Fretting over UGA’s Logan Gray: Much ado about not much
Logan Gray was OK on G-Day. (AJC photo by Johnny Crawford)
Georgia fans are of two minds: The majority of them didn’t want Logan Gray to be their No. 1 quarterback, but they don’t want him to leave, either. Because what would happen if Aaron Murray gets hurt?
This is, I submit, much ado about not very much. Whether or not Gray decides to transfer — he’s “weighing his options,” as we know — the fate of Georgia football in 2010 and beyond rests with Murray. Gray might be an OK backup, but how often does the backup quarterback play? (D.J. Shockley never started a game until he was a redshirt senior; once he became the starter, he missed one game — Florida — due to injury.)
There’s still one other quarterback on Georgia’s roster, or there soon will be. He’s Hutson Mason, incoming from Lassiter High. He wasn’t quite as big a recruit as Gray — Mason was a 3-star prospect, according to Scout.com, while Gray was a 4-star — but does that really matter?
What matters: Georgia’s coaches had seen enough of Gray, who’s a redshirt junior, to believe he isn’t a starting SEC quarterback. They didn’t turn to him when Joe Cox came undone at the end of last season, and this winter they seemed more tempted to move Gray to wide receiver — he has returned punts as a Bulldog — than to bump him ahead of Murray.
Bottom line: If Murray goes down in the opener against Louisiana-Lafayette, the Bulldogs will be in trouble. That said, they’d be in trouble no matter who the backup is. No, Mason hasn’t yet thrown a collegiate pass. Let’s also note that Gray, who enrolled in 2007, has thrown only 12 (two of them intercepted).
Yes, it would be nice if Zach Mettenberger were still part of the program. But he isn’t, and that’s his fault. We all know that Bulldog backers, taking a cue from the legendary fretter Larry Munson, are hand-wringers of the first rank, but the program will survive no matter what Logan Gray chooses to do. The man who matters is Aaron Murray.
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232 comments Add your comment
Pago Pago Trojan
April 28th, 2010
9:35 am
I think we all pretty much agree…”talent assessment” is not very good within the coaching staff! Something is wrong….
dawgfan
April 28th, 2010
9:35 am
I’m betting he stays once he talks to enough people. His options are as follows:
1) Transfer to a lower division, play immediately, and be forgotten about forever.
2) Transfer to some no name D-1 school, play only one year, and be forgotten about forever.
3). Stay at UGA as a backup and be only one play away from becoming an SEC starting quarterback. Leave UGA with all the resources, contacts, and opportunities that come with being a UGA football alum.
I understand Logan wants to think about this but he needs to be realistic. I hope he doesn’t have any grand notions of starting for some other big time school one day. Ain’t happening. #3 is his best option.
MissNancy
April 28th, 2010
9:38 am
Beelzebubba – You got it right. This is NOT the NFL. These kids want to play football; many of them want an educational experience. A few have realistic hopes of making the NFL. But they are amateurs at this point. Logan Gray has kept his nose clean, played well, and deserves a little respect. He’s not a commodity…at least, not to me.
Black Cloud
April 28th, 2010
9:41 am
First Richt lets Mettenberger come back from his fun night out in Remerton. Then Mettenberger proceeds to outplay the little midget in the Spring, at which point, Richt then kicks him off the team. Then Richt names the little midget the starter, at which point, Gray considers transferring.
Does anyone know what Richt did to have karma being such a payback?
Was it the endzone celebration? The blackout? Flipping off Meyer during the 2 timeouts? Borrowing the Grambling hemets?
Don’t stand too close to him. Lightning may strike. Karma is indeed a beeosh!
Bulldog38
April 28th, 2010
9:42 am
What concerns me about this situation is if Murray does get hurt, UGA might be in big trouble this fall.
Hutson Mason threw FIVE interceptions in his final high school game against the Colquitt County Packers. After facing a tough defense, (one of the Region 1-AAAAA teams, which is the SEC of high school football), he didn’t look like the same record setting quarterback.
I played the game for many years myself & I understand that everyone has an off game sometimes. However, it seems that Mason’s inflated numbers may have been because of inferior competition & a pass happy offense. If that is the case, he will be like a deer in headlights against an SEC defense if he has to play as a true freshman.
Let’s all just pray for a HEDGE of protection around Aaron Murray this fall. Go Dawgs!
Murray the Midget
April 28th, 2010
9:42 am
Yeah, it was Boling, Metts and (mini) me. Metts was riding shotgun and I was in my child booster seat in the back.
