Juggling topics with A.J. Green, from NCAA to NFL to unicycles
ATHENS — Since word got out last month that the NCAA’s investigation of possible improper dealings between players and agents had reached Georgia, A.J. Green has declined comment on the matter except to say he has never been to Miami, scene of an agent-affiliated party that triggered the probe at several schools.
After practice Friday, Green said he looks forward to saying more.
“I hope it’s coming up soon,” he said. “It should be sometime next week, or whenever. I don’t know.”
He said the issue has “not at all” been a distraction.
On another topic, Georgia’s star wide receiver said he is focused on making the most of his junior season, not on the widespread expectation that he’ll enter next year’s NFL draft.
“You just can’t get caught up in the hype and that kind of stuff,” Green said. “You’re still in college; you’ve still got another year. There’s nothing like college. When you get in that real world, it’s nothing but business. Around here . . . you can have fun hanging around with your friends. I’m just going to take it day-by-day and game-by-game and get better each day.”
Now, something you might not know about Green: He revealed that he was on his elementary school’s “juggling team.”
“I guess,” he said, “that helped with my hand-eye coordination a lot.”
Green said he picked up the skill in second grade.
“I can juggle, like, four balls,” he said. “I can juggle everything –- pens, bowling pins, whatever.”
Green also revealed that he started riding a unicycle in fourth grade.
So now you know.
————————
A few more things:
- Georgia coach Mark Richt said Friday’s practice was “a whole lot better” than Thursday’s, which he said in retrospect “stunk.”
- Richt expects offensive guard Cordy Glenn, sidelined with mononucleosis, to return to practice by the week of the opening game, “if not sooner.”
- Georgia’s Blair Walsh was named Friday to the preseason watch list for the Lou Groza Award, which goes to college football’s top placekicker.
- UGA’s annual Fans’ Picture Day is Saturday in Sanford Stadium. Interim mascot “Russ” will be available for photos from 1-3 p.m., while players and coaches will be available for photos and autographs from 3-5 p.m.
- And finally, quarterback Aaron Murray laughed when asked if he’ll lobby Green to stick around for his senior season in 2011. “You never know, there might be a [NFL] lockout or something,” Murray said. “I won’t complain too much if he stays for that. I’m like, ‘Lockout! Lockout!’”
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126 comments Add your comment
ugadogsfan_365
August 21st, 2010
8:29 am
Good luck a.j continue to stay focused young man….. on another note am i the only person that finds it totally hilarious that tech fans come on uga blogs and talk trash about everything except whats happens on the football field? they are quick to point out how we have struggled against fla the last few yrs but they never mention how they lost 8 out of 9 games to us. when all else fails they talk about damon evans, but they get quiet when u bring up joe hamilton and his arrest on their campus for his dui and he had weed. if a uga player is a thug for driving a scooter down a alley of under age drinkin what do u call reuban houston. and wasnt this so called prestigious institute of higher learning on ncaa probation for playing athletes who were academically ineligible? tech fans lets talk about your bowl record when was the last time you won a bowl game (take your time i will wait). they talk about us going to shreveport, but didnt they play in a bowl game in boise, idaho? and didnt they lose to iowa in the orange bowl which had the lowest attendance ever come on tech fans lets wake up out of that dream. maybe u should talk trash to ga state they are on your level, but i give that upstart program 5 yrs and they will blow past yall.
Kind-hearted UGA fan
August 21st, 2010
8:35 am
To the anti-UGA posters, will not embarrass you by naming names, but:
Going through life full of bitterness is no way to live. Pull for your favorite team, enjoy whatever success they may have this season, but don’t let your envy of the University of Georgia dominate your life. If you need professional help to get over this jealousy, seek it. It is no disgrace. Talk to someone you trust about the issues you are facing that cause you to see life as a glass half empty, rather than a glass half full.
Yeller Skeeters are Peter Eaters!!!!
