Linebackers: Promising group despite virtual makeover since last season
Seventh in a series breaking down Georgia’s 2011 team by position . . .
Georgia is counting on junior Christian Robinson's leadership and play-making abilities at linebacker this fall. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)
THE LINEBACKERS
- Projected starters: SAM Jarvis Jones (So., 6-3, 241), MIKE Christian Robinson (Jr., 6-2, 226), MO Alec Ogletree (So. 6-3, 236), WILL Cornelius Washington (So., 6-4, 260)
- Returning starters: Robinson started 11 games at the “Mo” inside linebacker last season and Washington started eight at the “Will” outside position. Alec Ogletree was moved to the Mo in the spring after starting five games at strong safety as a true freshman last season. Robinson moved to Mike.
- Others to watch: This is the much-anticipated debut season of Jarvis Jones, who had to sit out this past year after transferring to Georgia from Southern Cal. Jones (6-3, 241) is slated to start at “Sam,” or strongside outside linebacker, but first he has to clear some recently-raised eligibility issues. . . . Former starting tailback Richard Samuel will be playing his first season on defense for the Bulldogs. He redshirted his junior season last year while making the initial transition. He is currently second-team at “Mo” but could play outside linebacker if called upon. . . . Reuben Faloughi, Michael Gilliard and Chase Vasser will be counted on as backups.
Moving Alec Ogletree (9) from strong safety to inside linebacker was bold and potentially bountiful. (AP photo)
- Key losses: Georgia lost a massive amount of production from this unit. Gone are leading tackler Akeem Dent (126 tackles); pass-rushing specialist Justin Houston (10 sacks); No. 4 tackler Marcus Dowtin, who transferred out; and No. 7 tackler Darryl Gamble, who graduated. That’s 259 tackles, 14 sacks and 52 games played just from last season. The Bulldogs also lost linebackers coach Warren Belin to the NFL.
- Newcomers: Georgia signed five linebackers in February to shore up depth, including five-star prospect Ray Drew (6-5, 250) of Thomasville, who will be expected to contribute immediately. The Bulldogs also inked Sterling Bailey (6-5, 260) of Gainesville, Amarlo Herrera (6-1, 224) of College Park, Kent Turene (6-3, 225) of Lauderdale Lakes, Fla., and Ramik Wilson (6-2, 218) of Tampa.
- Key developments: As alluded to earlier, the eligibility issues facing Jones threaten to dog Georgia up until the season opener like those facing A.J. Green did last year. A police investigation into alleged corruption within the ranks of the Columbus parks and recreation department revealed that some of Jones’ flights to Los Angeles his first season at USC were paid for by the department’s director from state funds. Even though Jones was at Southern Cal, the NCAA could require Jones to sit out games at UGA. Georgia has launched its own investigation and will fight to get the situation resolved well before the season opener, unlike last year’s fiasco with Green, who ended up sitting the first four games.
- Key question: This is year two of Georgia’s switch to a 3-4 defense under defensive coordinator Todd Grantham. But due to all the reshuffling, three of the four projected starters will be playing new positions. How quickly and how well will the group adapt to new assignments and new inside linebackers coach Kirk Olivadotti?
- Outlook: Uncertain but promising. If there were no issues facing Jones, it would be tempting to say this is an across-the-board improvement. But the drop from Jones to Vasser would be steep and moving Samuel back outside could be complicated. Meanwhile, moving Ogletree to Mo from strong safety was a bold move and, even though Grantham says he’s “100 percent certain” it was the right thing to do, it’s an uncertain how he’ll perform in games.
- Your turn: What’s your view of Georgia’s linebacker corps?
