With Washaun Ealey’s departure, heat’s turned up on Caleb King, not Isaiah Crowell
Caleb King has averaged more than five yards per carry the last two seasons but has struggled with injuries and suspensions. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
A lot of people may feel like the pressure was turned up on incoming freshman Isaiah Crowell when Georgia and tailback Washaun Ealey decided to part ways this week. I disagree.
As a five-star prospect and the No. 1-rated running back prospect in America, much already was expected of Crowell. And no matter how you slice it, he’s still a true freshman. He’s going to be given the latitude of the learning curve, at least in the early going. He’s not going to be expected to know everything and to do everything just right.
No, if you ask me the heat has been turned up on Caleb King.
King is the fifth-year senior. By default, he is the incumbent starter at tailback.
As such, King is supposed to have the playbook mastered at this point. He should be as proficient a pass blocker as he is a ball carrier. At 23 years old, he’s supposed to be the mature one, the one who leads the other running backs by example.
Whether King has what it takes to do that is unclear. His UGA career has been in a constant state of interruption between injuries and disciplinary infractions. Just last season he missed three games due to suspension and another two and a half with injuries.
Georgia fans have yet to see what a fully-committed, injury-and-suspension-free King might look like.
- As a freshman in 2008, he was buried behind Knowshon Moreno on the depth chart.
- In August of 2009, he missed much of preseason camp with a hamstring injury.
- In September of 2009 he missed 2 1/2 games with a sprained ankle.
- In October of 2009 he suffered a broken jaw against LSU.
- In April of 2010, he missed most of spring practice and the G-Day game with a knee injury.
- In October of 2010, he was suspended for two games after being jailed for failure to appear on a minor traffic charge.
- In December of 2010, he was suspended for the Liberty Bowl for missing academic appointments, a violation of athletic department policy.
But when King has been healthy and available, he’s actually been pretty good. He has averaged over five yards per carry each of the last two seasons, an important statistical indicator in the rough-and-tumble SEC. He averaged 5.2 yards a pop when he rushed for 594 yards as a sophomore and 5.4 while getting only 80 carries last year.
And there were indications this spring that he has finally popped free of controversy.
Asked about Crowell’s impending arrival this summer, King said, “He’s still got to come in and work hard because the rest of us are working hard. We’re all busting our tails. I’m going to try to get him under my wing and go from there.”
As for the events that led to his suspensions, he told reporters, “That will never happen again.”
Coach Mark Richt has already assured us that we’ll likely see much of the ballyhooed Crowell in the season opener. “I wouldn’t be shocked to see him running that rock in the Dome against Boise State on the opening play,” Richt said.
But odds are we’ll see even more of Caleb King.
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305 comments Add your comment
Observation
May 10th, 2011
4:46 pm
“If you see somebody crossing that line, report them on the form provided on the blog and we’ll take care of it.”
No one has typed anything racist. OneeyedJack is a liar.
@Yella Jackets
May 10th, 2011
4:48 pm
Still Winning
May 10th, 2011
4:38 pm
Ball is currently signed to play for the Bricktown Brawlers of the Indoor Football League in 2011. Hamilton is a football intern for Georgia State.
Wow, so they’ve arrived! Congrats to both!
Observation
May 10th, 2011
4:54 pm
The sky is blue, except at night
Water is wet, except when it’s frozen
My flair for stating undisputed facts sprinkled in with a bit of my own fiction that I call reality makes me a genius.
Observation
May 10th, 2011
4:55 pm
..and by genius I mean tool.
Einsteindawg
May 10th, 2011
4:58 pm
I guess Mr. “Observation” has already exceeded his quota of Red Bull and Dark Chocolate M&Ms. As it’s close to the dinner hour, I bet his Mom will be calling him out of the basement soon, as he also has a home-ec test tommorrow.
Observation
May 10th, 2011
5:09 pm
“I guess Mr. “Observation” has already exceeded his quota of Red Bull and Dark Chocolate M&Ms. As it’s close to the dinner hour, I bet his Mom will be calling him out of the basement soon, as he also has a home-ec test tommorrow”
Einsteindawg, THAT my friend is an astute observation!
Einsteindawg
May 10th, 2011
5:10 pm
By astute, I assume you mean correct.
