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.”
Other posts today:
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
120 comments Add your comment
Dawg Stephen
August 18th, 2010
9:47 am
TampaGator,
please disregard any of those with no sense. I enjoy your posts here, as they are always classy, and well written while leaving no doubt who you cheer for. You are welcome here, and anywhere I post anytime. See you in Jacksonville.
Dawg Stephen
August 18th, 2010
9:48 am
In the meantime… Bulldog in Exile has NAILED it again today….if you havent read this, YOU GOTTA think of it this way..
http://dawginexile.blogspot.com/2010/08/now-who-do-you-hire.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+blogspot%2FknyR+%28A+Bulldog+in+Exile%29
Will
August 18th, 2010
9:49 am
I’m glad Gray is doing good at receiver however I’m worried that some of our other young receivers are struggling badly. I never hear anything good about Wooten, King or Brown. Those guy must be having really bad camps to be passed on the depth chart by a backup qb. Does anyone have any information to prove me wrong. I hope to so.
DawginLex
August 18th, 2010
9:57 am
Gray has a lot of things going for him.
1.) Probably one of the best overall athletes on the team
2.) Having been a QB, he knows the routes and knows what a QB is looking for to get open.
3.) He knows the playbook
uuugh.
August 18th, 2010
10:38 am
SKB you are an idiot. Where is McGarity from? Athens. Where did he go to school? UGA. Where did he work as a G.A. and right out of college until 1992? UGA. McGarity a Gator huh? No sir. Our boy helped your school to become great…and now he has come home. You will miss him.
ga gator
August 18th, 2010
10:58 am
McGarity is a great hire; anyone who thinks otherwise is a fool. I hope he has continued success at UGA and my prediction is this; if he learned anything from Foley in Gainesville, it is not to accept mediocrity. Foley has fired several coaches in the past decade for lack of excellence including Ron Zook and two Baseball coaches.
dawgs01
August 18th, 2010
11:29 am
if Wilder comes to athens then Crowell is off to Bama i dont know which one is better but one of those guys is going to be an all american maybe both of them will be
AltamahaDawg
August 18th, 2010
12:28 pm
Will, I think coach said that Gray would not start but would play. As if him progressing enough to actually enter the game at this point is the big news. Good for him, good for us, good story. But that doesn’t exactly translates to him passing the rest of those guys on the depth chart.
A back up QB looking more and more like a WR is a good tidbit. Wooten IS a WR, it’s just not news. News would be if he didn’t catch a long ball, every time.
But I agree that we haven’t heard a lot on the WRs in general. I’m guessing that the coaches would rather have a few of these interest stories dominate the conversation, while the actual road paving is just going on in the background.
15 wins in 50 years
August 18th, 2010
1:34 pm
Yuri, Will you please elaborate on why Techs was placed on NCAA probation 2005? Will you please explain the coincidence between flunkgate and Morris Brown losing accreditation?
bdawge71
August 18th, 2010
2:17 pm
Remember 2009, 30-24. Do not forget. Let us go for 9 of 10. Reborn Dawgs.
AltamahaDawg
August 18th, 2010
2:51 pm
Well, does anybody know if they have turned on the air in the main auditorium yet?
AltamahaDawg
August 18th, 2010
3:03 pm
uh, any sort of AD was going to fire Ron Zook eventually, so not sure thats some badge of honor. Foley also hired Ron Zook, so….
I believe what you are tryign to say is that the Gator Boosters would not put up with it/him.
BTW, is one of those fired baseball coaches the one that started out as #1 in the country and failed to even make the conference tourney a few years back? Or is that the current coach.
Dawghater
August 18th, 2010
3:16 pm
Not a down snapped or a game played. But you have a preseason ranking! Enjoy!
Patrick
August 18th, 2010
4:29 pm
Will – Wooten has been out witha minor injury, but should be back in the coming weeks. I’ve heard CMR praise Marlon Brown on a number of occasions, and he has said that Brown is the best blocking WR we have on the roster. Bobo also said Marlon looks much more polished than he did when he came in last year as a Frosh. Bobo also said Brown would definitely be counted on to contribute this year. I haven’t heard much of King recently other than some modest stats in the scrimmages. But I’m less concerned with him, as he proved to me that he has what it takes. Hope this helps….
Go Dawgs!
WoodstockDawg03
August 18th, 2010
11:49 pm
The real question here is whether or not Gamble can handle the 9000 degree heat in Columbia (aka: the surface of the sun) on 9/11. I mean, it gets SOOOOOOO much hotter there than anywhere in GA. Maybe we should just forfeit that game to avoid all the heat related injuries and just focus on the games later in the year that aren’t so hot……
hey yuri
August 19th, 2010
6:11 am
you need to check your facts straight – It’s Tech that has the druggie football playes (Houston 100 pounds of weed – the drug cartel operating out of the locker room ) The terrorist problems (pipe bombs in the quadrangle) and the academic issues ( 11 players ruled ineligible at one time) You Techies are the cesspool – and your campus is the crime center of the state – you guys are a joke. And as for engineeering – you can’t even weld a hand rail on that piece of crap car properly – your cheerleaders keep falling off! LOL
AltamahaDawg
August 19th, 2010
12:17 pm
Good article on the turnovers, Tim.
atlxman
August 19th, 2010
11:15 pm
http://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/news;_ylt=AhDforzA9F7vtNQQfbctvFlDubYF?slug=dw-lionsstafford081910
matt stafford article
DawgsOnline » Dare to dream about the defense?
August 20th, 2010
1:14 pm
[...] at linebacker. You’ve seen how the coaching change has given new life to players like Darryl Gamble. Gamble’s been good enough to push presumptive starter Cornelius Washington. Injuries at [...]
DawgsOnline » Dare to dream about the defense?
August 20th, 2010
1:14 pm
[...] at linebacker. You’ve seen how the coaching change has given new life to players like Darryl Gamble. Gamble’s been good enough to push presumptive starter Cornelius Washington. Injuries at [...]