LB Gamble says coaching change helped him (plus practice notes)
(Updated 8:15 p.m.)
ATHENS – Georgia coach Mark Richt thinks his team’s two most improved players since the spring might be safety Shawn Williams and linebacker Darryl Gamble.
You’d expect a sophomore, like Williams, to be making major strides at this point. But Gamble’s progress is particularly noteworthy since he’s a fifth-year senior who started 11 games last season and switched positions in the final week of spring practice, shifting from inside linebacker to outside.
Gamble credits the influence of defensive coordinator and outside linebackers coach Todd Grantham.
“I guess it’s like finding love for the game again because I was in a slump,” said Gamble, adding that he and former linebackers coach John Jancek “didn’t see eye-to-eye on a lot of things. Having Coach Grantham here just gives me an extra boost of energy.”
Grantham has said Gamble is pushing Cornelius Washington for a starting spot at outside linebacker.
“I’ve never had a complete year; I’ve always had little sparks here and there,” Gamble said of his UGA career. “I’m just trying to have a complete season with making plays every game.”
Richt said Gamble reported to preseason practice in great physical condition and has been “highly productive” on the practice field.
“I think he’s really been sincere about wanting to be a leader, wanting to have a great senior year,” Richt said. “I think it’s just maturity -– a guy growing up, saying, ‘You know what? I want to be special. I want to reach my potential. Show me how.’”
Gray, Mason impress
Georgia is roughly halfway through preseason practice, having held its 14th of 29 allotted practices Tuesday.
“I told [the players] that from what I’ve seen, I think we can have a pretty good team,” Richt said. “But we have to keep progressing from this point forward.”
At Tuesday’s closed practice, Richt said quarterback-turned-receiver Logan Gray “made a beautiful catch on a deep post route. It was an outstanding throw but tight coverage, and he came down with that thing. . . . He’s really beginning to look like a pretty polished receiver.”
Gray won’t start at receiver, but “he’ll play,” Richt said.
The coaches reserve the option of returning Gray to quarterback in the event of an injury to starter Aaron Murray, but Richt said he and offensive coordinator Mike Bobo are “quickly gaining” confidence in freshman Hutson Mason as a potential No. 2 QB.
“I can see [Mason] doing that before this season is over and maybe even by Game 1,” Richt said. “He has progressed very well.”
Etc.
Richt said offensive tackle Trinton Sturdivant will be ready to play in the Sept. 4 opener against Louisiana-Lafayette, although “we don’t expect him to play an entire ballgame.” Sturdivant missed almost all of the past two seasons with knee injuries. . . . Offensive lineman Josh Davis returned to practice Tuesday after suffering a minor ankle injury Saturday. . . . Georgia plans to redshirt freshman offensive lineman Brent Benedict, Richt said. Benedict had knee surgery last fall. . . . Cornerback/kick returner Brandon Boykin was named Tuesday to the preseason watch list for the inaugural Paul Hornung Award, which will honor college football’s “most versatile player.”
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120 comments Add your comment
Golden Wreck
August 17th, 2010
9:28 pm
That Wilder Kid will end up comitting to Teck cause he’ll run the option like Nesbeet and win the hisemen and the Natl Championchip. Teck will win the cristal ball this year and next with Nesbeet and Wilder.
Nesbeet For Hisemen
dawgster
August 17th, 2010
9:32 pm
even some gator bloggers at the gainesville sun newspaper are hearing that Wilder may be committing to the dawgs…again, it will be great if he does but i would temper our excitement unti8l it is official and even then it won’t be until he signs…You can be this wont sit well with Coach Meyer and will definitely keep the pressure on this young man..
Reggie Ball
August 17th, 2010
9:35 pm
GT fans can you explain to the people why ya’ll keep embarrassing yourself, its obvious UGA is out of your league. As intelligent as ya’ll suppose to be I know ya’ll can see that, it’s not calculus.
superDawg
August 17th, 2010
9:38 pm
If old gold saw a pair of red panties on the ground he would miss the part above the ground.
superDawg
August 17th, 2010
9:39 pm
yuri are you proud of the yellow dot on your head.
Wilder coming to Athens
August 17th, 2010
9:42 pm
Wilder press conference at 5p tomorrow. Its looking like he’s coming to Athens. Dream Team will be the #1 class in 2011. Richt is on fire!! Go Dawgs!!
Mr Me
August 17th, 2010
9:51 pm
Great story on AJ Green on ESPN, shows what all us dawg fans knew for a while. Its about time ESPN started giving Atlanta and Ga sports some love, god knows they hate the braves. It would be a great pickup if we get Wilder but I wonder if that closes the door on Crowell , and you know how non-committed these recruits are they change their mind every other week. I’d like to see some high-end defensive recruits but I bet many of them are waiting to see how the D plays out this year. Hope Gamble has a big year this year I’ve always liked him as a player and hope he plays his way into the NFL.