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262 comments Add your comment
CHDawg
July 11th, 2011
11:22 am
Great series, Chip. It is nice to refocus the gang on football. I think the only dimension I would have added is the unusual speed of the LB corps. They are very fast as a group. I believe Samuel was our fastest RB when Moreno was here, so he is very, very fast for an ILB. Washington is very fast for a guy his size, and Ogletree has safety speed. The neat thing about the 3-4 is the offense doesn’t know which LBs are the rushers, and CTG can blitz one frequently without sacrificing pass D. If they turn out to be good blitzers, their speed will be very tough on opposing QBs trying to throw. Imagine Samuel and Ogeltree in the middle–both may well be faster than the opposing backfield! Not that Robinson is slow by any means. My only concern is size and stopping power in the middle. Tree is one tough cookie, but we will have to wait to see how strong they are against runs. If our big NGs get in the O’s way really well that will help a lot. In fact, if we get great production out of our line, our LB’s speed could make them a special group this year. Let’s just hope on Jones. I liked his play and potential on GDay. Overall, speed is what strikes me as the standout feature of our LBs.
Chip Towers
July 11th, 2011
11:27 am
CHDawg: Good point. There is definitely a substantial improvement in speed among the linebackers. People forget that Richard Samuel, at 6-2, 243, is one of the fastest players on the team. Heck, he used to return kickoffs. Then you add Jarvis Jones, Alec Ogletree and T.J. Stripling. All those guys were high school sprinters. Take into account a bigger defensive front that’s loaded in the middle and those guys should have more room to operate. Again, hard to imagine dramatic improvement while losing the production UGA did but there is certainly that potential.
tide roll= al sharpton
July 11th, 2011
11:31 am
All of you have it wrong, tide roll is actually civil rights activist al sharpton. He has no actual football knowledge, but likes to try to paint Richt and Bobo as racists. He seems to find issues with our o-line having white people on it, and his most recent post suggest that UGA wanted to put Cam at TE because he is black and we only start white QB’s. In fact, his obsession really isn’t with Cam, he just likes talkng about tight ends…
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 11th, 2011
11:32 am
Cam Newton needs to thank his lucky stars for Gus Malzahn. Gus Malzahn made Newton the #1 pick with his offense. Wanna know how good Malzahn is? Track the career of Mitch Mustain. As the HC of the High School team Mustain was on he was the # 1 player in the nation. Both went to Arkansas, mustain lead them to 8-0 then replaced by Casey Dick. Malzahn leaves for Tulsa, Mustain leaves for USC. Mustain never steps back on to the field in a meaningful game.
Newton and his combine workout very well could equal Mike Mamula in the ‘95 draft. Go look at how Newton stammered through calling a play when John Gruden asked him to on the combine show.
Beast from the East
July 11th, 2011
11:36 am
murfdawg,
Good post. No one, and I mean no one, had any idea Cam would have that type of year. I saw his potential while playing back-up to Tebow, but we’ve all seen tons of players with great potential that did not live up to their potential. Some recent examples could include Brantley, King, Ealey, etc. With Cam’s off-field problems at UF, I don’t blame anyone for not taking a chance on him the second time around.
NdawgC
July 11th, 2011
11:36 am
CHIP: what about T.J Stripling. is he playing D line or Linebacker?
tide roll
July 11th, 2011
11:37 am
Cam led Auburn to a National Title and clobbered you last year. Stafford led you to a 31-0 halftime deficit against us, and a 49-10 loss to Florida! Everyone in the SEC was embarrassed for UGA that year. Then you were at it again this past year with Colorado and Middle Florida! You humiliated the entire SEC!
Alabama | MrSEC.com
July 11th, 2011
11:44 am
[...] 1. This writer doesn’t think playing in the Georgia Dome has benefited Alabama as much as expected on the recruiting trail.2. In case you missed it over the weekend, Arkansas offensive tackle Anthony Oden was arrested for DWI and possession of a controlled substance. (He was arrested for a DWI last July as well.)3. Here’s a look-ahead to LSU’s game with Western Kentucky.4. Here’s a preview of Mississippi State’s game with Tennessee-Martin.5. And here’s a breakdown of Georgia’s linebacking corps. [...]
