News and notes: Curran, other ex-Dogs go to work … Thompkins would’ve made 81 … Sturdivant’s comeback
The five former Georgia football players selected in the NFL draft last weekend already are at work this weekend in their new teams’ rookie mini-camps.
Linebacker Rennie Curran is in mini-camp with the Titans, defensive tackle Geno Atkins with the Bengals, safety Reshad Jones with the Dolphins, defensive tackle Jeff Owens with the Eagles and defensive tackle Kade Weston with the Patriots.
Curran, in an interview with reporters in the Titans’ locker room, said “it still hasn’t really hit me” that he’s now in the NFL.
“I don’t think it’ll really hit me until I get to that first game and probably get my first paycheck,” he said.
You can watch the interview on the Titans’ website here.
Curran, No. 35 at UGA, has a new number, by the way: He’s currently No. 38 with the Titans, according to the nameplate on his locker.
——
Georgia’s Trey Thompkins, a unanimous first-team All-SEC pick this past season, definitely bucked the trend when he resisted the lure of the NBA draft. The NBA announced this week that 103 players, including 80 from U.S. colleges, filed for early entry into this year’s draft.
Eighty college underclassmen!
Even if no seniors and no international players are drafted –- and some will be, of course –- there isn’t nearly enough room for all of those underclassmen to be selected.
The draft lasts just two rounds, just 60 picks. And only the first-round picks -– 30 players -– get guaranteed contracts.
Georgia coach Mark Fox has mentioned how proud he was of the maturity with which Thompkins approached his draft decision. Even as rumors swirled about what he would do, Thompkins stuck to his plan of making an informed, rather than impulsive, decision. A lot of players far less accomplished than Thompkins -– and many no more accomplished than his teammate Travis Leslie, for that matter -– entered the draft.
“You have 50 or 60 guys, whatever the number is, jumping in this draft that shouldn’t be in it,” Fox told me recently.
Addressing the same topic to a Bulldog Club gathering, Fox said: “If you read the [ESPN] ticker every night, you’ll see there’s a different college basketball player who has declared for the NBA draft [each night]. Every night, I would pray I don’t see Travis’ or Trey’s name come across there. We’re thankful we won’t this year.”
Underclassmen in the draft can retain their NCAA eligibility if they withdraw by May 8 –- provided, of course, they haven’t signed with an agent and remain academically eligible.
——
If you missed it, Mark Richt had good news about offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant’s comeback from his second knee surgery.
Sidelined almost all of the past two seasons, Sturdivant is on track to be ready for preseason practice this summer, Richt said Thursday.
“We do expect him to be ready by preseason,” Richt said. “He’s rehabbing; he’s been making very good progress. This [surgical] repair just feels different to him and feels better to him. Whether that’s psychological or not, I don’t know, but we’re excited he feels that way.”
Richt said coaches will be cautious with Sturdivant’s workload early in preseason, “but he’s really projected to be a full go.”
If healthy, Sturdivant would be a big boost to the offensive line. He started every game at left tackle as a freshman in 2007 before missing the entire 2008 season because of reconstructive surgery on his left knee. He returned for the 2009 opener at Oklahoma State but suffered a torn ligament in the same knee in that game, requiring another surgery and sidelining him for the rest of the season and spring practice.
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62 comments Add your comment
curious
May 3rd, 2010
9:23 am
Any update on the rehab of Brent Benedict?
Alabama is a cute little state
May 3rd, 2010
11:49 am
………….with a state wide gross product of 30% less than metro Atlanta.
The Tide had a nice season last year. They should be proud. They certainly get a lot out of a little.
And even though Alabamians have nothing else to do but spend 80% of their household income on Tide paraphanalia, they’ll never have the resources of Florida or Georgia. Which is why UGA needs to take a long hard look at how the hell they manage to do so little with so much.
And “Reality” continues to show us how irrelevant UGA is by posting 3-4 times on every Georgia blog.
AltamahaDawg
May 3rd, 2010
4:54 pm
Any of you guys still saying Mett was dealt a raw deal over “just drinking”?
rojodawg
May 3rd, 2010
7:56 pm
RE: Curious
Benedict and his father were at G Day. He mentioned the rehab was going well.
ATHLawyer
May 3rd, 2010
9:34 pm
Dear Coach Richt:
Please continue to recruit thugs to your program. The ugag football teams keeps my practice in business!
Thanks again!
ATHLaw
BuLLdawg
May 4th, 2010
5:56 am
Zach Mettenberger
39 Arrests / Suspensions in just the last 3 years, according to David Hale macon.com.
2 Guilty Counts of Sexual Battery,
Banned from Valdosta,
Banned from all drinking establishments for one year,
80 hours Community Service,
$2,000 fine – all this for his actions to a lady March 7 in Remerton after Coach Richt had Started Spring Practice; it was not until April 18 that Zach Mettenberger was kicked off the team – one of 3 players kicked off the team since the start of Spring Practice.
Coach Richt said it was for violation of team rules; no Coach Richt it is for Guilty 2 Counts of Criminal Sexual Battery of a coed of Valdosta State University.
Outstanding Zach Mettenberger and Aron White who defended Zach Mettenberger said :
“But the fact remains Zach Mettenberger is only a freshman. He should have used better judgment, but he would not be the first university student to get in trouble. He had a clean slate throughout high school and the rest of his freshman year of college.”
Aron White : “If the staff of the Red & Black or any other student organization were watched as closely as our student athletes are then perhaps they would have more arrests and incidents too. So my advice to all UGA fans is to put this into perspective — UGA student athletes do not show a ‘terrible ungratefulness of the benefits that have been bestowed upon’ them. One mistake should not destroy Mettenberger or the rest of the student athletes’ characters.”
