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
sfaulkner
June 24th, 2010
1:56 pm
addition by subtraction thank God brian evans is gone!
The Other St. Simons
June 24th, 2010
2:12 pm
What was the score of the Tech game last year? Anyone? Is it on a ring somewhere?
I think these guys playing blindfolded can stop the bees from their vaunted “passing” attack. As for real teams, we’ll have to wait and see.
Joseph
June 24th, 2010
2:13 pm
I see the secondary as having enormous potential and frankly by midseason could be the strength of the Defense. Coach L is a great coach who has done great hings with much less talent. I think we will all be pleased with this unit come Bowl time!!!
Joseph
June 24th, 2010
2:13 pm
“things” sorry
Dawg Trainer
June 24th, 2010
2:47 pm
Gotta love you Dawgs. Yep, Richt is 5-4 against Tennessee. Fulmer went 12-6 against Jawja and all that got him was ‘fired’ (well, resigned).
Go ahead and circle the date. I’ll be there to make sure my hedges are trimmed, my turf mowed, and my coeds ready to service me after the game. That’s the one thing I DO like about Athens…yer womenfolk are always willing and able! I’ll be at my usual suite at the Hilton Garden. Stop on by. The Dawg Trainer is always magnamious in victory! Tell the desk lady you’re looking for Tennessee T. She’ll know what to do.
There are some things missing in 2010
June 24th, 2010
2:54 pm
Prince Miller is gone. He was fair on punt returns.
# 09 Reshad Jones is gone.
Evans is gone.
WM and his team of confused coaches are gone.
The LOUSY attitude of the above is gone.
Thank God and Greyhound.
We will be better just by this attrition list. We should add two victories, at least to last year’s 8, which I also hope is missing, only 8 wins, that is.
Go Dogs
Dawg Trainer
June 24th, 2010
2:55 pm
While I’m on a roll, don’t forget we went 7-6 in 2009. Still spanked that Dawgie azz 45-19 with 2 walk-ons on the O-line. So until proven otherwise (or the offense finally crossing our 30 yard line), so what if we go 7-5 again? We can chalk up our usual butt-kicking of Jawja regardless.
bo Williams
June 24th, 2010
2:59 pm
1. Bruce Carter, LB, North Carolina Tar Heels
This defense is overflowing with freaks (Mel Kiper thinks so too), but it’s Carter — a three-year starter at OLB who has led the nation with five blocked kicks — who merits top freak status this year. He’s part of the country’s fastest linebacking corps. Carter’s workout numbers are every bit as impressive as his football stats. He has set UNC linebacker records in the power clear (374) and the vertical jump (40.5 inches). The 238-pounder has also been clocked at 4.39 in the 40 and bench-presses 440. Asked which of the testing numbers he’s most proud of, Carter says it’s his power clean, which is tied for tops on the team with DE Robert Quinn and Zach Pianalto.
AltamahaDawg
June 24th, 2010
3:05 pm
Zoo, I do think Houston is due to have a better year irrespective of who is calling the plays.
Dawg in Vinings
June 24th, 2010
3:13 pm
Now, now Tennessee T, that wasn’t a very classy comment about our ladies in Athens. Our ladies typically don’t go for big boys in orange coveralls bragging about their suite at the HGI for a weekend. But I understand the attempt- the Lulus in Knoxville are all about your Pigeon Forge Motel 6 suite with a heart shaped hot tub.
How2fish
June 24th, 2010
3:19 pm
I get it Tennessee T= Tennessee Tool…brother I grew up in Knoxville and we were taught to talk about the ladies with a little more respect. The ladies at UT or UGA deserve better .
DawgDad
June 24th, 2010
3:49 pm
Can’t look at DB’s in isolation. Front needs to stop the run and generate pass rush so the DB’s can concentrate on cover instead of covering up mistakes and breakdowns. That said, last season’s secondary was subpar and it’s hard to envision even mediocre UGA-level talent being that bad again.
This team will go as far as the defense takes it. I’ll remain concerned until I see them stop the SEC big boys from pounding the ball down their throats without overcommitting the secondary and getting burned in the process. Generating more turnovers would be huge; if this defense can consistently get off the field and not play three quarters of every game I really like the Dawg’s chances.
heeldawg
June 24th, 2010
3:50 pm
Georgia’s secondary players were perpetually out of proper defensive position last season. The attitude was bad, and the execution was worse.
