Let’s talk football: Murray on arm, Samuel on LB move, Mettenberger on improvement
Athens — Let’s talk some football this afternoon.
I’m at the Butts-Mehre building, planning to talk with a number of UGA football players. Hoping to chat with Richard Samuel about his move from tailback to linebacker, with Logan Gray about whether he intends to remain at quarterback for the duration, with Aaron Murray about whether his arm is 100 percent after last fall’s tendinitis, and others.
I’ll post updates through the afternoon. Please check back.
————–
UPDATE 1:
Richard Samuel seems very happy about the move to linebacker. ”I feel like I’ll be more comfortable, be able to play more freely at linebacker,” he said. He said coaches pretty much left the decision up to him about whether to remain at tailback or move to linebacker.
He said his biggest problem at tailback was blocking. “I couldn’t block correctly and keep a good pocket for the quarterback,” he said. With the play of Caleb King and Washaun Ealey at the end of last season, “my future wasn’t looking too good at running back.”
He said he’s gaining weight for the move to linebacker. He’s up to 230 now. His goal is to start at linebacker in the season opener.
————————-
UPDATE 2:
For those wondering about the health of Aaron Murray’s arm: He says it’s 100 percent fine, thank you.
Limited by triceps and forearm tendinitis for a big chunk of his redshirt season last fall, Murray said he is not worried at all about his arm now.
Recounting last fall’s problem, he said: “I just tried to push through. It inflamed up and spread throughout the arm. I didn’t give it the proper rest I should have. If I had, I would have been out a week instead of going four-five weeks without throwing. I learned from that. This off-season I’m doing a lot more shoulder maintenance, making my arm strong, building the endurance.”
He said the arm didn’t bother him at all the final month or so of last season and through bowl practices. He said extensive medical tests revealed no problem beyond tendinitis. He said he’s currently throwing three or four times a week. He said he doesn’t expect any setbacks with the arm this spring.
But he did say the missed practice reps last fall “set me back a good bit.”
As for the upcoming quarterback competition with Zach Mettenberger and Logan Gray, Murray said: “I view it is pretty much anybody’s job to take right now. I’m looking forward to spring, going out there and working as hard as I can. It’s my goal to get that position. . . . It should be fun. It’s going to be interesting. Off the field, we are not enemies; we hang out, go out to eat. It’s not [a competition] where we will go out there in hatred. We’re just going out there to win a position. . . . Two days ago, Zach and I went throwing with Marlon [Brown], helping each other with footwork and mechanics. . . . It’s going to be a friendly competition, and in the end the best guy will win.”
————————
UPDATE 3:
OK, about all those rumors of a possible position switch for quarterback Logan Gray.
Gray said he expects to play quarterback exclusively in spring practice, and although he acknowledged giving some thought to a position switch, he said the rumors were overblown.
“I’m not going to lie and say I didn’t think about what my options were, but I just think it’s too early to make any decisions,” Gray said. “I’m just going to keep on playing quarterback. If there comes a time where I’m not going to be playing or contributing and I think I’d be better off somewhere else, then maybe I’ll make a decision.”
He said the coaches never approached him about a possible position switch for spring practice.
“It was kind of interesting [when] all this whirlwind talk started brewing up and everything,” Gray said, “because it seemed to me like Coach [Mike] Bobo was planning on me playing quarterback through the spring.
“I feel like obviously we’re looking for a starting quarterback, and I feel like I can compete for it. Last year, I didn’t get quite as much experience as I would have liked. But I feel like I’m ready to go this spring, and I’m excited about spring practice and what is going to happen.”
If there comes a time when it’s clear he has no future at quarterback, Gray said, “I’m not, like, opposed to playing receiver or trying to play defense.”
——————–
UPDATE 4:
Still no official word on whether newly hired linebackers coach Warren Belin will coach the inside or outside ‘backers, although LB Chase Vasser said today, “I want to believe it’s inside, but not 100 percent on that.” Whichever group of linebackers Belin coaches, defensive coordinator Todd Grantham will coach the other.
