Who’s No. 1 QB? Answer this week, Richt says (PLUS: more from G-Day)
(Updated 7 p.m.)
ATHENS – The G-Day game produced no immediate answer to the No. 1 question in Bulldog Nation: Who is Georgia’s starting quarterback?
“I know everyone wants to know what’s going on, wants to know who the starter is, and I couldn’t name the starter right now if I wanted to,” coach Mark Richt said after Saturday’s intra-squad game. “I really don’t think I could.”
But Richt said hopes to have a new quarterback depth chart by the end of this coming week.
Between now and then, he and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo will review video of the quarterbacks’ performances throughout spring practice, which concluded with the G-Day game.
And Richt cautioned that whoever is No. 1 on the post-spring depth chart won’t be guaranteed of keeping the position into the Sept. 4 season opener against Louisiana Lafayette.
In the G-Day game, won by the “Black” team 17-7 over the “Red” team before a crowd of 38,742, strong-armed redshirt freshman Zach Mettenberger had the best statistical performance of the three quarterbacks.
He completed six of 10 passes for 150 yards for the Black team, including touchdown throws of 20 yards to walk-on wide receiver Rhett McGowan and 39 yards to tight end Arthur Lynch.
Mettenberger, who is suspended from at least the first game of the season because of his arrest near Valdosta last month on five misdemeanor charges, worked only with the second-team offense and against the second-team defense Saturday. The other quarterbacks, Logan Gray and Aaron Murray, worked with both the first- and second-team offense.
“Mettenberger certainly had a nice day, there’s no doubt about that,” Richt said. “But I think they all did well.”
Gray completed seven of 13 passes for 102 yards and one touchdown — a 7-yard toss to wide receiver Kris Durham – for the Red team and three of four passes for 30 yards for the Black team.
Murray completed eight of 19 passes for 96 yards (with one interception) for the Red team and two of three for no net yards for the Black.
Mettenberger was not available for comment afterward, per Georgia’s policy for suspended players. Both Gray and Murray said Mettenberger had his best day of the spring.
As for their own days:
“I think I did decent,” Murray said.
“I thought it went pretty well,” Gray said.
Now they await word from Richt and Bobo on a pecking order.
“I think it’s a close competition. I think it’s a great competition,” Murray said. “I think all of us, throughout the spring, have really stepped up our game.”
Said Gray: “Obviously this game was big, but it wasn’t a deciding factor for everything.”
While the G-Day game gets the most attention because it is open to the public and televised, the other spring practices, particularly two earlier closed scrimmages, get equal or greater weighting from the coaches.
“After every scrimmage, you might say one guy did better than another one,” Richt said. “I think they all had their day.”
The upcoming depth chart “will gauge where we think [the quarterbacks] are right now, but it won’t necessarily be who will start when the first game rolls around,” Richt said. “It will indicate who will be where when we start [preseason] camp.”
——————————————
Georgia put its 3-4 defense on public display for the first time Saturday -– sort of.
To avoid giving opponents a peek at the new defense, the Bulldogs were extremely guarded in how much of the playbook they showed. (Virtually none, players said.) And to keep from exposing how the defense would react to certain situations, the offense was toned down, too.
Still, new defensive coordinator Todd Grantham seemed pleased, particularly with his No. 1 unit.
“The biggest thing I was pleased with was how we worked the game and adjusted to what happened,” Grantham said. He noted that one specific running play went for a long gain in the first half but was stopped for no gain when tried again in the second half.
Grantham said he was impressed with the play of inside linebacker Akeem Dent, outside linebacker Justin Houston and the cornerbacks.
Said Houston: “I think the defense did a great job, especially holding the No. 1 offense to seven points. It was a great confidence builder, especially since they have been sticking it to us all spring.”
Fans got a first look Saturday at Grantham on the sideline. He’s intense, to say the least.
“That’s what you want . . . a guy that’s got some fire in him,” Richt said. “Everybody knows my demeanor and has a little bit of a feel for that. I think it’s probably good to have somebody who’s a little more outwardly excited. I do get excited on the inside, but it’s good to have that energy on the sidelines.”
