Georgia WR Tavarres King has already forgotten Boise State debacle
This is the second of two passes wide receiver Tavarres King dropped against Boise State in the Georgia Dome. (Photo provided by Rob Saye)
ATHENS – Asked if the Boise State game was one he’d just as soon forget, Georgia wide receiver Tavarres King shot back, “What game?”
In addition to having quick feet, the junior flanker from Mt. Airy is quick witted. He’s also resilient, which he has needed to be since last Saturday in the Georgia Dome.
Known as the leader of the Bulldogs’ receiving corps as well as one of their most dependable receiving targets, everybody was surprised when King ended up dropping two passes against Boise State. He finished with a single catch for three yards as the Bulldogs fell 35-21.
“Individually it wasn’t up to par,” said King, who had 27 catches for 504 yards last season. “Everybody knows that. Everybody knows that I make plays. But for some reason in that game I lost focus on two plays and didn’t execute.”
One of the plays was particularly big. Georgia was down 21-7 but on the move in Boise State territory midway through the third quarter when quarterback Aaron Murray found King open deep over the middle on second-and-12. The ball was delivered right on target, but King dropped it.
Murray was sacked on the next play, then Blair Walsh missed a 54-yard field goal attempt.
King had another drop late in the third quarter but was bailed out later in the possession when Orson Charles hauled in a 36-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-two.
“In this business you’ve got to have a short memory,” said King, who needs just 50 receiving yards to go over 1,000 in his career. “That’s in the past. I put it behind me as soon as it happened. Even the greatest drop balls, so I’m fine.”
The question for the Bulldogs is whether this what life after A.J. Green is going to be like. Wideouts accounted for just seven catches for 92 yards in the first game. Freshman Malcolm Mitchell led the way with three for 64 and a touchdown, Marlon Brown added two for 12 and Rantavious Wooten had one for 13
Charles, a tight end, led all receivers with 6 catches for 106 yards and a score.
Head coach Mark Richt indicated the competition for playing time this week was wide open. But he said he still feels confident in the play-making abilities of the wideouts.
“I think we have a talented wide receiving corps, I really do,” Richt said. “If you’re watching them in practice every day, they’ve got ability. But we’ve all got to make the plays when our numbers are called. We’ve got to get some momentum and everybody will join the party, but we’ve got to get it going.”
Crowell longs for Lattimore-like carries
Georgia freshman tailback Isaiah Crowell said he has been impressed with what he’s seen from South Carolina’s star runner Marcus Lattimore. What he likes about him most is how many times he gets to run the football.
“That’s a tailback’s dream,” Crowell said.
Lattimore had 37 carries for 182 yards and 2 TDs in South Carolina’s 17-6 win over Georgia last year. Later he surpassed it with 40 carries for 212 yards and 3 TDs in a win over Florida. He finished with 249 carries and 1,197 yards and 19 TDs in 13 games last season.
Crowell had 15 carries for 60 yards in his Georgia debut last Saturday. “I think I did pretty good. I could have done a little better on pass protection, but overall I think I did pretty good for my first game,” he said.
He’d like to get significantly more against the Gamecocks.
“I know everybody’s going to be comparing me and Lattimore with each other,” Crowell said. “I just have to go out there and do my best. Hopefully I’ll get as many carries. But I’m just trying to help my team win, that’s the main thing.”
Alec Ogletree out longer than anticipated
Fullback Zander Ogletree told reporters Wednesday that his injured twin brother Alec Ogletree plans to make it back for the Florida game on Oct. 29. If that’s the case, he will be out longer than originally expected.
Alec Ogletree, Georgia’s starting “Mo” linebacker, broke a bone in his right foot in the first quarter of last Saturday’s loss to Boise State. Afterward, Richt said Ogletree would be sidelined for four to six weeks. It will have been eight weeks by the time the Bulldogs play the Gators. Ogletree underwent surgery Monday at St. Mary’s hospital.