SKB
August 17th, 2010
9:58 pm
I don’t post here often, but you tech scrubs have nothing to be proud of after getting manhandled by Uga every year. Let’s be honest? Who do you think you are Florida? Alabama? You scubs can’t even beat simple Georgia and you talk big?
SKB
August 17th, 2010
10:02 pm
Btw reason UGA will do well is bc if Florida’s mcgarity Only gator makes it possible.
Dawg Stephen
August 17th, 2010
10:02 pm
Mr. Me, totally agreed brother. I think its a good sign that players like Gamble are coming out and saying that the coaching is better…thats GOOD GOOD.. I like that for one reason. Attitude!! If the players heart isnt in what they are being told, and taught, then their confidence and attitude isnt going to be there and no way that player will succeed. Good sign indeed, Gooo dawgs!!!
Directions
August 17th, 2010
10:11 pm
If all these commitments hold up, then February 2, 2011 is going to be a GREAT day for Bulldog Nation.
Gravy Train
August 17th, 2010
10:22 pm
Paul “manboobs” Johnson! Captain of the Fish Fry! You’re such the offensive guru at Tech that no kid with NFL potential will even visit you in the crime riddled slums. History. Is that what passes for history these days, playing in a dump on the outskirts of the hood? The best players in your own backyard would rather go to Athens. Tech, you can brag all you want about your school and your dainty engineers, but the truth of the matter is that when looking at leaders of men, all eyes are on products of The University of Georgia. When you’re looking for players that can’t even pass remedial studies or good dweebs to stuff in a R&D or IT cubicle, look no further than the masters of WOW, the yellow wigged flagboys, the Nerd Herd from North Ave, the mighty, fish-fryin, turkey neck shakin, manboob lovin, Techmite.
To be the Man, you have to beat The Man!
In this state, the one that we run, we are The Man. We own you in every way, on and off the field.
Gratefuldawghead
August 17th, 2010
10:30 pm
Gravey Train is right…GO DAWGS!
boots
August 17th, 2010
10:40 pm
TampaDawg, thanks for the post. Keeping my fingers crossed for tomorrow’s announcement. That would be a huge addition for the dream team.
kerryb
August 17th, 2010
10:41 pm
Tech envy is so funny. They can’t stand it that they will never get a player like this or even be in the running. Get use to that second team in the state. Probably won’t be long before GSU is the best team in Atlanta.
kerryb
August 17th, 2010
10:49 pm
UGA makes more sense than any of the places Wilder listed as top. FSU has an erratic offense. Every back they have had the last couple of years did not do well in that offense. UF does not make sense because the spread does not feature a strong running game. UGA depends on a strong running game to open up the play action. Running backs thrive in that offense. Wilder said he wanted to go to an offense that has a history of using big backs and that would be UGA.
tckr83
August 17th, 2010
10:50 pm
I don’t know if this has been mentioned yet… But, there are a few sites (bleacherreport, etc.) that are saying the announcement is no longer in tampa and is in the UGA main auditorium. That makes me a little more excited…
Also, Wilder and (4* CB # 8 In the nation) Nick Waisome, are very good friends and have apparently been looking into attending the same school for a while now if at all possible. Could be a big day for the Dawgs!
St. Simon's Daddy
August 17th, 2010
10:50 pm
Correct me if I am wrong, I think Tech was cited by the NCAA for academic fraud a few years ago? If you want to talk about a cesspool, have you walked on the Tech Campus and surrounding area? The stadium is division II small and the fan base is pathetic. Tight fisted alums who will not buy season tickets and have UGA envy. Tech will always play second fiddle to UGA. You Tech idiots come on here constantly to blast UGA. Is your life filled with hate and envy? Grow up and act your age. Go Dawgs. Rememeber we run this state.
Maddog
August 17th, 2010
10:56 pm
I still want Crowell at RB
kerryb
August 17th, 2010
10:56 pm
If this is true UGA will have the #1 recruiting class this year. With this and adding Jarvis Jones it won’t be long before the Dawgs are dominating the East again. UF’s 20 year dominance is about over. The next 20 are ours. Look at the history. The cycle changes every 20 years. UGA was 15-4 against UF from 1970-1989, UF was 17-3 against UGA from 1990-2009. The next 20 years is about to start.
Maddog
August 17th, 2010
10:58 pm
St. Simon’s Daddy
August 17th, 2010
10:50 pm
Your post was mostly correct, however I did notice one error. Tech isn’t ALWAYS second fiddle to UGA. They are much better than us at (1) Thursday night games, and (2) free hot dogs and cokes.
