‘Do-it-all Dog’ Richard Samuel coming through for Georgia again
It looked like Richard Samuel's career at tailback was going to take off when he broke off this 80-yard touchdown run against Arkansas in 2009. (AP photo)
Athens – Richard Samuel has a reputation for being the ultimate team player for Georgia, and deservedly so. Since arriving in Athens as a 17-year-old in 2008, he has been asked to change positions — and accepted those requests — three times due to depth issues on one side of the ball or the other.
As the page turns to 2012, Samuel is coming to the rescue again. With the recent dismissal of tailback Isaiah Crowell, Samuel is going to be asked to pick up the slack at that position this fall. Samuel had his mind set on playing fullback this fall, but now he will work “primarily” at tailback, according to offensive coordinator Mike Bobo, especially in the early going.
“I don’t think too much about it,” said Samuel as he signed autographs during Countdown to Kickoff at UGA this past Saturday. “Back in the spring I was preparing for both, tailback and fullback. So now it looks like I’ll be leaning more to tailback, which is fine. But I hope I get some time at fullback. I don’t want it to be like linebacker where I prepared for linebacker but never got to rep at it. So I’m just hoping I get a little mix of fullback in there.”
When Samuel (6-foot-2, 243 pounds) signed with the Bulldogs out of Bartow County’s Cass High in 2008, he came in as a 5-star prospect who could play either running back or linebacker. What position he should play in college was a hotly-debated topic. In order to win his recruiting battle, the Bulldogs said they’d leave it up to him and, as these things tend to turn out, Samuel chose to run the football.
It wasn’t necessarily a bad decision. Samuel played in 11 games as a true freshman backup to All-SEC tailback Knowshon Moreno. He finished with 133 yards on 26 carries (5.1 ypc average) and had 401 yards on kickoff returns.
Samuel took over as the starter in 2009 after Moreno left for the NFL and was impressive early on. He had an 80-yard TD run and finished with 104 yards at Arkansas in Game 3. But he fell behind Caleb King and Washaun Ealey and lost the No. 1 spot by midseason.
The decision was made the next year to switch Samuel to defense and he was redshirted in order to acclimate to the new position. Samuel was sharing reps with Alec Ogletree at “Mo” inside linebacker through spring practice and was looking forward to playing defense in 2011. But before the Bulldogs could get to preseason camp, Ealey was pointed toward the door, King flunked out and Carlton Thomas was suspended for the opening game.
So the coaches turned to Samuel and asked him if he’d be willing to come back to offense to help out. As has been his inclination, Samuel answered the call. He started three games at tailback, played in eight and, for all practical purposes, won the Florida game for the Bulldogs when he rushed for 58 yards and scored a touchdown in the fourth quarter of the 24-20 victory. Unfortunately for Georgia, Samuel injured an ankle on the last play of the Florida game. He had ankle surgery the next week and missed the next five games.
Heading into this year, Georgia seemed set at tailback with the return of Crowell, Ken Malcome and Brandon Harton and the additions of highly-rated signees Keith Marshall and Todd Gurley. The Bulldogs also lost fullback Bruce Figgins to graduation. So Samuel was pretty happy about the coaches’ decision to cross-train him at fullback with the idea of him primarily playing that position this fall.
“I like contact,” Samuel said. “Fullback is close to linebacker to me so I enjoy that as well. I enjoy the contact part of it.”
Then came the Crowell catastrophe and Samuel finds himself back at square one.
“I’ve talked to [running backs coach Bryan] McClendon about it and he says it’ll be interchangeable,” Samuel said. “He said I might be the fullback in the gun or we might have two tailbacks or whatever. It all depends on the plays that are called and the down and distance. We’ll see.”
Samuel was asked if he is ever frustrated by the continued movement.
“I understand the need,” said the fifth-year senior. “There are certain areas where we have needs and right now those are tailback and fullback. If it were a completely different position, that might be overkill. But I enjoy both positions I’ll be playing.”
Bobo, for one, is extremely thankful to have Samuel to turn to.
“Richard’s going to do what’s best for the football team,” Bobo said. “I think if he stays healthy, he can be productive for us. He’s a senior and he knows we’re counting on him.”
As always.
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226 comments Add your comment
LogicalUS
July 16th, 2012
5:00 pm
Geez my head is spinning….it is the Summer of 2012 or the Summer of 2011?
