Georgia players work hard to avoid ‘Energy Vampire’ distinction
ATHENS – There are lot of things Georgia players don’t want to be called but one of the main ones this season is “energy vampire.”
“Energy vampire” is a new distinction the Bulldogs have come up with for somebody on the team who doesn’t meet certain standards or who complains. If a teammate nominated by another player for the “energy vampire” board and coach Mark Richt approves, he ends up with his pictured plastered all over video boards in the weight room, usually photo-shopped to include fangs and other unflattering enhancements.
“If you say something negative, if you’re not doing something positive when we’re doing activities as a team, you can be called an ‘energy vampire,” explains sophomore linebacker Chase Vasser. “Anybody who hears you say something like ‘I don’t want to be here,’ you can be turned into the coach and you’ll get your face on the board. They’ll take a picture of you and put a wig on you with some vampire teeth and crazy-looking eyes.”
Actually it’s a motivational technique that Richt borrowed from Atlanta Falcons head coach Mike Smith.
“There’s a book called ‘The Energy Bus.’ John Gordon wrote it,” Richt said. “It’s something that Coach Smith of the Falcons had read and incorporated it with his team. When he came to speak at our summer clinic he was talking about a positive attitude. He said when guys aren’t positive they call them ‘energy vampires.’ So I was asking him about that and that’s where he came from.”
Richt said anybody can end up on the energy vampire board. “Even me.” But all nominations have to come through him.
“I don’t want [the players] just taking it over and making up stuff,” Richt said “It’s got to be legit.”
The bottom line, Richt said, “We’re looking for guys who want to be positive.”
As for the photo-shopping. “We’ve got people in charge of that,.” he said.
Branden Smith continues to impress
The Bulldogs had their first full-contact practice Monday morning and, as expected, it made for a lively workout.
Once again, Branden Smith came away making the play of the day. The junior cornerback hit an unnamed freshman receiver so hard it knocked his helmet off.
“I was just trying to show them that this is not high school football anymore. This is SEC football,” Smith said.
Over the weekend, Smith had five interceptions in one practice.
“Branden Smith has really continued to impress me,” Richt said. “He’s just practicing with a greater focus than I’ve ever seen him practice with. He’s a lot more physical. He’s not a big man so it’s hard to be totally dominant. But he’s playing physical and with an edge that he hasn’t shown before. I’m really impressed with what he’s showing out there.”
Officially, Richt said the defense won using the scoring system they use each day. He said it was tied 17-17 going into the last four or five plays and the No. 3 defense dominated the No. 3 offense.
Boykin on Hornung watch list
Georgia’s Brandon Boykin has been named to yet another watch list, and this latest one seems very well-suited for him.
The senior cornerback and return specialist was included on the preliminary list of candidates for the Paul Hornung Award, sponsored by the Louisville Sports Commission. The Hornung, named for the former Green Bay Packers great, is given annually to the player considered most versatile player in college football.
Boykin finished 2010 with 44 tackles, including 6.5 tackles for loss, and tied for the team lead with three interceptions. Boykins is UGA’s leader in career kickoff return yards with 1,813 and is the only player in SEC history to have three 100-yard plays of any kind. He’s also Georgia’s active leader with six career picks and has started and played in every game the last two seasons.
Boykin is also on watch lists for the Nagurski Trophy, Bednarik Award, Jim Thorpe Award and CFPA Defensive Back Award & Kickoff Returner Award.
Gilliard looks good as a Mike
Another player drawing a lot of praise is inside linebacker Mike Gilliard. The junior from Valdosta is currently the second-team “Mike” linebacker behind Christian Robinson.
“Mike is one of the guys that has flipped the switch, so to speak,” Richt said. “He just got very serious about doing it the Georgia way. You can see it in his body language, just his stature. He’s stronger. He’s focused. He wants to be a consistent player and hopefully he’s a guy who’s going to play a lot for us. I’ve seen a lot of good from him
They said it
Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo on the incoming freshmen: “We’ve got some athletic guys at the skill positions. They’ve got a chance to be some of the most athletic guys we’ve had at Georgia since I’ve been here. All of them are green, all of them are learning, their head’s are spinning. But you see them make plays and I feel good about those guys.
Asked to elaborate, Bobo said, “[Malcolm] Mitchell, Christian Conley, Christian LeMay, and those guys on defense: Damian Swann, Nick Marshall, Chris Sanders. I mean those are some athletic jokers that are making some plays.”