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 11th, 2011
11:44 am
Everyone was really embarassed for you when Louisiana Monroe beat you. You embarrased the SEC. If you wanna go back, lets just include that one for ya also.
DawginLex
July 11th, 2011
11:46 am
http://alabama.scout.com/2/185647.html
2008 only makes us even
2003 was a beatdown
knocked 2 QB’s out of the game
It was embarrassing. It happens tide roll so why don’t you just shutup now and crawl back into your NAACP hole
WDE
July 11th, 2011
11:48 am
Hey Tide Troll did you get any movement on that SEC HC gig this weekend? They have best pony up, camp is just around the corner and a number of these schools could sure use your services….Sarcasm live it love it !
RxDawg
July 11th, 2011
11:51 am
@tampabigDAWG
July 11th, 2011
11:22 am
Good post tampa. I agree with pretty much all of that.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 11th, 2011
11:52 am
Just track the history of Bammer coaches pre SATAN
Shula- got the job because he was a legacy and a Shula
Price- Caught making it rain in Pensacola
Franchione- Left to go to Texas A&M! due to…
Dubose- Cheater and couldn’t keep his hands off his secretary
So yeah finally Alabama has the right coach to lead them. They sold there soul because of 15 years of embarassment to be lead by Satan himself.
DawginLex
July 11th, 2011
11:52 am
UGAG is gitting the ncaa death penalty, he he ha ha
***************************************************
You have us confused with Auburn hee hee ha ha
WDE
July 11th, 2011
11:57 am
Hey Tide Troll think all those games Bama had to vacate didn’t embarrased the SEC?? And yes Saban was a part of that!
RxDawg
July 11th, 2011
12:00 pm
Theres actually some decent football being discussed over here on the 3rd page
AltamahaDawg
July 11th, 2011
12:07 pm
well heck tampabigDawg, talk about pressure. Man, as much as I hate to punt, I just plain agree with pretty much all of that.
Especially the third down stat probably being the biggest thing that killed us. DB coverage got better as the year went on, we did start to get more pressure, but the D-line never ever controlled the situation, and we gave up too may 3rd downs. I believe they improve that.
DamntheButcher
July 11th, 2011
12:10 pm
Sam Mike Mo & Will What in the world? Which side is Mo on? Who’s on first? Is Will on 2nd? What a bunch of crap? I bet Dick Buttus is thinking this is so sissyfied.
DamntheButcher
July 11th, 2011
12:12 pm
Tide Roll…
That is Kinda like Alabama getting scattered, smothered & covered by Utah isnt it? I bet you want to forget about that game since you didnt mention it.
Barack Dawg
July 11th, 2011
12:23 pm
First off – get off the idea of moving players around from defense to offense like Samuels. He is staying at LB and not going to RB. He will be better off at LB and not moving back to RB again. If we have injuries then you worry about that. But you have other options for RB than Samuel. First of Malcolm and Crowell need to prove that they are not going to get it before you move anyone. 2nd – you evaluate Branden Smith and if he is going to play corner or Nick Marshall. You could use Marshall on both if necessary. Also – we need our existing receivers to step it up – Mitchell, King, Brown, and Bennett. The you have the TE situation to assist with that. If we have receivers that can’t be relied upon to be covered one on one then you can open things up and eliminate people in the box to stop the run. That is going to be the biggest question and what to expect from Boise and Carolina. If we can block and make some plays they will have to back off that. That means we need to be effective and efficient offensively. If our defense is stagnating like they could be then that will only further pressure teams to back off that approach on defense.
If you look back – last year that was what we faced most of the time was 8 guys in the box.
dawg from a distance
July 11th, 2011
12:26 pm
Tampa Dawg…. good insight.
I’m concerned with our unproven front 7. Great potential but unproven. I think RS needs to stay at LB with his speed and size. Vasser was a wreaking ball at the spring game so I’m not so sure it’s a major drop off but I hope we don’t have to find out.
We can’t afford another AJ distraction like last year but it appears the AJ hang over and the cancerous attitudes of single digit numbered players was too much to overcome.