The talent level of this secondary is outstanding. With Lakatos actually coaching these kids up, this could be the most improved defensive unit of any team in the SEC. And the secondary was clearly the weakness of the defense last year. If you add in an aggressive, talented pass rush with OLBs Houston and Washington (both of whom could be All-Americans IMHO), this could be a very special year on defense. The “Age of Grantham” is upon us, and it will be an upgrade from the Wille Martinez circus almost by default.
And Dawg Trainer, you’ve got very little to talk about. Yeah, you guys beat us last season, and you shouldn’t have on the basis of talent. That was all due to our sorry coaching staff–and they are gone. By contrast, there is a talent deficit in Knoxville that will not be rectified in a single year–or even in two. Even if Dooley is a great bench coach, you’ll lose a bunch of games this season, and the next one after that, as well. The skills just aren’t there. So just prepare mentally for Richt’s record against the Vols to move to 6-4 this season, to 7-4 the next one….and who knows after that.
UGA is Just Fine....
June 24th, 2010
4:12 pm
Martinez leaving is the best thing that could have happened to the defense.
Players under Willie actually regressed. Look at how players like P.Miller, B.Evans, R.Brown played in their freshmen yrs compared to their senior seasons, they all showed great promise until they learned willie ball.
Again look at what the defense did in the bowl game WITHOUT willie against Texas A&M who had a top 10 offense btw. CWG and two grad assistants put together the game plan and basically just got more agressive and look at the results. That was with only a few weeks to prepare.
I for one will be glad to see the 10yd cushion and his soft zone gone! One of the reasons our secondary got torched was many times they were out of position. Like in chess the most powerful pieces are only as strong as the position they are put in. Lakatos is a great pick up to the staff and I like the fact that he likes his corners to be physical and go after the ball.
May take a few games to get going,but if the Dawgs can survive early tests against SC and Arkansas they could be unbeaten heading into the Fl game.
The Dawgs do have a lot of questions this year, but in most cases where the questions are we were so bad last year that it’s hard to fathom we would perform worse in those areas.
Go Dawgs!
AltamahaDawg
June 24th, 2010
4:51 pm
“The attitude was bad, and the execution was worse.”
Pretty much 2009 in a nutshell. No matter what/who I would expect the team to be more excited to play, and be more exciting to watch this season. Much of that coming from a new staff, exited to coach rather than just trying to recover or survive. 2009 just seemed like the shadow of 2008 to me. Bad vibes all around. And if you think about it, why should we have been excited coming into the season last year? Lost your big star players, the talent level not where it should have been, an unpopular staff, and a Head Coach having to spend his energy defending everybody from top to bottom, and some serious legitamate problem areas on the field that would have been a drag despite none of the above.
2010 feels more like the first of the next few years stretch. I think the fans will enjoy this season more it more even if the record isn’t much different.
UGA is Just Fine....
June 24th, 2010
5:19 pm
AltamahaDawg- agree to a point. I think the talent was lacking to a degree but the coaching was lacking even more. from WM. He coached scared (soft zone, DBs playing WRs 10yds off the line). You just have to wonder what C.Strong, M.Kiffin, W.Muschamp, or K.Smart would have done with that bunch.
Willie’s resume hardly qualified him to be a DC at a major school
Willie Martinez Coaching Experience:
1985-86, Miami (Grad. Asst.); 1988, Bethune-Cookman (Quarterbacks / Wide Rec.); 1989-90, Boca Raton H.S. (Def. Backs) 1991, Olympic Heights H.S.- Boca Raton, Fla. (Def. Coord. / Def. Backs); 1992-93, Grand Valley State (Def. Coord. / Def. Backs); 1994, Central Michigan (Def. Backs); 1995-96, Central Florida (Def. Coord. / Def. Backs); 1997, Eastern Michigan (Def. Backs); 1998-99, Central Michigan (Def. Backs); 2000, Central Michigan (Asst. Head Coach / Def.); 2001-04, Georgia (Secondary); 2005-09, Georgia (Defensive Coordinator / Secondary).
CMR hooked up his best friend and ended up getting burned. With the above resume would he even have been considered a viable candidate if he WASN’T CMR’s friend? Hardly.
