Richt: Aaron Murray reminds me of Heisman runnerup Weldon
COLUMBUS -– Mark Richt reviewed Georgia’s newly released depth chart, player by player, for the Chattahoochee Valley Bulldog Club here Thursday night. When he got to the quarterbacks and reiterated the several-hours-old news that Aaron Murray is No. 1 on the depth chart, the gathering burst into applause.
Someone asked Richt to name a quarterback he has coached, either at Georgia or Florida State, who was similar to Murray.
“I personally think he’s a lot like Casey Weldon,” said Richt, referring to the former Florida State quarterback who was the Heisman Trophy runnerup in 1991.
“Casey Weldon was a really fine quarterback at Florida State. . . . [Murray] reminds me of him,” Richt said. “[Murray] has got a very quick release. He’s got a very strong arm. He moves well. I think he can move well enough to make plays in the pocket, but he will cross the line of scrimmage and get you a first down when you need them. He’s a leader. He’s a hard worker.”
Richt added that Murray “knows how to win.”
“He quite frankly took a setback in college because he had a broken ankle in high school, and after just a couple of short weeks he went back and played in the playoffs and state championship game and probably wasn’t ready to,” Richt said. “But he did it because that’s how much he loved his team and how much he loves to compete.
“We’re in good hands with him right now,” Richt added.
A few other comments from Richt as he reviewed the depth chart for the group gathered at the Columbus Civic Center:
- On Christian Robinson, who as expected is No. 1 on the depth chart at weak-side inside linebacker: “He really had a great spring and did a super job. [He's] a guy we really feel like we can count on.”
- On converted tailback Richard Samuel, who is No. 3 at weak-side ILB behind Robinson and Marcus Dowtin: “We’re just going to see how [Samuel] comes along He’s fast, we all know that. One thing we learned is, he’s not afraid to stick his face on you.”
- On JUCO transfer Jakar Hamilton, the No. 2 free safety behind Bacarri Rambo: “Jakar is going to play a bunch for us, if not lock down one of those starting [safety] jobs.”
- On the cornerback position, where Brandon Boykin and Branden Smith are Nos. 1 and 2, respectively, at one spot and Vance Cuff No. 1 at the other: Boykin and Smith “are almost co-No. 1’s in our opinion. Boykin, Smith and Cuff really did a great job in man coverage [this spring].”
- On Justin “Bean” Anderson, who moved from the offensive line to the defensive line but is not officially listed on the depth chart because he was injured this spring: “We think big Bean can really help us at nose guard. He’s about a 320-325 pound man who is very quick. We think he can line up on either side of that center and dominate up front.”
Richt reiterated before the meeting that he’s committed to getting Logan Gray — the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart — into “the best position to help Georgia win.”
“Whether that’s No. 2 quarterback or getting some reps at receiver or something,” Richt said, “that remains to be seen.”
The full depth chart is here.
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131 comments Add your comment
McDawg
April 23rd, 2010
4:41 pm
#1 draft picks
yoda
April 23rd, 2010
4:52 pm
McDawg….the way you spelled string, just proves that you are indeed a graduate of the Great State of Georgia’s higher education system. Good to see a fellow alum on board.
Am I missing something?
April 23rd, 2010
4:53 pm
I am a UGA grad, both in 71 & 73. Most of the family are also UGA alums. I am not trying to knock UGA or Coach Richt, so here goes:
Now, when Coach Richt says he is preparing Logan at either QB or wide receiver, that suggests that we have another QB back up. With the Athens area young QB gone, how can we groom Logan at wide out when we need him more than ever at QB??
The East Cobb kid is incoming BUT ………….BUT will he be even half way knowledgable of the play book if AM goes down? This entire QB thing to me is very, very spooky. Can Hutson Mason be ready to mentally/physically go in the game, week after week, as a REAL Frosh??? come fall.??
Go Dogs
Dawg Mist
April 23rd, 2010
5:49 pm
Richt knows QBs—Murray will be all SEC next year, bank on it!
Is the glass always half empty...
April 23rd, 2010
6:51 pm
Is the glass always half empty with UGA fans…if Murray goes down, so be it, bring in Gray…they’re the same type of QB and I’m sure Gray will step it up and rise to the occasion…Met wasn’t as far as along as some would like to think…he did make great strides and may have caught up to and perhaps passed Murray at some future time and surely would have received some game experience during the season, but he’s gone…also, I’m sure there’s some JC QB that would welcome coming in and being a part of the team…this QB doesn’t have to be a superstar, but be able to understand /execute a watered down game plan and try not to win games by himself…I’m sure someone will be showing up this fall…Mason needs to be red shirted unless his H.S. team ran the UGA playbook…looking forward to an enjoyable season
1eyedJack
April 23rd, 2010
9:29 pm
Chill…JoeC played 13 games and didn’t get hurt. 10 or 20 of those guys played QB on their high school teams plus I heard somewhere the Dawgs are supposed to have 2 or 3 decent walk-on QBs. We’ll find an emergency QB. We’ll be alright somehow…have faith…remember Hines Ward?
