Archive for June, 2010

Thought you might get a kick out of reading a couple of rebuttals to the Orlando Sentinel’s ranking of Georgia’s football team as No. 64.

First, from Barrett Sallee of CollegeFootballNews.com:

A blog post in the Orlando Sentinel got the Georgia Bulldog fan base up in arms Tuesday –- and rightfully so.

In their College Football 2010 Countdown, the newspaper ranked the Georgia Bulldogs No. 64 … one spot behind Ole Miss and two spots behind Mississippi State. That puts them among the 25 worst BCS teams in the country.

Georgia is a bit of a mystery this season. They are breaking in a new quarterback, installing a new defensive scheme and replacing six starters on a defense that was dreadful last season. But ranking them at No. 64 is just plain ridiculous. A favorable schedule and an above average running game will get the Bulldogs into the top half of the SEC in 2010, which is a far cry from No. 64.

It’s a Florida-based paper, so the rivalry between Florida and Georgia probably …

Continue reading Bulldogs No. 64? ‘Just plain ridiculous’ ranking draws rebuttals »

(This is the finale of a summertime series looking at Georgia’s football team by position.)

TODAY: KICKOFF AND PUNT RETURNERS

• Kickoff returns: Brandon Boykin again figures to handle the bulk of this role. He returned 38 kickoffs last season, while Branden Smith returned 16.

• Punt returns: The competition will resume in August to replace Prince Miller, who graduated (and signed as an undrafted free agent with the Baltimore Ravens). At least seven players tried out for the punt-return role in spring practice –- Boykin, Smith, A.J. Green,  Bacarri Rambo, Rantavious Wooten, Carlton Thomas and Washaun Ealey –- and coaches did not reveal a pecking order or narrow  the field. Logan Gray appears likely to continue his role of receiving punts in field-position situations where returns are not set up; his job in this capacity is to decide whether to fair-catch the punt or let the ball go.

• Key stats: Boykin set UGA single-season records last year with 988 kickoff- return yards …

Continue reading Kickoff/punt returners: A new role for A.J. Green? »

(This is the 10th in a summer series looking at the Georgia football team by position.)

TODAY: KICKERS

• Returning “starters”: Redshirt junior punter Drew Butler, junior placekicker Blair Walsh, redshirt sophomore snapper Ty Frix. (Walsh also handles kickoffs. Butler is the holder on field goals and PATs.)

• Backups: Brandon Bogotay is the No. 2 placekicker, and Walsh is listed as the No. 2 punter. Walk-on Jamie Lindley is No. 3 on the depth chart at both placekicker and punter.

• Key fact: Butler won the Ray Guy Award as college football’s best punter last season, and Walsh was one of three finalists for the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top placekicker. Enough said?

• Key stats: Butler averaged 48.1 yards on 56 punts last season, marking the first time since 1958 that UGA had the nation’s leading punter. He had 19 punts downed inside the 20. . . . Walsh made 20 of 22 field goals last season, the second best percentage in UGA history, including 4 of 5 from 50-plus yards. He …

Continue reading Kickers: The best tandem in the nation? »

(Ninth in a summer series looking at Georgia’s football team by position.)

TODAY: DEFENSIVE BACKS

• Returning starter: CB Brandon Boykin.

• Starters lost: S Reshad Jones (drafted in fifth round by Miami Dolphins); S Bryan Evans (signed as undrafted free agent with Cincinnati Bengals but was cut last week); CB Prince Miller (signed as undrafted free agent with Baltimore Ravens).

• Cornerback depth chart: Boykin, a junior, is the clear starter at one corner, and Vance Cuff, a senior, is No. 1 at the other after a strong spring. However, the competition between Cuff and ultra-promising sophomore Branden Smith will continue in preseason practice.  Look for Boykin, Cuff and Smith on the field in nickel situations. Redshirt sophomore Sanders Commings and redshirt freshman Jordan Love also are in the cornerback mix.

• Safety depth chart: Redshirt sophomore Bacarri Rambo is the clear starter at free safety, and junior Nick Williams emerged from spring ball No. 1 at strong safety. …

Continue reading Defensive backs: Will three new starters and new coach spell new results? »

(Eighth in a summer series looking at Georgia’s football team by position.)