Charles not to blame
It looked like tight end Orson Charles was to blame when Boise State’s Shea McClellin came free to stop Richard Samuel for a loss on crucial fourth-and-one play at the Broncos’ 26 in the second quarter last Saturday. Charles was coming in motion to the right and ran right by McClellin and up the field.
“It wasn’t him,” Richt said of Charles. “The look was a little different than what we had seen on film throughout the offseason study, but there was no excuse for letting the guy go free. But it wasn’t Orson. It looked like it was him, but it wasn’t.”
Fullback Zander Ogletree and tackle Justin Anderson both blocked the tackle on the play.
Lots of eyes on UGA-Boise State
ESPN’s telecast of the Georgia-Boise State football game was a big winner on Atlanta television Saturday night. The game drew a 16.7 local Nielsen rating, meaning 16.7 percent of TV households in the market tuned in on average. That translated to an audience of about 402,000 homes.
How other televised sports events Saturday night fared in the Atlanta market: the LSU-Oregon football game on ABC: 5.6 rating, 134,800 homes; the Nationwide Series race from Atlanta Motor Speedway on ESPN2: 2.3 rating, 55,400 homes; and the Braves-Dodgers game on SportSouth: 2.0 rating, 48,200 homes.
Etc. . . .
Georgia has added Southern University and Louisiana-Monroe to its 2015 home schedule, according to open-record documents obtained by the AJC this week. The Bulldogs will pay Southern $650,000 to come to Athens on Sept, 5, 2015, and will pay Louisiana-Monroe $1.2 million to play on Nov. 7, 2015. . . . The Bulldogs held a closed “dress-rehearsal” practice at Sanford Stadium on Thursday. No players or coaches were available for interviews afterward.
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242 comments Add your comment
Sloan
September 9th, 2011
7:11 am
PC Dawg, for the record Coach Dooley did not have “5 or 6 straight losing seasons before winning the National Championship.” He had one losing season from 1964 to 1979 (1977 UGA went 5-6). During that same span he had 2seasons where UGA was .500. After 1979 he never had another losing season.
Pierce CO Dawg
September 9th, 2011
7:12 am
Mobile dog i can think for myself. I was probably working and playing football when you were in diapers.
Pierce CO Dawg
September 9th, 2011
7:15 am
Sloan you do not get the point. It has been done before (bad seasons). If you knew anything about football you would be coaching.
David
September 9th, 2011
7:18 am
One of the plays was particularly big. Georgia was down 21-7 but on the move in Boise State territory midway through the third quarter when quarterback Aaron Murray found King open deep over the middle on second-and-12. The ball was delivered right on target, but King dropped it.
Murray was sacked on the next play, then Blair Walsh missed a 54-yard field goal attempt.
++++Typical…for the past 3 years…….
Lowcountry Bulldawg
September 9th, 2011
8:16 am
Shouldnt have been much of a surprise that we may struggle out wide early this year. King stepping in to be the #1 WR is equivalent to baseball when the setup guy who pitches the 8th is asked to close. The hardest three outs in baseball are the last three. Now King is finding out it easy easy to be the 2-3 WR harder when you are expected to be the man. Good luck Saturday and Hunker Down TK!
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 9th, 2011
8:26 am
Are yall planning a blackout for the game?
bill arp
September 9th, 2011
8:29 am
A Murray is now 6-8 as a starter….just sayin…
pragmatic
September 9th, 2011
8:32 am
winning the sec east is not much of a goal this year. i mean really saying you are better than usc and a bunch of patsies is not a very high bar.
DawginLex
September 9th, 2011
8:37 am
I believe after tomorrow folks around the country are going to realize Boise state and in particular Kellen Moore are a lot better than folks ever thought.
I believe we play better tomorrow but still come up short.
I have said 28-20 and I’ll stick with that.
I hope I’m wrong.
I will sure be pulling for them to get this thing fixed and win.
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 9th, 2011
8:45 am
SC will start three DE’s on Saturday:
Devin Taylor
Melvin Ingram
Jadeveon Clowney
Its clear that Carolina will bring the heat early and often.
