So who’ll start at tailback for the Dogs? Caleb King or Washaun Ealey?
(Updated 6:45 p.m.)
I’m working on a story for tomorrow’s paper (on-line later today) about Caleb King and Washaun Ealey, who, as you know, eased all worries about Georgia’s tailback position with their play late last season. (UPDATE: Click here for the story.)
One thing that kind of struck me is that, for all the talk about who’ll be the starter at quarterback and various other positions, you don’t hear any talk around spring practice about who’ll emerge as the starter at tailback, King or Ealey.
That’s probably because they were so effective as a tandem late last season that, well, why worry about who starts?
Mark Richt and Mike Bobo don’t dismiss the question, though.
“Both of those guys are competing hard,” Bobo said, “because like at any position there’s going to be a guy who wants to start and wants to go first. And I think that’s healthy.”
“I think Caleb and Washaun have a very good friendship,” Richt said, “but I think they both want to be the starter and both want to prove they deserve the most carries. I really like the way they’re practicing.”
Said King: “Of course both of us want to start.” But he added — and Ealey echoed — that the competition is making both players better and that last season proved there’s ample role for both. Then King mentioned, not for the first time, that he sees “a realistic chance” of both of them gaining 1,000 yards this season.
King started the final five games last season, but it should be noted that Ealey had more carries in three of those games. Over the course of the final five games, Ealey had 77 carries for 525 yards and King 74 carries for 440 yards.
So, just wondering: What do you expect from the tailback tandem in 2010? Who do you expect to start? ( Or do you care who starts?) Do you expect their carries to remain pretty even?
FYI: No football practice today. Dogs practice Tuesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday this week.
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232 comments Add your comment
Birrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrd Man
March 22nd, 2010
2:36 pm
Just flip a coin: heads Ealey, tails King. If it lands on its side, Carlton Thomas, if it rolls away, D. Jackson.
Stats Don't Matter
March 22nd, 2010
2:36 pm
Stats don’t matter.
Bobo doesn’t care about fumbles or int’s, Bobo plays his favorites regardless of stats.
TXDawg
March 22nd, 2010
2:37 pm
Start them both!!
Dorsey Hill
March 22nd, 2010
2:41 pm
option smoption,
With respect to QB’s do you really think that Logan or a true freshman gave us a better chance of winning last year? Don’t you think that throwing in anyone other than Cox REALLY would have made 2009 a “throwaway year?” If you’re desire was to go 4-8 so that we’d have an experienced QB in 2010 than you could have had that. By playing anybody but Cox you put the USC, Ark., ASU, Auburn and GT wins in serious doubt. And I’m not saying that Cox was good, I’m just saying that he gave us the best chance to win in 2009. Further, as bad as the running game was early in the year and as reliant as we were on Cox’s arm, we would have probably gotten Aaron or Zach either demoralized or killed.
As for RB’s, don’t you think 2008 would have gone better if we had someone at RB other than Knowshon? In 2007, Tech shut down Moreno (17 carries 45 yards) but TB got 140 also on 17 carries. Why? Because Tech focused on stopping Moreno and when TB came in they relaxed and TB burned them. However, vs. UF that same year they couldn’t stop Knowshon and he got 33 totes. Guess how many the favored upperclassmen got? Yep, that’s right: 0.
AltamahaDawg
March 22nd, 2010
2:43 pm
And it just as easy to find an endless list of younger players that played over more senior player. You guys pick and choose (and don’t really know what you are talking about in the Moreno case anyway) and say this is always how it always is. I love how the “too loyal” conspiracy only applies when it’s convenient, and most often in hindsight.
And Joe Cox played over exactly WHO that was better prepared to win the ball game? Not liking a player, or that player not ended up playing well is not an automatic assumption that somebody was held back over seniority. That just patently false, and a pretty worn out complaint, refuted by many examples.
NOw if you thihnk we should have been training a player VS trying to win as much as possible, that’s fine. That’s a perfectly good difference of opinion. BUT that argument has nothing to do with seniority or loyalty. Richt played Joe Cox, for his own benefit, and the benefit of the 2009 team. Even if you disagree, (which I doubt you did going into the season), it certainly wasnt done FOR JoeCox out of pure loyalty. If he thought they could win more with Gray, then Gray wouldnt have played.
Thirty Points To Your Twenty-Four Points
March 22nd, 2010
2:45 pm
Well OBVIOUSLY Washaun Ealy will have to start.
Caleb King is still running wildly around North Ave because nobody was able to stop him on November 28th, 2009.
{{{{{30-24}}}}}
8-1
60-39-5
We Run This State
To HELL With Georgia Tech!!!!