Even with the 3-4/new secondary coach learning curve the defense should be MUCH improved even coming out of the gate. Hopefully they will hit their stride around game 6 or so. If we can survive early tests against SC & Arkansas we should be fine AND don’t fall prey to MSU – they will be better than most think.
Go Dawgs!
Only 2 months to Sept.
June 24th, 2010
5:33 pm
if anything, losing the three starters will only help. it was like having 3 jamie hendersons on the field at once. terrible
Delbert D.
June 24th, 2010
5:47 pm
“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.”
Top 5 NFL pick?
Saben
June 24th, 2010
6:02 pm
Georgia`s defense will be a lot better this year.
Believe Florida should only score 40 and South Carolina will be held to the high 30`s. Suspect Kentucky and Auburn will hang 50 on us.
Richt will get a new hairdresser and everything will be wonderful at the mobile home park here in Athens behind the Wal Mart.
Saben
June 24th, 2010
6:04 pm
Also Martinez will be back in 2011.
waterboy
June 24th, 2010
6:39 pm
Mama says “Saben is the Devil”.
New Guy
June 24th, 2010
6:39 pm
Hunter Long the new Bulldog! 13th Commit! Go Dawgs
Jethro
June 24th, 2010
6:49 pm
Welcome Hunter Long! I am glad you picked us over your other offers….Arkansas State, Memphis, Middle Tennessee, Murray State, Southern Miss, and Tennessee-Martin. Go Dawgs!
mgdawg
June 24th, 2010
7:53 pm
bham dawg, he gave himself the name hitman. As far as the db’s, I don’t think when van gorder was there the cb’s played 10 yards off the line of scrimmage and as soon as the ball was hiked they started backing up. To whoever said rennie curran didn’t live up to expectations, the guy was the leading tackler in the SEC for a couple of years I believe, what else do you want out of the guy.
CLEVON LITTLE
June 24th, 2010
8:45 pm
BDAWG… FYI — You left your CAPS LOCK on.
The D will be much better this year. Talent + confidence from the coaching staff + new players = new attitude & better play.
CLEVON LITTLE
June 24th, 2010
8:48 pm
Saben …WEW….At first I thought it said ‘Saban’, and I was thinking ‘What the heck is the Alabama coach doing on this blog??!!!’
Johnny DangerDawg
June 24th, 2010
8:53 pm
With 3 new starters, I expect this group to start the season a bit shaky but with flashes of brilliance. In the second half of the season, I think this group will be excellent.
SOS Dawg
June 24th, 2010
9:11 pm
If this team doesnt get really serious in the weight room the dawgs will gut pushed around by the weak sisters of the SEC and endure the usual beatdowns by Tenn. and the mighty Gators.
buzzDawg
June 24th, 2010
10:15 pm
You’ve got to think coaching was the problem when two graduate assistants successfully handled the defensive coaching responsibilities during the bowl game. As I recall, the defensive philosophy was simple – have fun and get after the other guys. With Grantham, Lakatos and Belin coaching up the awesome defensive talent the Dawgs have, the defense has the potential to be very good and, just maybe, great.
Urban Meyer
June 24th, 2010
10:17 pm
You got to be kidding, this group leaks like a BP oil well. Are we still selling the “dream” Dawgy fans? Oh I’m sorry, with LeMay is it now the “wet dream team?” How about selling the dream:
PASS DEFENSE G Comp Att Int Pct. Yards Avg. TD Avg/G
1. Florida 14 208 396 20 52.5 2139 5.4 10 152.8
2. South Carolina 13 192 349 6 55.0 2119 6.1 11 163.0
3. Vanderbilt 12 171 305 12 56.1 1979 6.5 13 164.9
4. Alabama 14 210 449 24 46.8 2324 5.2 11 166.0
5. Tennessee 13 220 393 10 56.0 2200 5.6 5 169.2
6. Ole Miss 13 198 396 13 50.0 2267 5.7 12 174.4
7. Kentucky 13 163 336 16 48.5 2298 6.8 17 176.8
8. LSU 13 222 416 13 53.4 2525 6.1 13 194.2
9. Georgia 13 218 388 10 56.2 2772 7.1 25 213.2
10. Auburn 13 253 452 17 56.0 2834 6.3 19 218.0
11. Miss. State 12 187 332 17 56.3 2640 8.0 18 220.0
12. Arkansas 13 239 404 13 59.2 3230 8.0 22 248.5
col fot
June 24th, 2010
10:38 pm
they will be just fine techie Tim!!