Sven Ottke
April 28th, 2010
9:42 am
St. Richt is NOT making that up. Bolling got a DUI in Alpharetta and a second violation I believe and the charges were mysteriously dropped for no reason. A little under the table green, perhpas? Droopy, you are the one that doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
82Dawg
April 28th, 2010
9:43 am
QB Issue…Dude we had three on the roster going into spring one got kicked off of the team, Gray has not left yet. Got three coming in May so there was not a shortage until this came up. I really dont think any school has more than three on their roster that can play at any time.
Beelzebubba - Demon of the South
April 28th, 2010
9:43 am
Thanks. Personal attacks have gotten out of hand on some of these blogs.
Murray the Midget
April 28th, 2010
9:48 am
Yeah, just like those Remington or whatever guys, those Alphabetta cops were just out to get us. They even checked out my sippy cup.
time for a change
April 28th, 2010
9:48 am
let’s see, sit here in this inbred outhouse in Athens and rot or transfer to a Div II school and vy for a national championship, it is called NO BRAINER
Idaho Dawg
April 28th, 2010
9:51 am
Our program is in disarray! I predict another 7-5 or even a 6-6 season, CMR is fired and Damon hires Chris Peterson from out her at Boise State. He would be awesome.
Stay Logan
April 28th, 2010
9:53 am
Stay Logan, Murray is injury prone and you will be playing QB before we leave Columbia.
What a shame NOT
April 28th, 2010
9:56 am
DOGPOOPS are dropping like the flys around them, hahahahahahahahahha
between team arrest and kids leaving, is there anyone left?
ugaaccountant
April 28th, 2010
10:00 am
Can we get an instant ban program for anyone that refers to Murray as short or a midget? It’s simply a ridiculous argument given that he’s not short. Would these same guys have mocked Hines Ward? Charlie Ward? Drew Brees? That’s just of the top of my head. Junk like that makes these blogs unreadable.
ugaaccountant
April 28th, 2010
10:02 am
also instant bans for anything like the following:
“between team arrest and kids leaving, is there anyone left?”
Their is nothing about the UGA program that is any different than the other division 1 football programs. Perhaps the AJC should get back to journalism instead of encouraging this type of garbage.
TommyJack
April 28th, 2010
10:04 am
Jen:
One word. Scoreboard.
GBO
TheItalianDawg
April 28th, 2010
10:05 am
Good article, finally some reasonable analysis that shut the whole argument once and for all:
how often a back up QB start? and if Murray injured, we will be in trouble either with or without Gray, that is the worse scenario possible so people just be optimistic and cut the crap
Are you kidding?
April 28th, 2010
10:11 am
ItalianDawg, if you’re using that argument, why don’t you just keep 50 total players on the roster? Because how often does a backup Fullback start? Or how about a backup Tight End? Or the backup Center? Why don’t we just put them at other positions and just have the starters on the roster? What a craptastic argument.
HugoStiglitz
April 28th, 2010
10:14 am
Isnt there also some concern about how good Murray will be? If he comes out and he is terrible then there is pretty much no where else to turn. One thing is for certain. UGA will run the ball like crazy this year. You gotta feel somewhat bad for AJ Green. He is not going to be seeing the ball nearly as much as he should.
St. Richt
April 28th, 2010
10:17 am
PoopyDog, I’m not “making this stuff up” – Clint Boling was arrested for DUI in Alpharetta last summer and then had his case mysteriously thrown out. Look it up moron. And I’m also not making anything up about Adams changing the drug and alcohol policy to make it more “flexible” aka lenient. Don’t let the facts get in the way of your rant.
GT Fan...
April 28th, 2010
10:20 am
I tell ya …… reading a GA blog is better than the Funnies Section! And MB is right … GA fans didn’t want him to be the starter, and now are freaking on the program b/c he may transfer due to lack of playing time.
These GA fans are just a little too wrapped-up in GA football. Don’t get me wrong, I’m a HUGE GT fan, but I didn’t fret one dam* bit when Jaybo Shaw decided to transfer – and he sure as hell meant more for the Jackets’ offense than Gray did for GA’s.
These guys don’t go to college to stand on the sidelines; they are competitors, they want to be on the field. Yeah, it’s seems selfish for a kid to abandon the “team” attitude for a “me” attitude, but like I said they want playing time. And they find it at lesser levels of competition. Too bad these guys, and there are some at the majority of D-1 programs, can’t see this when leaving high school.