This and that
Georgia will hold two practices on Tuesday, one at 8:45 a.m. and the other at 5 p.m. It will have just one other two-a-day. . . . Tailbacks Richard Samuel and Isaiah Crowell split time with the No. 1 offense on Monday. “Those two guys were impressive today,” Richt said. . . . Tailback Brandon Harton was out with “mild concussion.” He should return later this week . . . Freshman cornerback Chris Sanders was held out of contact due to bruised shoulder suffered Sunday. . . . . Boykin and Jakar Hamilton are still out with hamstring pulls. . . . Smith said he’ll be returning punts again, or at least intends to. “There’s competition there. Me, Boykin, TK [Tavarres King] and some freshmen. But I’m not going to make it easy for them.”
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167 comments Add your comment
JE
August 9th, 2011
12:02 am
Wow no one has had a good nickname in years…..”The Chinese Bandets” of LSU?????
The Canine Vampires? The Athenian Vampires? The Energizer Dawgs? the Georgia Canines??? None of these sound really good….Forget it, no more gimmicks……Just work hard and win……
Sean
August 9th, 2011
12:09 am
If history repeats itself, every 3rd year (since 2002) seems to bring about a winning season. 2002, 2005, 2008… Can 2011 keep the trend going? Although I would like to have a winning season every year rather than waiting 3 yrs to get there. Nonetheless…GO DAWGS!
Rolo
August 9th, 2011
12:15 am
Energy Vampires??? Now that is truly some of the dumbest sh!t I’ve ever heard. Yea, MR has em on the right track this year…
7576DAWG
August 9th, 2011
4:17 am
People can criticize CMR for his motivational tools all they want but you have to remember we are talking about 17 to 22 year old jocks. If it works who cares what adults think. It work for the Falcons and I see zero harm in it. So anyone that wants to criticize needs to get a life.
Also for those that want to know why CMR didn’t do a lot of things 2 or 3 years ago , it is because McGarity wasn’t the AD then. It is my opinion, us hiring McGarity was the best thing that has happened to Georgia since the first year Right became coach. All coaches are not great CEO’s. CMR has always had a problem with being organized and evaluating his coaches. He want ever have those problems again now that McGarity is AD.
If the defense does as good as I think they will this year and next year McGarity will earn everything we pay him if he can keep Grantham on payroll.
Bravesnfalcons
August 9th, 2011
4:17 am
Boise State
Stinger2
August 9th, 2011
4:18 am
Gimmicks are o.k. for those who like them. Never thought much of them personally. If they work for awhile, good for the UGA team.
Bravesnfalcons
August 9th, 2011
4:50 am
Gimmicks are only images. Two Fiesta Bowl wins arent images. They are facts.
Rural Education
August 9th, 2011
5:16 am
I just don’t get the hype over Murray. He did not beat a team with a winning record last year and his stats were built against the cup cakes. What will he do with an unproven running back, a suspect offensive line (injury prone) and no receivers? My guess is that he will run for his life.
Angry Dawg
August 9th, 2011
6:47 am
I think we all agree that Richt should have been canned after last season.
Run him out of athens on a rail.
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2011
7:19 am
Gawdalmighty, some of you folks would complain about how they tie thier shoes up there!
And would Love to see some of you folks walk up to Mike Smith and tell him how stupid his idea was.
Destin Dawg
August 9th, 2011
7:25 am
I am excited about all the great ATHLETES.. we have.. kids who play FB, but also Baseball and Basketball, track, etc.. with speed and good hand/eye coordination, etc.. can play offense, receivers, D backs, special teams… I hope Richt and Bo Bo..can use them creatively… I can’t wait… Go Dawgs !!!
Rolo
August 9th, 2011
8:04 am
I’d tell Mike Smith face to face this is stupid childish BS. And to the ballwasher who thinks MR was held back from doing this stupid gimmiky HS because we had the wrong AD? ROTFLMAO
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
August 9th, 2011
8:09 am
How about reading a book on how to call offensive plays instead of energy vampire
Im tired of seeing the 500 sideline passes a game
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 9th, 2011
8:22 am
Treating your players like 3rd-graders.
Nice approach, coach.
Ed
August 9th, 2011
8:23 am
I know enough about football to know there is no way I can know as much as a full-time coaching staff that watches the players practice, watches them play in games, and then studies the film of both.
I am baffled by the ever popular “Bobo is an idiot that calls all the same plays, and Bobo needs to stop running up the middle, I can call Bobo’s plays, etc., etc.”.
Georgia averaged 32 points last year. Georgia was in several games they could have won but a back fumbled or missed an assignment. If Georgia averages 32 points they should win a lot more than less than one-half of their games.
So, Bobo may be the worst coordinator that ever lived, but based on FACTS as opposed to opinions based on incomplete information, I’ll take the other side of that argument any day. Please try and do a little independent thinking before parroting someone else’s mantra.
I really enjoy the all too few people in here that actually seem to have a clue.