Are we really back to same exact point as last summer?
Ahhha….yes the old bigger, faster Trent Richardson\Lattimore is back at LB, opps I mean RB is back.
kingdaddy
July 16th, 2012
5:05 pm
@5:01
Looks like I have a shadow. Thanks other kingdad, but I don’t need your help…
kingdaddy
July 16th, 2012
5:07 pm
Wow, one of us is bad enough, but two is too much…
LogicalUS
July 16th, 2012
5:07 pm
Yes…other kingdad is a doo doo head. GT will be triumphant against the Bulldogs of the Georgia and go on to win the world championchip in American football against the steamers.
Steamer Lane Bulldog
July 16th, 2012
5:09 pm
Hey people “CHILL OUT” Samuel will probably stay at Fullback, after the coaches see what the North Cackalacky Boys can do, at Tailback!
GTBob
July 16th, 2012
5:10 pm
KD…you need someone’s help you backwards redneck. Go take a bath and get a job!
kingdaddy
July 16th, 2012
5:11 pm
Log.
OMG,I agree with you about something. That was wierd. Chip must have pulled him…
GTBob
July 16th, 2012
5:12 pm
If KD gave blood, his blood type would be Gravey
BankerDawg
July 16th, 2012
5:14 pm
Kingdaddy – Your right. I dont have allot of faith in the coaching decisions on the offensive side of the ball. Too often we have lost games because of poor preperation, poor game planning, and the lack of ability to make adjustements. I hope your right about Samuel. I know he’s a load but hasnt proven that he can get to the next level out of the back field. To answer your question about putting it on freshmen…yes. Crowell was a true freshman last year and was SEC rookie of the year. I think we have better talent in Marshall and Gurley. I honestly do. We start frehsmen receivers all the time, why not TB? the reason that most would give is that they are not ready to pass block. Well, Marshall has been enrolled since the spring and should eb up to speed. To be honest, I think we see a healthy dose of all these guys. I just dont think Samuel is the guy to set the pace. For me, I like what I saw in BOO last year. He was moving the chains on LSU even when the game was in hand. The kids plays with heart and doesnt go down easy (unlike Samuel). Start Boo and let Marshall and Gurley settle in.
kingdaddy
July 16th, 2012
5:15 pm
Ba-bob
That was one of your most mature blogs to date. I think you moved up to the third grade, lol…
kingdaddy
July 16th, 2012
5:25 pm
BDawg
We shall see. I’m excited either way. Nobody talks about our fullbacks and we can’t have a running game without them. I want balance and spred this year from Coach Bobo. Hope I’m not expecting too much from a O.C. IN THE SEC. Boo is ready, Richard is ready and Brandon H. is ready. If CMB can’t play music with this band then we need a new conductor…
kerryb
July 16th, 2012
5:26 pm
Bo Jax, Marcus Dupree>Walker
July 16th, 2012
11:35 am
future recruits should look at the way Mr. Samuels was jerked around at UGA. 5 star kid, 1 star program.
___________________________________________________________________________
This clown’s name shows he’s a numb skull.
kingdaddy
July 16th, 2012
5:28 pm
Chip T.
thanks for pulling the fake kd…
kingdaddy
July 16th, 2012
5:33 pm
kerryb , you are a fine Dawg…
Neutral
July 16th, 2012
5:39 pm
We often forget that Samuel didn’t play football until the 11th grade and he had spectacular grades and SAT scores. The article says he was 17 when he entered UGa, but I thought he was 16 his freshman year and turned 17 shortly after arriving on campus. Doesn’t really matter…..he is a great guy, great athlete and great student. He is the epitome of a “team player”. DGD
kerryb
July 16th, 2012
5:39 pm
I hate that Richard was bounced around and it probably messed up his career at UGA but, it was his choice. At the time I thought he was probably going to be a top LB. The mistake the coaching staff made was letting the recruit decide what he was going to play, just to get him, instead of telling him where he should play because of his talent. Samuel would have probably been a 1st round pick LB if he would have came to UGA and dedicated himself to that position. He messed HIMSELF up. Bama AND UGA are messing Derrick Henry up doing the same thing. At 6′3 , 240 Henry will not be a long term RB in the SEC he’s going to be too big. His So. year he’ll probably 270 lbs. DE size.
kingdaddy
July 16th, 2012
6:00 pm
A good coach has to make hard decisions sometimes. I’m sure CMR knows what a jewel he has in Richard and will do everything in his power to get R.Sam “noticed”. I will not worry about Richard Samuel, because he is a man and a damn good one at that…
kingdaddy
July 16th, 2012
6:01 pm
Where did all the trolls go, lol…
Flat Tire on I-95 in Jacksonville
July 16th, 2012
6:07 pm
How is Samuel going to get noticed?