Dawg Tired
September 9th, 2011
8:51 am
“It wasn’t him.” Right – sometimes you must adjust on the fly. Charles should have blocked the guy. Of course, our coaches making adjustments during a game or at half-time is against our phlilsophy, so I guess it is completely unreasonnable to expect a player to make one in the middle of a play.
TampaDawg
September 9th, 2011
8:59 am
NCBF — Usually your posts are quality posts, but that one wasn’t. Taking one game in which the kid was given 15 carries, got 60 yards out of it with a line not getting any push at all and creating no holes, and saying “there’s no comparison” doesn’t even make sense. If national ranking services and college football fans followed your every move, that would go to your head too as an 18 year old.
Specialdawg
September 9th, 2011
9:05 am
The only way UGA stands a chance tomorrow is for the special teams to dominate…
DawginLex
September 9th, 2011
9:08 am
NCBF
NEWSFLASH
South Carolina and UGA will both field 11 players on the field during each play.
Trying to find the silver lining
September 9th, 2011
9:10 am
Well atleast we know we’ll win two games in 2015 and we got that going for us.
Dr Evil
September 9th, 2011
9:11 am
Not to worry dawg fans, I have it all under control.
I’m sending #2 in to personally bribe Clowney to not touch Mini-Me Murray.(He’d already sent Clowney a letter with the bribe but it was returned unopened. It seems #2 didn’t realize Clowney couldn’t read but that’s another story).
Next, Fat Ba$tard will be taking Big John Jenkins place to get a better push up front. He’ll also have a flask of vodka for Garcia to swig in the pileups.
I guarantee a win for UGA!…unless Clowney forgets…unless Garcia plays better with a buzz.
Mini-Me Murray, you complete me! BWAHHHHHAAHHAA!
Tard Dawg
September 9th, 2011
9:11 am
The annual UGA cycle continues.
1. Over-hype
2. Over-rated
3. Season begins
4. Loss(es) to teams “lesser”
5. Drop in polls
6. Drop out of polls
7. Hope to attend just ANY bowl
8. Return to step 1
Dawg Bonez
September 9th, 2011
9:11 am
I’d start Malcolm Mitchell and bench “Stone Hands” T. King. He was one of the main reasons Boise St. won.
TampaDawg
September 9th, 2011
9:13 am
I hope you’re wrong too Dawginlex .. my heart says 23-17 Dawgs, but my head says 23-17 Chickens
Dawg Bonez
September 9th, 2011
9:13 am
If the Dawgs don’t throw slants tomorrow to the WR’s and short passes the tight ends then Bobo should be tarred & featheres after the game…
Dawg Bonez
September 9th, 2011
9:14 am
My nuts say 38-17 Chickens but my gullible mind says 38-34 Dawgs…
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 9th, 2011
9:15 am
The only way UGA stands a chance tomorrow is for the special teams to dominate…
————————————————
Carolina’s punter is horrible.
Not necessarily good for Boykins because he usually shanks it out of bounds.
TampaDawg
September 9th, 2011
9:15 am
Wow Tard Dawg, first name of that moniker applies quite well for you. How many years has that happened lately? It’s a trick question. It’s not years. It’s year. Only 1 .. last year. What does it say about a program when UGA goes 8-5 two years ago and they call it a down year but USCe goes 8-5 last year they are being put up there with Bama and LSU.
RedandBlackDAWG
September 9th, 2011
9:17 am
Lattimore was almost the whole S.C. engine last year and we saw how the injuries and weariness got to him at the end of the season. NCBF, he was the reason you even won the weak SEC East Div. last year. Garcia looked good, because the focus was on your running back, not the whole offense. When teams beat you, they stopped Lattimore first and worried about Garcia afterwards. They knew he couldn’t win the game himself.