———————–
UPDATE 5:
Zach Mettenberger, whose shaky completion statistics in preseason scrimmages last summer caused some concerns in Bulldog Nation, said he is “10 times better than when I came in.”
The 6-foot-5 Mettenberger said he has lost 18 pounds in the past year, from 255 to 237, and has improved his footwork to the point that it is “as good as the other guys’, if not better.”
All three quarterbacks said they expect a highly competitive battle for the position in spring practice, which will run from March 4 through April 10.
“It’s definitely a big spring for us three quarterbacks,” Mettenberger said. “It’s pretty much going to determine who’s going to be the quarterback for possibly the next couple of years. We’re all excited about the competition, and we’re pushing each other to be the best we can. Whatever happens happens. We’re still going to be friends at the end. And it’s whatever Coach Bobo decides.”
————————-
UPDATE 6:
Here’s wide receiver Marlon Brown summarizing the different styles of the three quarterbacks:
“Zach can throw the ball 100 yards. Zach has a cannon. And Logan, he’s been here three years and is real smart and so he knows the offense better. And Aaron, he’s just an all-around guy [who] can make a tough throw and he can run. They’re all pretty good.”
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530 comments Add your comment
patrick
February 10th, 2010
4:53 pm
to be fair about Richt….. Richt hasn’t failed so much as he has been unlucky.
LSU won the 2003 BCS crown with one loss a year after one loss cost Georgia a berth in the championship game.
LSU won the 2007 title with two losses after emerging from a league that also housed Georgia, which likewise had two losses.
Sometimes you have the right team at the wrong time.
FSU
February 10th, 2010
4:55 pm
Patrick
Well in that case, call your mommy and get her to bring you some nice warm
chicken soup. Then take two aspirins and call me in the morning.
Otto
February 10th, 2010
4:55 pm
Bryan, You could also say under Bobo.
patrick
February 10th, 2010
4:55 pm
UGA was a dropped pass away from being undefeated in 2002 and a turnover away from being a one loss team in 2007. If either of those two things happen there is at least one BCS banner hanging at Sanford Stadium, possibly two.
Everything had to fall perfectly into place for LSU to be in the N.C. game in 07 and for FLA to be there in 2006.
So it is all how the cards fall and who is in the right place at the right time and who loses when and to whom they lose to.
In essence……………LUCK
patrick
February 10th, 2010
4:56 pm
FSU……. I got the soup…..I took one vicadin……does that count?
Patrick,Patrick,Patrick
February 10th, 2010
4:57 pm
A bit delusional aren’t we???
You left out many interesting facts.
Fact UGA has only won one National title in over 100 years of football (even though UGA counts another from an obscure source that was not one of the two major polls of the era) and it certainly was not won under Coach Richt.
Fact: UGA has not beaten a team that finished in the top 10 in any final poll under Richt out of conference. His best was last year when he beat #13 Georgia Tech. Before that his best was beating the #18 team twice (Hawaii and Michigan State).
Fact: When was the last time a coach with about a decade of experience at the same school won a National title? Was it Bobby Bowden? Not sure…but let’s just say they are much more unlikely as a coach gains time at a school in the modern era (say since 1990). Has any coach won under the BCS while at the same school for a decade before he won it?
Point is that it is very unlikely UGA will win a NC with Richt at the helm.
Fact: The beloved DC that UGA just hired at $800,000 per annum has virtually no experience at the job. He was DC for one year and was fired at that job. But I guess he did save UGA from the embarassment of being rejected again but at a huge cost.
