Defensive backs: Will three new starters and new coach spell new results?
(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. Williams will have to stave off continued competition in preseason practice, with prized recruit Alec Ogletree joining JUCO transfer Jakar “The Hit Man” Hamilton, sophomore Shawn Williams and injury-plagued senior Quintin Banks in the mix.
- Key fact: Georgia allowed 25 touchdown passes (the most in the SEC) and intercepted only 10 passes (the second fewest in the SEC) last season. Four of the 10 interceptions were by Jones, who left early for the NFL.
- Key question: Will a fresh start in the secondary –- three new starters, new coach (Scott Lakatos), new approach — produce better results after back-to-back shaky seasons?
- Recent developments: The arrival of Ogletree and Hamilton in the 2010 signing class adds some serious talent. Ogletree, from Newnan, was rated the No. 3 safety prospect in the nation by Rivals.com and the No. 3 outside-linebacker prospect by Scout.com. He’s working at safety this summer but might play OLB down the road. Hamilton, who came to Athens by way of Georgia Military College, was ranked the nation’s No. 4 safety prospect (and second best junior-college player) by Rivals.
- Outlook: Up in the air. There’s a lot of talent — albeit largely unproven at the collegiate level other than Boykin — and players are genuinely excited about Lakatos’ vision of an aggressive, physical secondary that stresses press coverage and interceptions. As Cuff said during the spring: “Coach Lakatos, he wants the ball.”
- Your turn: What say you about the secondary?
If you missed ‘em, take a glance at other positions:
OFFENSE
DEFENSE
NEXT WEEK: Special teams.
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277 comments Add your comment
npgator
June 24th, 2010
10:09 am
Different names but expect same results – TOAST!
free
June 24th, 2010
10:09 am
topdawg70
Daddy, did you plug the hole, yet?
http://www.dougsmugscoffee.com/datagrid/obama_golf.php
Since Vince
June 24th, 2010
10:17 am
Wow its been 30 years already…oh well SOS !
Elton John
June 24th, 2010
10:19 am
Dawgs have a lot of holes to plug………
PTC DAWG
June 24th, 2010
10:23 am
As far as our pass D, I don’t see how it could get worse than last year.
RxDawg
June 24th, 2010
10:23 am
Now that’s what I’m talking about Albany.
KeithB
June 24th, 2010
10:27 am
The back end is only as good as the front. If the front 7 can keep the pressure on, you and I could be back there and be fine. Good fronts make an average secondary look good. If those guys have to cover for 5 or more seconds, anyone would be in trouble. The new scheme may make up for a lack of experience. Looking at the schedule, UGA really only faces 4 pass happy teams. If they can split those, they should be in ok shape.
Me
June 24th, 2010
10:34 am
They’re gonna get “jacked” in Jax.
I-DOG
June 24th, 2010
10:38 am
Altamaha:
I have to disagree with your earlier comments that it is more the Jimmys and Joes than X’s and O’s and there might not be another d-coordinator who could have done better at UGA the last two years than who we had.
UGA was 10th out of 12 SEC teams in scoring defense the past two years. Last year Vandy, Kentucky, Arkansas, and South Carolina all held their opponents to fewer points. There is absolutely no way that those teams outrecruited us on the defensive side of the ball. Someone got more done with their Jimmys and Joes than UGA’s staff did.
Three d-lineman got drafted to play in the NFL. As did 2 guys in the secondary and one at LB. That isn’t a bad bunch to start your defense with in 09. There were other guys on the roster that will go into the NFL the next year and beyond that and some very good players that won’t quite make the NFL, but could have been excellent college players. There were Jimmys and Joes.
It is almost as if Jeff Owens didn’t understand the relationship between athletics and nutrition, that he literally had no concept of it. I’m not 100% dumping that on coaching, but overall 10th in the SEC the last two years in scoring? Not acceptable, not even close.
What will the new regime do? I don’t know. I think it will take a little time for the 3-4 to sink in and become 2nd nature. However, I do believe that we will see a difference on the field this season and am not expecting to be 10th in scoring, 12th in td’s passes given up and 11th in interceptions taken away from the other team. This bunch is no more talented than the D players we have had the last 2 years, but I believe the results will be better.
