Archive for September, 2011

ATHENS – Just got back from interviewing Georgia players following head coach Mark Richt’s weekly press conference. As you could imagine there wasn’t a whole lot of talk about Coastal Carolina, the Bulldogs opponent for Week 3. It was more about the aftermath of last Saturday’s loss to South Carolina and what has to happen going forward.

The biggest bit of news to come out of the half-hour session with Coach Richt was the decision to start freshman tailback Isaiah Crowell this week. Crowell had 158 all-purpose yards — including 118 rushing — and two touchdowns against the Gamecocks was named SEC co-freshman of the week, The 5-foot-11, 215-pound Columbus native now leads the Bulldogs in rushing with 178 yards, or 89 per game and is the team’s second-leading scorer.

So here quickly is what Richt had to say about Crowell. . . .

• On tailback rotation: “Right now we do have [Crowell] slated as the starter for this week. Part of it is just his production as a runner. That’s a big …

Continue reading TB Isaiah Crowell to get first career start vs. Coastal Carolina »

The most significant change in the last four years has been Mark Richt's decision to relinquish offensive game-planning and play-calling duties. (AP photo)

I’m not sure how many people were watching College GameDay this past Saturday morning and saw the piece they aired on the Georgia football program. It was titled, “Discontent in Georgia” and I was among the individuals interviewed for it. Here’s A LINK to the video clip if you haven’t seen it.

But the real fireworks, I thought, came in the ensuing debate among the College GameDay panel, including regulars Lee Corso, Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit and a new castmember named David Pollack, who some of you may have heard of.

In any case, it didn’t paint a very pretty picture of the direction of the Bulldogs’ football program, and that was before they went out and lost to South Carolina 45-42 on national TV.  I thought it could have been a little more balanced — surely they could have found some folks that would have …

Continue reading UPDATED: What happened to change direction of Georgia football? »

(Updated 9 p.m.)

ATHENS –- Georgia’s remaining healthy inside linebackers — yes, there are a few — marvel at how the position has been decimated by injury.

“It’s just crazy, how one week Alec [Ogletree] goes down and the next week Christian [Robinson] goes down,” Mike Gilliard said.

“It’s unbelievable, the way our linebackers are getting hurt,” Amarlo Herrera said.

Ogletree suffered a broken foot in the season’s first game and will be sidelined for up to six weeks. Robinson suffered a less severe foot injury in the second game and will be out for two or three weeks. So with both of their starting inside linebackers sidelined, the Bulldogs got to work Monday on Plan C.

The latest depth chart lists Gilliard, a junior, and Herrera, a freshman, as the starters. Also working at inside linebacker in practice Monday were freshman Ramik Wilson, who shifted from outside linebacker, and Jeremy Sulek, a senior walk-on.

“The coaches said whoever practices the hardest at linebacker will …

Continue reading Inside LB remake; Crowell’s honor; Ole Miss game time; TV ratings; more »

UGA graduates Harris English and Russell Henley, both of whom won Nationwide Tour events as amatuers, are set to begin promising professional careers in the coming weeks. (Photo by EyeOnSportsMedia.com)

We interrupt all this football talk to interject a little golf news. . . .

Recent UGA graduate Harris English will announce tomorrow at Black Creek Club in Chattanooga that he will turn pro and join the Nationwide Tour, according to the Chattanooga Times-Free Press. His professional debut is expected to come in the Children’s Hospital Classic on Oct. 6-9 at Black Creek, where he grew up learning and playing the game. English won the Nationwide’s Children’s Hospital Invitational in Ohio just a late July 24, but entered as an amateur in order to remain eligible to play on the U.S. Walker Cup team.

Last week, English was in Scotland representing the U.S. along with UGA teammate and fellow Nationwide Tour event winner Russell Henley. The heavily-favored U.S. team lost to Great …

Continue reading Two UGA golfers turning pro with victories already under their belts »

Another week, another injury to a key Georgia linebacker.

Christian Robinson will miss “at least a couple” of games with a foot injury sustained in Saturday’s loss to South Carolina, UGA coach Mark Richt said Sunday.

The injury, coming one week after Alec Ogletree suffered a broken foot in the season opener, leaves Georgia (0-2, 0-1 SEC) without both of its starting inside linebackers.