UGA can not afford to put the whole game on our RB. It is not fair to him, and we are too thin ar RB to run the same RB 35-40 times a game. It is a long season and he doesn’t need to end up like Lattimore did last year. We also do not need to play typical Bobo Ball and run up the middle all day long and expect a sudden miracle where our O line starts blowing defenses off of the line of scrimmage and open gaping holes, for the RB. When we go to the outside with our runs, we have a big FB and big TE’s that can lead the way, and he can get some more of those 12 yard runs like he did ONE TIME against Boise, Why did we only try that once? If the D can’t stop it, run it until they figure it out and then maybe try and punch it up the middle. What is so hard about that concept for the OC to grasp? Crowell has the makings a a very special player, but if we keep running him into a crowd of big uglies all of the time, after about the 6th game if not sooner, he is going to be beaten up and watching from the bench with multiple aches and pains, that will keep lingering on and affect him for the rest of the season. Do we then actually turn to Samuels as the RB of the team, or do we simply abandon the running game and become one dimensional? Let’s mix it up as little on offense this week and I bet our defense looks a lot better because we did. If we try the same old stuff this week, that is now exactly what ewvery teams defense knows we will do, we are not going to make a decent game of it. I am of the opinion that S.C. is a lot more physical, and equally as well coached as Boise, so it is time to play some serious ball and come with a game plan designed to win, not just one designed to keep us from losing too bad.
GO DAWGS and GATA
TampaDawg
September 9th, 2011
9:18 am
Great points on King there Lowcounty
Mobile Dawg
September 9th, 2011
9:22 am
Pierce CO Dawg, if your going to be on a public blog and say ignorant things, expect someone to call your number ocassionally. I was simply saying I’m not a bandwagon fan, and I won’t jump back on your giddy little bandwagon should we win one game. This program has a long way to go. Respectfully, Mobile Dawg.
UGA lore
September 9th, 2011
9:25 am
T King, like AJ Green, will not be remembered, nor honored in UGA lore say in 12-15 years. They will be forgotton within two years.
UGA must move on and sign kids that can think and perform, not these board handed guys like King.
Go Dogs.
PMC
September 9th, 2011
9:28 am
TK is right to have a short memory. He can be a great asset this season. He’s got the skills and the drive to be very good.
PMC
September 9th, 2011
9:28 am
I’ll remember TK if only for that awesome tackle he made in the Florida game last year.
Restore UGA
September 9th, 2011
9:35 am
Nothing Could Be Finer, “Are yall planning a blackout for the game?”
I am planning on Garcia being blacked out. If not from booze, then maybe a hit from Jarvis or Rev. Ray
Tard Dawg
September 9th, 2011
9:36 am
The only reason UGA has any national relevance is because they’re in the SEC. Small time program that is over hyped every year. Essentially the Clemson of the SEC.
HB
September 9th, 2011
9:38 am
Bobby Bowden was Richt’s mentor at FSU personally and professionally. He is a good christian man just as Richt. But, my God, did Bowden have passion, enthusiasm and and energy about him!!! Why couldn’t he teach Richt those qualities as well?? Doesn’t he know that these kids need to see some emotion?? This is an emotional game…get fired up!!!! GO DAWGS!!!!
Restore UGA
September 9th, 2011
9:39 am
Red and Black, “If the D can’t stop it, run it until they figure it out and then maybe try and punch it up the middle.”
I don’t think Mike Bobo feels this is fair to the other team.
St. Richt
September 9th, 2011
9:40 am
“I know everybody’s going to compare me and Lattimore with each other..” Wow, what an ignorant comment. This guy continues to underwhelm me with stupid comments like these. He seems to think he is entitled and should be compared to one of the best RB’s in college football. Give me a break.
MontyP
September 9th, 2011
9:41 am
Sorry Isaiah Crowell! You will never get as many carries as Lattimore. You must have mistaken UGA for “Tailback U.” It doesn’t matter that you are clearly the best running back on this team by far. Richt and Booboo will continue to rotate you with the other mediocre backs every other series. This approach has proven to be so effective resulting in a near .500 record the previous 2-years. Does it really matter anyways. Booboo’s offensive play calling is so creative that everytime the offense lines up the defense knows when you are going to run and where you are going to run. You will earn every yard you gain!
