All hands on deck: Richt sounds ready to shake things up
Malcolm Mitchell will get a look as a two-way player, Mark Richt said. (Associated Press)
It’s the time of year in college football when all teams are undefeated, most fans are optimistic, and coaches talk a lot of ideas designed to get those fans excited (though in many cases they never pan out). There might have been some of that in a few of Mark Richt’s comments to reporters Thursday, but I still found a lot to like in what he said.
Richt sounded a lot more flexible in terms of shaking things up and making the best use of Georgia’s talent base with position switches and two-way players than he has at times in the past.
Malcolm Mitchell playing offense and defense?
“Quite frankly, we’re going to experiment with that a bit,” Richt said.
Same with Richard Samuel possibly playing fullback. And there’s not a lot of difference in Todd Grantham’s defense between Ray Drew playing outside linebacker and defensive end, he said. Versatility is a hallmark of defensive players under Grantham, Richt noted. “A guy who at one time might be standing up as a linebacker, the next play he’s got his hand on the ground rushing the passer.”
Freshman linebacker Josh Harvey-Clemons also might get to play some offense as a receiver. (Associated Press)
Also, while incoming freshman linebacker Josh Harvey-Clemons isn’t likely to play safety, as had been rumored, Richt said he probably can stay in the game when the defense is in a nickel package, and “he’s also got some offensive skills and he may be just the right guy to throw the ball to in the red zone. So whether he can handle all that as a true freshman, I don’t know. But before his career is over we’ll definitely give him an opportunity to do some things offensively as well.”
Of course, chances are not all of those changes will stick in the long run past spring drills. But I like the way Richt is viewing his talent base.
And while I’m not thrilled that he isn’t budging on not naming a special teams coordinator, he did again emphasize that change is coming in that department.
As the head coach put it: “If that means a guy playing both ways or two positions on defense or if that means we have to put the entire starting lineup on offense and defense playing special teams, I don’t care what it is, we have to do whatever we have to do to get the best players on the field. … We may have to stretch guys a little bit here and there from a learning standpoint and from getting more reps. … [Most] guys are going to play some special teams at one time or another. So we’ve got to get all hands on deck. We’re going to make sure everybody understands how crucial they are and how special teams are just as important as playing first down on defense or offense.”
Sounds like Richt has gotten religion, so to speak, when it comes to improving the Dogs’ special teams play.
I also liked the fact that he reminded the defense that while they were highly ranked last season and return most of their starters, “The one thing they all want to do a better job of is finish. We could’ve finished better in our last two ballgames as a team, not just defensively. Our defense knows, at the moment of truth, when we’ve got to get a stop, we’ve got to get a stop. Same thing offensively; when we’ve got to score, we’ve got to score.”
Sounds like Richt wasn’t satisfied with just getting back to a 10-win season. Like I said, sometimes these offseason chats are simply the coach playing to the fans. But I get the feeling Richt is serious about making the moves necessary to get his program back to the next level.
What did you think of Richt’s comments?
Got something on your mind concerning UGA athletics or a question for the Junkyard Blawg? Send it to junkyardblawg@gmail.com.
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220 comments Add your comment
SOUTHGADAWG88
February 24th, 2012
12:25 pm
Offense puts you in position to win games..defense secures the win.For all the Bobo/Murray talk against SC and MSU the O did what they needed to do and the defense didn’t simple as that.
Jim
February 24th, 2012
12:28 pm
With 70 scholarship athlethes (discount the walk-on awards) when he should have 85, he has NO DEPTH and has to use some talented palyers both ways.
Start recruiting to our limit!
Ghost
February 24th, 2012
12:37 pm
Tide is rolling , since when is a 148 yards passing lighting up a secondary?I guess Bamas secondary got lit up by them too since Vandy had 149 yards passing against them.
7576DAWG
February 24th, 2012
12:38 pm
I don’t think special team’s will be nearly as critical in 2012 as last year with the new rules in place that the NCAA approved and the new blocking rules for the linemen will help a lot . Team’s like GT will not be able to use the nearly chop block , use to be legal, to take our linemen , mainly nose tackle out.The rule changes are very positive for UGA.
evillurks
February 24th, 2012
12:39 pm
Any big time SEC team with THuga’s schedule for next season would be unanimous picks for the NC…..but this is THuga….they won’t even back into the SECC again like they did last year.