Compounding the problem, inside linebacker was probably the thinnest position area on Georgia’s defense and the one at which the team was least equipped to withstand injuries.

“We’ve definitely got a challenge at the linebacker position right now,” Richt said.

Ogletree, who underwent surgery last week, is expected to be sidelined for up to six weeks. Richt did not have medical details on Robinson’s injury — he suggested it might involve a hairline fracture — but said it is not as severe as Ogletree’s.

The first names Richt mentioned as candidates to fill in for Robinson in …

Continue reading UGA linebacker Robinson out ‘at least’ two weeks, plus other updates »

Here was my video interview with Cinesport following Georgia’s 45-42 loss to South Carolina on Saturday night.

Continue reading Video: Devasting turnovers, breakdowns cost Bulldogs vs. South Carolina »

A roundup of the AJC’s extensive coverage of Georgia’s 45-42 loss to South Carolina:

Chip Towers’ game story, which notes the Bulldogs are 0-2 for the first time in 15 years:

. . . Georgia lost to South Carolina 45-42 in a roller-coaster of a game that featured seven lead changes and big plays galore. More often than not it was the 12th-ranked Gamecocks who were executing the spectacular, usually at precisely the right moment.

With the victory, the Gamecocks (2-0, 1-0 SEC) get a leg up in the SEC East. The Bulldogs fall to 0-2 for the first time since 1996.

The Bulldogs’ more inspired play — they were lackluster in a 35-21 loss to Boise State in the opener — is unlikely to get the critics off the back of coach Mark Richt.

Mark Bradley’s column, which notes how much things have changed for the Bulldogs since 70-X-Takeoff:

It was there for Georgia, the second-biggest game of Mark Richt’s stewardship, same as the biggest game this coach has worked had been there that cold …

Continue reading Read all about it: South Carolina 45, Georgia 42 »

Here’s some quotes from players and coaches after Georgia’s 45-42 loss to South Carolina Saturday night at Sanford Stadium. . . .

Georgia Head Coach Mark Richt:

“That was an exciting game. The score didn’t turn out the way we wanted. Losing is no fun.”

“South Carolina is a tremendous team, and I think Georgia’s a darn good team if we don’t help the opponent too much.”

“As head coach, I saw an awful lot of great ingredients in this game. I saw a lit fight from our guys, I saw some outstanding plays at crunch time, I saw banged-up guys sucking it up and going. I saw I a lot of resiliency. We can be very good football team, we just had too many giveaways.”

“I thought we kept fighting. We took the lead a couple of times and never gave in. The clock just ran out on us, basically.”

“I wouldn’t say we’re young across the board, but we have enough young people we’re counting on that we’ll get better exponentially.”

“I think the Eastern Division will be decided down the road and I …

Continue reading Mark Richt: Georgia a young team that ‘will get better exponentially’ »

Dozens of Georgia recruits crowd the sideline before Saturday's game against South Carolina. (Photo by Chip Towers)

ATHENS — I’m here at Sanford Stadium on an absolutely gorgeous day in Athens. Right now it’s 81 degrees and there literally is not a cloud in the sky. Campus was already packed with tail-gaters four hours before today’s 4:30 p.m. kickoff between Georgia and No. 12 South Carolina.

My game advance previewing today’s game was not posted in the blog, so HERE’S A LINK TO IT in case you missed it.

Obviously the theme of the week has been whether or not this is a “must-win game” for Georgia coach Mark Richt. I don’t think anybody in the world believes he’d be fired next week if the Bulldogs lose today. At the very least there will be 10 more games in which they could turn things around. But statements such as the one UGA Athletic Association board member Tommy Lawhorne offered unsolicited at yesterday’s quarterly meeting underscore that this season quite clearly is a …

Continue reading South Carolina sure feels like a must-win game for Bulldogs »

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. …

Continue reading Georgia WR Tavarres King has already forgotten Boise State debacle »

Below is my weekly pregame video chat with CineSport’s Noah Coslov in advance of Georgia’s SEC opener against South Carolina on Saturday. We talk about what the Bulldogs need to do better against the Gamecocks, the team’s current emotional state, what they need to do to contain Marcus Lattimore and whether or not this is the biggest game of coach Mark Richt’s career.