If you get the ball 30+ times and Booboo lets you run outside the tackles a couple of times UGA wins the game. Go Dawgs!
So what?
September 9th, 2011
9:41 am
What does being a christian man have to do with anything other than going to some building on Sunday morning? Richt should be worried about Saturday in the stadium.
DawginLex
September 9th, 2011
9:44 am
St richt
I think it has to do with the fact they are playing against each other this week and both playing as a freshman. Don’t read entitlement into it. The kid from all reports is minding his own business and listening to Thomas Brown. I’m pretty sure he just wants to play football and win
Nothing Could Be Finer
September 9th, 2011
9:46 am
Now that Dallas Lee is taking over for Kenarious Gates, who is Chris Burnette’s backup?
Restore UGA
September 9th, 2011
9:49 am
RedandBlackDAWG, “come with a game plan designed to win”
Mike Bobo will need to be put at the kiddie table, while Richt and some other offensive minds come up with that plan. Invite some great High School coaches to consult. Ask Grantham what plays he would have the most trouble stopping and hates to defend.
I like Charlie Weis’ play where he has two running backs behind the QB and then splits them either direction on a curl or wheel type route to the left and right, having the QB hit his choice in stride. It is quick and it gives the RB a chance to do his thing against a smaller group of defenders (size and numbers).
One on one, I think Crowell could beat most SC d backs. Samuel could bowl over and punish them.
It is a neat play.
St. Richt
September 9th, 2011
9:49 am
He has all the potential in the world. But its just that right now, potential. Lattimore has already proven to be a big time back and is probably one of the top 3 in all of college football. You can’t compare yourself to those types of players as a freshman who gained 60 yards in his first outing. I’m just saying that the kid needs to stop focusing on what he did to impress people in high school. And earn some respect at the college level before assuming that people want to compare him against guys like Lattimore. Do something first. Because pretty much any non-UGA fan would laugh at the arrogance of that comment.
I will say Thomas Brown is a good mentor- I’ve got tons of respect for him. They need more guys like him around the program.
Tard Dawg
September 9th, 2011
9:53 am
Good chance UGA wins out the rest of the year.
Restore UGA
September 9th, 2011
9:53 am
Little St. Richt, you are comparing Crowell and Lattimore with your post.
Crowell is correct, people will compare him regardless of what happens. He is the hotshot Georgia RB recruit and Lattimore was the hotshot SC recruit. The comparisons have been going on from the time he committed.
DawginLex
September 9th, 2011
9:54 am
I guess it is all about perspective in reading the comments.
i read it as a kid who wants more carries like Lattimore, wants to be compared to someone good like Lattimore and wants to win.
Tard Dawg
September 9th, 2011
9:54 am
UGA could play against the Falcons if they wanted.
bitter HERSHAL
September 9th, 2011
9:55 am
one thing will never change————I miss LARRY MUNSON——————i would rather turn the tv off
——–and lissen to him chewing on a cigar and jawing with laron———–like this
——-its one of those afternoons, the wind is blowing like 100 million miles —-they brought everyone from across the boarder– and our players are smaller–shorter you no—-and theres that lattimore kid
he is hershal like–he runs a flat 100 million miles a hour—-no body can touch him—-watch you got
————————————————-LORAN———————-price less yaaaaaw
Restore UGA
September 9th, 2011
9:56 am
Dawg Bonez, your nuts say?
Yep
September 9th, 2011
10:01 am
Test
Tard Dawg
September 9th, 2011
10:02 am
Richt should get the team fired by getting new uniforms….oh wait, oops.
dog 21
September 9th, 2011
10:03 am
After seeing the same problems that plagued us last year against boise, I don’t see us winning tomorrow. We couldn’t even score a td last year against them.
Shelby Foot
September 9th, 2011
10:05 am
Is Tavares going back on tour? I’ll be in the front row if they sing Heaven Must Be Missing an Angel!!