Boy the trashing is gonna be epic as the losses pile up next year for the mutt nation!!
Ghost
February 24th, 2012
12:40 pm
Jim, where do you get the number 70? Georgia is below the limit but I don’t thinks its that low.
Bama home of the T-bag special
February 24th, 2012
12:47 pm
Sounds good Bill CMR is saying the right things lets see him put them into action and what sounds better is the fear in the Bug and Bama trolls..Go Dogs!
Jacket99
February 24th, 2012
12:50 pm
7576DAWG…I think missed or blocked field goals will be just as critical in 2012. A number of games turned on them last year. Has the Butler kid who punts the ball 75+ yards graduated, yet?
maharajiean shorts
February 24th, 2012
12:50 pm
I can’t believe he called out the D on making a stop….and then casually mentioned, “oh yeah, and we gotta score too”….
How about if we punch it in a couple of times when the D stops the other team 9 times in a row in the SEC championship game, that might change the offensive playcalling of the other team to more passing? Giving your D even opportunities to put the game away.
Just doesn’t get it. Make the Midget earn his spot as QB and whatever happens, STOP RUNNING THE SHOTGUN DRAW!. If you are not passing well out of the shotgun, why would the D be “drawn” to pass rush enabling the runner to break free past the front 7?
But what do I know?
Pago Pago Dawg
February 24th, 2012
12:52 pm
Can we at least win the SEC East again? And how can a male have two last names?? Strange.
David Granger
February 24th, 2012
12:53 pm
As a general rule, we Dawg fans always like the things Coach Richt SAYS, year-in and year-out. The proof is always in the pudding, though…and our “puddings” have not been especially tasty lately. Some improvement last year, and here’s hoping the improvement continues.
Dr. Don
February 24th, 2012
12:54 pm
Maharajiean shorts – precisely! What do you know? I think the answer is obvious…..
Brian Washington
February 24th, 2012
12:57 pm
@ Granger
re: 12:53
Good point. Coach Richt always says the right things, but that hasn’t always translated into success on the field.
Brian
February 24th, 2012
1:03 pm
I am a total UGA fan but does this not sound like Richt 3 years ago giving Bobo playcall duties so he “could focus on things a head coach should do”. Sounds like another gimmick to me. It took him 3 years to realize we need starters on special teams. Wow!
Terry
February 24th, 2012
1:05 pm
I don’t know why you people come on here acting like your a Georgia Fan, anyone that is a true Georgia Fan would wait until the end of football season, before they start bashing the Coaches on things that have not even happened this fall, they won 10 games last year even thought IC was playing with an ankle sprain, and we had to use sub par RB’s as his backup, this year we will have two more Quality Backs, so we want have to put all our egg’s in IC’s basket.
JB
February 24th, 2012
1:05 pm
The first two possessions of the second half of the LSU game last December still puzzle me. We had been moving the ball. Play actions, rolling out………but noooooooooooooooooooooooo… we are gonna run a walk on 160 pound RB into the mouth of that defense and punt…and punt….and punt……………………….Who the Hell knows why???????
Terry
February 24th, 2012
1:06 pm
To the idiot’s that keep saying that CMR is losing all the home grown talent. Tell me genius, how can one team sign ever Top Quality football player in the State of Georgia? Even if all the teams in Georgia signed nothing but Georgia players, we would still have players to sign with other states, just like every other state has players that sign with other states, you can not sign every player, because they are going to go where they have a chance on playing early, unless their a die hard Georgia Fan, and just want to play for the State of Georgia, their going to go where they have the best chance of playing early.
Brown Dog
February 24th, 2012
1:07 pm
Hmm. Sounds a whole lot like last year’s pledge to really focus on coaching. Imagine that, a coach who is paid to coach actually taking the radical step of … Coaching.
Terry
February 24th, 2012
1:08 pm
To the idiot’s that keep saying that CMR is losing all the home grown talent, tell me genius, how can one team sign ever Top Quality football player in the State of Georgia? Even if all the teams in Georgia signed nothing but Georgia players, we would still have players to sign with other states, just like every other state has players that sign with other states, you can not sign every player, because they are going to go where they have a chance on playing early, unless their a die hard Georgia Fan, and just want to play for the State of Georgia, their going to go where they have the best chance of playing early.