TODAY: OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS

• Returning starters: In last season’s 4-3 alignment, Justin Houston started 10 games at defensive end and Darryl Gamble 11 games at middle linebacker.

• Depth chart: In the new 3-4 defense, there are two outside-linebacker positions — the “Will” and “Sam” linebackers. Houston, a junior, and Cornelius Washington, a redshirt sophomore, will enter preseason practice as the first-teamers.  Reuben Faloughi, a former walk-on who was put on scholarship this spring, is No. 2 behind Houston at “Will.”  Gamble, a senior who moved from inside linebacker to outside late in spring practice, is No. 2 and Chase Vasser No. 3 behind Washington at “Sam.”

• Key facts: Houston has the credentials of an ascendant star –- second-team All-SEC last season; the SEC’s top returning player in tackles for loss (15 last season) and sacks (7.5); on the watch list for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, which …

Continue reading Outside linebackers: Rising star Houston leads Grantham’s group »

(Seventh in a summertime series looking at Georgia’s football team by position.)

TODAY: INSIDE LINEBACKERS

• Returning starter: Akeem Dent started the final four games last season after being sidelined for five games earlier in the season with a pulled hamstring. He started 10 games in 2008 and five in 2007. He had a career-high 11 tackles in last season’s win at Georgia Tech.

• Others to watch: There are two inside-linebacker positions — the “Mike” and the “Mo” positions — in Georgia’s new 3-4 defense, and all of the inside linebackers worked at both spots during spring practice. On the latest depth chart, Dent, a senior, is No. 1 at “Mike” and Christian Robinson, a redshirt sophomore who appeared in 12 games (no starts) last season, No. 1 at “Mo.”  Sophomore Mike Gilliard and junior Marcus Dowtin are listed as the No. 2’s behind Dent and Robinson, respectively. Dowtin finished last season with a career-high nine tackles in the Independence Bowl victory over Texas A&M. His …

Continue reading Inside linebackers: Sorting out the ‘Mike’ and the ‘Mo’ »

(Note: I’m on vacation, so the UGA blog is on quasi-hiatus. But rather than shutting down entirely, I thought we could use this lull for a leisurely look at the 2010 football team. I put together synopses of the various position groups, and one posts each weekday -– last week the offense, this week the defense. Please share your thoughts, hopes, concerns, etc., about each position.)

TODAY: DEFENSIVE LINE

• Returning starter: Senior DE Demarcus Dobbs, although his position is the same in name only in the new 3-4 alignment.

• Others to watch: Sophomore Abry Jones is No. 1 on the latest depth chart at left end (as is Dobbs at right end), and junior DeAngelo Tyson is No. 1 at the nose position. Justin Anderson, a junior who missed spring practice after January surgery on his right shoulder, has moved from the offensive line, where he started seven games in 2008 and five in 2009, to the defensive line, where he is expected to be a big factor at nose in preseason practice.  The …

Continue reading Defensive line: Do Dogs have a nose for the new scheme? »

(Fifth in a summertime series looking at Georgia’s football team by position.)

TODAY: QUARTERBACKS

• Returning starter: Nope.

• Depth chart: Redshirt freshman Aaron Murray is No. 1, would-be wide receiver Logan Gray No. 2 and true freshman Hutson Mason No. 3.

• Attrition: Joe Cox (24 touchdown passes and 15 interceptions as last season’s starter) graduated, and redshirt freshman Zach Mettenberger was dismissed from the team.

• Key fact: The three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster have thrown a total of 12 collegiate passes (all by Gray, a junior).

• Key fact II: Murray was rated the No. 3 quarterback prospect in the nation coming out of high school and was named MVP of the prestigious Elite 11 quarterbacks camp.

• Key questions: How smoothly will Murray make the transition to No. 1 QB? Will he be able to heed his coach’s don’t-try-to-be-a-hero refrain and protect the football as Georgia tries to dramatically reduce last season’s turnovers (28)?  And after being sidelined …

Continue reading Quarterbacks: Dogs need a solid (and injury-free) season from Aaron Murray »

(Fourth in a summer series looking at Georgia’s football team by position.)

TODAY: RUNNING BACKS

• Returning starters: TB Caleb King, FB Shaun Chapas.