Army of the Gators
August 17th, 2010
11:04 pm
Nick Waisome will be announcing at ESPN Studios at 6PM in Orlando his intent. Word around Florida is GATORS. Got a great working relationship with the Gator staff for a very long time. Also Waisome didn’t know Wilder was announcing the same day…so I don’t think they are very good friends…friends yes. GO GATORS!
Thumper
August 17th, 2010
11:14 pm
Maddog….you left out (3) talking about red panties without having ever taken a pair off of a woman(blow up dolls don’t count)…..(4) bloviating about their superior intellect (5) knowing how to make an IED (6) badminton (7) Wizards of Warcraft (8) fish frys
superDawg
August 17th, 2010
11:17 pm
army of gayturs gay pride headquarters is in Gainesville Fl.
otown-dawg
August 17th, 2010
11:19 pm
any word on how Cordy’s mono is progressing? or the extent of damge cleaned up in Jones’ knee?
collegel is forever
August 17th, 2010
11:25 pm
http://www.collegelunchboxes.com Logan Gray will be a very vaulable asset to the receiving group not only with his skill put mostly his attitude and work ethic. Next time you are out getting milk and bread at Kroger check out the UGA classic tin lunch box. You girlfriend can use it as her “pool purse”. You know paperback book, suntan lotion, sun glasses, etc… Go Dawgs!!!
TampaGator
August 17th, 2010
11:31 pm
You Dawg fans are going to get excited…..a Tampa TV station said tonight that they have inside information that James Wilder is going to commit to Georgia on Wednesday. You have a good connection going on with Plant High School it seems.
TampaGator
August 17th, 2010
11:44 pm
superDawg
…..being homophobic is having an uneasy view of ones own sexual view and indicates your own lack of creative thinking skills…and being homophobic has nothing to do with college football….unless you hate college football too.
bigcalidawg
August 18th, 2010
12:13 am
I hate 3rd and 5, but we can line up A.J., Logan, Orson, and Aaron. Dang.
That’s nice…….
bigcalidawg
August 18th, 2010
12:15 am
Green, White, Gray, and Charles lined up on one play. 3rd and 5 ain’t lookin’ so bad.
RED DOG 77
August 18th, 2010
12:46 am
Hate to pick nits………….But is it the ” Paul Hornung ” award or the ” Paul Horning ” award…………………as far as I can remember, a guy named Paul Horning ran the pigskin like a gazzell for the GreenBay Packers under one Vince Lombardi………I know, I’m an old fart that watched him on my black and white tv as a kid………….just wonderin’……..Regards, RED……………………Oh, yea, and a guy named Jim Taylor lead him into the hole as a fullback, and ol’ Jim could tote that tater pretty well himself.
dagnabit
August 18th, 2010
1:48 am
Kramer; how about a jail cell being the limit?
dagnabit
August 18th, 2010
1:57 am
Wilder has narrowed his choices to the higher bids?
dagnabit
August 18th, 2010
2:05 am
I hope Wilder goes to JAWJA or Free Shoes U so I can watch him being crushed every year.
willieg loves the bulldogs
August 18th, 2010
5:24 am
LOOK TECH FANS WHO READ TECH SUCKS THEY ONLY BEAT UGA 1 OUT OF 10 TIMES FACE IT THE SUPERIOR SCHOOL IN GEORGIA IS UGA PERIOD GET OVER IT , SHOWED LAST YR IN ORANGE BOWL HOW IOWA RAN OVER YOU SAME AS UGA RAN OVER YOU BEING A GAMBLER GUESS WHAT THIS YEAR THE SAME SO TAKE YR COMMENTS TO THE TOILET AS TECH WILL NEVER OVERTAKE UGA IN THIS STATE HAVE A NICE DAY!
willieg loves the bulldogs
August 18th, 2010
5:26 am
MR JAMES WILDER COME TO UGA AND RUN JAMES RUN , RUN JAMES RUN, WITH UGA OFFENSIVE LINE SIZE UP YR HEISMAN TROPHY HERE .
Paddy
August 18th, 2010
6:46 am
kerry b….would love to agree with you about the momentum swing back to UGA’s favor for the next 20 years. Reality is, no one will dominate Coach Meyer for any length of time. He is just too solid of a coach and recruiter. Lets lower our sights and say for example, we beat the Gators 2 years in a row. That my friend is realistic and improvement!