UGAKEV
August 9th, 2011
8:29 am
You are all missing the point to this energy vampire thing….It’s there in case any cancer decides to show its face again on the team. It’s not like there is a player that is going to be on there every week. I bet maybe one player makes the list the entire season, if any. Mark Richt even said he is the final say so on the matter. Last time I checked I think the Falcons were doing pretty well for themselves when it came to team unity. Go Dawgs
Jeff
August 9th, 2011
8:32 am
We could really use both Crowell and Branden on the offense at the same time. They need to get that number thing figured out.
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 9th, 2011
8:33 am
“Anybody who hears you say something like ‘I don’t want to be here,’ you can be turned into the coach and you’ll get your face on the board.
—————————————————————
LOL
Training Camp for 3rd-Graders!
Big Spur
August 9th, 2011
8:41 am
Richt, your Energy Vampire wears Garnet and Black.
UGAKEV
August 9th, 2011
8:42 am
Ed, I agree with you. 32 pts a game should definitely do the job at the University of Georgia. I love my fellow dawgfans, but sometimes there are a few fans that seem to throw blame on anyone when things are going bad. I remember before our defense fell apart in the Martinez years, that when we scored 18 pts or more in a game, we never lost a game under Richt. 32 points a game under the defense this year???…..I kind of like our chances if that happens this season. Like someone was saying on a blog yesterday when the coach was telling his team on the movie Blue Chips…”It’s not what they know your going to do, it’s how you do it.’
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
August 9th, 2011
8:44 am
Ed
UCF couldnt score a TD
SC 6 points
Miss St 12 points
Your 32 points per game came against bad defenses
Tenn
Vandy
Kentucky
Idaho St
Arkansas had no defense; this yr included thats why they arent picked to win the west
Auburn last year started out behind in almost every game
GT well thats a Div II school
Dr. Phil
August 9th, 2011
8:48 am
In the 1990’s, a women’s studies program at a northeastern university posted photographs of male students with the caption, “this person is a potential rapist.” The professor who thought up this project was fired. You can’t do this on a college campus, Mark. This is just another silly gimmick like the “black out” and pool frolick, and it is probably illegal, to boot.. When UGA loses a couple of games, the local red necks will be hunting down your vampires with torches and sharp sticks, and real vampires, in the human form of attornies, are going to swoop down on UGA with a big law suit. Where are Adams’ political-correctness enforcers, anyway. Vampires have feelings too and are entitled to their alternative lifestyle.
Destin Dawg
August 9th, 2011
8:50 am
with Grantham’s 3/4 Junkyard Dawg defense…. 32 points will win most/all games.. can’t wait…. go Dawgs !!!
tae-ta-dawg
August 9th, 2011
8:55 am
GATA!
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2011
8:56 am
Rolo, I doubt that anyone who actually ends thier post in s sport blog with “ROTFLMAO”, is really going face to face with anyone.
DawgInaTruck
August 9th, 2011
8:57 am
GATA!!
Seriously
August 9th, 2011
8:58 am
The term energy vampire is not new. This term has been used by mediums for years and is common in todays society. If you ever have a person constantly complain or a person who is always looking for you to pick them up…that is a Vampire!!!
UGAKEV
August 9th, 2011
9:00 am
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville,
You got to let the UCF game go, Georgia wanted no part in playing that game after the year we encountered. What about the Auburn and Florida game? How many points did we score those games??? Ok lets say we lost on the road at USC and Mississippi State. Two losses under a redshirt freshmen on the road in the SEC is not a bad season. I remember winning the year we went 13-1 off a David Pollack interception in the endzone at South Carolina. It’s all about defense! Mike Bobo has not been perfect in every game he has called, but Mark Richt was not either at Florida State if you go back and look at some of their wins. Mike Bobo calls the plays, he cant control the terrible costly turnovers we had in those losses.
UGAKEV
August 9th, 2011
9:05 am
If we can limit the turnovers and play defense the way we use to then it’s going to be a great year for the Dawgs! There’s a good article on Isiah Crowell in the columbus ledger enquirer yesterday. He is definitely ahead of pace and is looking very promising so far.
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2011
9:07 am
No KEV, they aren’t missing any points. Complainers are complainers. (and football is just the excuse) It really doesn’t matter the story. Most of that article was about young men working hard, looking better in practice, and trying to have a winning attitude. No surprise what some of these folks take from all that.
Joey
August 9th, 2011
9:11 am
“Over the weekend, Smith had five interceptions in one practice.”
*********************************************
Good news / bad news . . .
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 9th, 2011
9:15 am
Complainers are complainers.
———————————————-
Nope.
Complainers are Energy Vampires!
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
August 9th, 2011
9:16 am
UGAKEV
I did say something about Aub please read
Altamaha Dope
Keep smoking your bong, Im still waiting on a reply with facts
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 9th, 2011
9:17 am
33 out of 131….
