UGA’s Gilliard, Walsh receive player-of-week honors from SEC
Two Georgia players received honors from the SEC today for their performances in Saturday’s victory at Tennessee.
Inside linebacker Mike Gilliard was named the league’s Defensive Player of the Week after a huge game in which he had a career-high 12 tackles, as well as a sack (for minus 14 yards), 2.5 tackles for loss, a forced fumble, two quarterback hurries and a pass breakup.
It was the latest in a series of strong performances by Gilliard, who stepped up in the wake of injuries to inside linebackers Alec Ogletree and Christian Robinson. Gilliard, a junior, has led the Bulldogs in tackles for the past four games.
Placekicker Blair Walsh was named the SEC’s Special Teams Player of the Week after making both of his field-goal attempts at Tennessee. His 35- and 23-yard field goals accounted for all of Georgia’s scoring in the first half, which ended in a 6-6 tie.
The game was a bounce-back performance for Walsh, who missed six of 12 field-goal attempts in this season’s first five games after missing just five of 45 over the two previous seasons. He is the SEC’s active career leader with 63 field goals, the eighth most in league history.
In addition to the SEC honor, Gilliard also was named the College Football Performance Awards’ National Linebacker of the Week.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2013 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
237 comments Add your comment
bitter fair is fair
October 10th, 2011
7:46 pm
also congrats to bugg supporters———-6-0————–looking good book worms
Idiot Dawg
October 10th, 2011
7:47 pm
Had to go eat supper. What happened to the Talk dude. I wanted to tell him about the mouse. You know, let it hover over the word ‘Sports’ and pick where it says ‘Orange Puke’
dog fan sitting on rocky top
October 10th, 2011
8:00 pm
I’m tired, going to bed!GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!!
AltamahaDawg
October 10th, 2011
8:30 pm
Uga insider can climb down off that bridge now.
AltamahaDawg
October 10th, 2011
8:50 pm
So…..how many sacks do we have now? I can guarantee one person that knows the answer.
mae ghent
October 10th, 2011
8:52 pm
contrats to my son michael gilliard good game keep up the good work
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
October 10th, 2011
9:14 pm
AltamahaDawg
Stop pounding your chest and take those beer goggles you have off
Take a look at the defense since KY game last year until now. You can see there has been improvement
The offense has not. Lack of using players like figgens and charles for example once again showing booboo has no game plan and fails to use the talent he has
The fans have to raise the roof booing because this bunch cannot even go for it on 4th an inches against Miss St but now we do
This offense couldnt score a TD until the 3rd qtr against a lousy Tenn team nor could it score against Miss and MissSt in the 2nd half but hey lets run the clock out mentality continues to rain supreme here
If you think this team is going somewhere with our play calling on offense your sadly mistaken
Now kudos to Gratham he has shown drastic improvement and I will be glad to give him credit.
But do me a favor dont come on here at the end of the year acting like we on our way to great things next year if we win out because we are not with our inept offense. Against 5 lousy teams up and coming
The schedule we have will allow that as I said earlier this year that this team should go 11-1 with this schedule and it looks like Im not far off.
If we get better play calling ASAP then I will change my mind but Im not impressed against the sorry defenses we have played and we still look bad on offense
Dawg48
October 10th, 2011
9:14 pm
@ JAWJeRDAWG. Makes since our linebacker core is a lot better than I thought our true freshmen Herrera really stepped up and gilliard also a lot of depth in the near future no body should be tired in the 4th
Dawg48
October 10th, 2011
9:25 pm
@ flat tire I will say this about our offense. The line looked better with the group against teen only gave up 1 sack I think, bobo did a good job of rolling murry around to the outside of the pocket but when you look at our key play makers on offense they past 4 weeks it has been freshmen crow ell Mitchell and bennet it’s been nice to have them making plays on the outside so charels at tight end is not the only thing the opposing D has to focus on on passing situations. I do believe when we get them more playing time we will improve. Mitchel has been a little green on rout running ( only his second year playing receiver) that’s how. Murry has gave up 2 picks but at the teen game no picks few preshurs better passing. Richt did say a comment on bobo being to conservative I think we will improve their just like the 3rd and shorts we did sat night.