———————————————–
Just one penalty was called in the game. That particularly pleased Richt, given the Bulldogs’ No. 113 rank in the nation in penalties last season. . . Offensive tackle Josh Davis banged up his shoulder. The extent of the injury was not immediately known. . . . Tailback Caleb King didn’t play because of a strained knee. Richt said the injury isn’t a long-term concern. . . . Linebacker Richard Samuel did not play because of a concussion suffered at practice this week. . . . The Black team wore white jerseys (with black numbers). . . . Safety Nick Williams had the day’s high in tackles (7). . . . Not much was happening in the running game. Washaun Ealey had just 22 yards on seven carries for the Red team. Dontavius Jackson and Carlton Thomas ran for 43 and 41 yards, respectively, for the Black.
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359 comments Add your comment
YELLOW HAMMER
April 10th, 2010
7:43 pm
we’s loves football so much at bammer and corch saban gives me a huge boner
ohh crap here comes dfacs to take my chirren again!!! BEAR! SABAN! SNAKE! COOTER! DAISEY MAY! y’all run hide in them there woods for the night!!!
nola dawg
April 10th, 2010
7:44 pm
KEY POINT – Mett never played against #1 D. That folks is a HUGE deal. He was completing balls against guys who are special teamer/walk ons, etc…
Also, coaches will not make the decision based on this “practice” alone. Remember murray had really good days in the other scrimmages
Reptillicide
April 10th, 2010
7:46 pm
Any of you that think Gray looked like any better than the 3rd best QB out there, simply do not know what you’re looking at.
Mettenberger was far and away the best QB today. His accuracy was excellent, on both short and deep passes, his velocity was outstanding, as was his decision-making under pressure. He showed great poise in the pocket and even some mobility when being chased.
Murray’s arm is very good too, he showed great velocity, and good mobility, however his deep accuracy was simply not there at all. He wasn’t even close to hitting his targets downfield, and he made that one bad decision to try and force something that ended up being an INT.
Gray…. Gray did absolutely nothing that makes you feel like he should be the starter. He received more reps than anyone else, which baffles me, but he didn’t do anything with it. He can move around, and his accuracy is ok. But he lacks the arm strength and the velocity of the two younger QB’s, and has no big play ability.
The depth chart has too look like this:
1. Mettenberger
2. Murray
3. Gray.
Obviously, with Mettenberger being suspended for the first game, he wouldn’t be able to start till the USC game. I think Murray still has a chance to be #1 after summer workouts and fall pre-season practice… but Mett took the lead today, no doubt about it.
Reptillicide
April 10th, 2010
7:50 pm
Also, to those of you pointing out that Mettenberger was going against the #2 defense-
that is irrelevant. He was also playing with the #2 team offense. And it doesn’t take him going against the #1 defense to see that he was throwing the ball the best.
I do wish he had gotten reps with the 1st team offense though. Baffles me that he didn’t get any while Logan Gray got the entire 1st half on the red squad. Just a waste, really.
Robert
April 10th, 2010
7:54 pm
“Why” do the “Red” and “Black” teams “have” quotation
“marks” around their “name”?
Michael
April 10th, 2010
7:58 pm
I was at the game. Mett looked the best to me (minus any stats, just seemed to me), but again, he only ran 2 vs 2. The running game did not seem all that good to me either. There were a couple of longer runs, but the running game was not as impressive as say what we did to Tech. King did not play which may be part of it. The hard part of watching this game is that either you worry that our running game is not as good as expected or you are pleased that our running defense is much better than expected. Pass coverage seemed pretty tight. There were a couple of nice pass break ups. All three touchdowns had tight coverage. It was just WRs fighting to get the ball from pretty aggressive DBs. It was also pretty cool to see about 40K fans there.
Michael
April 10th, 2010
8:00 pm
BTW, I was bothered that Mett kept taking his helmet off before he was off the field. I believe this is a 15 yard penalty on any other Saturday. Keep the cap on kid.
JB
April 10th, 2010
8:00 pm
Logan Gray is a great kid, but he is and emergency third quarterback at best. Plus, if he were to win the job then Richt should feel the heat for not playing him more when Joe struggled last year. It’s unfortunate Mett messed up in Valdosta because that would make it a helluva decision. As it is Murray will start the opener and then we will see a two-quarterback system until someone pulls away.