MORE COVERAGE

• South Carolina’s rise to prominence traced to recruiting of in-state talent
• SEC coaches comment on bringing Texas A&M into league
• Georgia-Boise State brought in big television audience
• Remorseful FS Bacarri Rambo believes he can make difference
  

Continue reading Video: What Dogs must do better vs. Gamecocks and what it means for Richt »

Continue reading Mark Richt’s patience wearing thin on line of questioning, and actual line »

ATHENS — Sorry for the relative lack of presence on the blog today. I had to tune into the SEC Coaches teleconference, videotape a segment for ESPN’s College GameDay and go get my knee worked on at my orthopedist’s office. But I’m saddled up here at practice now and will bring you updates the rest of the day.

As for the SEC teleconferecne, Georgia coach Mark Richt continued to get peppered with thinly-veiled queries insinuating that is job may be on this line this week or this year or whatever. For him, that’s pretty much four days in a row of that line of questioning and you can tell that’s it’s starting to wear on him a little bit.

I’ll just quickly share some of his answers from his 10-minute or so session and you’ll get an idea what I mean:

Does Saturday’s game feel like a must-win?

“I wouldn’t say that. It’s a very important game for us, very crucial for the Eastern Division race. It’s not a must win mathematically for the race or not a must win in any other way I know …

Continue reading UGA’s Mark Richt put on defensive again during SEC coaches teleconferece »

Comments from SEC coaches about the possible addition of Texas A&M to the SEC:

Georgia’s Mark Richt: “I’m just going to stay away from commenting on anything as far as expansion right now until all the dust settles and I have a better idea of what’s going on. I’ll say this: It looks like change is coming. … But for me as a coach, my effort and energy has to be focused on preparation and this [South Carolina] game and that’s what we’re doing. The truth of the matter is I don’t know and for me to make some kind of comment would be premature. I’ve got an AD as a boss and a president and a commissioner and I don’t think anybody needs my comments on expansion right now.”

Florida’s Will Muschamp: “Whatever Dr. [Bernie] Machen and our administraion decide I’ll support. But Texas A&M has a great tradition and is an outstanding program. I really think we’re headed to the 16-team leagues. Eventually I think there will be four of them at some point if you ask me personally. But …

Continue reading SEC coaches discuss addition of Texas A&M »

Georgia free safety Bacarri Rambo returned from a suspension this week and expects to return to the starting lineup on Saturday. (Photo by Guy Prokay/DawgTime.com)

Free safety Bacarri Rambo expressed remorse for what he called “a big mistake” and said he believes he could made a difference against Boise State last Saturday.

Rambo, the Bulldogs’ leading returning tackler, was reinstated this week after a one-game suspension for an unspecified team rules violations and is expected to start against South Carolina on Saturday.

“It messed up our team goals having to sit out that one game,” said Rambo, speaking to reporters for the first time since last spring. “I’m not going to say we could have won if I would’ve played. But I want to help the team as much as I can and the results of the game probably would’ve been different. That was a big mistake and I learned from it.”

Rambo would not say what infraction led to his suspension or exactly when it occurred. “I’d rather y’all ask …

Continue reading Remorseful Bacarri Rambo believes he could’ve made difference vs. Boise St. »

Georgia coach Mark Richt found himself on the defensive for a brief time in Tuesday's press conference. (Photo provided by DawgTime.com)

ATHENS – Just three days after Georgia’s season-opening loss to Boise State, Georgia’s Mark Richt is already getting the type of questions reserved for November of a horrific season.

Twice Richt was asked during his weekly press conference Tuesday if he felt Saturday’s game was critically important to him as the Bulldogs’ head coach.

Phrased a different way by two different reporters three minutes apart, Richt gave the same terse answer.

In the first case, Richt was asked if he viewed the South Carolina game as “pivotal for you and your program.”

“I view it as a very important game,” he said, without further elaboration.

A short time later, a reporter from a South Carolina newspaper asked if Richt felt like it was “a must-win game.”

“Didn’t I just say it was a really important game?” Richt snapped back.

“But is it a must win?,” the reporter …

Continue reading UGA’s Richt volleys ‘must-win’ questions, players defend their coach »

MONDAY MORNING REWIND

Happy Labor Day everyone. Glad to see some rain coming our way. God knows we need it.