Coaching matters.
Dawggonefan2
June 24th, 2010
10:47 am
Boykin WILL BE a SHUTDOWN CORNER THIS YEAR! NO DOUBT!… seems to me he’s undervalued on the team by you fans… wait until he leaves for the NFL next year then you idiot fans will realize his true worth.
CHDawg
June 24th, 2010
10:49 am
Good points, Idog. Coaching matters; nutrition matters; conditioning and stretching matter. Any of those slip, and you might have an explanation for high injury rates.
AltamahaDawg
June 24th, 2010
10:49 am
I actually think you guys who are trying to simplify this particular topic byt saying “its all Willie fault” are really complicating it more than it needs to be. If that were true then the several years that UGA WAS stout and DIDN’t give up a lot of burns cannot be explained. same coach, same philosophy. For several successful year… same DC, but doesnt matter because even going back to BVG we still did the same thing.
And now to say that the solution is a new name despite not really knowing much about him, or any idea of what going to happen. I will guarantee you that if you started plucking his player off one by one , there is a point at which Granthams defense will fail.
I thinks it really a lot more simple.
Is the pass rush going to be better? Have we upgraded talent in the D-backfield? Period.
That’s how you know if we give up less TD in the air.
Not to say that the debate about who can recruit, direct, train, and motivate talents isnt legit. It is. I personally think that’s what cost willie his job. Not his scheme, thats worked plenty in the past, you guys used to LOVE it.
We need a better defense, not a better coach. Did we need a better coach to produce a better defense…..we’ll see, I think we all like what we see so far, but you guys are missing the point.
I-DOG
June 24th, 2010
10:49 am
Mike S:
I will sound like I have multiple personalities in “defending” Martinez a little, but it wasn’t that he wasn’t agressive with his front 7. We blitzed a lot last year and actually had the 2nd or 3rd most sacks in the SEC.
As you pointed out, we had holes in the coverage. Can we even call them holes? It doesn’t seem to be the right word for just how open our opponents were for 20-30 yard passes so many times, but I am 100% with you on that.
Add to that a lack of turnovers caused and some really dumb penalties to keep the opponents offense on the field even after we stopped them and you end up with one of the worst defenses in the SEC, which we were, 10th! and 11 and 12 were basically right there with us, only about 15 more points given up all season by the two cellar dwellers.
OC_Dawg
June 24th, 2010
10:56 am
It’ll spell different results. That I’m pretty darn sure of.
Bruce Mac
June 24th, 2010
11:03 am
It is great to be a Georgia Bulldawg. Prepare for the azz whoppin you are about to receive SEC East. A new day is dawning, deal with it.
gdawginkalamazoo
June 24th, 2010
11:11 am
AltaDawg, I think the part of the problem with the D was it’s inability to ADJUST during a game. The coaches are responisble for the adjustments. Tell me that Crompton was as good as the game he played last year? That Tech is able to run up 26 points in a 3rd quarter just because they want to. That we can’t stop Vandy from making a late drive to possibly win the game. Kentucky is unstoppable? As someone mentioned above I don’t think talent was the issue. We have been supposedly stocked for years at most positions. Now getting the correct players on the field in the correct positions to make the plays will no longer be a part of the problem. But you are correct it is not 100% Willie’s fault or the players fault. Combine incorrect personel, redshirts, out of position, poor tackling, poor scheming etc and you end up 8-5. For all the raging on the O last year we scored a lot of points. But then again they laid the ball on the ground at the most inopportune times.
Rip Van Winkle
June 24th, 2010
11:11 am
Bruce Mac it is 2010 not 1980; I’m sorry dude.
Romeo Crannell
June 24th, 2010
11:13 am
You humpers are going to be sorry; you will find out why I fired fat boy Grantham soon enough. Belin should have been the DC.
I-DOG
June 24th, 2010
11:14 am
Alt:
Agree that the problems the last 2 years weren’t Martinez’ scheme per se. The 4-3 v. the 3-4 isn’t the debate. I’m sure the scheme didn’t call for the opposing players to be so far open that the play by play guys are nearly speechless. I actually prefer the 4-3. It just didn’t fit our personnel strengths in 09.