Joseph
April 10th, 2010
8:03 pm
11Dawg it was definitely just you. Mettenberger looked the best with the least if you will meaning not playing with the ones on offense and of course not against the ones on D. D was pretty darn impressive, especially with their energy!
Sanford Drive
April 10th, 2010
8:05 pm
D. Jackson had some good runs at RB, and C. Thomas had that one breakaway. Ealey didn’t get much playing time, but I wasn’t all that impressed with what little playing time he did get. Marlon Brown didn’t contribute much either. However, K. Durham was a bright spot. It will be good to have him back.
It was refreshing to see the secondary players stick to their man. Love the way Grantham handles himself on the sidelines. He’s a firey guy & I like his attitude. I wish it would rub off on Bobo.
Michael
April 10th, 2010
8:06 pm
Oh one more thing, the defense got 2 fumble recoveries during the game. That equals what they did all of last year. Then again, that also means that our offense lost two fumbles. One of them was a strip after a nice catch and run by one of the tight ends.
DawgByte
April 10th, 2010
8:09 pm
I was there and it was Mettenberger’s day. That guy has made a 180 degree turn from last year’s G-Day game… by far the most improved player I’ve seen from the current roster.
Boys we have a bonafide QB controversy at UGA! Having said that the competition should be between Murray and Mettenberger. I thought Logan Gray sucked wind.
WIN WIN
April 10th, 2010
8:10 pm
Look guys, its a win win situation. Your gonna have a much better guy at QB no matter who it is. Its not very hard to replace Cox. But also there is reason to be excited about the 3-4 D. Its no longer a willie martinez unprepared, nonaggresive, terrible, horrible defense. These guys are gonna be something fun to watch. Plus with the schedule we have this year, we should win 10 games again this year. It’ll be a good year.
boots
April 10th, 2010
8:11 pm
11Dawg, it was only you. Mettenberger was pretty sharp today, but who knows if that was just today. There were some great runs and throws today, but there were also two bad turn-overs and the first few punts and the long FG attempt were scary bad. Anyway, it was a well-run spring game. Any word on Washington’s injury? It looked from the stands like it was his knee, but I hope it is nothing serious. Agree with Sanford Dr. that Durham played really well.
Big Dawgs Eat!
April 10th, 2010
8:17 pm
as the qb battle goes on, if murray continues to struggle zack m. could be he starter after his suspension. thats only if zack also continues to improve, and murray doesnt improve more. as for the defense…. work in progress, but i like some things i saw especially when grantham go fired up late in the game. CMR is laid back, and dc grantham is the opposite. good balance, can wait o see the new special teams too. by mid season this team should have found is swagg, and hopefully we might see signs of the junkyard D coming back for he dawgs?
Big Dawgs Eat!
April 10th, 2010
8:20 pm
these spring games can be very misleading too, just sayin.
Snellville Dawg
April 10th, 2010
8:20 pm
Mett was the best for TODAY.
Dawg fans need to remember that this was just one day. The depth chart will be formed from EVERY practice/scrimmage of spring. I only saw the G-Day game, where Mett shined, but I imagine it’s closer than some of you guys are talking. I predict this will be the depth chart for next week:
CO #1: Zach Mettenberger, Aaron Murray
#3: Logan Gray
YELLOW HAMMER
April 10th, 2010
8:22 pm
hey poser,kind of like georgia and top tier football you forgot frank thomas,wallace wade,gene stallings .i know ,so many to remember………….. bone head
Small Johnson
April 10th, 2010
8:26 pm
It may be one game but a coaching staff that doesn’t allow for some of these freshman play last year after the season was obviously over doesn’t make me feel good to decide between the 2 QB’s
Guys !!! Lets not pull any hairs and worry too much ..
April 10th, 2010
8:26 pm
about the QB situation. Everybody here ” has their own say” on what work & who did better than the other person. The bottom line is that we’re still in transition with whom ever our QB would be this Fall and what they did today or 3 weeks ago don’t make or brake any of our guys come this fall. REMEMBER !! Everyone is new so let’s chill and take it easy. Everything would work itself out in the end. LET’S NOT OVER WORRY TO MUCH FELLOWS !!! GO DAWGS !!!