Darindawg
March 22nd, 2010
2:48 pm
Good one “Buckhead Dawg”…..Funny how the Tech fans are talking smack about Ealey and King when their defensive players are STILL trying to scrub their cleat marks off of their jerseys.
AltamahaDawg
March 22nd, 2010
2:50 pm
Caleb King fumbled twice, 2 times the entire year. Ealey fumbled once. What a huge indictment!
I’ll let you guys judge which was more costly.
Personally I like Ealey. he is my preference to see in the game. I love watching his fluid style, there is something just more exciting about the kid. He is also from the “other” Georgia, so I am pulling for him. that being said, I think a capable King getting significant carries only improves our game.
But,the whole idea that any of us KNEW who woulda/shoulda/coulda from last year is just completely pulled out of thin air.
Of A Superior Bloodline = UGA Alumni
March 22nd, 2010
2:50 pm
Thirty Points To Your Twenty-Four Points: I live in the Highlands and I just saw Caleb run through my yard. I tried to yell at him to tell him the game was over but he just said “I Run This State” and took off!
dogcrap
March 22nd, 2010
2:50 pm
ugag football is second tier sec at best. Basically irrevelant.
hunker down
March 22nd, 2010
2:54 pm
Nice to have them competing for the start position but sure we will rotate them in and how they perform in games will determine who gets the most carries.
Of A Superior Bloodline = UGA Alumni
March 22nd, 2010
2:55 pm
dogcrap: You are a dumba$$, second class at best. Basically ignorant and irrelevant!
JC
March 22nd, 2010
2:56 pm
dogcrap is second tier in life, at best.
BigGAdawg
March 22nd, 2010
2:59 pm
Dirty Buzzzzzz, looks like you been drinking the kool-aid, or rather kook-aid in your case. You have been sniffing too much pollen again.
As to the question posed in this article: Ealey would be my choice to start based on last years stats, however, how they are playing in practice prior to the start of the season should be the determining criterion. In the long run I don’t think it really matters to most of us who starts. We are more interested in how they finish.
441 North
March 22nd, 2010
3:02 pm
The starter will be the best pass blocker.
AltamahaDawg
March 22nd, 2010
3:02 pm
Actually DH< that kid from Chicago got in the game for one carry. Everybody wanted Moreno to get that 37th carry, but you know ol Bobo, the sole decider on which RB is in the game, had to give his precious senior a carry in the Fl game. 12 yards and a first down I think it ended up being. Would have been 13 if Moreno had it.
AltamahaDawg
March 22nd, 2010
3:06 pm
Not sure why we have a Running Back Coach, and Running Game Co-ordinator, or a Head Coach, obviously some folks have exposed that Coach Bobo calls all the shots.
Call It Like It Is
March 22nd, 2010
3:06 pm
Who cares?
GA won’t be anything again this year as the Gators win the East again in 2010.
Enough Said!
js
March 22nd, 2010
3:07 pm
“I’m working on a story for tomorrow’s paper (on-line later today) about Caleb King and Washaun Ealey, who, as you know, eased all worries about Georgia’s tailback position with their play late last season.”
Really – 3 or 4 games of a decent running attack – “eased all worries”??
Poof, we have the SEC’s best running game – Really??
To answer the question – Ealey over King. In the long run Ealey will have the better career numbers.
Caleb King the Fumbler
March 22nd, 2010
3:08 pm
Caleb fumbled 6 times, and lost 2. King LED THE TEAM IN LOST FUMBLES, yet Bobo chose to start him for being such a FINE EXAMPLE?????
Ealey fumbled 1x, and lost it, arguably, it was Cox’s fault, as Cox pitched it to Ealey when Ealey was 6 inches from Cox’s nose.
lucky21
March 22nd, 2010
3:08 pm
Well… let me preface this by saying that I am a Tech fan, but over the CFB I end up watching a lot of UGA to, and if I was a UGA, I would want to see Ealey on the field because he is a lot better than Caleb when meeting resistance upfront and fighting through it. Caleb only has a good game when the offensive line rolls, but Ealey I think will fing a way to produce in any situation.
That being said I hope King plays
Sammy D
March 22nd, 2010
3:09 pm
All I know is, in the Knetucy game ALONE, King fumbled 2x, and was int’d 2x when thrown to.
That’s one game.
And yes, Bobo rewarded King’s Kentucky effort by…
STARTING HIM THE NEXT GAME!!!
We_Run_This_Country
March 22nd, 2010
3:10 pm
Who cares?? UGA football is irrelevent…has been since 1980.
Richt's Clueless
March 22nd, 2010
3:13 pm
Ealey got 155 td’s and ran for 8100 yards in high school. Ealey is averaging 5.7 ypc in college, FAR above Herschel Walker’s 5.29, which is thought of as the gold standard.