• Others to watch: Although King started the final five games last season, Washaun Ealey was Georgia’s leading rusher (717 yards on 125 carries to King’s 594 on 114). Fred Munzenmaier, like Chapas a senior, is a solid backup at fullback.

• Key change: Richard Samuel, who started the first six games last season at tailback but fell well behind Ealey and King by season’s end, has moved to defense (inside linebacker).

• Key fact: Despite King missing three games with injuries and Ealey missing four games before shedding his redshirt, the tandem combined for 1,311 yards on 239 carries last season –- an average of 5.4 yards per carry. About 25 percent of their combined yards (349) came in the victory at Georgia Tech.

• Key questions: How will Georgia distribute the carries between Ealey and King? And while last season demonstrated …

Continue reading Running backs: How will Ealey and King divide carries, starts? »

(Third in a summer series looking at Georgia’s football team by position.)

TODAY: TIGHT ENDS

• Returning starter: Junior Aron White started 12 games last season, but sophomore Orson Charles is currently listed No. 1 on the depth chart.

• Others to watch: Junior Bruce Figgins returns after redshirting last season due to shoulder surgery and a six-game suspension, and sophomore Arthur Lynch showed in the spring that he is ready to contribute, too.

• Key losses: None.

• Key fact: Charles caught 75 passes for 1,440 yards and 21 touchdowns as a senior at Tampa’s Plant High School -– most of them from Aaron Murray, his quarterback then and now. Georgia is counting on that tandem connecting a lot this season and beyond.

• Key question: Will the offense get maximum benefit from the depth of talent at tight end, taking some of the burden off a talented but not-so-deep group of wide receivers?

• Recent developments: Not surprisingly, the Bulldogs worked a lot during the spring with …

Continue reading Tight ends: Orson Charles reprises high school role as Murray’s target »

(Note: I’m on vacation, so the UGA blog is on quasi-hiatus. But rather than shutting down entirely, I thought we could use this lull for a leisurely look at the 2010 football team. I put together synopses of the various position groups, and one will post each weekday.  This is the second in the series.)

WIDE RECEIVERS

• Returning starters: FLK A.J. Green, SE Tavarres King.

• Others to watch: Fifth-year senior Kris Durham returns for a final season after being redshirted last year because of a shoulder injury/surgery, and sophomores Rantavious Wooten and Marlon Brown are expected to have impacts.

• Key loss: Michael Moore graduated (and signed with the Detroit Lions as an undrafted free agent).

• Key fact: Green, a junior,  is widely projected as a top-five pick in the 2011 NFL draft, a clue this will be his final year in Athens. So enjoy the show.

• Key questions: Can Green have his first injury-free year at Georgia (strained groin throughout ‘08, bruised lung and separated …

Continue reading Wide receivers: Green’s final season? Brown’s breakout season? »

I’m on vacation, so the UGA blog is on quasi-hiatus. But rather than shutting down entirely, I thought we could use this lull for a leisurely look at the 2010 football team. I put together synopses of the various position groups,  and one will post each weekday. Then the floor will be yours — at least those of you not on a beach somewhere. I hope everyone has a great summer. Just 82 days, by the way, until the season opener between the hedges.

THE OFFENSIVE LINE

• Returning starters: LT Clint Boling, LG Cordy Glenn, C Ben Jones, RG Chris Davis and RT Josh Davis.

• Others to watch: Trinton Sturdivant and Tanner Strickland are due back from knee and shoulder injuries, respectively, and  redshirt freshman Chris Burnette could make his presence felt.

• Key losses: All of the players who started at the end of last season are back, but one player with starting experience graduated (Vince Vance) and another shifted to the defensive line (Justin Anderson).

• Key fact: Georgia’s …

Continue reading Offensive line: Starting a summer series of synopses up front »

Former UGA hoops superstar Teresa Edwards will be  inducted into the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame tonight in Knoxville. It’s the latest honor for maybe the most honored player in the history of women’s basketball.

Her resume dazzles: the only U.S. player, woman or man, to compete in five Olympics; winner of four Olympic gold medals; the youngest and the oldest player to win a gold medal in women’s basketball; a two-time All-American at UGA, where she helped take the Lady Bulldogs to three SEC championships and two NCAA Final Fours in the 1980s.