Bill King is a...................
May 10th, 2011
5:12 pm
Heat turned up on King?????????????????????? Jesus Harold Christ!!!!! King is the MAIN problem!!! Get his tail outta there too and let Malcome and Crowell tote the rock. Geez!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! King, lol give me a break!!!
Bill King is a...................
May 10th, 2011
5:16 pm
The best thing we can hope for is that King gets arrested for something this summer and is booted from the team. King said, “hopefully i can get him under my wing.” Thats the last freaking thing we need for Crowell. Crowell will be a bust at UGA under the tutilege of Caleb King. maybe King will stay hurt most of the year if he isnt kicked off for some conduct issue. Lets hope he is not in the mix when camp gets here.
Einsteindawg
May 10th, 2011
5:25 pm
Guess “Observation” killed this blog. I still believe we’ll be just fine with our running backs. Don’t forget that JS-W has the size and speed to be a great RB if the coaches choose to use him at that position, and “Cootie” can also be a good back. Just my opinions.
DawginMex
May 10th, 2011
5:27 pm
Let’s see, we got Murray, we got King and Oh Yeah we got the DREAM TEAM!
DawginLex you still forgettin all that football? What a terrible memory. I feel for ya man.
Go Dawgs!
May 10th, 2011
5:29 pm
I agree, I think Ealey for all the good he did on the field canceled it out with his performance off the field.
I think he was just too used to being a big fish in a little pond, and couldn’t adjust to being a little fish in a big pond.
Observation
May 10th, 2011
5:33 pm
Hey look, someone done stoled my blog handle.
Stay classy dawg tards.
Observation
May 10th, 2011
5:34 pm
“The best thing we can hope for is that King gets arrested”
Oh you’ll see a lot of that. UGA isn’t the reigning Fulmer Cup champs for nothing.
UGA haters=scary loners
May 10th, 2011
5:35 pm
These sad pathetic haters who flood the AJC with their bitter hate filled posts about the Dawgs every day are not only despondant losers they are kind of scary.
I am sure most of them spend every night & day in dank basements in their grandparents homes or filthy duplex rentals that they share with 3 or 4 other weirdos talking about how much they hate people with real friends and that girl down at the welfare office who thinks she is so hot.
CyberDawg
May 10th, 2011
5:36 pm
ve6h8 j26lo er1uw z1h9b 3dci7 sg4f4 ew9jt g3r5f au4de nv3ky me27f m41dv r1cy7 dc8vt ff78w 2sgn6 wgk6s l2ky3 a6u5d xi3v7 dw5h9 ab3b5 a7th4
sierra hotel
UGA haters=scary loners
May 10th, 2011
5:37 pm
Observation Yes I am talking about you.
Stinger
May 10th, 2011
5:54 pm
I would hate to know that King is my go to guy. Long season for you mutts. Six wins at best. LOL
DawginMex
May 10th, 2011
6:00 pm
If you don’t have a comeback, you know like facts, just call them an ugly name.
It’s the Dawg Way!
UGA fans=scary losers
May 10th, 2011
6:04 pm
Sad pathetic UGA fans who sit and blog on AJC blogs are sad and pathetic.
Observation
May 10th, 2011
6:05 pm
“Observation Yes I am talking about you.”
Which makes you a troll. Get off your inbred mothers computer and get a job. McDonalds is great about hiring UGA fans.
This Dawg Want Hunt!!
May 10th, 2011
6:21 pm
Let’s see preacherboy has thrown everyone under the bus the past couple of years from his defensive assistant coaches, to his S&C coach, to Mett, and now W.E. Yet he has yet to solve the problem, and that problem is so obvious to everyone associated with the UGA program, except the clown Richt. The problem is Richt and his pathetic O.C. Bobo. UGA has lost more games due to Bobo’s lack of ability to call plays and his lack of ability to establish a running game. Richt continues to believe in Bobo’s ability, and there in lies the problem. Any head coach with any knowledge of how to establish a successful running attack would no bobo is a joke, but not Richt. Hell Richt thinks the same way Bobo does, and that is it’s more important to establish a passing game than the running game. How many times has UGA lost a game because at crush time late in a game, it couldn’t get a first down by running the ball and the clock out. But good ol’ boy Richt will blame it on the defense allowing the other team to come back and win, and not his bonehead O.C. Richt was fortunate to have VanGorder’s defenses to baill his terrible play calling, but now he has no one to bail out BoBo’s terrible calls. But it want matter this year, because Richt has thrown everyone under the bus, and he has blamed everyone, except himself, and bobo. He want have anyone else to blame now. This pathetic head coach will probably blame the DreamTeam for his failure this season, the team he labeled and recruited. This guy is a joke, and he should have never been given this season to put the UGA program behind it’s rivals even farther. Thanks alot McGarity
Ben
May 10th, 2011
7:28 pm
Hey Chip,
Nice interview on ESPN just a few minutes ago about Ealey.