Dr. Phil
April 28th, 2010
10:21 am
The issue here is not whether or not Logn Gray remains at Georgia. The issue is what is going on with the football program. Over the last two weeks, there have been three arrests, one expulsion of a talented player, and talk of a transfer of another. Something is seriously wrong in Athens, and it will carry over into the fall. Richt has, indeed, been lax on discipline and covered up or winked at serious misbehavior. His players have a sense of entitlement that manifests itself on the field, in the form of stupid penalties, and off the field, in behavior issues. His teams have little cohesion and play as individuals. Richt seems bewildered, as usual. These problems cannot be fixed by Thursday-night bowling. Some of this may be due to meddling by Adams, who forced Tony Cole on Herrick, a rogue in his own right. One thing for sure, Georgia fans will not abide another season like the last one.
OSCAR
April 28th, 2010
10:25 am
120rd. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
CatsFly
April 28th, 2010
10:27 am
I’f i wanted to play football and I were Gray, I transfer to some other school where they love their football, and to a nice, smallish school. Such schools provide lifelong memories (just like UGa). Furman, Wofford, Appalachian State, Elon, Coastal Carolina, Duke, Davidson. Be smart Logan and go play football and enjoy the college experience. Who knows, you might just get the chance to come up big on the field.
NoGaGator
April 28th, 2010
10:30 am
dawgfan -
Joe Flacco transferred to Div II Delaware when he didn’t become the starting QB at Pitt and he’s done pretty well. Cam Newton will probably be the starting QB for Auburn this year.
If Gray wants the chance it’s tough to blame him.
Bulldog59
April 28th, 2010
10:33 am
St. Richt, perhaps you should spend more time reading and less time typing. You might become a little more educated. Your comments don’t address my question.
I can assure you if there even was an arrest and Boling was at all at fault, regardless of whether or not he “beat the case in court,” he would have been disciplined. CMR is very clear about that. In this day, nothing football related, particularly off campus incidents involving the police, can be “swept under the rug.
I actually know the principal of Chattahoochee HS, Chip Duncan. I can ask if he has even heard about it.
The question remains, does UGA have a problem worse than other schools, or do other schools simply “sweep it under the rug” by handling it internally?
Dixie Clear
April 28th, 2010
10:36 am
sux to be a mutt….
GT3O
April 28th, 2010
10:37 am
Mark,
I cannot agree with you on this assessment. At all. In fact, I think your motive for the article was to fool the dawgs fans into some delusion that a freshman QB straight from high school will turn out to be as capable if not better than a RS junior.
Very rarely if ever does a QB straight out of high school ever work out. See USC’s QB, Barkley. He was the Nike and Gatorade player of the year, 5-stars, and record setter in California. He played as a true freshman, but not even he was great. Hutson Mason will not have half the success Barkley had and even Barkley’s success was just serviceable in a weak Pac-10 conference. From what I have read on Hutson Mason is he is just an average QB with a good attitude, but what good high school player doesn’t think he is going to come into college and be game ready? They all do, but there’s a reason why QB’s are for the most part red-shirted and have a year to learn what goes on in the offense.
If UGA loses Logan Gray, they are losing a guy who has had more than 1 year of studying the offense, has SEC game experience (no matter how he has fared), and generally just has more to offer than a “spring chicken” barely hatched.
I am sorry, but there is nothing good that will come out of this if Aaron Murray’s back up just got out of limo from his senior prom. If I am a dawg fan, which I am not but that’s neither here nor there, I am worried about this. Do you think Miami fan’s were worried this time last year when both of their back-up’s left and the only one behind Jacory Harris was the fourth string true freshman? Of course, they were. They are a delusional fan base for the most part, but even then they could see the forest through the tree’s. They knew if Harris went down they’d be in some trouble.
If I am Mark Richt, I am very worried about it. I am worried because I am losing a game experienced and playbook experienced QB and I am left with a true freshman who will have all of one fall camp of experience.
Spin it how you want, but I think you should have left this one alone. It doesn’t make sense…at all. There is nothing good about it. Plus you lose the chance to red-shirt Hutson Mason, which is another negative.
GT3O
April 28th, 2010
10:39 am
I should note in my assessment above that when I said a true freshman QB hardly ever works out, I meant specifically in their first year, there is usually a significant increase in success in their second year for obvious reasons.
Bulldog59
April 28th, 2010
10:40 am
It is actually comical that people believe the UGA coaching staff can suddenly make a call to a police department, and whoever else in the judicial system, in a town an hour away and have a case thrown out of court. UGA can’t even get that done in ATHENS!!!!! Ok, next they will be able to tell us where Elvis has been hiding for the last 30+ years. Good grief.