BG
April 23rd, 2010
9:50 pm
Murray will shine!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Todd
April 23rd, 2010
10:22 pm
Mark Richt sucks! I’m a dawg fan without a leader! Save all your bull crap stats about how much better he is than Donnan. He is a dead man walking after USC, tenn & Florida beat us. I predict we will go 7-5 again under this clown. I pray daily he has his calling to go coach oral Roberts university;). Anyone have mitch muschamps ph number?
patrick
April 23rd, 2010
10:54 pm
probably should ban all those who oppose your point of view…while we are at it lets burn some books…and round up those who oppose us and put them in camps….why do we need that whole freedom of speech thingy. Not like we have a constitution or anything.
patrick
April 23rd, 2010
10:56 pm
Todd….are you high?
UNDER Richt
Vs. SEC foes: 52-23
.
Vs. Top 25 foes: 29-18
.
Vs. Top 25 foes away from home: 18-12
.
Vs. Top 10 foes: 8-6
.
In postseason games (bowls and championships): 9-3
.
In games decided by a touchdown or less: 34-14
.
Record at home: 46-11
.
Record on the road: 42-6 (including bowl games)
.
Losses to unranked teams: 6
.
Top 25 finishes: 8
.
Top 10 finishes: 6
.
Fact:………UGA was 12-1 in 2002 (prior to bowl selections)
.
Fact ………Fla was 12-1 in 2006 (prior to bowl selections)
.
Fact ………Not UGAs fault there were 2 unbeatens that year. “unlucky”
.
Fact……….Not Flas credit that there was only one unbeaten in 2006. “Lucky”
.
Fact:………Luck (not merit) had more to do with Fla getting an invite to the BCS not that Fla was more deserving to go to a NC than UGA with identical records.
.
Fact:………No SEC team has ever lost a BCSNC game and if UGA would have been invited nothing indicates that it would have been different
.
Fact……….UGA has 2 SEC titles..same as Fla in last 9 years and equal amount of total wins (90) over all.
.
Fact……….UGA has been ranked more times top ten in last 9 years than any SEC team at 6. Fla has only been ranked top ten 3 times in 9 years (real impressive).
.
Fact……….In 9 years under Richt the only SEC team with more wins is LSU
Fact………..UGA has won 4 str8 bowls….more than any other SEC team.
.
Fact……..UGA has won 11 of last 13 bowls…Thats more than any team (tied with LSU and more than FLA)
.
Fact…… UGA has won 8 or more games in last 13 years…more than any other team in the nation including Fla.
.
Fact…….UGA is clearly as good or better than any SEC team over last 9 years. Only a fool or a fan of the mythical BCSNC selection process (non playoff) would think otherwise.
.
Fact…….UGA had same record when they won the SEC title in 2002 as Fla did in 2006/8 when they won the SEC title. But UGA had the misfortune (luck) to have that record in a year that had 2 other teams with undefeated records.
Hardly an indictment on UGA but rather on the NC selection process.
6 times finished in the top 10
2 times finished in the top 3
3 SEC Championship Appearances
2 SEC Titles
3 BCS Bowls
2 Sugar Bowl wins
90-27 record over 8 seasons – 79% winning percentage (one of only 7 in the history of college ball to have ever accomplished this)
4 str8 bowl wins
7-2 in bowls (big games)
Mark Richt coached QB coach for Charlie Ward and Chris Weinke = 2 Heismans; Head Coach for David Greene = all time winningest college QB until Colt McCoy this year); and coached Matthew Stafford = very rich #1 draft pick)
No Probations
He has my respect.
Period.
patrick
April 23rd, 2010
10:58 pm
Todd are you high?
under Richt
He is 24-7 against the SEC West.
He is 28-16 against the SEC East.
He is 38-4 against nonconference opponents.
He is 8-1 against Georgia Tech.
He won four of his first five games against Tennessee, but has lost three of the last four against the Vols since then.
He was born the same year as Chuck D of Public Enemy.
Ranks third in winning percentage among active college coaches that have coached for at least five years, now that Pete Carroll left USC for the NFL’s Seattle Seahawks.
He is 90-27, trailing only Urban Meyer (96-18) and Bob Stoops (117-29).\\
yeah he is pretty damn good
patrick
April 23rd, 2010
10:59 pm
Todd are you high?
Mark Richt is one of only six coaches to win two SEC football championships in their first five years coaching. He is also one of only five head coaches in SEC history to record four straight 10-win seasons
patrick
April 23rd, 2010
10:59 pm
Todd are you high?
Coach Richt’s Red and Black outfits have never posted a losing record in conference play and six of his last eight squads have finished 6-2 or better in regular-season SEC contests.
.
yeah he is pretty damn good.
patrick
April 23rd, 2010
11:00 pm
Todd are you high?
Mark Richt’s overall success in Southeastern Conference action—including two SEC titles, three conference championship game appearances, and four finishes of no worse than tied for first place in the East, with no losing records in the process—is without parallel in Georgia football history.
.
Yeah he is prety damn good
patrick
April 23rd, 2010
11:01 pm
Todd are you high?