Just 1 correction.
Caleb King was not anywhere near as productive as Ealey.
Ealey rushed for 11 touchdown’s, King only got 2.
Otherwise, nice interview.
Ealey the lead story on ESPN, they put up a nice graphic showing Ealey as the #4 rusher in the SEC since 2009.
UGA is mean
May 10th, 2011
7:40 pm
I’m a sad little loser who posts under many names like Ben & Dave & Michael & Bob etc… I just wanted to say that UGA wouldn’t accept me just because I have a record for stalking and because my personal hygiene is ….. well I smell really bad.
I hate UGA and all the their fans just because they are better than me and they have friends and girls don’t laugh at them. Observer is my friend at least we hang out in my filthy dank basement well grannie owns it but it’s still mine. Observer doesn’t like UGA either but that is just one of her many many many issues. I guess I do know one girl but observer is so amazingly fat that I forget she is a girl.
UGA is mean
May 10th, 2011
7:43 pm
Oh no I’m supposed to call her observation in public. Observer is for when we are alone only. Now she will paddle me. Hee hee hee I did it on purpose I like her to spank me
Troll Power Ratings
May 10th, 2011
8:03 pm
This Dawg Want Hunt!! : Sir, exactly what is it the dawg would like to hunt? And that is a brilliantly written piece. You are undoubtedly a football rocket surgeon.
no loss
May 10th, 2011
8:25 pm
crowell—starting tailback from day 1—book it. He’s the best back at UGa in 20 years.
Summit Dawg
May 10th, 2011
8:43 pm
We used to be known as “Running Back U, then came
Quarterback play calling Mike BooBoo, so now it’s
throw, throw, throw, punt……It wasn’t Ealey’s fault….
you can’t score or make yardage if you aren’t given
the ball…..the kid scored seven tds in high school……
and that was in the first half, as the coach didn’t even
play him in the second half…..and Mr. Richt, what
are you going to do if King or Crowell gets hurt…or
Crowell isn’t all he’s made up to be….but of course,
Mr. Richt, you’ll have another one to coach down!!
Summit Dawg
May 10th, 2011
8:47 pm
Hey “This Dawg Want Hunt,”……That’s hitting the nail on the head…..right on….Richt & BooBoo have to go for this ship to be righted!!!!
DDog
May 10th, 2011
8:56 pm
I don’t think so. Heat’s not on King, he can’t score td’s. 2 last year.
The heat’s on Crowell.
Become the next Herschel Walker.
The pressure’s on.
Halo
May 10th, 2011
9:01 pm
Dudes in the Bible, great leaders, like David, Moses, murderers, yet were great leaders.
Ealey has done nothing compared to them, he’ll turn out great.
Spike 80DF
May 10th, 2011
9:33 pm
“Observation” is clearly Patrick Romano from the previous blogs…..a sad AU fan who apparently quit taking his meds after Al from Dadeville got ahold of those trees….
My observation: if I went on a rival teams blog and posted 50+ comments arguing with every other fan it sows that I’m obviously insecure. Better enjoy that NC while you can, haha.
Seth Emerson's Bulldogs Blog killed the anon posters
May 10th, 2011
9:48 pm
Washaun was a prima donna. Good riddance but too litle too late there is more cancer among us in Athens.
drdawg
May 10th, 2011
9:54 pm
Mark and Bobo are QBs and they expect a running back to break one for 60 yards, score and then they can return to the passing game. They cannot tolerate letting a back carry the rock 25 times and get stronger. So unless the guy breaks one after two rushing plays, they forget him. That is why we so rarely have a 1000 year rusher. And you can’t win the SEC without rushing the dadgum pumpkin.