Bville Dawg
June 24th, 2010
11:02 pm
The D WILL be better. CWM and staff spent lots of time coaching scheme and not nearly enough time coaching the fundamentals of football. “alot of people want to make alot of things of this game but in the end it comes down to 2 things…. blocking and TACKLING” Vince Lombardi….
I love the talk of getting back to coaching these fundamentals of football. HOPEFULLY we have seen the last UGA defender try to knock and opponent off his feet instead of wrapping up and driving him to the turf or a DB with his back to the football chasing a WR with his hands sticking up like an 8yr old covering a little league receiver.
CANT WAIT…. well known in couple of months!!!
hop
June 25th, 2010
12:52 am
DAWGS season depends on the O/Line dominating this year, if that happens the defense will not be playing very much!
Let’s hope that BOBO has finally learned his lesson and run the football,and not pass on every other down.
the defense will be awesome when needed,but the season depends on the dawgs ability to run the football successfully!
the East will be interesting with tebow gone and ut sucking eggs,but carolina could be the real deal with the only experience qb in the DIVISION.
BuLLdawg
June 25th, 2010
2:13 am
Yes, the Defense is Impressive. The offense is where we need to be concerned, and although we play a soft easy schedule this 2010 season with 10 returning starters on offense, we have not done well on offense and nothing changed – except at QB when it is said repeatedly in this blog that Mike Bobo is great, that Joe Cox was a great QB with a great arm, that our OL that has struggled against every good opponent for the last 4 years will be great this season somehow, and that Caleb King is great. There is no reason with only 1 ranked team on the schedule # 5 Florida, that we cannot go 12-2. Will the Special Teams be great this season ? Yes. Will the Defense be great this season ? Yes.
chazzo
June 25th, 2010
7:14 am
UPDATE: According to this blog: Steve Surlier wants to take advantage of “the holes” in the 3-4. Problem is, Stevo, you aint playing. Your QB battle became a QB exodus. And, while Garcia is solid and experienced, he just isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer. Grantham will have our guys give Garcia fits all day. Urban Minor thinks that recruiting for 2011 and stats from 2009 have something to do with 2010. Urbane, your assistant rats jumped shipped. There’s no Tebow. And, you play Alabama and LSU back to back. Why don’t you just curl up in the fetal position and suck your thumb. There is an ultra-delusional Tennessee fan, calling himself dog master, who not only insulted dawg fans and promises to rape, pillage and plunder in Athens, but told us all where he would be staying. Be sure to knock on his door. He will be the one with a stack of porn mags and the giant orange blow up girl. Hmmm? Based on these clowns, I’d say we have nothing to worry about.
Mobile Dawg
June 25th, 2010
7:24 am
The foundation of this football team eroded the last few years. As with a building, cosmetics can cover blemishes for a while. However once the foundation passes a point and starts sagging it can no longer be covered by paint.
Our program reached that point, our foundation, i.e. discipline, conditioning, fundamentals, game planning, and yes “coaching” caught up with us. We have some new blood infused and this should have “IMO” an immediate short term benefit and impact. However, if the foundation hasn’t been repaired we can look for similar long term results and more coaching changes.
Altamaha was right on with his point on a yet unproven coaching change, but I believe he misses the main point of our problems which is the foundation, i.e. the identy of the program. This team needs a mission statement, let’s go further, this “program” needs a mission statement of what we want to be and how we’re going to stay there.
