive this year, because it is his last chance to impress the NFL, and get a shot at it. He will also be needed for the first few games at least to be the main man at RB, because no matter how athletically gifted Crowell is, he will still need time to catch on to the speed, hitting and game plan, before he is ready to take over the RB spot and be the man to go to, on running plays. He will also need to establish some with his new team mates as well.
sowegadawg
June 23rd, 2011
9:51 pm
CBS is already talking to CMR about replacing Marc Harmon on NCIS……What do they know that we dont?
It Ain't Rocket Science
June 24th, 2011
9:20 am
sowegadawg,
I know somehow your comment above fits in with the topic of the article. Tell me, is it because Caleb King, would be his new chief investigator? That’s got to be it right?
sowegadawg
June 24th, 2011
10:57 am
LOL, exactly !
West Coast Dog Fan
June 24th, 2011
12:00 pm
every morning out here on the west coast, I Iog on to the Atlanta newspaper to see one thing: if a Dawg got arrested or otherwise in trouble the previous night. I brace myself for the each and every foray into the world of Dawg news. did someone rob a bank? assault a girl? punch the police? beat up his girlfriend? get a DWI? I am overjoyed that finally, finally, someone figured that out and put a stop to it. hopefully. only three more months to go.
It Ain't Rocket Science
June 24th, 2011
3:41 pm
West Coast Dawg Fan,
I think it is a combination of a more strict policy by the coaches, the new AD and maturity by some of the players. It also might have to due with some of the new incoming players and probably just as important, “Pride”. I am sure not many of them are proud of the record the team accumulated last year. Minor offenses or not, I think we are seeing a lot better record for this year, with the players assuming a more mature attitude.
It Ain't Rocket Science
June 25th, 2011
5:25 am
I have a article from the UGA newspaper about another poll, for all SEC, and all Americans. Some might be interested in what they think about some of the GA players.
http://www.redandblack.com/2011/06/24/bulldogs-continue-to-land-on-preseason-football-lists/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheRedAndBlack+%28The+Red+and+Black%29
I hope they are right. Close to the Athlons pre season picks as well.