When a guy performs better in yards per carry, in REAL GAMES, against SEC teams like LSU and Florida, AND protects the ball better, to NOT start Ealey and give him more touches than King is to undermine effort.
UGA’s NON-MERIT starting system must be replaced by merit-based performance.
Richt's Clueless
March 22nd, 2010
3:13 pm
wHO CARES?
YOU DO, YOU’RE ON THIS BLOG GENIUS????
Al
March 22nd, 2010
3:14 pm
I go neither or both. First play from scrimmage we line up in the spread or have them stacked in the backfield.
ugaclassof2004
March 22nd, 2010
3:14 pm
You know both guys are pretty good at running the ball up the gut which is surprising for Caleb considering his stature.
It’s hard for me to really judge Caleb because I can’t determine if he’s really good or the defensives he has had success against are really bad. Caleb has better break away speed than Washuan and is better at scoring in the red zone, but Washuan has been more consistent. He had like 70 yard on like 12 carries vs. a good Gator defense last year. But of course Bobo decided on giving more carries to Samuel as well as relying on the incredible arm strength of Jox Cox and Logan Gray: which combined with our “wet paper bag” defense, clearly performed wonders for us in that game.
Bottom line: Both guys will play. Both guys have strength’s. Just hope our coaching staff is smart enough to utilize them effectively( not holding my breath on that one).
Sammy D
March 22nd, 2010
3:15 pm
Caleb also got picked for 5 Interceptions when thrown to.
Sammy D
March 22nd, 2010
3:16 pm
Caleb ins’t better at scoring, Bobo just gives King the ball more often on the goal-libne because he FAVORS King’s PASS-BLOCKING skills.
AceDawg
March 22nd, 2010
3:17 pm
King MIGHT be faster, but Ealey appears stronger, more agile, has better vision, showed signs of being a good running back last year before anyone else did…
EALEY!! That said, King looked much better by the end of the year, and I don’t mind being proven wrong. I’ll be cheering both on.
dawgfan2
March 22nd, 2010
3:17 pm
Sammy D — in the kentucky game it was Ealey who fumbled the game-tying touchdown… Caleb had no fumbles for loss in the Kentucky game. the only two fumbles against Kentucky that were turnovers were from Ealey and Smith.
Thirty Points To Your Twenty-Four Points
March 22nd, 2010
3:18 pm
I’m not going to lie…..
I am rather excited for Tech to have a 5-7 record this upcoming season, then Paul Johnson calls a mandatory meeting with ALL Tech fans (all 800 or so of them), and presents a vat of purple kool-aid, in which all will partake.
“Johnsontown” will be the name of the movie that ensues.
We_Run_This_Country
March 22nd, 2010
3:18 pm
Puppy fans are getting worked up about King vs Ealey…I think you should worry about your QB first!! Is he still sitting in jail or did he get bailed out finally??? I know Spring is in the air when I start seeing UGA football players in the blotter! LMAO!
Richt's Clueless
March 22nd, 2010
3:19 pm
It matters who starts and gets more touches.
We’ve got to move from the FAVORTISM system, to an OBJECTIVE, FAIR, MERIT-BASED system on deciding who starts.
We can’t have turnovers in 2010. We can’t have guys like King and Smith, who don’t respect the ball, get REWARDED with a bunch of touches every game.
It sends the WRONG MESSAGE to the rest of the team that TURNOVERS ARE FINE, as long as you’re being AGGRESSIVE????
Richt's Clueless
March 22nd, 2010
3:20 pm
gUYS LIKE cOX, kING, AND sMITH HAVE TO BE BENCHED WHEN THEY LEAD THE TEAM IN TURONOVERS.
ugaclassof2004
March 22nd, 2010
3:21 pm
Caleb King the Fumbler
“Ealey fumbled 1x, and lost it, arguably, it was Cox’s fault, as Cox pitched it to Ealey when Ealey was 6 inches from Cox’s nose”
I remember watching that and thought to myself “Jesus, we have a QB who performs like a Pee Wee football player”. It was seriously that embarassing!
dawgfan2
March 22nd, 2010
3:21 pm
Sammy D — usually we count interceptions against the QB. King had more receptions than any other RB — when you’re thrown to more as a last resort you’re likely to get picked. His receiving yards and average yards per reception were better than Ealey’s.
If you’re going to make an argument, at least pick the right statistics to use. Making stuff up just makes the rest of what you’re saying look bad.
From the Georgia Statistics regarding fumbles in the Kentucky game:
(fumbles – lost):
Georgia-Brandon Boykin 1-0; Branden Smith 1-1; Joe Cox 1-0; Washaun
Ealey 1-1.