Fact: IF UGA DOES NOT WIN 9 GAMES next year with the powder puff schedule that will prove this program is in a major retraction instead of growth. The only games that seem at all of a question mark will be Florida, Auburn (don’t play Bama or LSU). If you include teams like South Carolina, Arkansas or Georgia Tech…I doubt that you expect to be a serious top 10 team anyway. but those are the only 5 games that could be expected to be serious threats. I guess with Rogers at UT and a Dooley coaching them they too could be an interesting game but not if you seriously think we can compete at the highest level.
Questionable Fact: Are we turning into Georgia Tech? Are we content with being a perenial top 10 to top 20 program that consistently wins 9 to 10 games with a soft out of conference schedule boosting the win total or do we expect more? It probably is time to thank Coach Richt for the great couple of years he provided but truly start the search for excellence by some of the great young coaches that are ready to head a major program (of which several great UGA alums should head the list).
patrick
February 10th, 2010
4:58 pm
It doesn’t matter if you like Georgia Bulldogs or not. They have had top tier teams that should’ve come away with a shot a the title……
enough said.
Yellow Fuzz
February 10th, 2010
5:00 pm
Otto
February 10th, 2010
4:24 pm
Reggie Ball. Could someone tell how to count to 4? But I passed Calc….
I KNEW you couldn’t spell it without looking it up. I KNEW IT. Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaahahahahahahah.
mike on lake hartwell
February 10th, 2010
5:00 pm
samuel will be awesome at linebacker.
our o-line will dominate.
ball control and a better D and we have
a good shot at the east in 2010.
SOUTH GA DAWG FAN
February 10th, 2010
5:00 pm
most of you richt bashers want him gone because you are not true DAWG fans and the best thing that could happen for your team of choice would be if he was gone .CMR is now backed up in a corner and when you push a DAWG that hard and corner him he comes out BITING and fighting
GATA
GO DAWGS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Diamond Dog's Parole Officer
February 10th, 2010
5:01 pm
So, based on winning percentages, Boise State and TCU are better programs than UGA.
Thanks for the clarification!
Patrick,Patrick,Patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:01 pm
My GT reference was Coach Gailey for them and his always seeming to win 7 games. Sure he had a great year for them where he won 10 games but that was not the norm. Just look how revitalized they are with a new coach who demands the best out of his team. They have become something more than a laughing stock to us that support others.
Yellow Fuzz
February 10th, 2010
5:02 pm
Jona
February 10th, 2010
4:24 pm
Yellow fuzz says the bags don’t work. He tries it all the time
Not true. My girlfriend is one of the best looking girls at uga. No joking.
heywood jablomey
February 10th, 2010
5:02 pm
ok, since patrick said “enough said”,
does that mean we don’t have to hear any more
from him??
don’t respond patrick, or u lose credibility.
Otto
February 10th, 2010
5:02 pm
Patrick, BCS rankings include all games, UGA knew the tie breakers rules going into the season. UGA lost tie breaker to UT so they lost rankings in the BCS. Clear simple and in the open. UGA gave away their luck.
Again IMO another thing that makes a Football National title which the AP has awarded since 1936 more special than the other sports, every game counts even in the domino effect. If Pitt did not upset WVU in ‘07 do you think we would have this debate?
Otto
February 10th, 2010
5:03 pm
He had credibility?
BurningRedBleedingBlack
February 10th, 2010
5:03 pm
patrick,patrick,patrick, Todd Grantham was fired because the head coach changed, and he has plenty of nfl and college expirence, Even the dallas cowboys head coach said he was waiting for him to get hired he was way to good of a coach to be a position coach, Everyone with doubts on Grantham will see. You don’t pay a man that much money to shut fans up. The man can coach he wouldn’t have made it that long in the NFL if he was as bad as you say.
Otto
February 10th, 2010
5:04 pm
Fuzz I was typing as Reggie Ball, everyone knew from watching interviews he could not complete a sentence.
Yellow Fuzz
February 10th, 2010
5:05 pm
DawginLex
February 10th, 2010
4:26 pm
BREAKING NEWS:
Yellow fuzz arrested for riding with blow up doll in front seat in the HOV lane. Officer had to be sedated from uncontrollable laughter when YF introduced him to “his date”.