AltamahaDawg
October 10th, 2011
10:25 pm
Flat tire, not only would that have been just as boring IF it were the first time, but you look stupid cutting and pasting your rants on multiple blogs when it doesn’t even apply to anything I said on this one.
(not to mention, you just agreed with what I did say).
HopSINGwasBONANZA
October 10th, 2011
10:30 pm
Bobo is a DGD. His play calling just does not work. Coach Richt could get control of this if he would start running the offense again. I would not fire Bobo, they could find him something to do. Vince could likely use him in a lawn care capacity around his house. If that fails The MENS TENNIS TEAM could have him shagging balls during practice.
ATL Sports Fan
October 10th, 2011
11:06 pm
Flat Tire all you do is bitch and moan. You never have anything good to say. I feel for your family, as you seem like a very miserable person. Bottom line is you play the teams on your schedule. Do you think Alabama fans were bitching when they beat Tennessee by 1 point in 2009? No, a win is a win not matter how ugly or perfect it was. Good teams find ways to win no matter the situation. You would be the shortest tenured coach in college football if you roamed the sidelines.
AltamahaDawg
October 10th, 2011
11:18 pm
Well, they dropped him off at Gainsville Fl if that tells you anything.
AltamahaDawg
October 10th, 2011
11:28 pm
Do they have team sack totals on that website? just wondering.
Thomas Brown
October 10th, 2011
11:28 pm
ATL Sports Fan October 7th, 2011 8:10 am
“Thomas Brown, your an idiot. Throws himself down so he doesn’t get hit. 4.7 40-yard for a QB is fantastic. GUess what, Lemay isn’t that fast!! ”
Excuse me Christian LeMay is FASTER than Aaron Murray. Christian LeMay will NEVER average 1 yards a carry on his entire career as Aaron Murray is doing, NEVER. You just type whatever you wish. I have no problem with you typing here. I do not wish you to SHUT UP. On the contrary every time you open your mouth, you LIE. Why would you state that your opinion is that Aaron Murray is FASTER than Christian LeMay ? You obviously own the internet and can look up the Nike times for BOTH. The Nike times for both are on Scout.com. So, you run in here and tell me “your an idiot.”
.
ugab October 7th, 2011 10:00 am
“Murray is our QB!! He knows the offense. He has big game experience.”
# 22 South Carolina LOST
# 12 Arkansas LOST
# 15 Missy State LOST
# 01 Auburn LOST
# 21 Central Florida LOST
# 05 Boise State LOST
# 18 South Carolina LOST
UNRANKED Colorado LOST
UNRANKED Florida LOST….. BIG-GAME EXPERIENCE you mean ?
Thomas Brown
October 10th, 2011
11:34 pm
Go ahead AltamahawDawg, give Flat Tire your URL Link to your “specualation about this year”
Thomas Brown
October 10th, 2011
11:41 pm
WDE October 10th, 2011 9:55 am
“No one thought we could beat UT”
Liar. Everyone said and still does that the vols are a CUPCAKE, no defense, no special teams, no running game, and NO TALENT.
No one thought the we would beat the vols, Ole Miss, Coastal Carolina – junk. Drink the Kool-Aid; we have beat a grand total of 3 SEC teams who combined to have 0 SEC wins and none of the wins by the teams who we beat are over a single team who beat anyone either.
No one thought we would beat the vols.
You didn’t expect to get away with that did you
WDE
?
WDE
AltamahaDawg
October 10th, 2011
11:46 pm
Same little Army Brat standing in front of the mirror pretending to tell them all off.
Thomas Brown
October 10th, 2011
11:52 pm
YOUTH ? What is this BS about our YOUTH 2011 when Mark Richt and his coaching staff have 29 scholarships they gave out to play against Vandie this week, NONE of whom instead will be playing ?
Georgia SEC 2011 Media Guide Page 10 Depth Chart shows :
22 Seniors UGA 2011 on Depth Chart Media Guide p10
25 Juniors. UGA 2011 on Depth Chart Media Guide p10
YOUNG ? Absolutely not true.
Moreover it is so great that the coaching staff MESSED UP on 29 Scholarships for 2011 who will not play vs Vandie Saturday, and it so great that they are GOOD RIDDANCE, are we to suspect that this coaching staff will not make future errors – just like this – cutting the dead wood ?