After graduating from Georgia, Edwards played in Italy, Japan, Spain, France, Russia and the U.S. She last played for the WNBA’s Minnesota Lynx in 2004 and enters the Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame in her first year of eligibility.

Remember what her UGA coach, Andy Landers, said when she was elected: “In my mind, she ought to have her own room at the . . . Hall of Fame.”

The Lady Bulldogs posted a 116-7 record during her four …

Continue reading Former UGA star Edwards will be inducted into Hall of Fame tonight »

From the stratospheric level of two years ago, the donation required to get new Georgia football season tickets has fallen to earth.

UGA said Friday that the minimum lifetime donation needed to qualify for the right to buy first-time season tickets this year is $1,550 –- down dramatically from $10,651 in 2008 and $4,205 in 2009.

As reported by the AJC last week, Georgia officials attribute the fall to two factors: the Bulldogs’ disappointing ‘09 season and the struggling economy.

The way the process works is that all of the previous year’s season-ticket holders retain the right to renew their seats if they make a prescribed annual donation to the UGA Athletic Association’s “Hartman Fund” -– a minimum of $250 per seat, more for prime locations. But becoming a first-time season-ticket buyer is costlier because new orders are filled from the limited supply of non-renewals on the basis of prospective buyers’ lifetime Hartman Fund donations, starting with the highest …

Continue reading Required donation for new UGA football season tickets drops to $1,550 »

Georgia has self-reported nine secondary violations of NCAA rules this year — a list of transgressions that provides a glimpse into the minutiae of the NCAA rulebook.

The violations, revealed in response to an open-records request by the AJC, cover a range of sports — a football coach returning a call to a high school junior, basketball recruits sitting in the wrong seats in Stegeman Coliseum, a track-and-field recruit being reimbursed an extra 5 cents per mile.

All crossed the line of NCAA bylaws.

Schools routinely self-report secondary violations to the NCAA, which defines them as inadvertent missteps that don’t create a significant competitive advantage. Georgia’s nine violations since Jan. 1 are a typical number for that time period; UGA reported 10 in the final six months of last year.

“Not to make any excuses, but the NCAA manual is over 400 pages thick, with other interpretations out there too,” said Eric Baumgartner, Georgia’s assistant athletics director for …

Continue reading UGA reports nine secondary violations »

Georgia posted the second best score among SEC football teams in the Academic Progress Rate (APR) statistics released Wednesday by the NCAA.

UGA’s football team had an APR of 973 out of a possible 1,000, topped only by Vanderbilt’s 975 in the SEC. The national average for football teams was 944.

Georgia had the SEC’s highest scores in women’s basketball (1,000), men’s golf (1,000) and gymnastics (996). The baseball team posted Georgia’s lowest APR, 941.

The Bulldogs’ men’s basketball team recorded a score of 944, which ranked fifth among SEC teams. The national average for men’s basketball teams was 940.

All of Georgia’s 20 sports teams posted scores comfortably above the NCAA-mandated threshold of 925. Teams that post APR scores below 925 and have a player leave school ineligible can be assessed penalties, including loss of scholarships.

The APR is an NCAA-designed measure that assesses the eligibility, retention and graduation of athletes over a four-year period. The figures …

Continue reading Vandy No. 1, UGA No. 2 in SEC football academics (Plus: APR for all UGA sports, all SEC football teams) »

MACON — Kris Durham started his Georgia football career with Matthew Stafford and will end it with Aaron Murray.

Durham graduated early from high school and enrolled at UGA in January 2006, along with the fellow freshman Stafford. Fast forward to June 2010. Stafford is a multi-millionaire NFL quarterback, and Durham is the grizzled veteran of the Bulldogs.

The wide receiver from Calhoun received his bachelor’s degree last month. “That was probably one of the highlights of my life, getting that degree,” he said. This week he began graduate school, starting work toward a master’s degree in education. He wants to teach and coach. But first, he has one season of football eligibility remaining because he was redshirted last fall while rehabbing from shoulder surgery.

Durham represented UGA’s offense at the “Pigskin Preview” event at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon on Tuesday, and the fifth-year senior exuded enthusiasm each time someone mentioned Murray, the redshirt …

Continue reading Veteran Durham ‘just can’t wait to see’ what Aaron Murray does »

MACON -– Mark Richt has heard the latest wave of rumors about the Pac-10 possibly annexing half of the Big 12 and about the Big Ten perhaps accelerating its own expansion timetable.