He has shown he is not a RB already
So how is he going to get noticed
Moobs Johnson
July 16th, 2012
6:10 pm
What do you expect from the staff that recruited Cam Newton as a TE? Too bad RS didn’t go to Bama, he would’ve been playing on Sundays already.
AltamahaDawg
July 16th, 2012
7:07 pm
Yes Joey, I believe we are going considerable better on the front 7 this year, than this time last year. We were very thin at LB that day. Not now. And that was Jenkins first game in big ball. I think he’s got a handle on it now. We were actually pretty “new” at several spots going into BSU. plus it’ll be game 2.
I also look for our offense to come out of the gate FAR more effective than that BSU game. That was the first game after the offseason retool to a faster style, (that you advocated, and I resisted).
Butter Bean Floyd
July 16th, 2012
7:23 pm
Playing at Mizzou will be just like playing at Okie State a couple of years ago. UGa will CHOKE!
WDE
July 16th, 2012
7:38 pm
Butter Bean Floyd don’t bet your house on that old boy…well depends on how upside down on it you are I guess…anyway Richard is as DGD as they is or has ever been I agree with what Beast of the East said I hope he has a great season because he deserves it !
LogicalUS
July 16th, 2012
8:08 pm
“look for our offense to come out of the gate FAR more effective ”
Based on what? This isn’t a one season happening….Unless UGA is opening with a UAB they have NEVER come out of the gate with these make-believe effectiveness….feelings are of little use when the pattern is that UGA opens with struggles..
UGA is in the exact same position as last season at RB\OL\WR….average to below average players without any consistent production.
dogdawg
July 16th, 2012
8:16 pm
3rd time Richard has bailed us out He IS a DGD!!
AltamahaDawg
July 16th, 2012
8:24 pm
What a shocker..troll doesnt read the entire post and wastes our time asking questions about which he couldn’t care less about the answer.
Rossville Bulldog
July 16th, 2012
8:28 pm
Richard Samuel is a team player but a trap has been set for him and it’s called the UGA SA drug policy. All it will take is some second hand smoke or eating some brownies and another DGD will be playing for a lower division school in Alabama. Some of you holier than thou and lawdawg types can claim a moral victory for this idiotic policy, but look at all of the good players that are gone. How many championships have we won in the meantime?
AltamahaDawg
July 16th, 2012
8:33 pm
Still arguing with that strawman, huh Rossville?
LuvmyG
July 16th, 2012
8:38 pm
Richard will do just fine in the Nfl because his destiny is meant to be for him a good player that is..
things happen for a reason, everything will be just fine for him.
uncledaddy
July 16th, 2012
8:38 pm
Buffalo 17 – UGA 14
Rossville Bulldog
July 16th, 2012
8:45 pm
Let’s drug test all students receiving any kind of scholarship right after spring break, What percentage do you think will pass?
AltamahaDawg
July 16th, 2012
8:57 pm
Not sure, wouldthey be fully aware that that was a very real probability?
AltamahaDawg
July 16th, 2012
9:08 pm
Well? would they have been told repeatedly they WILL get tested and seen for thier very own eyes classmates getting tested, and know they would end up on the front page of the newspaper if they do get tested and fail, before they left for spring break?
My guess is that its upper 90 percentile pass rate. same as it was for the football players.
duronimo
July 16th, 2012
9:26 pm
Why all the acclaim? He had a long run against Arkansas and played very well last year in the second half against Fla. That’s it. He was on fire against Fla. He would not be stopped. Now we all know what he has been capable of doing, all along. In his career at Georgia, he’s played less than one whole game with that intensity.
wins-by-a-link
July 16th, 2012
9:42 pm
This is what bothers me about Richt and Bobo, Richard Samuel is not a tailback, He is more of a fullback or LB, He does not have the speed or the cutting ability to play tailback, Let the new guys have the ball and see what they can do, And for god’s sake stop moving Samuel around let him play fullback.