Looking forward to a GREAT year! Go DAWGS!
how2fish
July 11th, 2011
12:31 pm
One thing I’d like to point out about last years tackle production….what percentage of those tackles were made 5-7 yards down field on running plays? How many of those tackles were made by the 2nd or 3rd guy to hit the ball carrier? Last year Lattimore looked like a bowling ball rolling thru would be tacklers. This year I think we might be able to get there faster and bring more wood to bear when we do. To be fair a lot of D-line’s play impacted the linebackers ability to get to the point of attack cleanly that should be plus this year…I hope.
OC_Dawg
July 11th, 2011
12:34 pm
You know the NCAA is going to screw us over as much as they can with Jarvis.
Dirty Dawg
July 11th, 2011
12:40 pm
Chip, do me a favor and ask CMR – when you go to him about other RBs he’s considering trying out – if Justin Scott-Wesley will be given a ‘look-see’. The kid’s got the speed, size and, apparently, moves and power to break tackles, to be a running back. Seems to me, if he’s also got the heart, tenacity and ability to hold onto the ball, they’d be crazy not to try him.
As for you people runnin’ down Georgia because they didn’t want to recruit Cameron Newton as a QB – that’s been answered, we were, and continue to, run a pro-style, two-back, offense that puts a premium on the QB’s ability to drop-back and find an open guy…which would have meant changing an entire offensive scheme at the same time you had an eventual #1 NFL pick at the position…plus, the kid was never coming to Georgia as Florida already had the ideal offense in place – by the way, he must have been pretty bad for UF to have let him go, and I’ll always wonder if his, ultimate, success at AU was the reason UMeyer decided to quit Florida, as he never wanted to kick him off the team in the first place – that having Newton as a back-up to Tebow would likely have given UF and UM another NC..
And as for what will ultimately happen at AU, we’ll see. Until I hear Cheesit or their AD say, ‘I swear on my Mother’s grave that we didn’t pay anybody anything to get Cam Newton to come to Auburn’, I won’t believe that they didn’t. All they ever say is, ‘he was eligible according to the NCAA, and there’s ‘no evidence’ that we did anything wrong…oh yeah, and ‘We’re all in.’ To believe otherwise is to believe that Cecil Newton, all of a sudden, had a ‘come to Jesus’ meeting with himself after he either turned down Miss State’s final offer, or was himself turned down by MS cause ‘the money was just too good’, and stopped pimpin’ his boy out to schools – yeah right.
DawginLex
July 11th, 2011
12:45 pm
Paul n Destin
So let’s turn the tables here.
How do you explain the mediocrity in Tuscaloosa from 1995-2007?
No SEC West titles
No SEC titles
Victories vacated
Multiple coaches hired and fired
NCAA investigations galore
Greatest program in the history of college football goes that long in shambles?
How does that happen?
murfdawg
July 11th, 2011
12:47 pm
Beast from the East…..Thanks for the kind words. Are you guys really down to 70 scholarship players? I thought that was what Ackerman said on Talkin’ Football last week.
Roll Tide…..You are what I love about Bammer football. You have a terrific case of SELECTED AMNESIA. Didn’t Stafford beat you in overtime with a touchdown pass in ‘07? And didn’t Stafford and Moreno beat the Gators in ‘07? And weren’t you in NCAA jail for the first 5 or 6 years of this century? I guess if you forget something, then it just doesn’t count. Like forgetting the last girl you married was your cousin.
tide roll
July 11th, 2011
12:47 pm
Don’t you guys see? It’s Bobo who’s conflicted.
DawginLex
July 11th, 2011
1:01 pm
tide troll
Bobo is doing his job.
The key to 2011 for UGA is defensive improvement. How did 4 of the last 5 BCS champions win the majority of their games? Defense. Even Auburn had to shut down Oregon in the title game because their offense wasn’t clicking like normal.