August 21st, 2010
8:38 am
Groheim……Since you love skipping down memory lane so much….Why don’t you tell us about the time good old Coach O’Liar let those guys play that should have been kicked out of GT for academic reasons, hmm? In case you forgot, I’ll help you remember. How about Smokin Joe Hamilton……or maybe Joe Burns? I knew Joe Burns back in High School, and he was so dumb, he couldn’t even spell his own name if you gave him the first 2 letters. That scandal pretty much killed O’Liar’s chances to be a head coach at a relevant program……because the whole world saw him for what he was and is……a lying, cheating, drunken, shanty-Irishman. Oh, yeah……Go Tech.
spike
August 21st, 2010
8:48 am
The refs screwed him in the LSU game with that celebration penalty.
Money Already In The Bank
August 21st, 2010
8:48 am
These people never do anything wrong……anyone ever see the black lawyer billboards around town?……”youdidn’tdoit.com
I would not be at all surprised to see another scandal coming out of Athens soon
reality
August 21st, 2010
8:56 am
When UGA loses, it’s always about some outside force like the refs screwed them….never about how crappy they played….
Paddy
August 21st, 2010
8:59 am
Watching midgets being juggled is almost as much fun as watching midgets run track!
Baby GT
August 21st, 2010
9:02 am
I don’t want any women…I love it here at the Institute… but I’m just scared to come out at night… so I’m on the blog… I can go out now the sun is up …. Go Jack ects !!!!
LHardingDawg
August 21st, 2010
9:17 am
With all the pro people predicting a lock out in the NFL next season. AJ or any other junior would be stupid not to stay in school. Whatever he does, he is a class act, and I’m sure will make the right decisions.
StupeDog
August 21st, 2010
9:17 am
A.J. = Ain’t Jack.
Baby FUGA
August 21st, 2010
9:19 am
Spoken like a true dog student.
spike
August 21st, 2010
9:20 am
Reality.. .. I did not blame the UGA loss on the refs. I just said that penalty on Green was really lame. Learn to read and understand before opening your pie hole. What is the Tech excuse for losing eight out of the last nine to UGA? The Dogs got lucky? It is Gomer Gaileys’ fault? What?
GT Baby & His/Her Penis Envy
August 21st, 2010
9:20 am
Your right……It’s quite apparent that ESPN is a biased Sports Media outlet. That’s pathetic !
We (UGA Loyalist) will prevail. So take your queer self downtown and start tossing some salad!
reality
August 21st, 2010
9:24 am
Spike….you are the typical idiot fan. Read what you said…”The refs screwed him in the LSU game with that celebration penalty.” How should that be interpreted??? What a retard.
murray county mystic
August 21st, 2010
9:30 am
yall are claiming Nate Hybyl??? bet he doesn’t feel the same warm and fuzzies about UGA! He probably thanks god everyu day he left that Clarke County crap hole and ended up with a couple of championship rings by just leaving Athens…a good lesson for all the athletes stuck on Adams Island…
Spike
August 21st, 2010
9:31 am
Reality, I really do love doing the mat DRILLS with my doggie boys and watching my beloved richt do his amazing dive. If only he could do the triple lindy!!
spike
August 21st, 2010
9:32 am
Reality.. You are the boob that said UGA blames a loss on some outside force, I did not. Let me help you. AJ Green got screwed by the refs on that particular call. Not UGA. We did not lose that game because of that call. Can you calculate that? May the force be with you. I know you will be able to interpret that.
spike
August 21st, 2010
9:34 am
Now you losers are using my name. Pathetic. UGA-30. ACC Champs-24.
reality
August 21st, 2010
9:39 am
Spike….you better hope the call go your way this season, otherwise UGA is looking at another 8-5 season.
dawgfan
August 21st, 2010
9:46 am
These people never do anything wrong……anyone ever see the black lawyer billboards around town?……”youdidn’tdoit.com
I would not be at all surprised to see another scandal coming out of Athens soon
Wow. Racist much Techie? Nothing but class down there at “The Institute?” This is probably the guy that was flipping off Caleb on his second touchdown run last year.
Tech Fans=scumbags.
spike
August 21st, 2010
9:48 am
Reality.. Perhaps. But none of the losses will be to Tech. See last year if you have questions.
Gratefuldawghead
August 21st, 2010
9:51 am
Funny how Tech is more worried about what is going on with GEORGIA than actually pulling for thier team!
