Quarterbacks: Offense appears to be in good hands with Aaron Murray`
Fifth in a series breaking down Georgia’s 2011 football team by position groups. . . .
In Aaron Murray the Georgia Bulldogs trust, and for good reason after a phenomenal freshman season. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin/bsanderlin@ajc.com)
THE QUARTERBACKS
- Returning starter: Aaron Murray (So., 6-1, 211).
- Others to watch: The competition to become Murray’s chief backup should be a good one between sophomore Hutson Mason, a lightly-recruited player who earned a scholarship offer with a record-breaking season as a high school senior, and true freshman Christian LeMay, an elite prospect of national renown who enrolled early in order to get into the mix.
- Key fact: Rarely is it that a sophomore quarterback is so roundly regarded as is Murray, but he appears to be gaining momentum as a consensus pick for preseason first-team All-SEC. His freshman season coupled with a blue-collar work ethic have excited the masses about the possibilities for improvement. As the meticulous researcher Phil Steele pointed out, Murray as a freshman had a higher higher pass efficiency rating (154.5) than Matthew Stafford did as a junior at Georgia, and Stafford ended up being the No. 1 overall pick in the subsequent NFL draft. Murray completed 61 percent of his passes for 3,049 yards passing — second all-time for an SEC freshamn — had a 24 to 8 TD to interception ratio and tied D.J. Shockley for UGA’s all-time record for TD responsibility with 28. Meanwhile, Murray did his best work at the end of the regular season, passing for 544 yards and 6 TDs with no interceptions against Auburn and Georgia Tech.
- Key fact II: The battle for backup duties is going to be interesting. Mason (6-3, 196) was solid in very limited as a true freshman, appearing in four games and completing 9-of-17 passes, including a TD pass on the very first attempt of his career (only the third QB in college football history to do that, joining Georgia Tech’s Taylor Bennett and Southern Cal’s Matt Leinart). LeMay (6-2, 195) put up some eye-popping passing numbers as a high school junior — 68.5 completion percentage, 3,296 yards, 48 TDs, 2 INTs — while leading Butler High to a 16-0 record and state championship. But he missed his entire senior season while protesting a controversial disciplinary suspension and the effect of the season off is unknown.
- Key questions: How will Murray perform without A.J. Green as a main target? Murray often joked that all he had to do was throw the ball high in the 6-4 Green’s general direction to complete a pass. He won’t have that luxury after Green was plucked away with the No. 4 pick in the NFL draft. But while Green caught 57 balls in nine games, Murray did manage to complete 152 passes to 18 other receivers.
- Recent developments: Murray was named to the Maxwell Award watch list for 2011.
- Outlook: Outstanding. What a difference a year makes. Coming into the 2010 season the Bulldogs had no quarterbacks with any experience. A year later they are relying on a 13-game starter and Freshman All-SEC selection in Murray, a tested backup in Mason and a bluechip prospect in LeMay. Freshman walkons Parker Welch and Greg Bingham provide additional depth.
- Your turn: What’s your take on Georgia’s quarterbacks?
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494 comments Add your comment
JB
July 7th, 2011
9:02 am
X man…….I pray you are correct.
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:04 am
I disagree, JB. I actually follow their program pretty closely as one of my best friends is a big Tech fan. Their overall talent level is higher than in 2009, though they don’t have as many individual NFL prospects.
Football is a team game, and Johnson’s scheme specifically doesn’t really highlight individuals. Their offensive and defensive lines will be much better this year than they have been recently. I hope they take the ACC by storm, to be honest. I think we should all take pride in our fellow Georgia school. They’ll never compete with us directly because they can’t bring in the top talent, but I like what Johnson is doing there. He’s a good coach for their program, but I don’t think his style would work here or at other big-time programs.
Still@theBAR
July 7th, 2011
9:04 am
RUSS might as well go ahead and get a Horseshoe tattoo on his butt right now. He can save BUSTER Bronco the time of kicking him in the butt before the game.