CC Dog
March 22nd, 2010
3:21 pm
I agree, with all the fumbles, and interceptions when thrown to, Caleb should be BENCHED, not even ROTATED IN, I’m sorry, but you have to get serious about people who have such DISREGARD for BALL PROTECTION. Don’t let those guys near the football because they will lose games (like Kent)
We_Run_This_Country
March 22nd, 2010
3:23 pm
GT could easily be 12-0 this season…only team that might give GT a hard time would be VT. But, I don’t see VT being able to penetrate a Al Groh led defense.
js
March 22nd, 2010
3:23 pm
Its great to be a Dog fan, and have sports teams that are contending for titles year round!
Men’s football = Shreveport
Men’s Basketball = Nothing, Zero,Ziltch (not even NIT)
Men’s Baseball = 8-10 overall and on a 5 game losing streak, Lost to GA TECH.
HAHA!!
GATA GETTA TD
March 22nd, 2010
3:24 pm
Ealey has a track record. He led his team to a state championship. His attitude and leadership turned around so many games, like Auburn and Tech, Ealey set the tone.
ugaclassof2004
March 22nd, 2010
3:24 pm
P.S.
I don’t think we should forget about Carlton Thomas either. He was by far the best RB in the spring game last year, and I think he’s better than most folks think.
1eyedJack
March 22nd, 2010
3:25 pm
Whichever one takes “himself” out of a ballgame, the other one would be my starter from then on.
GATA GETTA TD
March 22nd, 2010
3:26 pm
Tim-
Can you ban people like js and we run this country, who make irrelavant comments to try and kill our discussion.
In blog world, we call it trolling. They don’t deserve to be here.
P.S. Like I was saying, Ealey brings the intangibles too in how he led his team to the state championship.
GATA GETTA TD
March 22nd, 2010
3:27 pm
Thomas fumbled too much too, and wasn’t productive against real bullets.
Thomas is a practice star only.
Dawglasville
March 22nd, 2010
3:28 pm
Techies- back to your blog with the childish crap (no offense lucky 21). You won the ACC. I won’t belittle that. It’s a step up. Your baseball team is better than ours, OK. As long as Fox stays, I wouldn’t trade places with you in basketball. Just like you are all about buying into the promise Paul Johnson has for you, we are chips in with Fox. I know how it hurts when you think about next basketball season. Hewitt is caught in a vicious cycle and everyone knows it. I think I’m being nice considering the fact that you are on the UGA blog.
dawgfan2
March 22nd, 2010
3:28 pm
Here is the official record, folks. Caleb King had TWO fumbles for losses this season. That’s it. Ealey has ONE fumble for a loss. That’s it. We lost the game where Ealey fumbled, we won both the games when Caleb did.
Arkansas
FUMBLES: Georgia-Prince Miller 1-1; Richard Samuel 1-1.
Arizona
FUMBLES: Arizona State-None. Georgia-Caleb King 1-1
Tennessee
FUMBLES: Georgia-Michael Moore 1-1. Tennessee-Cooper, K. 1-0.
Vanderbilt
FUMBLES: Georgia-None. Vanderbilt-Smith,Larry 1-0.
Florida
FUMBLES: Georgia-Joe Cox 1-0. Florida-Tebow, T. 1-0.
Tenn Tech
FUMBLES: Tennessee Tech-BLAIR, Jimmie 1-0. Georgia-Shaun Chapas 1-0; Arthur Lynch 1-0;
Rantavious Wooten 1-0.
Auburn
FUMBLES: Auburn-Demond Washington 1-0. Georgia-None.
Kentucky
FUMBLES: Kentucky-None. Georgia-Brandon Boykin 1-0; Branden Smith 1-1; Joe Cox 1-0; Washaun
Ealey 1-1.
Georgia Tech
FUMBLES: Georgia-Caleb King 1-1; Branden Smith 1-0. Georgia Tech-Dwyer,J. 1-0; Jones,R. 1-0;
Nesbitt,J. 1-1.
Texas A&M
FUMBLES: Texas A&M-TEAM 1-0; Johnson, Jerrod 1-0; Terrell, Steven 1-0. Georgia-None.
Bacardi RammerJammerBo
March 22nd, 2010
3:30 pm
Go ahead and pick one, Richt: Diddley or Squat.
phoenix falcon
March 22nd, 2010
3:30 pm
Ronnie Brown and Carnell “Cadillac” Williams
js
March 22nd, 2010
3:31 pm
GATA GETTA TD – I agreed with you on Ealey. Some of the other posts were just too far from reality to not offer an opinion. After all a blog is your opinion, thanks for trolling with me.