Go Dawgs
bornloser
August 18th, 2010
6:53 am
UGA SUCKS AND SO DOES YOUR MOMMA
glercdog
August 18th, 2010
7:10 am
Observer: right decision for LeMay http://scottfowlerobs.blogspot.com/2010/08/for-best-lemays-prep-career-is-over.html
AltamahaDawg
August 18th, 2010
7:36 am
Good heavens, is it possible for a tech fan to come up with some original material? That pasting of the same thing over and over is really not backing you up in the whole smart guys argument.
And when is tech going to start their fall camp? The rest of the nation is getting ready for their own season and tech is sitting around watching for UGA practise reports.
chazzo
August 18th, 2010
7:39 am
Gamble’s comment speaks volumes.
AltamahaDawg
August 18th, 2010
8:13 am
Where exactly is the “main auditorium”. I read that too.
Dumbo
August 18th, 2010
8:21 am
Hey Techies…since you enjoy the UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA websites so much, could you DORKs come up with some new fresh material….the same old stale Tech swipes are so out of date…I would have used Passe’, but that would’ve sent you Dorks to the dictionary again. Tech=DORKS
Now we know why UGA parties
August 18th, 2010
8:27 am
Imagine going to a school that is known for parties and also highly rated ( 18th ) as an academic insitution and having a potentially great football and soon to be great basketball team. Wow. This IS what college should be about. School work, fun, games and more games, school work and fun. Someone has to do it. I mean, I squeezed four years into 6 at UGA and loved it.
This makes for a great four years if you are a student.
Fun, school work, grades >>> great job ……… translates into a great life full of great UGA memories.
Tailgating anyone???
THAT is what I am talking about.
Go Dogs.
college is forever
August 18th, 2010
8:35 am
http://www,collegelunchboxes,com Logan Gray will be very valuable addition to the receiving corp certainly by his ability and his attitude and work ethic, I am glad he stayed here with us. Besides it would look strange to have him using his UGA lunchbox at a different school, what;s in your lunchbox? Go Dawgs!!!
Rima
August 18th, 2010
8:55 am
It’s kind of sad to see all the Dawg fans getting so excited this year (just like the year before, the year before that, etc.). How long is it going to take for UGA fans to realize that UGA is simply no longer relevant in the SEC? In the national picture, UGA isn’t even a blip on the radar, and hasn’t been since the preseason #1 ranking two years ago.
Sit back and be grateful for the seven or eight wins you’ll get every year. Coaching genius Mark Richt may take you to 10-2 or even 11-1 occasionally, but Florida will still win the SEC, meaning no BCS bowls and no top 10 final ranking. Most years, UGA will be very lucky to finish in the top 25, and only after a big bowl win over a nobody opponent.
It’s a different world now, and Dawg fans need to adjust their expectations downward to reflect reality.
Unfortunately nothing is going to change until UGA changes its mediocre coaching. That’s where the difference is, and that’s why everyone outside Dawgtard Nation just laughs at Dawg fans getting so excited year after year about what a great recruiting class UGA gets. It doesn’t matter how many blue chip high school players go to UGA, they simply don’t get the coaching they would get at Florida or Alabama, to name two schools whose programs are far ahead of UGA. And that’s not going to change as long as Mark Richt is in Athens.
Get your heads out of the sand and face reality. And mediocrity and irrelevance.
And billions and billions of red panties.
DawginLex
August 18th, 2010
9:02 am
What a pathetic post from a pathetic loser rima.
'94 UGA Grad
August 18th, 2010
9:05 am
Hey Paddy,
Good post. I would just like to be competitive again with UF and even out the record and I think we are on the right track towards making that happen. I don’t think we’ll ever dominate UF again like we did in the 70’s and 80’s. And TampaGator, please ignore superDawg and all the other moronic UGA fans that post on here. I enjoy reading comments from educated and sensible fans from other teams. Please keep posting.
AltamahaDawg
August 18th, 2010
9:31 am
I am really looking forward to seeing Benedict playing in the future. Nice to see that we are deep enough not to have to play freshman OL for a change, before they are physically mature enough to compete at this level.
DSGB
August 18th, 2010
9:45 am
Rima has obviously taken a break from his or her World of Warcraft dragonslaying expedition to get on here and flame the Dawgs like a typical Tech fan. They hide behind teams like Florida, who can actaully beat Georgia, so that they can deflect the comments about how terrible their team is.
Also, the whole “red panties” comments is hilarious. It is in no way an insult to anyone in the Bulldog Nation. Do you think just b/c you cannot get laid that if someone else gets caught doing it, they should be embarrassed?
That incident was a blip on the radar this year. We have had a productive practice season, with minimal injuries (compared to years past), and we are recruiting lights out. Our future is promising, and Tech’s is just as dark and dismal as it ever was.