However, Martinez players weren’t picked off one by one in 2009. He had PLENTY of talent, at least the NFL thinks so. Injuries can’t be the excuse for 2009, they weren’t that bad.
Our D was not good the last 2 years and he was the guy responsible for the product. Many players did not live up to anywhere close to their potetial. Rashad Jones, Jeff Owens, Rennie Curran, Bryan Evans, Kade Weston to name just a few. Some of that may be the players faults for not becoming the Dawgs they could have been, but the one constant was the coaching they were getting.
Vandy and Kentucky held their opponents to fewer points last season than UGA. Would those D Coordinators have liked a crack at coaching the guys named above?
B-ham Dawg
June 24th, 2010
11:16 am
Von Van Halanger… I just got done reading a blog about Clemson strength and conditioning. HaHa. Are you serious. You get on a UGA blog and rip the strength and conditioning program with references to baseball and basketball come on. Oh yea, check out the gymnastics and swim programs girls are jacked up. Get a life dude.
To the topic, the secondary has more talent however it will take a few games to mesh. If we can make it through september unbeaten we could make a serious run. And whoever said the Jakar Hamilton wasn’t a big hitter, how did he get the name “Hitman”.
Dawg Trainer
June 24th, 2010
11:18 am
“It is great to be a Georgia Bulldawg. Prepare for the azz whoppin you are about to receive SEC East. A new day is dawning, deal with it.”
That’s what I like about you Dawgs. Everyday is the dawn of Dawg dominance.
Me, I look back at 51-33, 35-14, and 45-19. And I see the same old, same old in 2010. Only change is, a Dooley will be in charge of the azz-whooping! Ain’t THAT ironic…
wildbill
June 24th, 2010
11:26 am
Ex CWM and Bryan Evans still leave nightmares about UGA football. The ppl who hired and recruited those losers should also get a pink slip. It is hard to get excited about this fall when those BAD memories are still fresh!!!!!
Barack Dawg
June 24th, 2010
11:27 am
Bryan Evans could not cover a paper plate with saran wrap, which is why we had 25 TD passes last year along with Prince Miller, who did make a few plays but missed more than he made. The combination of Belin and Lakatos should take the speedy talent and coach them up. Lakatos stated when he accepted the UGA job – I will put the players in position to make plays – they still have to do it. Miller and Evans were both undersized and not near as speedy as Boykin, Cuff, or Smith. Then you factor in the disappointment of Jones who seemed more concerned with a big hit than a big play and you easily see why we had 25 TDs on the secondary.
Now with Belin’s basics on tackling and Lakatos aggressiveness – I would say we will have some burned plays but I would expect we have more positive plays than negative plays. But that might take a little while to get into after the season starts.
The entire D was an achilles heal last year with Taco’s bend and don’t tackle scheme. That should not be the case this year and with the coaching we should see improvement. If we cover the fundamentals then everything else will fall into place and get better as the year goes on. We just need to survive SC, Arkansas, Miss State to get the year going.
Bruce Mac
June 24th, 2010
11:34 am
Keep looking back Dawg trainer, that is all you have left. Prepare and Deal. Go Dawgs.
dawgs01
June 24th, 2010
11:35 am
Boykin is as athletic as they come. Saw him play qb and basketball in high school. He can jump out of the gym. He will put on a show this yr. just watch and see.
Bruce Mac
June 24th, 2010
11:38 am
You too RIP Van. Good name by the way. Hope you are a Gaturd, they are only ones that should talk smack on a Dawg Blog, all others kiss the feet of CMR. If you are a Yech fan you are pathetic in every way and you know it.
DawginLex
June 24th, 2010
11:52 am
Dawg trainer are you too stupid to realize how bad UT is going to be this year?
BTW, Richt is 5-4 vs UT and will be 6-4 after this year. Don’t think he doesn’t have that one circled on the ole’ calendar. The guy who hired him-his son coming into Athens with UT to coach against Richt and UGA?
We may see something out of character from CMR like intentionally running up the score.