Excuse me Aron, you are defending Zach Mettenberger that what ? He should have been allowed to do this to the little lady student he groped criminally, repeatedly. And, this the 2nd football player since just Spring Practice Started kicked off the team for their actions against a little lady, both students, one at Valdosta State University and one at The University of Georgia.
Buckhead Bulldog
May 4th, 2010
6:44 am
BuLLdawg-It is very obvious by the way you write that you HATE CMR. Just admit it!
James T. Kirk
May 4th, 2010
8:17 am
Silly little puppies. Still clinging to hopes and dreams that never come to reality. Sit back and enjoy the ride, mutts. And watch the real flagship school of the state begin their reign of terror on NCAA football this year
BuLLdawg
May 4th, 2010
5:15 pm
No.
I like CMR. I hate his entire coaching staff for the entire 9 years of the Coach Richt Era.
CitizenK9
May 4th, 2010
10:48 pm
Tech and Tide fans show their insecurity by posting on a UGA blog. We own GT and Ala. will always be a “more titles than teeth” second-rate school in a second-rate state. So don’t expect Dawg fans to be impressed with either.
BuLLdawg
May 5th, 2010
6:49 am
Georgia tek, impressed with Georgia tek ? How in the living hell ? 8 of 9 games we have won in the Coach Richt Era against Georgia tek, and they have no won a Major Bowl Game in 56 years.
Alabama, now that is a different story. Alabama owns UGA in the football series, unlike Georgia tek by a long shot; and Alabama actually Wins National Championships, unlike Georgia tek who has NEVER won a single solitary National Championship EVER in the AP Poll. UGA has. Alabama are the Reigning National Champions. They are a lot better coached than the sorry coaching staff assembled by Coach Richt all 9 years here. They have a LOT better offense than UGA has, including when we were ranked # 1 in every poll and played Alabama at HOME at Sanford Stadium, only to be DOWN 31 to NOTHING at half time.
I am not jealous of Alabama. I rooted for Alabama in the NC Game. Why the living hell, wouldn’t I and every Bulldog fan.
I rooted for Iowa, too.
I rooted for All The SEC Teams against the Big XII in the bowl games :
UGA 44-20 over Texas A&M Big XII
Ole Miss 21-7 over Oklahoma State Big XII, Ole Miss doing what we could not.
That knocked Oklahoma State out of the Top 25 Final AP Poll, yet our 8th loss
Coach Richt Era against a not Top 25 Final AP Poll, proving coaching staff sucks
Alabama over Texas Big XII
The Big XII has the worst record in bowl games, all-time of every conference, ever.
But, don’t give me this crap with Alabama being the Premier Football School in America All-Time with the Most National Championships and Most SEC Championships, both of which they WON again just now and are Reigning Champions in the Top Conference and in the Nation, overall, that Alabama is some 2nd rate football program CitizenK9.
I came in here and Congratulated them.
They are probably BETTER now than they were LAST YEAR. Their Coaching Staff is great. Perhaps if you gave credit where credit is due, instead of sitting there thinking you can only talk about UGA being great with our average 21 fumbles a year 4 years in a row, our average 14 interceptions a year 4 years in a row, our average # 96 Rank in the NCAA Penalties every year for 4 years in a row now with therefore 5 Losses to the SEC East alone in the last 4 years against teams NOT RANKED in the Top 25 Final AP Poll and 10 out of 20 SEC East games LOST the last 4 years, you might just see that in fact Alabama has a FAR BETTER COACHING STAFF than Coach Richt has in his 9 Year Coach Richt Era here CitizenK9.
Florida and LSU and Alabama ALL 3 have better coaching staffs than Coach Richt has assembled in his 9 years here of 8 Losses to NOT Top 25 Final AP Poll teams (5 of those last 4 years against just SEC East) and 3 wins 8 LOSSES to Top 10 Final AP Poll teams in the Coach Richt Era (None since Auburn # 9 Final AP Poll 2006.)
Both Florida and LSU have done better than UGA in the entire Coach Richt Era. There is NO advantage in the Coach Richt Era for us compared to EITHER. Alabama has only gone UNDEFEATED in The SEC 2 regular seasons in a ROW now, and since all 3 schools have between them ALL FIVE of the LAST 4 NATIONAL CHAMPIONSHIPS, Alabama has MOST ASSUREDLY PASSED OUR FOOTBALL PROGRAM NOW, TOO while 39 of our players have been Arrested / Suspended in the just the last 3 years according to David Hale macon.com including 2 kicked off the team for accosting little girls, as our Graduation Rate is LESS than ALL THESE TEAMS 9th in The SEC, CitizenK9.
Keep your WEAK-BUTT crap out of here, that you have to LOVE THAT, to be a Bulldog fan CitizenK9.
cantondawg
May 6th, 2010
10:16 pm
Bulldawg,
Your comments are way off base. Sure we had a disappointing year last year but we have been ranked in the top 10 in 2 of the last 3 years. This includes a #2 ranking in 2007. In the first 5 years of CMR tenure, We won 2 Sec championships and finished runner up once including a #3 finish. How can you say that you weren’t satisfied with that after going 20 years with a sec crown. People like you make me sick because you act like the way we played last year has been the way we’ve been playing for the whole time Richt has been here. No , it hasn’t been. CMR has consistently been a great recruiter and coach and when he has one bad year you jackass fans jump off the bandwagon and say that you never liked him..UGA would be better off without fans like you…