Paul Johnson's Mammography Technician
August 21st, 2010
10:42 am
God, I hate Athens so much. I mean here we have cool stuff like zombie week, 6 different Asian student groups and girls that still aren’t sure wheteher to bed down with me (like I’d do that) or give it a try with their dormmate. AJ’s parents couldn’t afford a proper bike much less a kick-ass gaming console so he had to ride a unicycle and juggle. Sorry, that was so funny I spit out my Yoo-Hoo! Go Tech!
Pago Pago Dawg
August 21st, 2010
10:47 am
When we score, can we just act like we’ve done it before!? Geesh..
H. Walker just handed the ball to the ref and trotted to the bench.
Now, here is a real clown ........remember ....??
August 21st, 2010
10:55 am
College football is aobut memories from last year and many years past …….. like 1975.
GT Head Coach Pepper Rodgers allowed the ABC Sports TV cameras into the GT lockeroom at the half, thinking that the UGA game would be close. It was THE game of the week and on Thanksgiving night in prime time on national tv. Well, it was UGA 42-0 and so Rodgers did the two step in front of the camera and told jokes. HE was a real clown. Yes ………about 42-0 at the half.
During another game in another year ………. Clown Rodgers snatched his head phones so hard that they came up the line and hit him in the head and dropped him to his knees. Now, that was a real clown.
AAAAAAAAAAAAHHAHAHA, I Could go on.
Go Dogs.
Hybl's bro played ...
August 21st, 2010
10:57 am
Nate’s bro played golf at UGA and he loved UGA. You only told half the story you clown.
Go Dogs
AltamahaDawg
August 21st, 2010
11:05 am
“…..typical idiot fan. Read what you said…”The refs screwed HIM….”
which YOU changed to THEM and then accused somebody of being a retard for not knowing what he said.
The definition of the word interpretation is not to manipulate into something else in an effort to make some childish point.
Shech aint tit
August 21st, 2010
11:06 am
It sure is funny how the haters are always saying how UGA fans live in the past, yet they all seem to worry more about our future than their own team………Pathetic!!!
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 21st, 2010
11:15 am
How many future felons are on thUGA’s team this year? I’ll set the over/under at 8. I’m betting the over.
Gratefuldawghead
August 21st, 2010
11:16 am
Tech fans can’t fill thier high school stadium in the middle of Atlanta because they are too busy keeping up with the DAWGS!
GO DAWGS!
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 21st, 2010
11:23 am
you thUGA fans can keep reporting my posts for moderation. I am not cusing, being racist or anything. Simply making fun of stoopid people (that’s you). It proves to me you don’t want to know the truth. thGA has cheated for a long long time, just telling you the facts.
Just another way for thUGA fans to be delusional.
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 21st, 2010
11:26 am
thUGA fans upset with morals clause for it’s AD. You morons just paid a 1/2 million to a drunk sleazy AD. Your schools history reeks of academic fraud. You should have the NCAA set up an office in butt smear building.
Why would any thUGA fan report this comment?
Tville Dawg
August 21st, 2010
11:34 am
Amused by Johnson’s QB comment. If someone has already posted this, my apologies, but wonder if Johnson has ever heard of a QB named Fran Tarkenton. I think he had some moderate success in the NFL.
Man with the Plan
August 21st, 2010
12:03 pm
If AJ can’t stay healthy for the 3rd staight season, his NFL stock will drop off the map.
Groheim is a Moron plus a liar
August 21st, 2010
12:11 pm
Get your facts straight before you accuse anybody of anything. Georgia violated no NCAA rule in the “Jan Kemp” episode and suffered no sanctions from the NCAA. Academic records were not falsified. That case was about wrongful dismissal of a faculty member, not violations of NCAA rules or falsification of records.
Georgia was following the NCAA rules, and as a result the NCAA implemented new rules about making satisfactory progress toward a degree as being a requirement for eligibility. The most significant probation for violating that rule was handed down to Georgia Tech about 7 years ago, not Georgia
Richt on poll: ‘I hope we play well enough to move up. That’s the plan.’ | UGA sports blog
August 21st, 2010
12:16 pm
[...] Juggling topics with A.J. Green, from NCAA to NFL to . . . unicycles. [...]
