Q&A: LB Alec Ogletree ‘very anxious to get back out there’ for Bulldogs
This is one of the last shots we saw of Alec Ogletree, getting the defensive call from the sideline in Georgia's Nike Pro Combat uniform at the Georgia Dome. (UGA photo)
Q&A WITH ALEC OGLETREE
Alec Ogletree was the toast of the offseason for the Georgia Bulldogs. Going back to spring practice and all the way through preseason, the experiment of moving the 6-foot-3, 240-pound sophomore from strong safety to inside “Mo” linebacker was said to be an unmitigated success. Coaches and teammates spoke in excited anticipation of the havoc Ogletree was going to wreak playing down close to the line of scrimmage in the middle of the Georgia’s 3-4 defense. “He was practicing extremely well,” coach Mark Richt said. “He was making most of the tackles and he was doing it with some enthusiasm and some physicality. He has the ability to knock people back and he has the ability to run sideline-to-sideline and he has the ability to cover well. He has all the tools.”
But all the air from that balloon was sucked out just two defensive series into the season opener against Boise State. Ogletree broke the fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot in the first quarter. The break was confirmed on X-rays right there at the Georgia Dome and Ogletree has been sidelined ever since.
Make that WAS sidelined. The former AJC Super 11 selection and 5-star prospect was cleared for practice last week. Sunday night, Richt announced that Ogletree would in fact start his first game back next Saturday against Florida in Jacksonville. Defensive coordinator Todd Grantham left little doubt that would be the case upon watching Ogletree negotiate his first full-contact practice last week. “It was exciting,” Grantham said with a rare grin. “He looked good. I was fired up.” Here’s a what Ogletree had to say about the injury ordeal and his feelings as he prepares to come back against the Gators:
Q: What exactly happened to break your foot?
A: “I just stepped and tried to turn and run and my foot didn’t turn with me. It just stayed there and popped.”
Q: Do you think it was those new Nike Pro combat shoes?
A: “I don’t really know. It was bound to happen from what the doctors told me. It just happened to happen then.”
Q: I heard you actually played a while with your foot broken. That true?
A: “I played two series with it broken. When I did it, I just started saying, ‘man, I think I broke my foot.’ I tried to shake it off but as play kept going I knew I had actually done something bad to it. I was telling all the guys, ‘I think I broke my foot.’ They were just yelling, ’shake it off, man!’ But I could tell it was bad.”
Q: What was going through your mind when you realized you were seriously injured?
A: “I was devastated actually. I’d never been injured to the point I was sidelined for a long period of time. So it was kind of hard for me. But at the same time I knew I had guys who could back me up and step in and play. And that’s what they’ve been doing, so it really hasn’t been a problem.”
Q: Any concerns whatsoever with the foot now?
A: “No. I don’t feel any pain at all. I just try not to think about it and just go out there and play.”
Q: What did you think of the job Mike Gilliard, Amarlo Herrera, Jeremy Sulek and those guys did in your absence?
A: “I had great confidence in what we could do because of how hard we worked in the offseason and how guys had a different state of mind than last year, the work ethic and stuff. They did a wonderful job as far as stepping into play for both me and Christian [Robinson]. So I give big ups to the guys for that. I mean, I didn’t think ‘Mike G’ was going be SEC Player of the Week, but I knew he could play. So that part wasn’t a surprise. Amarlo stepped up real good for us, too.”
Q: They have played awfully well. Are you worried how you might fit back in?
A: “That’s up to the coaches. Everybody is still going to come out and work hard. No position is given to you around here, so you’ve got to work for it. And that’s what I’m going to do. Each and every day, all four of us, me, Christian, Mike G and Amarlo, we’re going to go out there and work every day, whether I’m starting or he’s starting or whoever’s starting.”
Q: Any discussion of you playing some strong safety with Shawn Williams out for the first half?
A: “No, I don’t think so. I’m just trying to get back into the flow of things at linebacker.”
Q: You and Cornelius Washington both come back this week, but y’all lose Williams and Kwame Geathers for a half. Has it been frustrating not being able to have the full defensive complement on the field for this team?