YOUTH —————— YOUNG TEAM
Mobile Dawg
October 10th, 2011
11:55 pm
We came out of Knoxville with a win. Congrats. Looks like we’ve got things on the defensive side of the ball fixed, or at least headed in the right direction. Hope it doesn’t take another three years to fix the offensive side. We need offensive linemen, depth at tailback, and some experience for our back up QB.
William
October 11th, 2011
2:42 am
Dawg48, I hope you are a kid because your spelling is pathetic. Congratulations on the win and to the players that were picked for player of the week. The game was not really close. I was there. Tennessee was never really in the game. The score is a lot closer than the game. The defense played great. The offense was sporadic. I don’t think it’s the play calling but the talent level is not that good. We are really young on offense and I think next year is where we see improvement. Need linemen and another back or two. Vandy always plays us tough. Will be leaving for Nashville around noon on Saturday. If you are a fan then join me up there.
Thomas Brown
October 11th, 2011
5:53 am
Stephen, appreciate all the words about our team. Who is your team ? How is it that you missed telling us that ? You mentioned that we are yes, missing 29 players whom Mark Richt gave scholarships to to play vs Vandie who will not :
Missing from vols game whom all could have played :
01-OG Kolton Houston – R Fr NCAA eligibility
02-OT Jonathan Owens – Redshirt Junior 2011, medical disqualification
03-OL Brent Benedict – RFr. — Transferred to Virginia Tech
04-OL Tanner Strickland – Sr. — left program not playing senior year injury
05-OL Trinton Sturdivant – Sr. — knee injury
06-OL Chris Little – R Jr Transfer NW C College then Southern U ineligible
07-OL A.J. Harmon – Jr. — Transferred to Alabama State
08-OG Ben Harden – would be Senior 2011
09-TB Washaun Ealey – Jr. – Transferred to Jacksonville State
10-TB Dontavius Jackson – would be RJr transferred to UAB
11-TB Caleb King – would have been senior 2011
But that is just OL and RB. There are 18 missing from the rest of the roster.
And, of course, we have LOST 18 games vs teams who would not have ended up being ranked in the Top 25 without their wins over Mark Richt these 11 years he has coached here – and yes, TampaDawg they are spread out throughout the 11 years – CUPCAKES we have LOST to. So, we are not doing well. And, there isn’t anyone we play. If SOUTHGADAWG88 thinks we could beat Alabama LSU or even Arkansas, he certainly failed to point out just whom it is who is good, even, we would have beat to end 11-3 – there are not any.
Lowcountry Bulldawg
October 11th, 2011
6:27 am
Where is the fire CMR folks at? Yep, back squarely on the bandwagon. Hope they didn’t break an ankle in there hast of finding a spot as it was fairly busy with all the bloggers trying to regain a spot back on what is the S.S. UGA ship Captained by CMR.
AltamahaDawg
October 11th, 2011
7:06 am
I think it never too early to go ahead and prepare the critisism of how Richt didn’t beat TN the right way in Athens next year.
Niceville Dawg
October 11th, 2011
8:17 am
Thomas Brown you need a sleep-aid….or maybe a midol
Hopelessly Devoted
October 11th, 2011
8:19 am
Tennessee is a great football program with a rich tradition. It is absolutely wonderful to score a victory in the world-famous Neyland Stadium. One could argue that Tennessee is not the team that they usually are this year, but why dwell on the negatives? A win is a win. I’ll take it.
Just wait till next year, then you’ll all see CMR’s master plan come to fruition.
Old Dawg Fan
October 11th, 2011
8:27 am
Nice to see Bulldogs getting some recognition. Nice to see them in a position to get recognized!
Better game Saturday against Tenn. We can really see some real improvements coming out of Athens. Glad to see it, we will stumble but we are getting better!!!! Go Dogs!!!
layinlow
October 11th, 2011
8:41 am
“What everyone must do at a halfway point — it’s just like the halfway point of a project the halfway point of anything you do — it’s how you finish that really is the key thing that everyone has to focus on right now,” McGarity said. “Once you think you might have it figured out or you may rest on your laurels so to speak, that’s when you have problems. The message that we need to have and the message that everyone needs to have is that each week gets bigger and bigger. To get to certain levels, you have to work that much harder.”
