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Tailback talk: Thomas out 1 game, Samuel to start No. 1, Crowell to wear 1

11:24 am July 21, 2011, by Chip Towers

Hoover, Ala. – Georgia coach Mark Richt and three Bulldogs players met with the local beat writers and a few national reporters Thursday morning before their main session at here at SEC Media Days. As expected, UGA’s running back situation was the issue most discussed.

To his credit, Richt was not wishy-washy about his feelings on the position or what he expects to happen. So without further ado, here’s what he had to say about the tailbacks:

  • Richt confirmed that Carlton Thomas is indeed suspended for the opener against Boise State and that it is a one-game suspension.

“All I’ll say on that is Carlton won’t play Game 1 and I’ll say ‘team rule’ and you guys can figure out whatever you want.” Asked if Thomas would be back for South Carolina, he stated flatly, “yes.”

  • On overall running back situation in light of attrition with loss of Washaun Ealey and Caleb King:

“I’m just going to reserve my decision on whether or not we’re losing anything there or not. We may be gaining, OK? A year ago, I can’t sit here and say I was ever really at a point where I was saying, ‘man, our guys are being highly productive and kicking butt and they’re guys I can count on.’ That wasn’t happening. By the end of this year I might say, ‘these guys were kicking butt and guys I could count.’ So I wouldn’t sit here and say our running back situation is worse now than it was a year. We’ll see on that.”

  • What about the young backs, Isaiah Crowell and Ken Malcome?

“These are talented guys who are going to get an opportunity to make plays. I’ve seen so many young backs play well over the years, I’m not fretting right now. I don’t lay awake at night going, ‘oh my goodness, what are we going to do now.’ I just don’t. I know that we’ve got some guys on this team that can be highly productive offensively. Now will we find a back that carries the ball 20 times a game? I don’t know. Maybe we will, maybe we won’t.”

  • What about moving Richard Samuel from linebacker back to tailback?

“I do think moving Richard Samuel back was very much needed. If anybody needed to be soothed a little bit, that should do it, because he’s a very physically mature man and he’s a mature man in the way he goes about his business. And he certainly has two years experience within our system and knows what to do. So it’s not like we’re wondering what he can do.

“He’ll be in those meetings and will be a great example of how to prepare and how to play the game and the position of tailback. I know he’ll hold onto the ball; I know he’ll secure it; I know he’ll strike you; I know he’s fast; I know he’s powerful; and I know he’ll play hard. He’s not really interested in dodging many people, but he is what he is. I’ve seen a lot of backs with that type of style who are going to hit you and drive their feet and make it tough on you to take them down. So there’s a lot of very positive things about Richard that are really going to help us.”

  • Will there be anymore players miss the opener due to suspension or ineligibility?

“Well, I’ll say this: If there’s anybody else we need to announce, we’ll announce it at the appropriate time, which is not today. We’ll see. But we’ll be ready to play on Sept. 3rd, I can promise you that.”

  • What do you know and what have you heard about Crowell?

“He’s a freshman like the rest of them. He’s got to learn how to handle college, period. I think he’s doing well. I don’t know. You can’t get reports from your strength coach and you can’t go out and watch or coach those guys. You can talk to your players. You might want to ask [Aaron] Murray, you might want to ask [Ben] Jones or [Brandon] Boykin, who are here. They’re really leading our off-season program. They can tell you how they’re doing.

“But we don’t expect Isaiah to save the program. We don’t expect Isaiah to put the team on his back. We just want Isaiah to learn what to do, to do things the Georgia way and try to do anything he can to help the team win as a freshman. How far that goes, I don’t know.

“I’ve got a sense of anticipation. I’m excited to find out what’s going to happen when we put the pads on for the first time and get him in an inside drill or go live and see what he does. I want to see how he handles getting hit real hard and how he handles the speed of the Southeastern Conference. I’m like any other fan would be, just curious to see how it’s going to go. We won’t treat him a whole lot different than any other player who is talented, but we want to make sure that he has success.

“Was I anxious to see A.J. Green and what he could do? Yeah. I’m anxious to see these guys also. But, you know, you could have a missed assignment at receiver and not be nearly as devastating as a tailback missing an assignment when it comes to pass protection or going to wrong way on a run. When a running back makes a mistake it’s not good. When a wide receiver makes a mistake you can probably just line up and run another play or punt. There’s a buzz out there about him. Our veterans believe he’s a very talented guy.”