The comments Tampa Gator has on this blog in relation to the comment total. That should welcome him in as a first ballot Troll Hall of Fame…
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 9th, 2011
9:19 am
Flat Tire,
I imagine if you wanted to break it down every team would score a higher precentage of points against teams with bad defenses. Good job Einstein.
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2011
9:19 am
Spurrier could learn a few things sitting in a 3rd grade classroom. They certainly hold thier kids to higher standards than he holds his football players.
Joey
August 9th, 2011
9:20 am
Glad to see Conley mentioned – he had gotten kinda lost in all the hubub about Mitchell. The WR and FL positions are suddenly not as big a question mark as it seemed a month ago.
Lots of positives with this camp.
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2011
9:21 am
What’s the question flat tire?
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2011
9:22 am
And why do you always assume it’s YOU when somebody mentioned complainers? Are you a complainer? Is that what you see yourself as?
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
August 9th, 2011
9:28 am
Lowcountry Bulldawg
Hey Einstein listen to what you just stated. “I imagine if you wanted to break it down every team would score a higher precentage of points against teams with bad defenses” So with that said Bobo isnt that great is he
And the bad defenses that we raised our avg to 32 were against terrible defenses especially the ones I mentioned
The only decent defense we faced last year was Aub but again they started slow every game they played
Good work Einstein
what of it?
August 9th, 2011
9:29 am
Which group of tweener girls did Richt consult to come up with that name?
A bit ironic since Richt has the least energy of any coach I’ve ever witnessed. Can we put him on the board next time he punts on 4th and 1 on the opponent’s 45?
Lowcountry Bulldawg
August 9th, 2011
9:32 am
If that answer makes you feel better then so be it, but I prefer the no Spin Zone approach Bozo the Clown. My answer was very simple, every team loads up on teams with bad defenses to inftate not only points per game but overrall statistics. I have never heard a single coach of any school after the season qualify those statistics by opponent. ZERO, I do not think Meyer went to his AD and said hey look you know we just dropped 70 points on Charleston Southern lets erase those stats and not count them. Get over yourself …
RedandBlackDAWGHomer
August 9th, 2011
9:35 am
The energy vasmpire is a good thing because it shows how most of the players and coaches want to keep a positive attitude and get after those that maybe want to slack off a bit. Rather than being a negative thing, it is actually a positive thing as players will strive to stay off the board by practicing hard and with the proper attitude. Last year there was way too much me on the players mind, and this team is emphasizing, team over me. That is for sure not negative. Football has a certain amount of mental preparedness in it as well, and how you feel can affect, how you play. UGA is going to be ready to play. There will be some mistkes made with the youth on the team, but you will see guys that will not get down on each other. They will win and lose as a team, and this team will win a lot more than they lose.
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 9th, 2011
9:41 am
The energy vasmpire is a good thing because it shows how most of the players and coaches want to keep a positive attitude and get after those that maybe want to slack off a bit.
——————————————–
Then again, nobody likes a tattle-tail.
If you treat em like 3rd graders, they’ll act like 3rd graders.
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2011
9:46 am
The real irony is you calling this a tweener girl term.
Since you displayed a complete lack of understanding of the concept of irony, I’ll explain:
Picture a scale where tweener girl is at one end and a NFL coach is at the other. Now place yourself on that scale.
Nothing Could Be Finer
August 9th, 2011
9:49 am
Rivals.com top coaching staffs in the nation:
7. South Carolina
9. Boise
http://collegefootball.rivals.com/content.asp?CID=1249296
Richt and Co, better put together some incredible game plans……
WDE
August 9th, 2011
9:52 am
@Nothing Could Be Finer really treat them like 3rd graders and they will act like 3rd graders….brilliant lets see how well is suspending a guy 6 times working out for the game hens? Face it who wouldn’t prefer to have a EV board as opposed to a drunk as the starting QB…. truth is Garcia would be better off is some of his team mates had tattled on him.
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2011
10:01 am
This is just a simple exercise in awareness. Just to remind player that even if they meant no harm, negative remarks in the locker room, on the practise field, do get noticed by others. Nothing more, nothing less. Nobody has represented it to be a substitute for hard work or the fundamentals of football. How anyone is making this out to be a bad thing is simply perplexing.
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2011
10:04 am
I know if my 3rd grade kid got sent out of the room FIVE times then made the line leader, I’d be wondering who is running that place. But then again, I expect a LOT more from a 3rd grade teacher than I do Spurrier at this point.
Auburn | MrSEC.com
August 9th, 2011
10:06 am
[...] be here,’ you can be turned into the coach and you’ll get your face on the board.”Chip Towers of The AJC explains the rest:“If a teammate (is) nominated by another player for the ‘energy vampire’ board and [...]