Brian
February 24th, 2012
1:08 pm
Fox is losing all the homegrown except for Caldwell-Pope. Richt cherry picks and gets some
dawgfan
February 24th, 2012
1:08 pm
JB:
because all of our other rb’s were hurt ha. if we didn’t make so many mistakes in that first quarter it wouldve been 24-0. 24 points against that LSU d is impressive
JB
February 24th, 2012
1:09 pm
It’s not the “quantity” that bothers me about Bama coming over here, it’s the ” quality” of who they get.
JB
February 24th, 2012
1:11 pm
dawgfan, that’s my point….you just made it. We should of come out and run a similar offense in the second half. Herschel wouldn’t of run on that D with our line.
Lagdawg
February 24th, 2012
1:11 pm
It’s amazing that Richt can talk about the much improved D when the D carried the football team for the entire season due to that pathetic run offense. How about shaking up the Offensive staff and getting one that can actually run a high powered, efficient offense. It just befuddles me that Richt came from a team with a high powered offense but, he can’t seem to get this O in gear. Makes me think that he was just like Bobo and someone else did the playcalling. UGA is being outrecruited by Bama, Fla. and Auburn. He really needs to step back and reevaluate his Offensive coaching staff, but he already knows and won’t do anything about it. Also, open up the QB competetion and Murray might make better decisions and also that comes from lack of a quality OC and QB coach not properly developing the players that are there.
Brian
February 24th, 2012
1:11 pm
Atleast 17-0 easy. Mitchell could have crawled to the endzone. King had a pretty tough catch but it was catchable
JB
February 24th, 2012
1:13 pm
He’s had 11 years with all the resources in the world. Money and talent. What’s missing?
Kyle
February 24th, 2012
1:13 pm
Boise State loss- not ready for prime time (
South Carolina loss: Murray gives chickens 21 points- extremly poor decisions at critical times. Consequences? NONE
LSU loss: poor decisions by Murray- gives points away…lack of any kind of running game. Consequences? NONE
Michigan State loss: poor decisions by murray. gives sparty points….coaches become turtles and go into shell…..typical UGA. Consequences??? NONE
why would we even think 2012 will be different? ?????
All Alabama has is ...............Alabama
February 24th, 2012
1:13 pm
College is forever, MNC titles or not. I love my Bulldogs. Now, most of the bloggers here pulling for U of Alabama, are not even U of A grads. Fine.
All the state of A has is the U of A. In Georgia, we have it all. GT, UGA and City of Atlanta and the Ga Coast and the mtns and the babes in convertibles and the jobs.
All U of A has is football. That is it!
Go Dogs
Brian
February 24th, 2012
1:13 pm
We got a lot of players Florida loved this year. Clemons and Theus 4 sure. Auburn had a very decent class this year. not good like GA
Brian
February 24th, 2012
1:15 pm
I wish ppl qould quit talking out their ***. Making up stuff to prove a point lol
Brian
February 24th, 2012
1:15 pm
*would
sogadog
February 24th, 2012
1:15 pm
SOUTHGADAWG 88 I was at the Outback Bowl and believe me when I say the offense and play calling lost that game. Murray threw a pick 6 and an interception that led to an MSU touchdown. That is 14 points spotted to MSU by the offense. 9 of the points the Dawgs scored were not scored by the offense rather they were scored by Boykin on a safety and a punt return. The offense could not run the ball throughout the game so Murray had to rely on long passes. Bobo called running plays up the middle during the offense’s last possession which gained nothing. Had the offense gotten ten yards and a first down in its last possession UGA would have won. The total lack of a running game by the offense kept the defense on the field far too long and they were gassed on MSU’s last possession.
Bottom line is the offense lost that game.
Kyle
February 24th, 2012
1:17 pm
I wish the headball coach would address MURRAY and quit thowing the D under the bus. The defense is the ONLY reason we won 10 in a row and THE ONLY REASON he is still the coach. Until this coach addresses his QB and the poor decision making that has cost us a few games- and HOLD HIM ACCOUNTABLE- nothing will change. IF I HEAR MURRAY SAY ONE MORE TIME HE IS LOOKING AT THE FILM I WILL SCREAM.