Michael
April 28th, 2010
10:40 am
Let’s just hope that we don’t have a situation like Bama did in 2003 @ UGA. The UGA defense dislocated the shoulders of the starting and 2nd string Qb’s. It would suck to see someone come in that has not been a qb in a while….. remember 1995 when Hines Ward had to switch to QB… I was at that first game. UGA lost 31-0 to a mediocre Bama squad. Not pretty at all. Bama knew what was coming… run left, run right, run middle led to a whole lot of nothing that day.,
Bulldog59
April 28th, 2010
10:44 am
Michael, good memory, we all fear that could happen! Hopefully, Murray will learn/mature quickly, as will the defense, and all this talk about Gray was a waste of time.
Delbert D.
April 28th, 2010
10:47 am
“Hutson Mason threw FIVE interceptions in his final high school game against the Colquitt County Packers. After facing a tough defense, (one of the Region 1-AAAAA teams, which is the SEC of high school football), he didn’t look like the same record setting quarterback.”
Colquitt County’s head coach was the head coach at the HS in Alabama where Lassiter’s Head Coach was offensive coordinator. They were there at the same time. He knew how to stop that 90% pass, shotgun offense. Georgia’s offense is going to be quite an adjustment for Hutson Mason. He didn’t line up under center. If he has to be the backup QB this year, Georgia will almost certainly put in plays that Mason will be familiar with. Reading SEC defenses is another story.
PTC DAWG
April 28th, 2010
10:51 am
All fair comments about LG. I wish him well.
To the fans of other schools who come here and make your little pithy comments, keep it up, I could use the humor.
Hutson Mason
April 28th, 2010
10:55 am
One of the INTS i threw against Colquitt County was tipped so put me down for four INTS. I AM AWESOME BABY!!!!!!!
CatsFly
April 28th, 2010
10:57 am
How tall is Drew Brees?
St. Richt
April 28th, 2010
10:57 am
moron59, it was probably swept under the rug by the Alpharetta police. Somebody there was a Dawg fan if you ask me.. I’ve never asserted that your sackless coach had anything to do with Boling getting his case thrown out. But it happened nonetheless. And as for your other question, its pretty obvious to me that UGA’s off the field issues OF LATE are worse than most schools. Maybe with the exception of the Gators.. What planet have you been on to think thats not the case?
St. Richt
April 28th, 2010
10:59 am
Yeah, and thanks for the laugh Moron59, Mark Richt is quite the disciplinarian!! He is a real enforcer with his one game suspensions against Arkansas State.
Jones
April 28th, 2010
11:06 am
I’m a Logan Gray fan.
He’s been a true TEAMMATE, willing to fair catch punts, who else would willingly do that?
We need a TEAM FIRST guy instead of these ME FIRST stat hog seekers.
Gray was a stud in High School, #7 ranked QB by ESPN, #10 by Rivals. Elite 11 QB.
Gray played well in BOTH G-Day games, the last 2 years, so if he’s given some prep time, and named as a starter, I think he would actually fdo BETTER than a guy like a Murray.
A guy like Murray is going to have his eyes towars the NFL, and that means he’ll need to throw td’s, and that means high risk, and that means int’s. And that means a 7-5 season.
If Gray earns the starting position, I don’t see him having a problem handing the ball off to King & Ealey. Can’t say the same for Murray.
Bottom line, Gray kicked Murray’s butt over the 3 Spring Scrimmages, and EARNED the right to be #1 on the QB depth chart: same accuracy, same yard per pass average, same td’s, and 3x less int’s.
Gray’s td to int ratio was 3x BETTER than Aaron Murray’s in the 3 Spring scrimmages.
So why did coaches go with Murray? High school hype, and not on the field performance in the 3 spring scrimmages.
Jones
April 28th, 2010
11:09 am
Neither Murray or Gray is accurate on the long ball, both are accurate short to mid-range, both can run (Gray is faster), Gray is LESS injury prone, Gray has more experience in the system, and Gray got better over the 3 Spring scrimmages, while Murray got worse.
hobnail boot
April 28th, 2010
11:09 am
Mason is not physically ready to play in the SEC. On top of that he’ll have to get a crash course on the playbook when he should be redshirting. I agree that Gray is not a starting QB in the SEC, but he is mobile and knows the offense. If he simply does not want to be on the team then I agree that he should move on, but he needs to understand that he is one play away from getting what he wanted all along.