If Grantham gets the PPG from 22 down to 14 or 15, Bobo could be married to Richt’s wife and no one will notice because we will be WINNING
Chip Towers
July 11th, 2011
1:10 pm
NdawgC: Stripling playing OLB but currently not yet cleared from knee injury. Should be during preseason camp or sometime shortly thereafter.
Again, some questions too hot for Tide Roll to answer
July 11th, 2011
1:12 pm
TR has expressed his opinion of UGA and Cam Newton many times, but I cannot get an answer from him about Bama’s recruitment or non-recruitment of Newton. If he answers the questions below, it boxes him in- game, set, match, checkmate. I predict these questions will be ignored in favor of a tirade against UGA.
1. After Cam’s JUCO stint, choose one:
A. Saban was outrecruited by Chizik
B. Saban had his reasons for not recruiting Newton
(If B is correct, don’t give me that stuff about distance. Saban regularly recruits players that are farther off than Westlake, and incidentally Westlake is more than 45 minutes from Athens, not that it matters.)
2. Coming out of JUCO, do you think Saban shared your view of Newton as a great QB, and if he did, why do you think he did not recruit him at Bama?
3. Do you think Saban is a good evaluator of talent?
4. If Saban chooses to start AJ McCarron, do you think it is because Saban thinks he is the best QB on the roster at the present time?
5. If Saban chooses to start McCarron, are you okay with that?
If Tide Roll does not forthrightly answer these questions, would some Bama fan give me an answer as to whether or not Bama did recruit Newton? Last week, one said Smart implied the Tide passed on him due to baggage, this was at a boosters club meeting. Would like confirmation one way or the other.
Dawg Tired
July 11th, 2011
1:13 pm
Well, if having to use one backup is deemed to be a problem, our recruiting sux. Chase Vasser was highly thought of when recruited and now he’s a liability? What is the deal?
1SG
July 11th, 2011
1:14 pm
Chip…how will Crowell and B. Smith play on offense with the same number? I thought they could share the same number as long as B.Smith played on defense only.
Thanks.
Chip Towers
July 11th, 2011
1:15 pm
tampabigDAWG: Boise State’s defensive line was considered one of the best in college football and it returns three of four starters and will start all seniors. So I would say it’s the strength of their team and will be the most challenging matchup for Georgia in that game. As you know, the Dogs are going to battle with a reshuffled and largely unproven O-line.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 11th, 2011
1:16 pm
I dont care who Bobo is married to and we are coming off a 6-7 season. Who he is married to is nobodys business regardless of our record for better or worse. Also if you think the reason he is hanging around is simply for that in the landscape of todays college football then you need to wake up. Bobo may have some questionable moments, but if we were fans of another SEC school and payed as close attention to the as we do UGA then I imagine we could find the same type argument. Dont let that petty argument distract you.
Latest Bama News 7/11/2011 - Page 4
July 11th, 2011
1:16 pm
[...] Latest Bama News 7/11/2011 [h=1]Linebackers: Promising group despite virtual makeover since last season[/h] Reply With [...]
tide roll
July 11th, 2011
1:18 pm
Bobo married to anyone other than Dooley’s niece is what you want.
Saban
July 11th, 2011
1:19 pm
Wish all my fans lived and worked in Alabama like Tide Roll but there are just too few jobs in the BBQ places here in Bama! Probably name the stadium after me soon! Can’t wait to cut those losers that we over-signed!
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 11th, 2011
1:22 pm
Look just because Bobo didnt meet his wife at a cow auction where you met your wife does not mean you have to hate on him.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 11th, 2011
1:22 pm
She thought it was MOOOOO Tide……….
Bernie Matt
July 11th, 2011
1:30 pm
Rivals report today shows UGA as the only football program in the country that has had a top 10 recruiting class in each of the last 10 years. So like it or not, there is a problem with the coaching. I know some of you don’t like to put stock in recruit rankings, but it’s the same rankings other coaches are recruiting based on as well. So that excuse is just a cop out!