  • Who will start the preseason as the No. 1 tailback?

“I would start practice with Richard No. 1.”

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167 comments Add your comment

buzzDawg

July 21st, 2011
10:26 pm

They talked of using John Jenkins to run the ball on special occasions. Can you imagine 340 pound Jenkins following 275 pound Figgins coming through the opposition’s defense on a goal line stand?

Dr. Osborne

July 21st, 2011
10:27 pm

Coach Grohbo, Isaiah Crowell is another Mike Rozier. Just review some of Rozier’s footage on youtube to remember how he used to seperate himself from the pack in every game! Rozier just ripped Penn State and the rest of his opponents enroute to 2,225 rushing yards during his senior year averaging 7.8 per carry! Rozier and Co. even beat Bo Jackson and Auburn, 41-6, in 1982! Isaiah Crowell will bring back memories of the great Mike Rozier! What good will do to make Crowell fumble after he is already in the endzone?

buzz engineer

July 21st, 2011
10:39 pm

crowell will probably be suspended for something before game 1, so samuel better be ready to carry the ball a lot.

Dr. Osborne

July 21st, 2011
10:45 pm

bigguy, I was at that game. I know plenty of football. I know the Calhoun Yellow Jackets as well. 100 player team, extremely dedicated community. Not a fair comparison because most communities lack that – as I taught school in Bankhead, Atlanta and coached football as an assistant at a high school there. It would take a complete team, and Carver-Columbus is far from complete. Creekside is a much better example of an inner-city (such as Atlanta) powerhouse that you could better equate with mighty Calhoun, but please don’t throw Carver-Columbus in the same sentence with Creekside and Martin Luther King High School. If Isaiah played for the Dalton Catamouts, then you’d of seen the real Crowell facing Calhoun – and then you could better gage the young man’s talent in a head-to-head matchup with awesome Calhoun. I’d like to put Crowell on Tucker’s team or maybe even Lowdnes County. Either way, a team has to be conditioned to go four quarters.

Dwayne

July 22nd, 2011
8:23 am

hardtruthsoldier, not kidding, if i told you i played college ball, you wouldn’t believe me, if i said i didn’t, you’d say i told you so. it’s a mute point. make all the excuses/reasons you want, he was moved to linbacker because he could’t beat the other guys out, and as you pointed out, was a good linebacker in high school. i hope UGA wins the east, wins for a 2nd time in the dome and plays in a BCS bowl, but after following UGA since the 70’s, i stopped letting them break my heart. they are hyped every year as the next NC. i need to see it first. i need them to beat florida, please beat fla. please don’t mention my spelling or puncuation. i’m at work and could care less if i use caps.

Look at the UGA RB situation this way

July 22nd, 2011
9:17 am

We all know what Ealey and KIng can/could not do. They were unable to rip their legs away from a tackler, 3 yds past the line of S. They caused problems on the team and Ealey thought that he was a legend in his own time but he was only a fool in his own time.

See the 2010 MSU game where he sat in the end zone with that ball rolling around his legs and he looked so dumb. Grab it and TD but he let it roll. Look at his fumble vs SC on the 3 yd line and look at his fumble vs KY in 09 on the goal line. These 3 incidents caused UGA to lose those games. King fumbled in the Colorado game preventing UGA from a last second winning FG. Ugh!! We should lament them being gone? I think not !

No, I prefer a smart, hard working and um, ah, FAST 6′3″ 238 LB running back named Richard Samuel to either one of these clowns ……………now gone.

Why? The other two could not be counted on …………… that is why.

Attitude is 85% of any engagement. Samuel has a team first attitude and the other two have their jail house first attitude.

Jborodawg

July 22nd, 2011
10:41 am

“Richt says 2011 tailbacks could be even better.”

I’ll go with CMR’s assessment that we’re in decent shape at TB. Then ya got Figgins at FB. Then ya got Big John Jenkins picking up the TD from the one.

But don’t forget Dawgs fans, there’s some possibly great RB’s in the rest of the SEC…like at Awbun, Tenn, Ala, and SC. Will one of ours get 1000 yards this season? We hope so. But only time will tell. I, like CMR, just pray our O-line stays healthy. And, don’t think the season’s over if we go 0-2. We can still win the rest of the games and still possibly go to the Dome. It’d be outstanding to beat Boise. It’s a little more crucial to beat SC. But 0-2 won’t be the end of life on this planet as we know it.