#5
April 10th, 2010
8:36 pm
Mettenberger was a step ahead today w/ flashes of Stafford at times. he’s got a rocket and puts it on the money.If he has a great summer and wins out the position theres only one thing to do since he has to sit out first game. Give the backup some practice and run the ball down their throats, simple as that. I mean its LA-Laf. for gods sake.Then Mett can take over when we roll into Colombia and kick some A$$! GOOOO DAWGS!!!
Stinger
April 10th, 2010
8:37 pm
If you want to know the truth. All 3 QB’s sucked.
Spring Scrimmage QB Stats
April 10th, 2010
8:38 pm
If anyone’s interested, here are the stats from the 2 scrimmages, plus the g-day today for the qb’s, 3 scrimmages total:
TD’S: 1) Mettenberger 5 2) Gray 3 3) Murray 2
Least Int’s: 1) Mettenberger/Gray (1 int) 2) Murray (3 int’s)
TD/Int Ratio:1) Mettenberger 5.0 2) Gray 2.0 3) Murray .67
Accuracy: 1) Mettenberger 64% 2) Murray 59% 3) Gray 53%
Yards: 1) Mettenberger 433 2) Murray 380 2) Gray 254
So the ranking is OVERWHELMINGLY Mettenberger #1 (he won every category)
Due to Murray’s very poor td-to-int ratio being a .67 (2x worse than Joe Cox’s), I’d have to put Gray #2, because td’s and int’s are about all that count for qb’s.
1) Mettenberger (By a LANDSLIDE)
2) Gray
3) Murray
Knowing the UGA Coaches, they’ll probably reverse this saying none of the 3 scrimmages mattered.
Big Dawgs Eat!
April 10th, 2010
8:41 pm
1mett
2murray
3gray
Debose
April 10th, 2010
8:42 pm
Cross big time defensive end Jeoffrey Pagan(Asheville, NC) off your want list Mr. Grantham, we got him.
Big Dawgs Eat!
April 10th, 2010
8:42 pm
before the first game it could all change.
BIg Tuck
April 10th, 2010
8:42 pm
I think the job is Aaron Murray’s to lose. Much respect to my boy Zach….It is be a great race. GO DAWGS
Peace Corp
April 10th, 2010
8:44 pm
Enter your comments here
Spring Scrimmage QB Stats
April 10th, 2010
8:46 pm
Murray averages an interpection every 19 passes, whihc means if Georgia averages 25 passes a game, murray would likely throw about 16 Interceptions, equaling Joe Cox’s interception totals.
Mettenberger and Gray only average an interception every 36-38 passes, whihc works out to about 8 interceptions a year.
C-Deezy
April 10th, 2010
8:48 pm
Because spring statistics translate into the regular season? Lol, I’m hoping that’s a joke.
Giorgio Johnston Atoll
April 10th, 2010
8:54 pm
Stinger has a mouth full of mideast stud muffin right now ….
GIMMICK OFFENSE CHUMPS!!!!!
BBBBBBBBBBBWWWWWWWWWAAAAAAAAAAAAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAAH!!!!
Spring Scrimmage QB Stats
April 10th, 2010
8:54 pm
Not saying that’s whi will start, but undeniable Mettenberger is #1 in development right now.
YELLOW HAMMER
April 10th, 2010
9:00 pm
I’s sho love bammer!!! ta hell with edukayshun! paRole tahd paRole!
dammit… dfacs juss took ma kids AGAIN. wheres ma skoal?
gt4ever
April 10th, 2010
9:01 pm
Who really cares which QB plays, it’s going to be a long season for UGA fans,,, No QB developed and ready to go….. Wow…. You guys may lose 5 to 6 games this year..
YELLOW HAMMER
April 10th, 2010
9:01 pm
I’s juss took ma naybors goat out onna date! WEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
paRole tahd!
Reptillicide
April 10th, 2010
9:14 pm
Murray will no doubt still have a chance to win the starters job, but the final Spring scrimmage is the biggest chance for all the QB’s to show the coaches that they are the guy, because not only is it the most game-like scrimmage of the Spring, it also shows how they deal with pressure… because knowing you’re out there in front of the fans and competing for the starters job under the watchful eyes of the coach’s is a good bit of pressure. Richt has said he wants a QB who is smart and makes good decisions. Murray didn’t win himself any points in that category today. Mett did.