AltamahaDawg
July 7th, 2011
9:07 am
So, lose enough games to get a new coach, BUT hopefully it’s not the first or last, or any in the middle?
Beef
July 7th, 2011
9:07 am
DawginLex – Thomas is a CoP guy with some ability to make people miss when he’s in open space 1v1. I don’t think they use him as a TB but a fraction as much as they had been and instead drop him out in the flats as a check-down receiver on passing downs when Crowell needs a breather.
Boo & King are big power-backs, and Crowell can do anything. Thomas won’t get much playtime this year either way.
1953Dawg
July 7th, 2011
9:08 am
JB, you hit the nail squarely on the head!!! But only at UGA will a coach of Richt’s recent downfall be allowed to continue to coach. He will win 8 or 9 counting the bowl game, play Florida close, but lose, and sneak by Ga.Tech, and the UGA fans will be happy. Funny, Donnan won 8 or more games 4 years in a row, and got canned. Yet wonderboy Richt gets a free pass, while all of UGA’s rivals in the SEC have passed him by. Auburn, Bama,Fl, LSU, Arkansas, S.C, Miss.St, and possibly Tenn. all have passed this clown’s program. If i’m not mistaken that makes UGA the 8th or 9th best program in the SEC now. Great job Richt, and congrats to the UGA fanbase. The NIGHTMARE in Athens continues.
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:09 am
“Altamaha,”
Hopefully as few SEC games as it could possibly take to convince McGarity Richt is not the long-term answer. So yeah, we’ll need to lose to Boise and Tech
Still@theBAR
July 7th, 2011
9:10 am
Murray will wake up after the Boise State game thinking he is Peyton Manning. Not because of his play or stats, but because he will have a big Horseshoe stamped on the side of his helmet/head.
TheXman
July 7th, 2011
9:10 am
agree about johnson a tech..he has turneed them into pretty much a div 1aa football team. loading up on fast running backs and defensive back hoping that one will turn into the right qb for his offense. he was so lucky to have nesbitt, who was a pro style qb, stay or they would have lost even more games. he needs to try and recruit pro style qbs that have no shot of playing in the nfl for any shot of winning 10 games a year again. the thing is that it seems all pro style qb’s these day thing they have a shot at playing in the nfl.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 7th, 2011
9:10 am
Aaron Murray displays Aaron Rodgers like qualities. Same build, same type of player. High Completion %, good leader, has good scrambling ability to make somehting out of nothing. I have a feeling within two years we will see this really come into light.
CecilDawg
July 7th, 2011
9:11 am
Geez, 1953 – All we need is for Murray to hit those All-SEC receivers, the OL to flatten those SEC defenders, and the running backs to block, and there you have it: NC !
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:12 am
I actually agree with “1953Dawg.” But again, I believe Donnan’s downfall was his inability to beat Tech. Which goes to prove that when it comes down to it, we consider Tech a more vital game than UF.
TheXman
July 7th, 2011
9:12 am
doubt murry will even be touched in that boise st game. they are running defensive guys(linemen) out there smaller than ga tech div 1aa team.
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:13 am
And I don’t think that should be the case at all. Beating Florida means much more to recruiting, since Tech doesn’t really compete with us for recruits.
Still@theBAR
July 7th, 2011
9:16 am
But UGA is going to start engineering programs where players can learn to make an ARCH with 3 Columns. LOL
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:16 am
“Xman,”
Not sure I follow your logic there. Nesbitt was an AWFUL passer; much more of a running back than a “pro style QB.” His only saving grace was having Thomas at WR his first two years.
Tech is bringing in a good (for Tech) quarterback this year. I really don’t understand why so many UGA fans harbor so much contempt for Tech; they really don’t even compete with us.
AltamahaDawg
July 7th, 2011
9:16 am
So count you are pulling for the Boise State Broncos to beat Georgia?
AltamahaDawg
July 7th, 2011
9:17 am
Donnan got fired because he couldn’t shake the hands of a room full of fans without looking over thier shoulder to see where the closest exit was.