Steve Spurrier
August 21st, 2010
12:26 pm
AJ Green is good but he’s no Sidney Rice or Alshon Jeffrey for that matter.
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2010
12:48 pm
“…Paul Johnson’s quote about college QB’s… He asked “How many NFL quarterbacks, before Stafford, have there been from UGA?” Implying his offense would produce a QB just as well as any other school.”
Actually, not only Tarkenton, but Zeke Bratkowski as well, going back even further in history. However, I think the point Johnson was making is that Georgia turns out about as many QBs as Georgia Tech in modern times (1 for Georgia, 0 for Georgia Tech.) That is statistically not very significant due to the low population of Georgia and Georgia Tech QBs in the NFL in the last generation (1 in 30 years.)
Georgia actually had another QB that played in the NFL for several years, Andy Johnson. Andy played for the Patriots for 8 years as a running back in the ’70s-early ’80s. I think he was on their all-decade team for the ’70s.
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2010
12:57 pm
I think AJ Green wears blue tights and a red cape under his uniform. If Murray gets good protection in the pocket, Green should average over 100 yards per game.
Delbert D.
August 21st, 2010
1:07 pm
Hines Ward played 1 year as QB and finished up his career at Georgia as a WR. However, we’ve forgotten Quincy Carter. He started for the Cowboys his rookie year, but lost the job. He was a high draft pick, so he ought to be counted in the stats. That would be 2 NFL QBs. Sorry, Coach Johnson.
Dawgtards ruin this state
August 21st, 2010
1:20 pm
thUGA fans rationalizing Jan Kemp and developmental studies program? It’s called organizied cheating and why thUGA is a joke nationwide. Be proud dawgtards!
Athens, Georgia
August 21st, 2010
3:24 pm
.
.
… Joshua Nesbitt for Heisman
.
.
GADAWG88
August 21st, 2010
3:48 pm
Lockout! Lockout! Lockout!
AltamahaDawg
August 21st, 2010
5:29 pm
What I noticed is that when asked about his team, Johnson started obsessing about Georgia. Tech has ruined yet another football coach.
AltamahaDawg
August 21st, 2010
5:49 pm
..and Georgia tech does not have any remedial colleges cources that it’s football player can take now? are you sure about that?
RabidDawgFan
August 21st, 2010
5:56 pm
For all of you Dawg and AJ Green haters out there, I must note that Green has played with a different QB each year of his college career. 08 was his freshman year and Stafford was his man, last year was his sophomore year and Cox was his man, this year he’s in his junior year and Murray is his man. If he leaves for the draft, that would mean that he is a top 10 selection and he’s had a different QB to pass him the ball ever since he’s been playing college ball. Name me one WR that has been drafted in the top 10 that can say that.
superDawg
August 21st, 2010
6:47 pm
AJ is the MAN!
.
August 21st, 2010
7:28 pm
Dawgtards ruin this state: Just because you were denied admission to UGA as a freshman, does not mean you can’t finish there. Don’t be such a sour puss…if you keep your GPA up high enough at Gainesville State, maybe one day you can walk the hallowed grounds too. Good luck little fella. There is hope for you.
Stormy Petrel
August 21st, 2010
8:15 pm
Attention, everyone, especially dawgtards. We will now observe a moment of silence in memory of Saint Jan Kemp, who exposed the shameful practices at UGA that were initiated and carried out by Vince Dooley. Dooley’s image as a coach and a nice guy were forever shattered during the trial, not to mention the one million dollars that dawgtards had to pay Saint Jan. These practices of recruiting morons and coddling them for four years, them tossing them out like garbage, are still going on, but at least the world knows what’s going on now.
And now, the moment of silence…
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Thank you, you may resume your normal activities now.
crabapplejoe
August 21st, 2010
8:34 pm
Lord, I sure hope A.J. Green lives up to all the hype. He and Julio Jones are the two most over-hyped WRs I’ve ever seen…..well, there was Calvin Johnson. LOL