SEC Fan
July 11th, 2011
1:31 pm
No excuses Georgia fans……you better beat Boise. Georgia has this one shot to prove it belongs on the same field with Alabama, LSU, Arkansas, USCe, Florida and not Ole Miss and Vandy. Do the league a solid and show up for this game. Don’t embarass yourselves and the SEC with another Colorado/UCF preformance……GO SEC!!!
Justin Scott Wesley
July 11th, 2011
1:33 pm
Definitely has the size and speed, but from talking to someone who lives in Mitchell County, I would say he has more track speed than football speed, in that don’t think he is very shifty.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 11th, 2011
1:35 pm
Same level as USCe? What did they do outsdie of win the SEC East in a down year? How did they fair in the SECTG? How did they fair in the Peach Bowl? One good year does not constitute arrival, where one year does not constitute a medioric decline. Please with all this USC bullcrap. We were 6-7 last year and if Ealey doesnt fumble on the 4 yard line the game would have played out toally different. USC has a ton to prove this year. They are looking to prove last year was no fluke. UGA can say the same thing,but UGA is far from being Ole Miss.
LogicalUS
July 11th, 2011
1:36 pm
Is anyone else noticing a huge evident trend in these recurring articles???
A whole lot of “if and buts were candy & nuts, it will be a wonderful Christmas” to these rundowns of the 2011 UGA football future.
If high school RBs can be the next Herchel, if JUCO DL are the next this or if former safeties magically become Ray Lewis, if all 5 of available OL can play every single snap, then all the UGA homers at the AJC willl be just lovin life.
How did this program which has boasted of endlessly about dominating every recruiting season and cherry picking the nation for every quality football player around suddenly become the UAB of the SEC?
DawginLex
July 11th, 2011
1:37 pm
You can rest assured that you will never get direct answers from NAACP boy tide troll.
Other questions he won’t answer:
1.) Why won’t you EVER list a white OL as a great prospect?
2.) Why won’t you EVER discuss family preference and other personal circumstances involved with why an OL prospect from Georgia signs with another school?
3.) Why do you only list black OL as Rimington Award nominees and only listed Ben Jones AFTER I prodded you to do so.
You can also rest assured that after McCarron loses a game, tide roll will be all about Sims playing QB and will start spouting how Andrew Zow and Walter Lewis got bad raps during their time at Alabama.
DawginLex
July 11th, 2011
1:38 pm
Logical is very Illogical
sc fan
July 11th, 2011
1:39 pm
First congrats on keeping things on football instead of gutter garbage. I enjoy the insight that shows up from different teams here. Outsiders perspective. Boise is the toughest game and most important on your schedule. 1. They are VERY good! 2. They have months to prepare. 3. They have another chance on the national stage. It does not matter that ga won 100- 0 5 years ago . Sept. is now. If you win in Atlanta, it will be a good season. USC may be tough but the game is always expected to be tough. The young players will be shocked if they lose to BOISE. Could mean a tailspin against us.
After a USC win you will get back in the saddle. Unfortunately you will not make it to Atlanta twice. You have talent and average coaching but Richt lacks the most important thing. GOOD LUCK. Without that struggles always arise. (see USC) good luck for 11 games.
Nate the Great
July 11th, 2011
1:41 pm
@ LogicalUS: While I agree with all of what you had to say, UAB does pretty well in there conference. What you need to say is UGA will join Kentucky and Vandy, which we have done.
tide roll
July 11th, 2011
1:42 pm
You better believe Bobo’s wife shares the same interests as her aunt.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
July 11th, 2011
1:42 pm
Alabama was soooo desperate to win after 15 years of being irrelevant, that after only 3 years with one MNC Saban is getting a statue in his honor. That speaks volumes as to how desperate Alabama fans are. They sold there souls to Saban.
Hear tell at Alabama redneck convention the popular belief is that if Saban coached Andrew Zow it would be Zow married to Sara Evans and not Jay Barker.