TheXman
July 7th, 2011
9:19 am
also murry is a very smart qb who, like stafford, watches tons of film and learns from his mistakes. think he will stay all 4 years too which will be nice. means lemay will red shirt which is also nice. that way uga will be set at the qb position for a long time. it is very important to be albel to red shirt qbs learning the pro style offense. look what difference a year made for murry. his confidence was through the roof last year. should do the same for lemay.
Nomobama
July 7th, 2011
9:21 am
Love blind fans like destin dog, who claims this is our year every year. Hey bud, you got no O line, no rbs and no recievers…and bozo the OC calling plays. That spell championship to you? Guess so. Delusional much?
JB
July 7th, 2011
9:21 am
X man, we do match up well playing Boise……..IF……….We can put some pressure on their QB and cover the WR’s……….We have a good chance…..If their QB is allowed to sit back and pump the ball and survey the field, it could be a long night. They can move move the chains. I also think our SEC level talent, and yea we have it it spades, will be able to move on them also. gonna be a good game. Go Dawgs,
DawginLex
July 7th, 2011
9:21 am
Timbo
Great points about Johnson. Tech’s defense is going to be better this year. They still don’t have enough athletes to beat Georgia, VT or possibly Miami but I believe they will win 9 or maybe 10 games.
I took some crap from folks by saying that Johnson could win big as coach at UGA. Think Oklahoma of the 80’s. That scheme with top recruits at every position would win big as long as we had a good defense. We sure as heck wouldn’t have kicked a FG in the bowl game on 4th and 1 last year.
Donnan got fired for a lot of reasons:
1.) He was a jerk to the wrong people
2.) He lost to Tech 3 times in a row
3.) He made bad decisions-Sanks instead of Lewis, Quincy Carter
4.) “I have been waiting all my life to coach a team like this.” Then lost to Sc who went 0-11 the year before.
sandman053
July 7th, 2011
9:22 am
JB I don’t think they can block our guys. I think Moore spends a lot of time looking up at the roof of the Georgia Dome too
AltamahaDawg
July 7th, 2011
9:23 am
And it’s my opinion that it’s not “only at Georgia”, 1953. The AD of Alabama, the AD at LSU, the AD at Florida would never have fired Richt this past year if they had been sitting in McGarity’s shoes either. They would have done exactly what he did, and if Richt has a bad season this go around, they would all (incuding GM) do the same thing again.
Thier fans/departments don’t expect any more or any less than Georgia fans/departments.
JB
July 7th, 2011
9:23 am
At the bar…………speaking of Marvels, I’ve sat at Grant’s Tomb to watch a game before and had to peer around a girder to see the game……Nice.
Still@theBAR
July 7th, 2011
9:24 am
1.How many points is a 3 point shot in basketball worth?
2. How many columns does an Arch need?
3. How do you spell Dog?
At UGA all of those questions are not the same. The Answer to 1) is 3. 2) is apparently 3 at UGA. 3) is apparently a 4 letter word.
You have to love the White Girls College of Georgia. They are nice enough to have a football team. I guess the CHAMPION Gym Dawgs and Equestrian team need something to do during their off season.
DawginLex
July 7th, 2011
9:25 am
JB
SHHHH!!!
Don’t spoil it for the tard at the bar. He only talks to himself
Tard Dawg
July 7th, 2011
9:26 am
Oh yeah, this is the year UGA wins SEC. Next year, we’ll win the title.
Still@theBAR
July 7th, 2011
9:30 am
JB
July 7th, 2011
9:23 am
At the bar…………speaking of Marvels, I’ve sat at Grant’s Tomb to watch a game before and had to peer around a girder
Where is the Girder you speak of?
You are lying and you know it.