Brian
February 24th, 2012
1:19 pm
If we had a Gus Malzahn as a coordinator or the Clemson guy they got from Temple we would be unstoppable on O. Trust me. Look where Grantham took the D after Martinez left
JB
February 24th, 2012
1:20 pm
Strong defense and unstoppable running game is what wins in the SEC. We have half of it. Looking for a win over a top 25 team.
Terry
February 24th, 2012
1:21 pm
JB, So tell me, how you would sign a player that want to play for another team?
Brian
February 24th, 2012
1:21 pm
Layne Kiffen said 2 years ago he was relieved to play UGA cause they do not do anything out of the ordinary
dawgfan
February 24th, 2012
1:22 pm
JB:
you have to expect a defense like that to make adjustments throughout the game though. give them a little credit. it’s not all the offense’s fault. i do agree that the gameplan changed from the first quarter, but their d did a really good job in the second half
JB
February 24th, 2012
1:23 pm
Richt lovers hate it, and will really fire back at you, but read the post @1:15. Richt and Bobo are the problem. Grantham is pure football coach……and look at our D NOW after 2 years. Offense cost us games.
Ghost
February 24th, 2012
1:24 pm
I don’t know JB we were on our own 17 our defense hadn’t given up anything in the first half, Murrays fumble hurt , the 2nd procession we only threw 2 passes then Murray had to run for his life.Not that it really matters but Carlton Thomas was never a walk on he was recruited by Notre dame , Auburn , Clemson too. I am curious as to why Malcome wasn’t in the game the 1st series, perhaps Murray audibled to the run plays? I am puzzled as to why we ever punted to honeybadger was that a butler mistake or a coaching mistake?
JB
February 24th, 2012
1:26 pm
dawgfan………..DO you really think Bobo and Richt said at halftime. Let’s stop this open offense. It’s working, but let’s sneak up on them and start pounding the ball between the tackles. They won’t know what hit them……………BECAUSE THAT’S WHAT THEY DID !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
SC
February 24th, 2012
1:30 pm
The wheels come off this year. UGA loses 6 games, at least.
Bill
February 24th, 2012
1:31 pm
Disappointed as I had hoped he may start using “character” in his evaluation of recruits.
GTBob
February 24th, 2012
1:31 pm
Grantham is pure football coach……and look at our D NOW after 2 years. Offense cost us games.
Your offense scored 26 points a game in your 4 losses. Your defense gave up 39 points a game in those 4 games. If you have an amazing defense then 26 points per game should be enough offense to win some of them.
Brian
February 24th, 2012
1:34 pm
The only spread Bobo knows is what his *** does when Richt walks in the room
JB
February 24th, 2012
1:37 pm
Ask any friend who is a knowledgeable SEC fan from another program ( not a hater) to tell them what they think the problem is in Athens.
1. Head Coach
2. to loyal to under performing Assit coach’s
3. Playing seniority over talent. ( #3 Bryan Evans ring a bell)
4. Poor player evaluation
5. No killer instinct
6. poor roster management
7. till last year, and not there yet, poorly conditioned
8. Stale, worn out play book and game plan
9. Add your on.
funny....
February 24th, 2012
1:39 pm
I DON’T CARE, JUST WIN.
Brian
February 24th, 2012
1:39 pm
9. Failure to “Finish the Drill”
funny....
February 24th, 2012
1:41 pm
lol, really, 6 losses.
That’s definitely SC dumb right there.
How many SEC championships is South Carolina going to have at the end of this year? That’s funny.
Ghost
February 24th, 2012
1:41 pm
Gtbob, That defensive on points per game are little skewed. S.Carolina offense only scored 24 points and 7 of those were given up when offense fumbled and SC ran it back to the 3 yard line. Lsu was short fields in 2nd half pick sixes and punt returns 1 for td another giving them the ball inside the 15. Michigan State pick six another turnover deep in own territory. the defesne was great , a couple of breakdowns but even in losses played lights out. Special teams mistakes and very untimely TOvers cost Georgia in 2011.