Still, he can’t quite see all of this reaching the SEC.

“It’s really interesting to hear that it’s such a hot topic,” Richt said today at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, where he and two of his UGA players joined representatives from other college football programs around the state at the annual Pigskin Preview.   “I think [part of it is that] this time of year people are just looking for things to talk about. But I think there is some really serious stuff going on out there.”

Even so . . .

“I don’t know about our league,” Richt added. “I really feel like we’ve got a great league, and we all believe that. We’ve got a tremendous SEC Championship Game; we’ve got our TV contract; we’re 98 percent full every time we roll out the carpet, so to speak; and we’ve had a lot of national champions …

Continue reading Richt on expansion: ‘Some really serious stuff going on out there’ »

(Update, noon Tuesday: Mark Richt and two UGA players, Akeem Dent and Kris Durham, appeared this morning at the “Pigskin Preview” event at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame in Macon.  See what they had to say at twitter.com/ajcuga.)

Two Georgia players, wide receiver A.J. Green and punter Drew Butler, were named Monday to Playboy Magazine’s 2010 Preseason All-America football team.

This marks the first time since 1982 that Georgia placed two players on the Playboy preseason team, which the magazine has chosen annually since 1957.

In all, at least 18 other Georgia players have been on Playboy preseason All-America teams over the years: Knowshon Moreno (2008),  Quentin Moses (2006), Jon Stinchcomb (2002), Richard Seymour (2000), Matt Stinchcomb (1998), Eric Zeier (1994), Bernard Williams (1993), Terry Hoage (1983), Jimmy Payne (1982), Herschel Walker (1981-82), Rex Robinson (1979-80), Bill Krug (1977), Joel Parrish (1976), Royce Smith (1971), Jake Scott (1968), Bill Stanfill …

Continue reading Playboy names two UGA players to preseason All-America team »

Cleaning out the notebook after an interesting week at the SEC meetings:

• In the Birminghan News’ 64th annual Spring SEC Football Preview, Alabama and Florida again are picked to win their divisions, with Georgia predicted to finish second in the East. The News surveyed the SEC  schools’ football information directors, asking them to predict the order of finish in their division (without including their own team). Florida and Alabama got the maximum available five first-place votes in the East and West, respectively.  Georgia got the other first-place vote in the East (Florida’s), three second-place votes and one third-place.  This is how the poll turned out:

West: 1. Alabama. 2 (tie). LSU and Arkansas. 4. Auburn. 5. Ole Miss. 6. Mississippi State.

East: 1. Florida. 2. Georgia. 3. South Carolina. 4. Tennessee. 5. Kentucky. 6. Vanderbilt.

Separately, the SEC football info directors were asked to rank the league’s teams without regard to division (and again without voting …

Continue reading The notebook: Poll puts Dogs No. 2 in East … SEC happy in ATL … Etc. »

After being dominated by Florida in various sports for most of this school year, Georgia has gotten a bit of revenge against the Gators lately by twice knocking them out of postseason events.

Georgia’s men’s tennis team eliminated Florida from the NCAA Championships a couple of weeks ago in Athens, and Georgia’s softball team eliminated the Gators from the Women’s College World Series on Saturday night in Oklahoma City.

Both victories were upsets.  In tennis, Florida was seeded No. 6 and Georgia No. 11.  In softball, Florida entered the postseason ranked No.5 and Georgia No. 9.

Georgia’s 3-2 victory Saturday was the Bulldogs’ first win against Florida in softball since April 15, 2006.  The teams had not met previously this season; their regular-season meetings were rained out.

Georgia’s Alisa Goler hit a two-run home run in the first inning and Brianna Hesson drove in the winning run with a single in the fifth.  Sophomore pitcher Erin Arevalo got credit for the win, …

Continue reading Bulldogs get a bit of revenge against Gators (UPDATED) »

Georgia today released the results of its spring testing of the football team in the broad jump, vertical jump, 40-yard dash, 225-pound bench press reps and “NFL Shuttle” — five traditional measures of agility, speed and strength.  (Descriptions of each test are at the end of this post.)