DDPO
June 24th, 2010
11:56 am
Bruce Mac:
Speaking for some of the UF alums, you know exactly what you can kiss. Using your thought process, I guess you as a UGA fan are pathetic in every way. And you know it, right?
DDPO
June 24th, 2010
11:59 am
DawginLex:
I bet you thought CMR was going to be 6-3 before last year’s UT/UGA game…
But I bet you think allowing his entire team to run onto the field after a first quarter touchdown would be out of character, right?
Dawg Tired
June 24th, 2010
12:00 pm
This is too easy. It can’t be worse than last year (or the year before that for that matter). I could’ve coached ‘em up better than Willie did.
Moosh
June 24th, 2010
12:01 pm
Dawg Trainer – It’s funny a UT “fan” making jokes.. Will Dooley last a year before he bolts for a better job like your boy Lane?
Von Van Halanger – Why in the world are you talking about Clemson. In any sport. They are irrelevant. Win more than 8 games in a season and we’ll talk. In the ACC too. Yikes.
DawginLex
June 24th, 2010
12:04 pm
No I knew we were going to lose in Knoxvegas last year.
Just wait and see toolhead.
UGA is gonna blast DD all the way back to hillbilly land.
Dan
June 24th, 2010
12:09 pm
Improved tackling and more forced turnovers or sacks are what UGA needs from their defense. If they don’t do that, the results will be exactly like they were under Martinez. The 3-4 won’t matter all that much other than to help disguise the blitzes (which y’all never did under Martinez).
If they run the ball the way they are capable of, the defense won’t be on the field very much which is what will really decrease the number of points allowed.
Eisendawg
June 24th, 2010
12:15 pm
On a different note, UGA grad John Isner has won the longest, and one of the greatest tennis matches in history! http://www.ajc.com/sports/uga-grad-wins-wimbledon-555858.html
Milburn Drysdale
June 24th, 2010
12:19 pm
The only thing Spurrier can exploit is Clemson and maybe the azaleas at Augusta National. Loser.
AltamahaDawg
June 24th, 2010
12:22 pm
I suppose I should have bold lettered a better disclaimer. Did not mean to get into a debate about why Willie should have been fired.
The point that I was making was: everything gonna be better just because he was, is overly simplistic.
There is a reason UGA gave up 25 TD passes in 2009 and THAT should be the debate. (WM “responsibility” is obvious given it cost him a job)
But responsibility and cause are not the same thing.
UGA gave up 8, 11, 12 in his first 3 years then balloned in 2008. there is a reason. And its not that all of a sudden in the summer of 2007, at the pinnacle of his career, he just wigged out.
Blame him, great. Its his job and he paid the price. thats the way it should be, but that doesnt change the fact that ON THE FIELD there is a reason that the defense wasnt up to the task in 2009. They were before doing the exact same thing, but not in 2009. Why? what was the variable? Doesnt matter whose “responsibility” it was, thats workes itself out. What was different in 2009 than 2005-2007 when they were very highly national ranked in all categories including the topic we are discussing?
Pass rush, DB talent. If those aren’t fixed, it doesnt matter who the DC is.
'94 UGA Grad
June 24th, 2010
12:33 pm
Hey Dawg Trainer,
UT is one of the teams I am the least concerned with this year. New QB, new coaching staff, and no starters return on the OL. LMAO! Trust me…we are going to smoke you guys this year. UT will be lucky to go 8-5 this year and 7-6 or 6-7 is more likely.
gdawginkalamazoo
June 24th, 2010
12:43 pm
“Pass rush, DB talent. If those aren’t fixed, it doesnt matter who the DC is”.
Altadawg. True. From the sound of all the post on here regarding the personel we have coming back from Willie’s defense and the guys that were available but did not play last year, AND the new defensive scheme, all of our D problems are solved. That was easy. Do you think Houston will have more sacks this year? Better stats? IMO our defense wasn’t that agressive last year, ie, blitzing, pounding the WR/TE at the line. The UT game was a train wreck. Crompton put up Heisman numbers against us.