A: “Like I’ve said, each of the 11 positions on this defense, everybody’s got backups that can step into play any time. So with them coming out I know we’ve got guys that can back them up.”
Q: How eager are you to play again in a real game?
A: “I’m very anxious to get back out there in a game and get going again. I’ve been out so long, right now I’m just trying to work on my conditioning and trying to jell back with the defense. I just want to help my team the best I can.”
|– Chip Towers
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367 comments Add your comment
Dawg48
October 24th, 2011
4:16 pm
I really think something is wrong with Thomas brown! I mean who wrights a 10 paragraph comment? Or 3 at the hours from 1am to 3am?
gdawginkalamazoo
October 24th, 2011
4:16 pm
That’s one thing I don’t understand is why I sit there and watch highlights all day long of RB’s breaking the long TD runs and there are no UGA RB’s featured. With the largest OL in all of football (college or NFL) it seems they could bust a little something open for our guy. I understand Crowell is more of a power back than speedster but he should be doing it. Thomas should definitely be able to with his speed.
Will Boo Malcome be playing this week? Will he be the secret weapon we have been waiting for?
Murphy
October 24th, 2011
4:19 pm
We can for sure say we have one coach ready for this game.Grantham doesnt need a pep talk. He is all GATA!!!!!!!!!!
Smells weird on the plains
October 24th, 2011
4:19 pm
John B. will play but his lateral movement will be limited. You think Todd the JUNKYARD G knows what to do? This kid is in trouble. Keep in mind our LB’s have some of the best closing speed in the league for the dump pass to little guys.
TampaDawg
October 24th, 2011
4:20 pm
LOL on 4:14 and 4:13 Altamaha
Murphy
October 24th, 2011
4:21 pm
gdawginkala,
Crowell does have break away speed,we just cant seem to block well enough to get him in space.You will be pleasantly suprised if you see him take off on a long run.
BWKDawg
October 24th, 2011
4:23 pm
Go Get Em Dawgs!!! Fried Gator Tail For Dinner. HAHAHA!!! But On A Serious Note, I Sure hope Blair Walsh Can Find His Groove Again. It Pains Me To See His Stats Fall. That Young Man Has A Bright Future In The NFL. Just Need To Get His Confidence Back. GO DAWGS!!!!!!!!!
gdawginkalamazoo
October 24th, 2011
4:23 pm
Punks it up, gets chippy, smack talking, extra-currilcular activities, showboating. I will have to get my thesaurus to expand on the list.
Murphy
October 24th, 2011
4:23 pm
Got to go-Going to take the kid to see the Raven/Jags tonight.All of you have a great evening.Go Dawgs
TampaDawg
October 24th, 2011
4:36 pm
What gives, Murph leaves and down goes the blog?
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
4:47 pm
ahhhh punks it up….got it……like the Florida head coach does every week.
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
5:00 pm
The thing we need to do for Blair Walsh is to stop trying those 45+ yarders. His % is pretty plenty good when attempting a normal FG. He has made more long FG than any of the rest of the leagues PKs have even attempted.
Although I am not really advocating stopping the attempts. I’d rather have him make even 2 out of 3 than punt the ball. Just saying, we lean on him in situations that others don’t, and his stats have taken an unfair hit.
the Voice...of Reason
October 24th, 2011
5:02 pm
To be honest, this is the first time since Zook was in charge that I think we have the trifecta for victory-better players (been able to say that before) better team (rare) and better coaching (I know I’m gonna get flamed for this one, and I have that argument prepared).
the Voice...of Reason
October 24th, 2011
5:06 pm
Dann Quinn is Florida’s defensive coordinator. I had to say that just so some of you would know who that is. This guy is useless.
Will Muschamp-1st year head coach, still getting reacclimated to SEC play. Also, a defensive coordinator that Richt owned for years at Auburn/LSU.