MaryM
April 28th, 2010
11:15 am
A huge three-game sweep in baseball last night at Turner Field. What a great time to be a Yellow Jacket and own those Athens b*tches. Three wins in baseball more than trumps football and basketball.
Well, that’s the big news out of the way, so now we can go back on UGA thug watch. It’s a tough job, but someone has to keep track of all the arrests in Athens.
And really, who cares about UGA QBs? They’ll most likely be arrested and thrown out of school long before game day. Mettenberger? Holding on to his mama’s apron strings whining like the baby he is, after being getting a good spanking.
Jones
April 28th, 2010
11:18 am
You wonder some tmes if LEARNING takes place among the Georgia offensive coaches.
Ok, being ranked #100 in interceptions, and you name the guy your #1 on the QB depth chart who throws more int’s than anyone?
Murray averages an int every 19 passes, WORSE than Joe Cox.
Gray only threw 1 int in the Spring games, Murray threw 3 int’s.
Richt said going into the Spring that NOTHING ouwld be more imnportant for the QB evaluation than BALL PROTECTION.
Really? Turned out that whoever had the most High School hype got the job, REGARDLESS of BALL PROTECTION.
Dallie
April 28th, 2010
11:20 am
A huge three-game sweep in baseball last night at Turner Field. What a great time to be a Yellow Jacket and own those Athens b*tches. Three wins in baseball more than trumps football and basketball.
Well, that’s the big news out of the way, so now we can go back on UGA arrest watch. It’s a tough job, but someone has to keep track of all the arrests in Athens.
And really, who cares about UGA QBs? They’ll most likely be arrested and thrown out of school long before game day. Mettenberger? Holding on to his mama’s apron strings whining like the baby he is, after getting a good spanking.
How2fish
April 28th, 2010
11:23 am
St. Richt can you be a bigger moron?? No I guess not..what planet are you on that a DUI just goes away in this day and age? Only a complete moron..oh that’s right you are one..thinks that once a DUI arrest is made is just fades away…I can only come the conclusion that you are HIGH..
ugaaccountant
April 28th, 2010
11:26 am
“Jones
April 28th, 2010
11:09 am
Neither Murray or Gray is accurate on the long ball, both are accurate short to mid-range, both can run (Gray is faster), Gray is LESS injury prone, Gray has more experience in the system, and Gray got better over the 3 Spring scrimmages, while Murray got worse.”
Your analysis is incomplete. Because you failed to capture the fact that Murray won the starting job, with Richt knowing full well it would result in Gray being discouraged. He knew there was a good chance Gray would feel slighted and yet being a good coach Richt properly named his 1st string QB. So obviously the factors in your above analysis are not complete enough to show why Murray was the better QB.
Also, he already knew Mettenberger was gone prior to making this announcement. So he was well aware of the danger of Gray leaving and only having 2 scholarship QBs. So kudos to Richt, an honorable coach, for dealing with this decision head on and above the table. A scumbag coach would have just named them co #1’s for now until he could get Gray locked in for the 2010 season.
ugaaccountant
April 28th, 2010
11:28 am
And Jones – all 3 of the QB’s had huge high school hype. All of our QB’s are Elite 11 or All American or whatever. Every year. It’s not about the high school hype. It’s about who has the best chance of leading us to great seasons.
Bulldog59
April 28th, 2010
11:28 am
St. Ridiculous, aqain what school are you from? Judging from your comments, you aren’t college material, but anyway, you may have snuck thru somewhere.
You have NO facts to back up your statements. You are simply throwing out accusations. Boling is highly regarded by his alma mater (both faculty and students) and deserves better.
Boling was of legal drinking age, maybe he blew a .04 and the cop tried to make a case, and the DA saw it as a non-winner? No that couldn’t be it, that happens all the time and makes sense!
So, your argument is, any UGA player that is cited is guilty, if not, someone MUST have pulled some strings for him? Trust me, if APD had a case, they would have made it, and it would have made all the papers. No Alpharetta policeman can make that disappear.
Anyway, my question remains, how does UGA compare to other schools in terms of alcohol related offenses, taking into account how they are handled (publicly or internally.)
How2fish
April 28th, 2010
11:30 am
Jones a bit of a reach to call a guy who has yet to play a down a STATS HOG I would think. And bottom line I think I’m letting maybe the best QB coach in the nation make the call on who gets the rock. I hope Logan stays as he is in my mind a damn good dog..but if he decides its in his best interest to leave..I wish him all the luck in the world.