Not sure how much it will help the Georgia Bulldogs, however. After watching Saturday night’s debacle against Boise State, it’s clear they need all the practice they can get before No. 12 South Carolina comes rolling into Athens next weekend. The last thing they need is a bunch of thunderstorms to chase them inside.

Welcome to the “Monday Morning Rewind.” This will be regular feature during the season. It’s nothing fancy, just a forum to make sure you get a chance to see everything we’ve got on football coverage. We’ll offer some fresh news, notes and quotes along with links to the latest versions of stories we’ve written over the weekend and a few from elsewhere. So let’s get to it. . . .

THE MAIN THING

Head coach Mark Richt held his weekly teleconference on Sunday. As expected, the news was not good on linebacker Alec Ogletree: Broken foot, surgery on Monday, out four …

Continue reading Rewind: Richt says Dogs likely to stick with TB rotation of Samuel, then Crowell »

After Georgia’s 35-21 loss to Boise State was in the books and the Bulldogs had slogged their way back to their locker room in the depths of the Georgia Dome, senior cornerback Brandon Boykin stood up in the center of the room and yelled for his teammates’ attention.

“Before Coach Richt talked, I just told them we have a whole season left to play,” said Boykin, one of four captains for the game. “I told them, ‘this was a hyped game and everybody wanted us to do what we’re supposed to do, but it didn’t happen. We can’t get our heads down because we’ve got a whole season to go.’ Everybody’s positive now and we’re going to be ready for this next ballgame.

Boykin certainly did all he could. The cornerback from Fayetteville, in addition to playing the whole game on defense and finished with six tackles, a pass breakup and a tackle for loss, also ended up with 190 all purpose yards.

Eighty yards came on the first and only offensive play of Boykin’s career, a touchdown on a counter …

Continue reading Notebook: CB/KR Brandon Boykin delivers postgame message to team »

Here’s what Georgia coach Mark Richt had to say after Saturday night’s 35-21 loss to Boise State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome.

Q: Opening statement:

A: “Congratulations to Boise State. They just beat us tonight. They were better than we were and my hats off to them. Our players understand understand that and our players understand that we’ve got to get a lot done before we play next week and open Southeastern Confewrence play. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We know that everybody’s 0-0 in league play. Our goal is to win the Eastern Division and that’s not changing. So we have to get ready for that. Boise State did a great job tonight and I congratulate them. Questions? . . .

Oh, I have an announcement. (Bacarri) Rambo is eligible to play next week. He was suspended for the first game for the usual team rules violation. Carlton Thomas will play next week, too.

Q: It looked like y’all were trying to execute a hurry-up offense and send in plays after the …

Continue reading Q&A: Richt disappointed in pass protection, encouraged by players’ attitudes »

The question for the Georgia Bulldogs was whether last year’s losing season was a trend or an aberration. While there’s much football still to be played, they could not have liked the answers they got Saturday night.

Facing No. 5-ranked Boise State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome in a game they hoped would return them to national relevance, the 19th-ranked Bulldogs instead were manhandled by their visitors from the Mountain West Conference 35-21 before a partisan crowd of 73,614.

“Boise State just beat us tonight,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said. “They were better than we were and my hat’s off to them. Our players understand that and our players understand that we’ve got to get a lot done before we play next week and open Southeastern Conference play. We’ve got a lot of work to do. We know that everybody’s 0-0 in league play. Our goal is to win the Eastern Division and that’s not changing. So we have to get ready for that.”

It was the Broncos’ first …

Continue reading UPDATED: Georgia manhandled in its own backyard by No. 5 Boise State »

Mark Bradley has a live blog going — as I’m sure everybody already knows — so I’m going to stay away from that during the game.

I’ll post some notes here sometime in the second half and put up my running game story as soon as I can after the game.

Otherwise, here’s what I can tell you so far:

• Mike Bobo was calling plays from the pressbox again on Saturday.  The Bulldogs’ offensive coordinator had been calling plays from the sidelines since October of 2009, when he moved down to the field midway through the season “to get a better feel of things” and talk face-to-face with quarterback Joe Cox after a few poor offensive efforts in a row. Now in his fourth season as Georgia’s offensive coordinator and 11th as quarterbacks , Bobo started out coaching from the press box in 2007 and 2008.
• Safety Bacarri Rambo and tailback Carlton Thomas are both dressed out and warming up with the team. Thomas, as you all well know, has been suspended for tonight’s game. It has been rumored and …

Continue reading Pregame update: Bobo in the pressbox; Rambo, Thomas dressed out »

The countdown clock running most of this summer is almost down to all zeroes for Georgia and Boise State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game. I think we can all agree that we’re glad it’s finally here.