TheXman
July 7th, 2011
9:30 am
timbodog..nesbitt was recruited by gaily to run his pro style qb and was thought very highly of too. i agree that he wasnt a very good college pro style qb so the swith helped him too in college but not to get to the next level at the qb position. nesbitt build was perfect for the pro style offense and he could also run thanks to his athletic ability. but he was not smart enough to run the pro style very well so he looked bad most of the time his first year under gaily. now when johnson took over he had no other choice to run that georgia southern offense if he wanted to play. now nesbitt could use his size and strength to run and his strong arm for passing down field to bey bey. the qb now coming are not even close the nesbit build. most are way too light/ small to take the hits nesbitt took and the ones that are able to take the hits have no real shot at passing the ball down field because most of the qb’s on the roster are really converted running backs or defensive backs so their passing abilty is very limited.
Tide Roll
July 7th, 2011
9:31 am
LeMay is better than Murray now. I think it’s great that these prospects and parents identify with Richt and his religion, and feel secure about entrusting their kid to him. But they need to look beyond that when choosing UGA. LeMay and his parents needed to look at Uga’s offensive coordinator. Bobo is yet another former UGA player from the 1970(s), and S. Ga. good ole boy. Hell, he’ll push for his personal favorite, Hutson Mason, over LeMay. What’s so great about Murray anyway? He literally laid down vs. Auburn, choked in OT vs. Florida, and hit ya’ll with the “Michael Jackson” gloves in the monumental embarassment vs. Middle Fla. LeMay is superior in every way, especially physically. He’s at Uga, under Bobo, because his father made the mistake of identifying with Richt from a religious standpoint and failing to look further. All the Uga fans are predicting LeMay leaving because of NFL aspirations. He’ll leave because he’ll not be given a fair chance to compete for the starting position.
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:34 am
True that their QBs won’t be able to take hits like Nesbitt, but I doubt they’ll be running as many keepers in light of that fact. I’m not quite as high on Johnson as Dawginlex is, but I think he’s a very inventive coach. I watched his teams at Georgia Southern and Navy, and he seemed to have a knack for working the offense around his personnel.
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:38 am
I am not sure if Johnson would succeed at Tech, but I’d wager that he would perform much better at UGA than RIcht would at Tech. Richt just doesn’t have any creativity.
Still@theBAR
July 7th, 2011
9:38 am
DiLex
Don’t be mean. Is you daughter home or did she do school year round?
Dirty Dawg
July 7th, 2011
9:39 am
Donnan got fired because he didn’t suffer fools lightly…and that, in particular, included Michael Adams. Dooley felt he deserved another year, but was overruled by the guy that was already intent on runnin’ Vince off so he could be sure to have nothin’ but ‘beholders’ working for him. Fortunately, the first one, Damon, had an ‘I’m invisible and bullet-proof’ moment so we’re well-rid of him. Now Magarity, he’s another story. I don’t see him as an ‘Adams Man’, just a guy that knows not to engage in open warfare with a boss with a Napoleonic Complex.
St. Richt
July 7th, 2011
9:39 am
Tide Roll, I agree with everything you said. UGA fans talk like Murray is the second coming of Fran Tarkenton. And seem to overlook that he laid down in the big games.. And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why Lemay would want to come to Georgia when everyone is so enamored with Murray. I also predict that Lemay will end up transferring due to a lack of playing time..
TheXman
July 7th, 2011
9:39 am
his offense is perfect for div 1aa and would be really good at div 1 if he could sell his offense to the talented players that uga and div 1 schools land. but those player know that they have a better shot at getting into the nfl learning the pro style offense and a spread type offense that is heavy passing instead of having the qb run the ball 85 percent of the time.
CHDawg
July 7th, 2011
9:41 am
Murray and Bobo have a lot more confidence going into this year. Should help with game planning and performance. Murray played some great teams last year rather well, including the NCs. He endured cheap shots in the back, the suspension of Green, RB fumbles in critical early season games and discipline problems all year, line problems with sickness and injury, and let’s not forget UGA had one of the toughest schedules in the country last year. Murray was “baptized” and tried under extreme fire and the character that was honed will pay big dividends this year, imo. Unless the receivers get dropitis or Murray gets hurt, I look for a very nice improvement from last year–already pretty strong. Throw in a much improved D and we could have a great year. The schedule is a bit easier. The intangible that we can’t see until the season starts is how badly this team wants to win–last year we were a lot weaker in that area than most years I can remember. My sense is that the leadership of this year’s team is much better. However, I also think everyone is badly underestimating the Gators (especially Gator fans)–they will be much, much better on the field this year–likely in the top ten imho. SC will be very good, assuming Lattimore stays healthy. We have to win the first two, but the real challenge will be in Jax, imo.