Neutral
July 16th, 2012
9:59 pm
@Duronimo
What makes him special is that he has filled-in multiple times when UGa needed his help. He never complains and just wants to help in anyway possible. He is the best example I have ever seen of the perfect team player….and he has great grades to boot. You are correct on your comments, but you are totally incorrect with your last sentence. He has played every play with extreme intensity… Not “less than one full game”. I sincerely believe he will have an incredible year this season and possibly get drafted.
chuck
July 16th, 2012
10:00 pm
DGD. I hope the alumni take care of this young man after he graduates.
TY
July 16th, 2012
10:24 pm
Samuel was actually 16 when he enrolled at UGA. If he is a bust it is because the coaches moved him around do much so they could use the real busts…the ones that are gone…to run the ball….He is still at UGA…that says a lot. When he and Thomas were in the backfield Bobo ran Thomas up the middle and Samuel out wide so much the defense smelled the play. Our linemen were not able to get outside in front of the play. So if anyone was a bust with Samuel it was the coaching staff for not redshirting him the first year when they did not actually need him to run the ball. Hopefully if he wants to play for the NFL tha he has a good year. I will repeat he is still there.
TY
July 16th, 2012
10:27 pm
I will add I think that all of Samuel’s best plays have been run inside the tackle. Certainly not wide. It blows my mind that the staff did not see that asset.
AltamahaDawg
July 16th, 2012
10:34 pm
All both times they ran Samuel to the outside.
StackedDeck
July 16th, 2012
10:36 pm
Richard has always been a DGD and important part of this Dawg Family. Good Luck ‘Big Dawg’ and have a good year. GO DAWGS!!! Hooorah!!!
UGA / ‘74
GTBob
July 16th, 2012
10:55 pm
Ba-bob
That was one of your most mature blogs to date. I think you moved up to the third grade, lol…
Wasn’t me. Someone having fun with my name. I rarely ever attack anyone personally.
AltamahaDawg
July 16th, 2012
10:58 pm
I’ve heard this “thomas up the middle” complaint a few times in here, and I never understand it. ALL his yards were between tackles (highest average on the team) and he got absolutely flung to the ground for a loss every time we ran him outside. The idea was an attempt to slip him past the big Dlinemen on a draw play.
I understand the complaint about him being our better option whatsoever last year, but running him outside was futile and we got about as much out of him as there was to get.
Hair E Dawg
July 16th, 2012
11:06 pm
Hopefully this will work out for the kid showing versatility in the NFL. Unfortunately, we still have Booboo running the offense so I don’t expect much of anything from our Offense.
Fidlin1
July 16th, 2012
11:26 pm
Thanks Richard and Best Of Luck!
umyboyblue
July 16th, 2012
11:40 pm
nfl scouts look every where and at everyone especially at recievers that can block. they just do not look so much at qbs that don’t read coverage, set their feet and deliver the football like they don’t do at tech
umyboyblue
July 16th, 2012
11:50 pm
The baby Jeasus should have called a TO after RS was injured in Jacksonville and put the damn ball in the endzone Urban would have as well as the ball coach
aarh
July 17th, 2012
12:10 am
All you idiots that say that they jerked him around. It’s not that they’re trying to jerk him around. When injuries occur, & nobody can predict that, & they also can’t control which positions the team will suffer those, then they did what was best for the team. The same thing happened w/ Hines Ward. He started out as a WR, moved to RB, & then QB. It’s not that they didn’t know how to evaluate talent, but it was bc they played him where they needed him. It’s a team game, & injuries happen. They key is to get your best players on the field…ideally at their best position, but sometimes we have to go with plan b.
umyboyblue17
July 17th, 2012
12:15 am
Samual should again return kickoffs he runs hard however with high pad level.As a 5th year senior he should be able to protect the ball. I never played d1 ball only high school but I can tell you that nobody wants to tackle 245 lbs with his downfield speed
umyboyblue17
July 17th, 2012
12:35 am
the biggest problem with the dawgs running backs last season was #79 lazy and unmotivated.offensive lineman in the sec have to be mentally tough bad mother effers who can move their feet