For us sportswriters, you really do get to the point that you’re tired of writing about what might happen and what could happen and about this player and that one. We, too, just want to see a game played so can analyze things from there. We’ll all get to do that come 8:15 p.m. tonight.

Before we do that, I wanted to make sure you had everything you might want to read up on about the game. Both Tim Tucker and I have been writing about this team and this game pretty much daily for the last month and often multiple times per day. Below I’ll list the most recent and most pertinent blogs and stories so you can just click on them in case you missed them or want to revisit a certain story or subject.

In the meantime, I’ll wrap up some household chores before heading down to the Dome to …

Continue reading No more talk, time to see what 2011 Georgia Bulldogs are made of »

Former Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley said the Bulldogs were motivated by being called the 'upset special' against Boise State in 2005. (UGA photo)

D.J. Shockley couldn’t help but chuckle at the question.

“Yeah, I think I may remember that Boise game just a little bit,” he said sarcastically. “I think I might be able to recall a few things that happened that day. I don’t know. Let me think about it.”

Shockley was being asked about the last time Georgia and Boise State played. It was Sept. 3, 2005, and Shockley was a fifth-year senior making his debut as the starting quarterback for the Bulldogs. And there’s good reason he might be able remember a thing or two about that game.

Shockley accounted for six touchdowns that steamy afternoon in Athens. He ran for a 14-yard touchdown on Georgia’s first possession of the game, then passed for five more TDs as the Bulldogs rolled to a 48-13 victory.

Shockley finished as Georgia’s leading passer (16-24, 289 yards) and rusher (5-85) …

Continue reading D.J. Shockley: ‘It sounds weird to hear Georgia called underdog’ vs. Boise State »

Junior college transfer nose guard John Jenkins won't start on Saturday but he's expected to play a lot. (UGA photo by Rob Saye)

ATHENS – John Jenkins won’t start the game when the Georgia defense takes the field against Boise State at the Georgia Dome on Saturday, but that has done nothing to lessen the anticipation of the big nose guard from Connecticut, who was one of the Bulldogs’ biggest signees last February.

“Let me give you an analogy,” said Jenkins, a 6-foot-4, 350-pound junior college transfer from Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College. “Think about when you were young and Christmas is right around the corner and you see all your presents underneath the tree, and it’s Christmas eve and you want to open that first present, but you can’t and you stay up all night. That’s the way I feel.”

When Jenkins inked with UGA the Saturday after national signing day, it was anticipated he would be starting for the Bulldogs when they opened the 2011 season. But a couple of …

Continue reading Starting or not, Big John Jenkins fired up about his first game with Bulldogs »

Q&A WITH JASPER SANKS

Jasper Sanks rushed f0r 1,651 yards and 12 TDs at Georgia but never lived up to the tremendous expectations that came with him from Columbus.

If there is one person on the face of this Earth who knows what Isaiah Crowell is going through this week it’s Jasper Sanks. Both of them are from Columbus, both of them were Carver High graduates, both were five-star running back prospects and both came to Georgia pulling a freight train of expectations behind them. Crowell will play his first college football game on Saturday against No. 5 Boise State in the Georgia Dome. Sanks played his first game with the Bulldogs 13 years ago. But their circumstances are eerily similar.

For Sanks, there was no storybook ending. Though he had a solid college career — 1,651 yards, 12 touchdowns — he was never able to live up to the grandiose expectations placed on him. And he made plenty of mistakes along the way. He failed to gain freshman eligibility, showed up overweight …

Continue reading Q&A: Jasper Sanks knows exactly how Isaiah Crowell is feeling »

Cinesport’s Noah Coslov and I talk about Saturday’s game between No. 19 Georgia and No. 5 Boise State in the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game at the Georgia Dome.

Continue reading Video: Getting Richard Samuel healthy, pressure on Kellen Moore keys for Georgia »