The team was broken down into three groups for testing: skill (WR, DB, TB); big skill (FB, QB, TE, LB, specialists); and linemen (OL, DL). All players were tested in all events unless an injury or illness precluded their participation.

Here, according to UGA, are the top-10 individual performances in each test for each group:

BROAD JUMP

Skill Group

Boykin, B. 11’ 4.5”

Jackson, D. 11’

Cuff, V. 10’ 9”

Hamilton, J. 10’ 9”

King, T. 10’ 9”

Green, AJ 10’ 5.5”

Commings, S. 10’ 5”

Durham, K. 10’ 4”

Smith, B. 10’ 4”

Love, J. 10’ 1”

Wooten, R. 10’ 1”

Big Skill Group

Dowtin, M. 11’ 3”

Samuel, R. 10’ 6”

Dent, A. 10’ 5”

Houston, J. 10’ 5”

Gilliard, …

Continue reading Check out the 40-yard dash times, bench press reps, etc., of UGA football players »

(Updated 8 p.m.)

DESTIN, Fla. – Amid speculation of a massive shakeup in some of college athletics’ major conferences, the SEC quantified Friday just how well the current structure is working for its members.

The SEC completed its four-day spring meetings by announcing that it will distribute a record $209 million to its 12 members this year, $17.4 million per school –- up 58 percent from last year’s distribution of $11 million per school.

The increased payout, which is slightly higher than most projections, stems largely from the SEC’s new television contracts with ESPN and CBS. The payout also includes funds generated by the league’s football championship game and bowl games, as well as its men’s basketball tournament and its cut from NCAA championship events.

The financial bonanza is particularly notable at a time when at least two major conferences, the Big Ten and Pac-10, are trying to add schools and another, the Big 12, appears in danger of …

Continue reading SEC discusses expansion, distributes $209M in revenue (UPDATED) »

DESTIN, Fla. – Georgia officials had hoped for fewer night football games this year, and they appear to be getting their wish.

Starting times were announced Thursday for four Georgia games, and none will be under the lights:

• The Bulldogs’ first two SEC games, Sept. 11 at South Carolina and Sept. 18 vs. Arkansas in Athens, will start at noon and be nationally televised on ESPN or ESPN2.

• The Oct. 2 game at Colorado will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. MT) and be shown on Fox Sports Net, including Atlanta-based Fox Sports South.

• And the Oct. 30 game against Florida in Jacksonville will start at 3:30 p.m. on CBS.

Starting times for Georgia’s other eight games have not been set. Most won’t be determined until 12 days in advance, per the SEC’s television contracts.

Last season, six of Georgia’s 12 regular-season games were at night, including four of the six home games –- numbers that tilted a bit more heavily toward night than UGA prefers.

UGA President Michael Adams …

Continue reading Times, TV set for four Georgia football games (UPDATED) »

The cost of getting into Sanford Stadium as a first-time season-ticket buyer is dropping.

Two years ago, one had to donate $10,651 to qualify for the right to buy new University of Georgia football season tickets. Last year, the cutoff dropped to $4,205. This year, it will decline again.

UGA associate athletics director Alan Thomas said Wednesday that the final figure won’t be calculated until next week, “but it certainly will be lower than last year.” He declined to speculate on how much lower.

The reasons for the drop: a rise in ticket cancellations and a decline in donations. Georgia attributes both factors to the economy and the team’s disappointing 2009 season.

The way the system works is that all of the previous year’s season-ticket holders retain the right to buy their seats if they make a prescribed annual contribution to the Athletic Association’s “Hartman Fund” — a minimum of $250 per seat, more for prime locations. But becoming a first-time season-ticket buyer in …

Continue reading Cost dropping to get new UGA football season tickets »

Georgia basketball player Ebuka Anyaorah has requested and received a release from his scholarship, the school said Wednesday.

He becomes the third player since the end of the season to leave the Georgia program. Like the first two, Anyaorah said he intends to transfer elsewhere in hopes of more playing time.

A 6-foot-4 guard from Suwanee, Anyaorah averaged 10.5 minutes per game as a redshirt freshman this past season, scoring 2.7 points per game. He sat out his true freshman season after surgery to repair a stress fracture in his right tibia.

The other two players to depart the program since the season have found new schools. Forward Drazen Zlovaric signed with Tennessee-Chattanooga and guard Demario Mayfield with UNC-Charlotte.