Ere anyone attempts to argue that Coach Richt’s superb out-of-conference ledger is the product of schedules stacked with the likes of
Northwestern State,
Western Kentucky,
Tennessee Tech, and
Hawaii in the 2008 Sugar Bowl,
I should hasten to point out that he is 21-4 against
Arizona State,
Boise State,
Boston College,
Clemson,
Colorado,
Florida State,
Georgia Tech,
Michigan State,
Oklahoma State,
Purdue,
Texas A&M,
Virginia Tech,
West Virginia, and
Wisconsin.
Even if we factor out Division I-AA teams, Sun Belt squads, and similar schedule fodder, Coach Richt is .840 against teams from automatic BCS-qualifying conferences other than the SEC. (Yes, I’m going ahead and counting the Broncos in that category because the Mountain West will get a guaranteed bid as soon as Boise State is invited to join.
yeah he is pretty good
patrick
April 23rd, 2010
11:02 pm
There are those in Bulldog Nation (like Todd) who would like to see Mark Richt run out of town on a rail. Such people should be turned over to the custody of Mike Leach, in the hope that he will treat their obvious head trauma the way he treated Adam James’s
An excited Rennie Curran says his heart ’skipped a beat’ when Titans drafted him | UGA sports blog
April 24th, 2010
1:08 am
[...] Richt: Aaron Murray reminds me of Heisman runnerup Weldon. [...]
Pitbull
April 24th, 2010
5:05 am
No way we beat SC this year. They will have our lunch! Spurrier will finally get his revenge. Our only chance will be to run, & run, and shove it down their throat and wear them down, if possible.
hop
April 24th, 2010
5:45 am
if you are a georgia fan, one has to be very nervous about the upcoming year,the only qb prospect who has any NFL potential is gone!
coach richt continues to talk about logan gray as a possible candidate for another position. it sure does not give any warm and fussy’s about the strength of our qb’s.
comparing murray with chris weldon does not excite me since weldon NEVER played in the nfl so another journey man qb.also, murray is very injury-prone and that means we drop big-time at the position.
georgia will be very lucky to finish 7-5 and watch how this blog will turn against richt then.yes, coach richt has shipped out the qb with the best potential who will play on sunday just because of one friggen week-end in the middle of no-where. georgia will play a terrible price for that awful decision by mr. perfect mark richt.
pcsjax1
April 24th, 2010
9:51 am
Aaron Murray reminds me of JOE COX!
DawginOH
April 24th, 2010
10:08 am
One thing the 2009 team was seriously lacking last season was passion (see the UT and UF games) and discipline (think Kentucky). Aaron Murray is a talented, modest kid whose heart will be fully invested in every play of every game. We just have to be patient as he learns the college game. Not even Matt Stafford made an instant adjustment to star QB at UGA. Remember who had to bail him out against Colorado in 2006? So just be patient and show Murray your support. As fans, that’s all we can do. Good things are in store, maybe even sooner than we think. Go Dawgs!
Johnny DangerDawg
April 24th, 2010
11:03 am
Let’s be honest. Without Mettenberger, it only takes ONE injury for Logan Gray to be our starting QB. There is no way he will be playing receiver this year. His reps as QB are just too important at this point.
Thirty to Twenty Four
April 24th, 2010
11:22 am
123?
Thirty to Twenty Four
April 24th, 2010
11:23 am
Boo ya!
Dagny
April 25th, 2010
2:00 pm
Murray is incredibly overrated, and this will be very obvious after SC picks off a few of his first passes. I promise you that by midseason, the words “Heisman” and “Murray” will not be seen in the same sentence.
And can the kid stay out of jail? That’s a key issue with every player at THUGA, and burying your head in the sand won’t make the problem go away. Unfortunately, Mark Richt is not willing to stop recruiting the low class goons he seems to love.
Toole
April 25th, 2010
7:55 pm
If Richt is smart he will name Darryl Gamble a Captain. I am from Bainbridge, GA also. DG is a leader. I have seen him be a leader with the student body and his teammates. DG wants to lead. He passed it along to Nick Williams. If he will let those Bainbridge boys lead; good thing will happen.
Dawg Mark
April 25th, 2010
9:30 pm
Murray’s short, but he’s still better than brantley—the dawgs will upset florida somehow in Jacksonville this year–book it!
The buzz begins about A.J. Green, Clint Boling and the 2011 draft | UGA sports blog
April 26th, 2010
10:40 am
[...] Richt: Aaron Murray reminds me of Heisman runnerup Weldon [...]
kb
April 26th, 2010
10:49 am
Tch Thing does it feel like grounhog day to you every November when UGA whips techs ASS.
Dawg Lover.
April 27th, 2010
9:22 am
Ga may go 6-6 in 2010 but one of them wins will be over Tech.
Sammi
April 27th, 2010
9:52 am
Who cares if Gray stays or goes. If he stays, he’ll be arrested anyway.
The UGA team is made up of thugs and felons, the kind of losers recruited by Richt.
But Gray is a better QB than Marray any day.