Dwayne

July 22nd, 2011
11:58 am

I was FIRST to comment on this blog….who cares??? I do!!!! I AM WINNING!!!!

keith contarino

July 23rd, 2011
5:34 am

Richt can’t seriously think about starting Samuel against Boise State. Samuel still has to break his first tackle. Was horrible watching him run straight at people and go down everytime. Good kid, lousy tailback

L.A. BULLDAWG

July 23rd, 2011
7:05 pm

I HOPE COACH RICHT LEAVES RICHARD SAMUEL AT THE TB POSITION TO FURTHER ENHANCE HIS FUTURE IN THE NFL. THIS KID WAS A 5-STAR RECRUIT! WHILE I APPLAUD RICHT’S DECISON TO START SAMUEL TO ALLEVITATE PRESSURE ON CROWELL, LET’S MAKE SURE THAT WE DON’T SCREW THIS THING UP WITH 5-STAR CALIBER PLAYERS! I STILL MAINTAIN THAT UGA SHOULD HAVE GOTTEN MORE OUT OF A.J GREEN AND MATTHEW STAFFORD, BOTH 5-STAR RECRUITS ALSO. RICHARD SAMUEL HAS BEEN GOING BACK AND FORTH LIKE A YO-YO, SINCE HE GOT ON CAMPUS 3YRS AGO! EVENTUALLY, YOU HAVE TO STOP BLAMING THE PLAYERS, AND START LOOKING AT MIKEE BOBO AND MARK RICHT!

drdawg

July 23rd, 2011
9:48 pm

How many times did the coach say “I don’t know”??? Three million a year?
My boss tells me they pay me for what I know. How about you guys?

I-DOG

July 24th, 2011
10:53 am

Logical Us:

I don’t think that Georgia fans here are saying they expect the former LB to be an All Star running back. If you read these blogs, you will notice that most fans are saying that they hope the defense will be solid with a pair of 350 LB nosegaurds that are highly regarded and some pretty serious talent overall on that side of the ball… most are hoping that the offense scores enough to win a lot of games. We will be more than a 2 point underdog in maybe 2 games all year, so the schedule is favorable. If UGA can win at least one of the first two games, they have an easier schedule than they normally do, so even if this team isn’t dominant, we can win a lot of games.

Offensively, I believe that people are hoping that Samuel will have improved from the time he was a Sophomore RB (remember he came to UGA about as young as a football player does at barely 17). Most are HOPING he is “solid” and that Malcombe will stay healthy and be a bruiser and that Crowell will be a terrific player. I don’t think any of that is illogical.

Further, most of us on here are PRAYING that the offensive line stays healthy. At an average of 325 pounds accross the starting five, they will be the largest group of humans we have ever had at offensive line and 2-3 of those 5 will play in the NFL. Unfortunately, due to injury and attrition, we are extrememly untested at the backup spots on the OL. We COULD be pretty good on the offensive line, good enough for any of these backs to get 4-5 yards on a carry.

We have a first team All SEC QB which is an important position. WR is a big question mark, but it is likely we will be at least adquate at reciever. We have excellent TE’s and if we use them properly, they should be tremendous weapons.

Some are assuming Crowell will be great this year, most are hoping so. Not many are saying that UGA is set at RB, and that we will be a dominant team. What you should have been gleaning from these blogs is the hope for a much improved defense and enough offense to be competitive and hopefully win the early close games that USC, Boise, and Mississipi State should be and then take it from there. Seems perfectly logical to me.

Crowell Rules

July 24th, 2011
11:12 am

Crowell should start against Boise not samuel. He’s the real deal and will be up there with lattimore as the best back in the SEC.

Mobile Dawg

July 24th, 2011
9:00 pm

Good point dr dawg. I remember in my corporate days a few people being canned, actually demoted, for using that exact phrase “I don’t know”.

RaifDawg

July 25th, 2011
10:39 am

I can see RS and IC in the backfield together. The I-formation would be unstopable with RS as the fullback. He has both power and speed. He can also pick up the blitz while IC goes out for a screen. They would make a great combo. I would’ve taken RS over King and Ealey any day. At least he ran with heart and attitude.

d

July 26th, 2011
3:36 pm

uga the best stop doubting us

Coach Lil Jon

July 27th, 2011
1:38 am

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