It Ain't Rocket Science
May 10th, 2011
11:01 pm
Surely a lot of you negative people on these blogs can’t be mature adults. Who, if he/she is mature post things that you would expect to hear or in this case see, come out of the mouth of a 3rd grader. Have you no pride. If you feel you must post something, usually completely unrelated to the blog, at least show a little maturity. If that word confuses you, ask your mommy or daddy and they will try to explain it to you at your level fo comprehension.
As for the article. I beieve Chip is spot on. Crowell should not feel any pressure to step right in and perform at an all SEC level. King needs to step up and actually play to his potential. As a fifth year senior, he needs to exhibit leadership by both his play and his words. He wanted a second chance to be the go to runner and now he has it. Don’t let us down Caleb.
AltamahaDawg
May 10th, 2011
11:10 pm
Yea, if only Richt hadn’t been playing favorites with Knowshon, King would have proven a lot more as a Freshman.
Preston
May 11th, 2011
2:23 am
Hope the best for our team and King. Gotta admit concern for his numerous injuries though. If he goes down with injury, we better hope that Crowell is as big a stud as advertised because the other guys are “OK”, at best.
Thomas Brown
May 11th, 2011
4:22 am
Never. No Heart. Entitled athlete. Poor Student. Academic Issues since crawling out of the cradle. And, his treatment of the lady UGA bus driver, says it all. He is no gentleman.
If Mark Richt loses his job after this year, Caleb Darnell King will be why. Loser. No-Show. Feign Injury.
You’re kidding me of course, that 5 years after being named the # 1 football player in the State of Georgia, that he has 1,271 yards total rushing – all against nobodies. He should have done that in 1 year, not 5.
Thomas Brown
May 11th, 2011
4:25 am
in SC loss last season, -0- yards
in Ark loss last season, -0- yards
in Miss St loss last season, 9 carries for 23 yards -0- TD
in Colorado loss last season, -0- TD and the fumble that lost the game
after the next game, he Started his 2-game Suspension
in Florida loss -0- TD and 12 rushes for useless 64 yards
in Auburn loss 9 rushes for 53 yards and -0- TD
after the next game, he AGAIN was SUSPENDED for bowl game.
The failed 2009 season, he had -0- yards -0- TD in Okie State loss
in the LSU loss, he had 8 rushes for 7 yards and -0- TD, why did we lose ?
in the loss to vols the following week, -0- TD and -0- yards
in the game in JAX 2009, he had -0- TD and 19 yards rushing – awesome
in the Kentucky loss at HOME he had 79 yards on 18 rushes -0- TD
The year before that the failed 2008 season 100 yards Ga Southern -0- after
in 31-0 halftime rout us # 1, he had 2 catches for 2 yards 1 rush for 5 -0- TD
in the JAX rout, he had 1 yard total in the entire Blow-Out.
in the Georgia tek 29 unanswered points loss at HOME, he had 1 yard total
For this production on and off the field, he is and always has been Mark Richt’s Favorite.
Starting Job
May 11th, 2011
6:46 am
Forget king–he’s not that good. Crowell is the real deal—he’ll be the game 1 starter—take it to the bank. He may be the best back at Ga since Walker.
It Ain't Rocket Science
May 11th, 2011
7:39 am
In my opinion, it is not fair to expect Crowell to step right up, and be ready to go unless he really gets into the program and has a fast learning curve when he starts to attend UGA. It is not only the play book he will need to learn. College life is a big step up from high school. It is hard to give individual attention to every need the kid might have when he first arrives at UGA. Now, if he is mature enough to step right into the role of a starter, then that is fine. I am thinking he will need time to acclimate before he is ready, but I could be wrong. He has to know that a lot is being asked of him and whether or not he will be ready to go, that fast is another question. I also question whether it is fair to expect this. Maybe CMR feels he will be, because he let Ealey go, or maybe there was just a zero chance that Ealey even wanted to start maturing as a person and therefore that was a the only thing he could do. I personally think King will have to be ready to go, and to be fair, King may be ready to step it up, now that he may have to be the featured back for a while at GA. He has to know that this is his last chance at a NFL career hi lite film, so who knows. I worry because he seems to be injury prone, but again, maybe the new S and C program, will have him stronger and more physical. Let’s hope so, or it could be a long year for the offense, if Crowell isn’t ready either.