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:41 am
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we need to get someone like Dan Mullen here in Athens. I think you need a coach who has a particular specialty. Richt runs a good program, but he doesn’t have an on-field specialty. I personally think that at the college level it is most important to have a strong offensive identity. That is what we’ve been missing here for a long time.
sandman053
July 7th, 2011
9:42 am
Speaking of Damon, did anyone hear he was just hired by Savannah State as a consultant?
TheXman
July 7th, 2011
9:43 am
lemay wants to go pro and richt and bobo has a pretty good track record of sending pro style qbs to the pros.. its that simple. he will be starting for 2 years maybe 3 if hutson cant beat him out. thats plenty of time for lemay to shine and earn a pro contract.
tide roll doesnt like white players or coaches so please dont pay any attention to him.
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:44 am
But that’s the point, “Xman.” Tech wasn’t bringing in top recruits even when they were running a pro-style system.
We can argue all day over the reasons (school’s too hard, stadium’s too small, ACC sucks, not enough girls/fans, etc), but the fact is Tech cannot compete with the top schools for recruits.
That’s why Johnson’s a great coach for them. Again, I don’t think it would work as well here; we don’t need to rely on smoke and mirrors with the athletes we bring in.
But it’s disingenuous to claim that Johnson’s offense is the reason they are not bringing in good talent.
AltamahaDawg
July 7th, 2011
9:44 am
So that’s a definite yes on pulling for the Dawgs to Lose to Boise, and tech?
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:48 am
No, I’m not pulling for us to lose to anyone. I’d love to win a National Championship every year. I want Richt to be a great coach, I really do. I have nothing against the man outside of his poor results recently.
But I’m saying if we’re gonna lose games anyway, I’d prefer that the bulk of them be non-conference games, which happen to be against Boise and Tech.
Losing conference games hurts our recruiting much more. What’s so hard to understand about that?
Still@theBAR
July 7th, 2011
9:50 am
lemay wants to go pro and richt and bobo has a pretty good track record of sending pro style qbs to the pros..
Who does UGA Richt/ Bobo have that was/ is a good NFL QB?
Stafford has played in 13 of 32 game and his stats suck. Q Carter played more than most UGA QBs but that was at Crazy Dallas with no better option.
dekalbcounty70
July 7th, 2011
9:50 am
This email is for all of the UGA fans who accures every university of cheating when they win the cahmpionship. Remember what they say when you point a (1)finger at someone how many are pointing at YOU (4)?
TheXman
July 7th, 2011
9:51 am
timbodog..i have to disagree with you there too. richt was the reason fla st offense was so good all those years and why uga offense is so good now. he runs a very balanced offense much like the all the pro teams try and do. inturn that will bring in some really big time recruits at all positions, from the offensive line to the tightend. i like mullen for miss st but not for uga. i am a big fan of the pro style offense. you dont have to count on one big player to be the savior. its more team oriented. fun to watch when everyone is involved in the game plan. plus i like richt cool calm demenor on the sideline. nothing rattles him. unless he feels that his team is playing stupid, you will never see him upset which is pretty cool to pull off while coaching a football game.
AltamahaDawg
July 7th, 2011
9:53 am
Not hard at all to understand. Thanks.
Still@theBAR
July 7th, 2011
9:53 am
Timbodog
July 7th, 2011
9:48 am
No, I’m not pulling for us to lose to anyone. I’d love to win a National Championship every year.
HAHAHAHAHA
Miss State, Tennessee, and So. Carolina have a better chance of winning a MNC for the SEC than the Richt Bozo combo does.
AltamahaDawg
July 7th, 2011
9:54 am
I’m sure that would jive with all the comments you have made in the past.