Anyaorah, Zlovaric and Mayfield were recruited to Georgia by former coach Dennis Felton.

The rest of today’s UGA news:

Hot seat? Or  not? Taking the temperature of Richt’s job security.

“We’ll be fine. Russ will do his job.”

UGA’s Adams advises …

Continue reading A third Georgia basketball player transferring »

DESTIN, Fla. — Is Georgia football coach Mark Richt on the hot seat?

Yes, according to several media-conceived lists of coaches whose jobs could be in jeopardy after the 2010 season.

No, according to Richt’s bosses.

In separate interviews at the SEC spring meetings here Wednesday, UGA President Michael Adams and athletics director Damon Evans rejected speculation that Richt will enter the season with the heat turned up on his job security.

“I don’t pay that stuff any attention,” Evans said. “Mark is a good football coach. I’m glad he’s our football coach. He’s had a great track record here.

“I think when they see a little adversity, people want to jump on it and attack it,” Evans said. “There is no need for that because he’s not on a hot seat. Mark is in a good place with us.”

Said Adams: “I don’t know whose hot seat he is on. He’s got a pretty nice long-term contract, seems to have the AD’s support, and I don’t have any reason to know where a hot seat would …

Continue reading Richt not on the hot seat, Adams and Evans say (UPDATED) »

Georgia will open the football season with a new quarterback, a new defense — but no new Uga.

Sonny Seiler, owner of the English bulldogs that have served as Georgia’s mascot since 1956, has informed UGA President Michael Adams and athletics director Damon Evans that the next Uga won’t be ready for action by the start of the football season.

That means Russ, the 5-year-old half-brother of the late Uga VII, will continue to fill in as the Bulldogs’ mascot for the Sept. 4 opener and at least one or two more games, if not longer.

“We’ll be fine. Russ will do his job,” Evans said today.  “We’re fortunate to have a family like the Seilers who take care of Uga and are always able to provide us with a good quality dog, and they will do so again this year.”

Seiler has  identified several puppies — offpspring of the Uga VI line — as candidates to become Uga VIII, but none of them will be big enough by the start of the season. Puppies in a new litter due this month also might be …

Continue reading UGA season will start without a new Uga (UPDATED) »

DESTIN, Fla. – Quickly, some news, notes and quotes from Mark Richt at the SEC meetings:

• It didn’t take long for a reporter to ask Richt what he thinks when his name appears on media lists of coaches supposedly on the hot seat.  Replied Richt with a smile:  “I didn’t know it had. Is that true?”

• Earlier in a chat with reporters, Richt discussed his approach to the job: “My mindset has always been, let’s do what I think we need to do to succeed and try not to be influenced by anything other than the people who are closest to the program. And quite frankly my goal has always been to try to conduct myself in a way so that the university would be proud and my Lord and Savior would be proud too. So I’m trying to do things . . . with a lot of integrity and a lot of character. And hopefully we’re winning games and we’re still educating young men. . . . Of course you want to win. Absolutely. But also we still want these guys to get their degrees; we want these guys to be …

Continue reading Richt on ‘hot seat’ talk; recruit Fields not admitted; more from SEC meetings (UPDATED) »

Good morning from Destin, where SEC athletics directors and coaches begin four days of meetings today.  (I’ll be tweeting from the meetings, so please follow @ajcuga on Twitter for news, notes and anecdotes.) Before turning to the business of the SEC, let’s run through a few UGA items that have accumulated:

• Georgia cornerback Vance Cuff tells his hometown newspaper, the Moultrie Observer, that he ran the 40-yard dash this spring in 4.24 seconds, the fastest ever recorded by a UGA football player. Now, granted, 40-yard dash times aren’t exactly the most reliable records in the world of sports. But a 4.24 clocking is definitely something to write home about. “It hasn’t soaked in yet,” Cuff told the Moultrie paper. Check out the story here. (UPDATE: Mark Richt confirmed today that Cuff did, indeed, run a 4.24. Richt said he saw it.)

• Remember Bill Gullickson, the former major-league pitcher? Went 162-136 in 14 seasons with the Expos, Reds, Yankees, Astros and Tigers in the …

Continue reading The UGA notebook: Vance Cuff’s 40 time is something to write home about (UPDATED) »