Charlie Wies-Is there a more over-hyped fraud in CFB? Okay, I’ll give you Kiffen and Neuheisel, but that’s about it.
the Voice...of Reason
October 24th, 2011
5:15 pm
The most distinct Coaching advantage? None of Florida’s coaches have served in a game for Florida against Georgia. There’s no sense of “feel” like Meyer had when making adjustments against us. There’s no handwritten copy of our playbook like Spurrier seemed to have. They are starting from ground zero against a team with A LOT of playmaking weapons (Smith, Boykin, Rambo, Williams, Tree, J.Jones, C. Washington, Gilliard, Robinson, Herrera, Jenkins, Geathers, Crowell, Mitchell, Brown, Murray, B.Jones, TK, Bennett, OC, Aron White, C.Glenn, D.Lee, Figgins, C.Thomas) when was the last time we could list that many BIG TIME dudes in our program? Oh yeah…the last time we won the sugarbowl in ‘07.
the Voice...of Reason
October 24th, 2011
5:30 pm
By comparison, that team had:Kelin Johnson, ReShad Jones, Prince Miller, Asher Allen, Dannelle Ellerbe, Rennie Curran, Gamble, D.Dewberry, A.Dent, Marcus Howard, Rod Battle, Geno Atkins, Kade Weston, John Owens, AJ Green, Knowshon Moreno, Sean Bailey, Mikey Henderson, Mohammed Massoquai, Brannon Sutherland, Sean Chapas, Tripp Chandler, Thomas Brown, Kreg Lumpkin, Matt Stafford, Sturdivant, Valdez, Jones, (I could go on all day about that Oline), and Brandon Coutu. Inside and out that team brought the pain…if only we had beat South Carolina…
And what
October 24th, 2011
5:44 pm
has that group of players done this year except lose to the two ranked teams they played against and beat a bunch of second and third tier teams for the last 5 games.
And
October 24th, 2011
5:50 pm
the way ga fans are talking about how far down Fla is, Fla will be the 6th straight second tier team ga will beat Saturday.
pcola-dog
October 24th, 2011
5:51 pm
and getting ready to beat the 6th third tier team in a row. The players and coaches dont make the schedules they just play who you put infront of them…. for better or worse.
And
October 24th, 2011
6:18 pm
I agree, they play who they play, but to try to gauge the level of talent on this team by what they have done over the last five games, and interpret it as a sign of a great football team is not justified. They lost to the only two ranked teams they have played. That is a better indication of the where the talent is on this team.
the Voice...of Reason
October 24th, 2011
6:24 pm
And…what does that say about the talent level of Florida to take four straight woodshed beatings from teams in the SEC that used to trail them? That is the only relevant detail at this point.
And
October 24th, 2011
6:35 pm
not talking about fla, but ga. Who has this group of players beaten other than also rans, this year or last. Until they start winning against ranked teams they are just another group of under achieving, over hyped individual players who have not coalesced into a really good team.
Jborodawg
October 24th, 2011
6:56 pm
1969 Graduate…the polls and the computers think the Dawgs are a top 25 team, that’s who.
Oh yeah, and Bzzzzz, et al….UGA has more academic award recipients than any university in the south. UGA has more combined recipients of the NCAA and National Football Foundation Post-graduate Scholarship, NCAA Top Eight Award, and Academic All-American honors than any university in the south. So, Tech might have somewhat higher SATs, but……
Lot of comments saying the game is on Murray. I kinda, sorta agree…in that he can NOT throw INTs and we cannot have turnovers. We need to win the turnover battle.
We also need spec teams to step it up.
We also cannot let 8th-year-seniors Demps and Rainey run wild.
(Well, it does seem like they’ve been there forever.)
So, it’ll take all facets of the game. We put 2 of 3 of the facets together, we have a great chance. We put 3 of 3 facets together, we win. Should be a great game. I don’t care what some might think, if we win it’ll be a “great” win. If you don’t think the winner of Ga-Fla thinks of it as a great win, you don’t know diddly about the UGA-Fla tradition. We both had byes this year, but Fla has ALWAYS had a bye before this game. Heck, Mushamp brought it up his first news conference. I think even Darth Visor thought it was just as big as FSU. Kinda like the Tech game…doesn’t matter the records nor the standings, it’s a big game.