Macon 1 Dawg
June 25th, 2010
8:06 am
With this 3-4 D, the Dawg D will be the surprise team of the SEC!!!! The Dawgs will win the SEC east—take it to the bank!
orlando Dawg
June 25th, 2010
8:15 am
With so many unaswered questions at this time about this team, I remain cautiously optimistic about the upcoming season. Mobile dawg has raised an interesting point about team identity. When BVG left a few years ago, I had this forboding feeling come upon me then. It was as if UGA had lost a part of thier identity(our defensive mind set). That identity where the oposition had at the very least, some trepidation when they played UGA. Now days my beloved Dawgs have been reduced to the likes of Kentucky and Vandy due to incompetence of the former coaching staff. I remain cautious about the new coaches and the new scheme. In time, we all will know if these guys are better. We have always had the talent, but I question the hearts and desires of the players. I do want our identity back. The indentity that a great coach gave us years ago. (coack Irk Russell). Scoring 50 points a game is nice, but when we had little or no defense to speak of, we lost our identity. Let’s hope we get that back this year. GO DAWGS….. SIC ‘EM
tim
June 25th, 2010
8:37 am
john brantley is chomping at the bit to get to the puppies secondary…meyer will probably sit him after his 6th TD pass in jax
How2fish
June 25th, 2010
8:58 am
Urban Meyer I’d worry less about Lemay and how well your MEDS are working out for you..stay strong coach we want you healthy in Jax. tim even with CWM last year Brantley has never played against a D that good in a game with live rounds in the gun.Anyway you slice it the Dog D this year will be a lot tougher than say Charleston Southern.
Greensboro, Georgia
June 25th, 2010
9:00 am
————————————–
……Nesbitt for Heisman……
————————————–
Urban Meyer
June 25th, 2010
9:08 am
Hey How2fish, those are excellent points you bring up. Just curious, how many live rounds has Murray faced? Once again, he certainly didn’t appear very impressive in the G-Day game and by most accounts, was second to Zach Mettenberger before his departure.
tim
June 25th, 2010
9:18 am
Brantley plays against a D that’s much better than the puppies…I’m talking about UF’s second stringers
AltamahaDawg
June 25th, 2010
9:18 am
By what “most accounts”. Not the coaches or players or media. Whose accounts are you refering to?
How2fish
June 25th, 2010
9:19 am
Urban Meyer he hasn’t faced anyone yet..difference is that while Brantley may turn out to be the 2nd coming of John Elway he still has to prove that..Charleston Southern and the other mop up duty he has seen is not what he will face this year..From what I’ve seen (not much really) of him he has all the tools and from all reports has the leadership skills to run that offense he still hasn’t proved anything. We know Murray has to a lot to prove however a LOT of Gator fans seem to think Brantley is a sure fire all SEC QB…my point is that remains to be seen, while CUM is a great coach and the team is loaded with talent the proof is in the pudding and on the field.
BigGuy
June 25th, 2010
9:21 am
Pup fans,
The secondary looks like the same UGAY story. Boatloads of talent w/ no coaching. Outside of Champ Bailey, can you guys tell me another legitimate UGAY DB in the NFL?
That’s what I thought! You recruits pay attention, UGAY gets 4-star and 5-star players every year but FAIL to make them into NFL prospects.
However, I do think UGAY will win the National Championship w/ their freshman QB.
Dawg Trainer
June 25th, 2010
9:24 am
Actually, I’m the Dawg Trainer…but I LIKE Dawg Master! Thanks.
And telling you Dawgs exactly where I’ll be staying when I come to inspect Neyland South is just how the Dawg Trainer rolls. If any of you get out of hand when you come to see me, keep in mind that I’ll have a rolled-up AJC handy for additional Dawg training.
And for yer women…I’m Tennessee T when it comes to them. But I’m an equal opportunity lover…everywhere I go, the women are glad to see me (well, maybe not Starkville. Or Tuscaloosa.)
How2fish
June 25th, 2010
9:25 am
tim exactly how do you back that up? The Gators 2nd string D is much better than UGA’s starting D ? Or is it just another example of wishful thinking on your part? Tell you what if that’s so I’m sure with your considerable influence with the Gator coaching staff you can persuade them to only play the 2nd string D in Jax this Oct?
AltamahaDawg
June 25th, 2010
9:27 am
When a guy named BigGuy uses the GAY reference 4 times in a single post, somebody might be peeking out of the closet.
I would dispute the history of previously 5 star recruits failing to make an NFL roster as well.
How2fish
June 25th, 2010
9:31 am
BigGuy your a gasbag of the first water..how can you gauge the coaching staff when they have yet to coach a single game at UGA?? Guys like you and Dawg Trainer are equal opportunity tools are you perhaps related? And Dawg Trainer I have a suggestion on where you can put your rolled up AJC by the way.