Now there DawhInLace, you and your street hustler friends know ALL about talking to officers don’t you? Hahahahah. WhoHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH.
BUSTED!
heywood jablomey
February 10th, 2010
5:05 pm
word.
Yellow Fuzz
February 10th, 2010
5:06 pm
ok oTTO. I”ll play along with you and DIL.
Patrick,Patrick,Patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:09 pm
BurningRedBleedingBlack
Grantham was a success as a position coach not successful in his one year where he was responsible for overall game planning as the DC. As a businessman, I certainly would not pay an exhorbitant salary to an unproven commodity as UGA did with Grantham. But I am hoping he will certainly prove to be worth the salary.
patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:09 pm
otto otto otto. The BCS does not consider ties for division champs as a criteria for a BCSNC invitation or exclusion. You have no idea what you are talking about
Yellow Fuzz
February 10th, 2010
5:09 pm
heywood jablomey,
DawgInLace will if you’ve got a twenty. He works Lexington Road and East Plaza Shoping Center.
BurningRedBleedingBlack
February 10th, 2010
5:10 pm
I see a close QB race between Murray and Gray, only because Gray has been inside the system longer, i think in the end murrays atheltic nature will win the job. Lets also not forger about mettenberger He could come away strong he does have amazing size and arm power.
patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:10 pm
patrickpatrickpatrick
ummm Billicheck was fried from the same team. how did that work out?
patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:11 pm
“fired”
brucemac
February 10th, 2010
5:12 pm
Have the Braves signed Johnny Damon yet? Has anyone been stabbed at Tech in the last hour? Did Florida hire an ACC DC yet? Oh yea, GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!.
Otto
February 10th, 2010
5:12 pm
Patrick, but every game counts. The UT win helped LSU move up in the rankings.
brucemac
February 10th, 2010
5:13 pm
Just wanted to get a word in. Sorry.
Yellow Fuzz
February 10th, 2010
5:14 pm
Something got your toungue there DawgInLace?
patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:14 pm
lets talk about 2008……
In 2008, UGA had the 4th toughest schedule in America per Phil Steele. Combine that with the 7th most starts lost to injury (44) again per Phil Steele and a -3 turnover ratio isn’t it a miracle that Georgia won 10 games? Now thats coaching. So how is Richt a bad coach again?
GATA
February 10th, 2010
5:16 pm
Logan Gray,
“He said the coaches never approached him about a possible position
switch for spring practice. ”
Unbelievable. How are we at this point and time and the Coaches have
not even talked to him about it, when we have all read the quotes where
CMR and CMB have said it is Logan’s decision?
BurningRedBleedingBlack
February 10th, 2010
5:16 pm
Patrick, Patrick, Patrick, i agree the amount was higher than i would have liked, but i also hope its worth it in the end. We shall all see. Lets hope the bad days are behind us on the defensive side of the ball. I think the 3-4 will allow more pressure on the QB and work more effective in college. Anything would work better at this point as long as i don’t see are secondary trying to catch recivers from behind.
patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:17 pm
otto…..thats not what you said.
also, LSUs SEC title game victory made them 1-1 over the last 2 games. name another team that made the BCSNC with a season ending loss. I will wait
Yellow Fuzz
February 10th, 2010
5:17 pm
Patrick,
lets talk about…….
DawgInLex coming out of the closet on the boards in 2010.
Gators 17 Dawgs 3
February 10th, 2010
5:17 pm
You folks need to take a more critical look at Mark Richt. Yes yes I know he has won
90 games in 9 years, but look how he has won them.
His 1st 4 years he was: 42-10 (80.8%) 24-8 (75%) in the SEC
After Meyer, Saban and Miles arrived he has hasn’t been as good.