Welcome back to Tree and Washington. Pretty impressive that Tree played two series with a broken foot. That’s a DGD!
the Voice...of Reason
October 24th, 2011
7:05 pm
Can we help that Tennessee, Miss St, Ole Miss, and Vandy are all crap teams? Can we help that Florida, Auburn and Kentucky are also crap teams? 7-1 in the SEC is still 7-1 (if we close). Are you going to complain if we beat a ranked team in a bowl game who drop out of the rankings due to a loss to us? Some people are never satisfied…regardless.
the Voice...of Reason
October 24th, 2011
7:22 pm
Next year is even weaker as we play a non-conference schedule against Florida Atlantic, Buffalo, Georgia Tech, and Georgia Southern. Our pickup game from Miss St will be Alabama, who will be significantly depleated by the departures of Hightower, Chapman, Menzie, Upshaw, Nico Johnson, Darius Hanks, Trent Richardson, Robert Lester, Marquise Maze, WIlliam Vlachos, Dre Kirkpatrick and probably Barrett Jones as well. Alabama will still be ranked (although not as deservingly) and the game is in Tuscaloosa. Other than that, we play the same scrubs as this year. So if we run that table and play LSU in the SECCG, we will be nobodies again. Typical.
And
October 24th, 2011
7:35 pm
yes you will remain a nobody until you start beating the somebodies
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
8:29 pm
The losses to the only 2 ranked teams would mean a lot more had they been recent or separated. This is a team that every expert covering Georgia, both inside and independent, thought would get better as the year went on, so losing the first 2 doesn’t make the same case as you think you are. I think if we had had to play Miss State in week one, we might not have survived it and I think if we could replay either of those first two in Nov., the results would not be the same.
Mobile Dawg
October 24th, 2011
8:35 pm
Shouldn’t most teams get better? And USCe shouldn’t count as losing to a ranked team as we beat ourselves that day.
MarineDog
October 24th, 2011
8:36 pm
I think that we are going to see the reason why the offense has been playing so conservative over the last 3 games. I think they’ve been saving it for this game in order to prevent FL from preparing for the different offensive attacks. I’m sure FL will have a few plays of their own as well. If we can contain Demps and Rainey from being effective in the run game, we will be okay. That’s providing that the special teams doesn’t have any slip-ups. Blair Walsh could prove to be the difference in this game. I think that it will be a close game.
Mobile Dawg
October 24th, 2011
8:41 pm
MarineDog, is that really you? That comment is one I would have predicted would come from the keyboard of someone high on you know what, that certain beverage that’s abused by a large number of UGA folks. No way the Dawgs have been hiding anything they thought would be successful, IMO.
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
8:59 pm
That’s not really so far fetched. Not sure there has been any planned secrecy, but for certain UGA has not rolled out anything beyond what it took to get to a calculated margin of victory so far. Obviously they have held back somethings, not so much “for Florida” but for when needed. And it wasn’t needed the past few weeks, although I would argue they really havent been that conservative in the past 2 weeks.
Also I am sure every team has things that they feel more comfortable with later in the season after working on it. The bye week would also an obvious factor in adding new wrinkles.
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
9:01 pm
Did Rainey get back together with his girlfriend?
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
9:02 pm
It’s their one year anniversary thanks to urban’s love counseling.
Mobile Dawg
October 24th, 2011
9:09 pm
On second thought you’re probably right, that’s probably why we’ve attempted so many field goals. UF will surely bite on a couple of fakes. Richt will be known after Saturday as the St. Johns Riverboat Gambler.
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
9:24 pm
No, they attempted a FG when the play they called on 3rd down didn’t work. I don’t think they knew that in advance of running it.
Mobile Dawg
October 24th, 2011
9:27 pm
That was my lame attempt at humor. Lewis Grizzard I’m not, although he did grow up just down the road from Newnan which was home to me for a long time.
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
9:34 pm
No, I get the humor. But are you saying that you were not suggestion that the FG proves that they did not have anything else to run but vanilla even if they chose to?
Mobile Dawg
October 24th, 2011
9:41 pm
No, circumstancially I agree with the field goal attempts. Often I groan on first and second down. As good as they look, and they add points, I wish we had other ways to score than 87 yard TD passes. I know that’s overstating the obvious but we rely on big plays to much.