JE
May 11th, 2011
8:12 am
For some reason Richt and staff are not developing these premier running backs and qb’s that never play. This will ultimately come back to hurt UGA in the recruiting area.
JE
May 11th, 2011
8:15 am
Instead of developing great running backs,d UGA has to develop good blockers for the passing game. There was no excuse in them not developing these running backs and qb’s. If Richt sticks to his philosophy, Crowell will not play until he learns how to block. Saying he probably will run the ball vs BSU was not the best thing to do. He basically turned his back on all he work the RB’s have done in their career at uga. Poor judgement on his part.
GaDawg
May 11th, 2011
8:40 am
@ Observation – Does it matter that fans on the IGA blog did not go to UGA? I have never understood why everyone thinks that you have to go to a “college” to be a fan of that college. Someone please explain!
Paul N Destin
May 11th, 2011
8:41 am
It is a good think you Dogs had Herschel otherwise there would be nothing for you to post about in Dogland.
Alabama might lose one game but that is all. If you think they’re rebuilding then you will have a surprise waiting for you if your team plays them.
It Ain't Rocket Science
May 11th, 2011
8:43 am
JE,
I think it is the nature of the beast so to speak. Some of these really athletically gifted players, have the old entitlement attitude and can’t handle actually having to conform to a rigid schedule, training regiment and the rules of the team. They were spoon fed in high school because they were good atheletes and I believe in some cases, although this is just my belief, their grades were massaged to make them appear better academically, then they really are. Couple that with a caring coach like CMR, who bends over backwards to help them and you just sometimes end up with a bust on your hands. I believe the CMR of the future we will see, is now a little more rigid and maybe will not be so tolerant of the individual, since he has been taken advantage of one time too many. These kids have to grow up a little and realize what a tremendous opportunity they have and are throwing away. The pressures are unique on them once they get into college, but at some point, they need to become mature.
I hope the offensive line will step up this year and I am not sure what has been the real problem before this. Could be S and C, or maybe they were just a little over rated. We need some blue collar type players there. You don’t have to be an all american but you do need to have good fundamentals and be able to communicate with the rest of the line. Hopefully, they will step up this year, because we will need the protection for the QB and lanes for the RB’s to hit.
Observation
May 11th, 2011
8:49 am
“Does it matter that fans on the IGA blog did not go to UGA?”
Yes it does. It always amazes me to see Ford F-150s with a giant Greenbay logo, I mean Georgia logo, on the rear window yet these same people never set foot in a UGA classroom. I’ve been around UGA fans who rant about how Auburn is a crappy school yet these same buffoons don’t even have a college degree. I’ve been around UGA fans who’ve said that Bama students cheat in the classroom yet these same buffoons barely finished high school.
There’s a certain pride that graduates of schools have with their football team mainly because these people actually paid to go to said school. I have no beef with UGA grads or GT grads. I have a problem with fans who make fun of other universities when they themselves never went to one.
Make sense?
2011 BCS National Champs
May 11th, 2011
8:53 am
You know what I find hypocritical about dawg fans? The fact that a lot of you were saying that Cam Newton is stupid yet the guy scored the exact same score as Tim Tebow. AJ Greene scored a 6. A SIX!!!!!!!!!!!!! Can’t wait for Cam to run roughshod all over that weak Atlanta Falcons defense.
He’ll make Matt “choke” Ryan look like well, choke Ryan.
BigRedDawg
May 11th, 2011
8:55 am
Observation: So what if a fan didn’t go to UGA. I’m a fan and didn’t go, I would have but I blew my knee out my softmore season and without a scholarship I couldn’t afford it. Does that make me less of a fan then you? And I saw you’re earlier post about BCS championships and it’s true, but UGA has more national titles than any of those other schools (5 and counting).
Observation
May 11th, 2011
9:10 am
“Does that make me less of a fan then you? ”
I actually went to the school in which I support.
“UGA has more national titles than any of those other schools (5 and counting).”
This is the problem with people like you. You make up stuff.
According to the UGA football website: Claimed national titles (1942,1980)
You must not be too good with them there numbers.