Lord of The Lizards
April 10th, 2010
9:16 pm
Where are you Patrick Martin Sulley (PMS)???? Where are you my man????? You’ve been ragging on John Brantley all spring, about how bad his first scrimmage was and low his completion ratio was and how he can’t throw running to his left etc etc etc. Well?? Well???? Yet when the crowd showed up, he did his his thing. First pass…47 yrd completion in extremely tight perfect coverage, perfectly placed. 15-19 on the day, 2 TDs, 201 yards in very limited action. Playing against the #1s who actually had good coverage most of the day and drew the praise of the coaches. Lazer beams baby. Get used to it Patrick. Get very used to it.
CDAWG
April 10th, 2010
9:18 pm
Mett is the man; I don’t care if he went against the 2nd team or not, his throws were on the money and he looked poised in the pocket. Let’s not forget that even though they may be 2nd Team they have to be pretty good to make the team. Murray has a great arm but he made some poor decisions today and many of his throws were off target.
YELLOW HAMMER
April 10th, 2010
9:18 pm
POSER = BONE HEAD that cant spell = TENN. FAN
What??
April 10th, 2010
9:19 pm
All the BS about QB’s at UGA is just that, BS.
Line the O up and run the ball. Who cares which QB hands the ball off??!!
If Buck could do that in 1980, surely one of the three playing today can do that this fall!!
How about WE not taking any $hit today!!
Gotta love the attitude of the rb in a scrimmage!
Jimmy Richardson
April 10th, 2010
9:21 pm
It was great to see the Dawgs play today. I wish the season started next week.
chazzo
April 10th, 2010
9:27 pm
Yellow Hammer,
You are right. UGA recruited small defensive guys for a couple of years. Why? I remember what’s his name (ends coach just fired) saying that you didn’t necessarily have to be big to play end. I can only figure it was part of a plan to recruit speed to combat the spread. With the change we have DE/LB guys all over the place. The interior D-linemen, though, are all up around 3 bills. Not bad. At any rate we will get to compare size in Atlanta at the end of the season.
Florida Defense Gives UP 51 Points!!!
April 10th, 2010
9:27 pm
51 points in the scrimmage. Defense wins championships in the SEC. Florida is doomed. Brantley’s still under Mett & Murray’s average for the 3 scrimmages. He and Logan are head to head.
Popi
April 10th, 2010
9:29 pm
The starting QB will be the one who hasn’t been arrested. See how simple that was.
ga gator
April 10th, 2010
9:29 pm
Went to the game with UGA friends and even though from Tampa and pulling for Murray, I felt both Mettenberger and Gray out played him. We sat in the endzone specifically to watch the QB’s and passing routes and at times you couldn’t see Murray behind the lineman. #27 at running back on the white team looked really quick and of course AJ looked like a pro playing with kids. Mettenberger thru a couple down the middle to the tight end that looked almost Stafford like. Time will tell and of course the coaches see a lot more than us fans, but from my perspective it certainly looked like Mettenberger improved a lot more over a year than Murray
ga gator
April 10th, 2010
9:30 pm
Florida Defense Gives UP 51 Points!!! Patrick must be back.
Johnny DangerDawg
April 10th, 2010
9:31 pm
BigDawg, I don’t think Murray is some jerk who’s too caught up in the hype. I think the coaches have made it clear that no one is guaranteed the starting job. If Murray isn’t playing like a champion QB, I think the problem right now is youth and inexperience, not an overinflated ego.
CDAWG
April 10th, 2010
9:31 pm
It was nice seeing receivers actually being covered and not able to run free. Unless I wasn’t paying attention, I really didn’t see the receivers being jammed at the line like Lakatose said they would be.
jack bull
April 10th, 2010
9:32 pm
Mett by a long shot. that suspension is looming way too large. wouldn”t doubt if “something” gets done about that one game suspension. is it just me, or does Murray seem just plain too short. couldn’t even see him coming out of the huddle. i don’t buy into that whole 6-1 stuff. seems like he just threw the ball up in the air a few times hoping his guy would come down with it. 1-Mett, then gray, then Murray(imo). didn’t see alot of depth at the TB position either..
ga gator
April 10th, 2010
9:33 pm
Was it my imagination or did anyone else think that Ealey has slimmed down some? He looked quicker than last year.