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
9:55 pm
I think that one is called G87.
Mobile Dawg
October 24th, 2011
9:59 pm
Any new word of speculation about Mitchell? Would sure like to see him healthy. I would take a couple two or three G87’s against the Gators, along with several Walsh 757,s.
krazywheel
October 24th, 2011
10:10 pm
I know we have been playing in JAX a long time.I just wished we could get them in Athens,now and then.Can call it the worlds largest ganja party.Georgia wins by 3.Just really looking forward to the next couple of years.Georgia is going to be hard to stop.Go Dawgs!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
10:11 pm
I wish we had a consistant G3 too.
uga gurl
October 24th, 2011
10:18 pm
i hope malcolm can come back healthy
LogicalUS
October 24th, 2011
11:16 pm
“USCe shouldn’t count as losing to a ranked team as we beat ourselves that day.”
Bhashahahhaha….good lord are there still idigits grinding on with this nonsense. Maybe you fools can ask the SEC to put in a rule which says that UGA only has to count the plays which they like from a game, just imagine how wonderlick your record would be then.
But this isn’t kindergarten so you have to take Murray getting pimped-slapped by the SC DL for a TD, Murray getting pawned for a pick 6 by the SC CB and the defense giving up 140 yds rushing in the last 4th.;
SC made the plays to beat UGA and even throwing everything they could muster at SC, it wasn’t enough for UGA to beat them in your own house.
You lost to them and Boise, get over it.
Buckhead Bulldog
October 24th, 2011
11:24 pm
St. Louis 2
Texas 2
Top of 8
Dawg D!!
October 24th, 2011
11:25 pm
With a terrible florida offense and ogletree back, fla may not even score. This game could get ugly early if murray and crowell light it up with a couple of quick TDs. The Dawgs should win easy–on their way to the SEC east title!!! Dawgs 34 fla 6! Bet the house!
Buckhead Bulldog
October 24th, 2011
11:25 pm
Errrrr.sorry! Texas 4-2 Top of 9th
AltamahaDawg
October 24th, 2011
11:38 pm
You read that as defending UGA in the loss to SC? wow. a little over sensitive arent you? I’m pretty sure that was shot at UGA for not winning when they should have..
But hey, you got to ramble on for a while
Thomas Brown
October 24th, 2011
11:40 pm
DIT
October 24th, 2011 12:48 pm I agree JAWJeRDAWG
“This game will be decided by Murray. Will he give the game away like he did against SC or will he finally put it together for a full 60 minutes and play lights out. Our defense will hold them under 20 points (or should)the question is can we score more than 20 with the play calling. That is unknown for now.”
Aaron Murray gave away the South Carolina game ? How about the Florida game LAST YEAR ? What about the Colorado game ? What about the Central Florida game ? How about the South Carolina game LAST YEAR ? How about the Missy State game last year ? Aaron Murray threw 3 interceptions and fumbled the ball vs Florida last year. Aaron Murray threw 2 interceptions vs Central Florida and no touchdowns. Aaron Murray also fumbled the ball vs Central Florida. He threw an interception and fumbled the ball vs Arkansas. He threw an interception and fumbled the ball vs Colorado. I agree Aaron Murray fumbled the ball 3 times vs South Carolina this season and he threw the pick 6, but he has done this from the beginning and continues. He threw an interception in the last game vs Vandie. He threw an interception vs Boise State. He threw 3 interceptions vs Missy State and fumbled the ball twice. He fumbled the ball twice vs Ole Miss. For his career he has 126 carries for 1 yards per rush, yet all these other college quarterbacks all do so much better. Why are we 11-9 with Aaron Murray as the Starting Quarterback and the only Quarterback ever inserted into the line-up every game ? And, all you can do is say he lost us the South Carolina game this year ? For real ? He tries to do too much. He isn’t any good as our Quarterback. He has yet to beat a single team with a winning record. Not 1.
Thomas Brown
October 24th, 2011
11:45 pm
You asked for the line Las Vegas
FLORIDA by 2 and a half