The past 5 years he was 48-17 (73.8%) 26-14 (65%) in the SEC
90-27 76.9 50-22 60.9%
You can blame it on Willie if you want, but remember Richt hired Willie and was responsible for him. Also, I’m so sure you have a much easier schedule this year.
You should be an underdog to Fla and Auburn, maybe even South Carolina(this will be his best team in years) Miss State and Arkansas will both be stronger than you think.
Vandy and Kentucky should be wins, but look what happen with Kentucky.
All I can say is keep your chin strap buckled, because this is the SEC and you know anything can happen.
BAMABOI
February 10th, 2010
5:17 pm
POOR GA, All those STATS with no NATS(national championships)
ROLL TIDE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Patrick,Patrick,Patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:18 pm
He coached in college? Where? When?
What of the hundreds of other coaches that have been fired and did not pan out elsewhere? Are you saying Grantham is the next great coach??? If so, why didn’t Dallas keep him? I doubt seriously that they of all teams could not afford to keep him. LOL He may turn out to be great but we are paying him as if he already is! He certainly had better get us back into the top 20 in scoring defenses quickly with the money he is getting paid. He is making more than Strong, Foster, and the others we went after without a proven track record to validate the $.
patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:19 pm
You shouldn’t make light of the devastating impact injuries had on the ‘08 DAWGS.
Sturdivants loss before the 1st snap was crippling as was the loss of Owens on the 8th snap of the first game.
Your best offensive and defensive linemen gone before the season starts.
Who could absord those blows (Alabam couldn’t win one game without their left tackle).
UGA also lost Washington at middle linebacker for the year and basically lost Ellerbe for half the year.
Defensive ends? Pretty much the whole crew was lost for all or part of the season.
Back up saferties? same story.
And on offense, after losing Sturdivent,
UGA lost his replacement Vance half way through the season.
Later, Anderson was lost for several games and Chris davis was playing hurt all year.
Both tight ends were injured almost all season (catching only 4 passes), and the starting fullback missed the first 5 games and never was the same.
Many of these players were seniors.
The list of inhuries goes on and on.
It had a huge impact on offense, defense and special teams.
SSIgator
February 10th, 2010
5:19 pm
patrick -
All the UGA fans rip on UF for living in the past 20 years. Good Lord boy, you have taken UGA back to BC.
patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:21 pm
patrickpatrickpatrick
I merely pointed out the flawed logic you used. You said Grantham would be bad because he was fired. Billicheck was also fired. Hence not logical to assume based on him being fired that he will fail. Duh
The Grinch
February 10th, 2010
5:22 pm
Yellow Fuzz
February 10th, 2010
5:14 pm
Were you the one busting Otto’s chops about misspelling? …”toungue”?
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!
Otto
February 10th, 2010
5:22 pm
Patrick, I have posted multiple reasons why LSU went and not UGA. All you can point to is UGA beat UK and the records were equal.
Jona
February 10th, 2010
5:22 pm
Yellow Fuzz
She lose a bet?
Gators 17 Dawgs 3
February 10th, 2010
5:22 pm
SSIgator
You’ve got that right!
patrick
February 10th, 2010
5:22 pm
SSIgator. I went back 9 years. Its called an ERA (mark Richt era) which is ongoing hence current.
i may not be a smart man but i know what bama is....
February 10th, 2010
5:23 pm
BAMABOI i guess in your world thats the same as (BOY) wow thats amazing the fans Alabama has. I guess forest Gump has a bigger effect on your culture than i could have ever imagined. You can ROLL or RUN whatever you prefer back there. peace out home boi!!!!
WestOfAthens
February 10th, 2010
5:23 pm
Logan can smell blood, he has more in-game experience. Why switch positions now?
2010 may be reminiscent of 2006. The somewhat “seasoned one” will start, but the hot shot freshman may take the helm soon thereafter.
Competition, bring it on. HBTD!
Yellow Fuzz
February 10th, 2010
5:24 pm
where did you go DawgInLace?