Chris
June 24th, 2010
12:51 pm
I would like to know how many of those 25 TD passes were given up by Brian Evans. I don’t think it would be a stretch to say that atleast 15 TD passes were a direct result of his terrible coverage. It seemed like every time a big play was made, you would see Brian Evans in hot pursuit trying to catch up. Unfortunately, his hot pursuit was about as affective as Rosco Pico Train’s pursuit of those Duke boys….he just never could catch em!
Why would ANYBODY give Brian Evans a chance? I’m sure he’s a good kid, and I hope he got good degree from UGA. He just never should have been a starter on a college football team. That was Willies fault for not playing his best players.
Good luck to you Brian in whatever you do! The DAWGS defense will be much better off.
ugaclassof2004
June 24th, 2010
12:52 pm
This unit should have been embarrased to look at themselves in the mirror last year. How can you give up 25 TD’s and then go downtown afterwards like you actually did anything? How can you not care THAT much. Jeez… Bryan Evans and Prince Miller were terrible.Period.
Rashad Jones actually has the talent to be pretty good and is capable of knocking a guy’s lights out ala Eric Berry style when he wants to. But he has that loser ” I’ll turn it on when I feel like it” mentality. Boykin is a good athlete, but he needs to learn the nuances of the position. He could coast on his athletic ability in high school, but at this level your football IQ is key, otherwise teams will take advantage of you.
I’ll tell you what though, that Bacari Rambo could be a very good football player with some decent coaching. He’ll knock your lights out!Overall this unit will have some bumbs in the road, but I’m not as concerned about the DB’s as much as I am with our pass rush, or lack thereof the last few seasons.
UGAgrad71
June 24th, 2010
12:57 pm
If speculation was worth the present price of Gold, all these bloggers would be very rich indeed. All comments, with very few exceptions, are just speculation. I, too, am looking forward to the up-coming season. I believe UGA will be much improved on the D side, if the O line can move some folks and put the RB’s in the endzone, UGA will be fine.
gdawginkalamazoo
June 24th, 2010
1:10 pm
UGAgrad71, sh!t without specualtion in the off season we would all go crazy. Bring on the season! BTW, we were okay last year except for the 5 losses.
Urban Meyer
June 24th, 2010
1:14 pm
Hope my players are as tough as I am !
Bruce Mac
June 24th, 2010
1:17 pm
All hale the Gayturds. We bow at your feet until October 30, 2010. Then prepare and deal.
jason
June 24th, 2010
1:21 pm
the key to UGA’s defense being better is for UGA’s offense to DOMINATE the time of possesion with a good strong run game behind a veteran OL full of experience.
jasont13
June 24th, 2010
1:25 pm
Von Van Halanger is a clown- Are you speaking of Aaron Murray? Saw that you mentioned Clemson, so I am taking it your a Clemson grad and fan. Kind of hard to call him a midget when Kyle Parker is the same height as Aaron Murray!!!!
Bruce Mac
June 24th, 2010
1:25 pm
I love those unis with the angel wings on the shoulders, those are so cute. I especially liked them when Bama was stomping a mud hole in them. Yea, I know black helmets are equally lame.
JB, question...
June 24th, 2010
1:41 pm
Call me ignorant, but what does HBTD mean? you include it after every post and i’ve always wondered…
ugaclassof2004
June 24th, 2010
1:44 pm
Do ya’ll know that the Dawgs were -16 in turnover margin last season? Do you have any idea how bad that is? That means that not only is the offense turning the ball over, but the defense is generating next to nothing when it comes to fumbles and INT’s. With that many turnovers, it’s a miracle they went 8-5.
When a team does that bad, they almost never turn the ball over that much the next year. The same is true for + turnover differential. I think the Gators were like +22 in turnovers in 2008, and they were only like +8 in turnovers this year, hence the closer scores in games. The charge for this defense is to get back into the + catergory of turnover margin. They do that while not turning the ball over 3-4 times a game on offense, and watch that win total go up.
Santa Cruz CA Dawg
June 24th, 2010
1:54 pm
This group could be as good as when Thomas Davis and company were at UGA!!!!!!
Lakatos has an excellent track record with much less talented players.