“Obviously you’re winning the games that really you need to win,” McGarity said. “At the same time, those teams have really struggled. I don’t know if there’s a (conference) win among them. You’ve got to keep things in perspective because there are some big tests coming up.”
These are quotes made by McGarity in todays edition of the athens banner herald. What I glean from thses comments is that McGarity still isn’t sold on this team and it’s to early for the Richt pollyanna’s to celebrate.
Max
October 11th, 2011
8:42 am
I guess everyone has forgotten at Robinson had 13 tackles the first game and was on pace to lead the SEC in tackles prior to his injury.
Carrollton Dawg Fan
October 11th, 2011
9:12 am
Overall, it is always good to get a win in Knoxville! Congratulations Coach Richt on your 100th UGA victory! This game showed that the team is making progress, particularly on defense.
There was still a lot of sloppy play on offense with the repeated holding penalties and missed opportunities to complete passes to open receivers. Murray has to get better at delivering catchable balls. The discipline must improve on the offensive line if UGA wants to make it to the Dec 3 SEC Championship game. Auburn and Florida will beat a team that is undisciplined and fails to cash in the opportunities for big pass plays to open receivers.
Will the Dawgs work hard enough to get there?
Energy Vampire
October 11th, 2011
9:36 am
WTF, kick 2 field goals and your are special teams player of the week, if I’m not mistaken the Tenn kicker also made 2 field goals———-this is the lamest player of the week EVER!
Fan
October 11th, 2011
9:50 am
Coach Richt is a class act. A great individual and good for players. Somehow, we need to rise up and become competitive with the top teams in the league on a regular basis. The recruits are terrific and the area produces some of the best talent in the country. Unless we want to stay in the middle of the pack something has to improve. Good luck Coach Richt!
TampaDawg
October 11th, 2011
11:06 am
Thomas Brown, first off, you’re either incompetent or just illiterate .. There were MANY posts on here from an assortment of different people saying the Dawgs couldn’t win in Knoxville. So calling WDE a liar is irresponsible at best.
Second, quit posting all these tired rants about all the people not still on the team. Players gone due to injury? Happens to every team, it’s part of football. Players transferring because of being low on the depth chart? Happens all the time, it’s part of football. Players not being on the team due to academic reasons, criminal reasons or just a real bad attitude? I am happy that most of those players get sent packing for good. By the time it happens, you can bet they have already exhausted their second chance so to speak. Other programs keep those players but have to deal with the black eye’s they continue to cause (Chris Rainey and Jordan Jefferson come to mind).
TampaDawg
October 11th, 2011
11:12 am
Oh, and Thomas Brown, while I am at it, go share your lack of QB knowledge on some other blog please. Complaining about a pocket passing QB in a pro-style offense only running a 4.7 40 or only averaging 1 yard per carry is hysterical. Especially when lost yardage on sacks are counted against his numbers as well. You have no clue but at least you keep us laughing!!!
Jordan
October 11th, 2011
5:51 pm
http://isportsweb.com/2011/10/11/sec-outlook/
Sports Round-Up : The Grady Journal
October 14th, 2011
7:01 am
[...] Gilliard, Walsh receive player-of-week honors from SEC The Atlanta Journal Constitution reports that inside linebacker Mike Gilliard was named Defensive Pl…. Both players received awards for their performance last week’s victory against [...]
Kevin
October 16th, 2011
4:15 pm
I have not posted this year, because I have been so disappointed with my dawgs. But I just
cant stand it anymore. I have been a long time dawg fan and season ticket holder. So I feel I can voice my opinion, Im a booster. I have always been a CMR fan, and still are. He is just loyal to his staff and my hat is off to him for that. But we have to make changes on offense. Bobo is a dawg and I understand that, but he is not a OC. Let go back in time, Ray Goff was a dawg as well, but was not a head coach.
So Bobo needs to be QB coach, recruiter whatever, but Richt please take over the play calling or its going to just cause you problems. To save face, call Bobo the OC, but dont let him call plays. Because he cant. The offense just cant get in rhythm, because he want allow them too. Run, Run Run it works with Crowell, then he pulls him out and starts throwing. Guess what, now Crowell is now out of rhythm. UGA games are the most boring thing to watch.