UPDATED: Pecking order in Georgia’s backfield appears unchanged
MORNING PRACTICE UPDATE
Updated with comments from coach Mark Richt . . .
ATHENS – Todd Gurley’s standout performance in yesterday’s scrimmage did not appear to alter the pecking order in Georgia’s offensive backfield.
Take it for what it’s worth, but Gurley was still running as third-team tailback when the Bulldogs went through drills early in Thursday’s practice. Gurley, a 6-foot-1, 218-pound freshman from Tarboro, N.C., was Georgia’s leading rusher in the first scrimmage of the preseason on Wednesday. He had 58 yards on six carries and scored on a 40-yard run.
When the running backs were doing drill work with coach Bryan McClendon Thursday morning, the rotation stacked up like this:
- First team — fullback Merritt Hall and tailback Ken Malcome;
- Second team – fullback Richard Samuel and tailback Keith Marshall;
- Third team – fullback Quayvon Hicks and Gurley.
Again, it doesn’t mean anything in the grand scheme of things. It’s pretty clear that all six of those players — plus Brandon Harton and Kyle Karempelis, too — are probably going to see action for the Bulldogs this season.
“They’re really rolling like they’re all co-No. 1s,” coach Mark Richt said. “It’s not like the Nos. 3 & 4 on the depth chart only get reps wit h the second team. WE’ve been repping everybody. The top couple of guys haven’t gone with the 2s.”
Malcome had 32 yards on five carries in Wednesday’s scrimmage, Harton seven for 25, Karempelis four for 15 and Marshall seven for 11. Coach Mark Richt downplayed statistics from the scrimmage based on the varying circumstances and lineups.
Murray on ESPN with Pollack
Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray and former Bulldog All-American linebacker David Pollack on Wednesday taped an edition of ESPN’s “Inside the Program” on campus. The segment is set to air duringon Thursday’s Sports Center.
Pollack and Murray discussed the ins and outs of the quarterback position, with Murray demonstrating skills including throwing the fade. Inside the Program is airing all this week on ESPN.
Pollack will serve as an analyst for ESPN’s Thursday Night Football in 2012 and will return as a host on ESPN’s College Gameday.
Injury report
Cornerback Branden Smith was in a green, non-contact jersey due to a shoulder contusion but was participating. Another new addition to the injury report was tailback Brandon Harton, who sat out with a hip contusion. . . . Fellow DB Damian Swann (neck) also remains in green. . . . Players who remain sidelined include DE Ray Drew (concussion), safety Marc Deas (hamstring), outside linebacker Dester Morant (shoulder) and tight end Hugh Williams (hand).
Richt’s “shout out” for Branden Smith
Richt opened his post-practice remarks Thursday by saying he wanted to give a “shout-out to Branden Smith.” He said the senior cornerback has stood out throughout preseason camp and going back to last spring really.
“He has been making plays every day. He’s playing with a lot of intensity every rep,. He l;ooks like a senior trying to lead out there. He doesn’t say much. He just plays hard and makes plays. Ive been really happy with what he’s been doing. He’s stood out. It just seems like something good has been happening with his play.”
Richt was asked if he thought Smith’s exemplary play could be connected to his recent announcement that Smith would not miss playing time despite his March arrest for marijuana possession. Smith accepted pretrial intervention in that case and passed UGA and court-ordered drug tests, so Richt wave the 10 percent competition suspension usually employed for marijuana-use violations.
“He’s known for a little while that he was going to play,” Richt said. “But I think to have it come out in the public probably was a boost for him and his family. But, you know, he had a great spring, too. He’s just practicing really hard. And he had his best summer by far from what the boys were commenting on. His stamina has been better throughout practice, and hopefully it will be throughout the season as well.”
O-line shows improvement
Asked for any insights he was able to make after reviewing video of Wednesday’s scrimmage, Richt said he liked what he saw from the offensive line.
“The No. 1 unit played very well I thought,” he said. “The No. 2 unit had some moments where they put it all together. . . . I saw guys individually getting better. So I think that group’s coming along.”
Some other observations from Richt:
On punt and kickoff return . . .
“The problem with kick return and punt return is we really haven’t gone live where you could say this guy is doing better than that guy or whatever. They’re catching punts in prepractive warmups and drillwork. The closer we get to the game we’ll have more opportunities to put them under a little pressure. Right now we haven’t gotten that far yet.
On place-kicking . . .
“Right now I would say that Marshall Morgan is our extra point and field goal guy. That’s what I’d say.”
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187 comments Add your comment
bigblackafricandawg
August 9th, 2012
12:22 pm
•Second team – fullback Richard Samuel and tailback Keith Marshall; = motivation
RedDawg
August 9th, 2012
12:22 pm
Gurley and Marshall will be life long Dawgs, they will bleed red and black forever. In another year it will be their backfield, if not this year. Can’t wait a little bit of Thunder & Lighting. Transfer please C’mon man your be triping! Go Dawgs!!!
BC
August 9th, 2012
12:23 pm
ESPN reported Ealey asked to be transferred because he didn’t want to be rotated like a platoon. Mar 20, AJC reported Thomas also asked for a transfer. If you don’t believe ESPN & AJC checks sources, then you’re not very wise
Spike 80DF
August 9th, 2012
12:25 pm
Do you expect the depth chart to change after every practice/scrimmage based on how they did for the day?
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2012
12:29 pm
Big Crimson? Is that the same world?
kingdaddy
August 9th, 2012
12:31 pm
Bitter
How many times have you lit into techies??? If you’re going to say something to UGA BOB, say something to GT BOB too. Be fair, be square, have a moonpie and a glass of cold milk on me bro. We should all be proud of our state schools, but this is a UGA BLOG…Outsiders should play nice or STFU!!!
Big Crimson 75
August 9th, 2012
12:33 pm
Alt — YES.
Spanky
August 9th, 2012
12:34 pm
It’s funny how GTBob lllllloves to bring up drug use at Georgia, but once you bring up Rheuben Houston, he dissappears like a fart in the wind!!
RedDawg
August 9th, 2012
12:34 pm
Gurley & Marshall won’t have a problem sharing the rock, their on board. That’s why their here and that red & silver they will be lookin good gettin off the bus.
Mark (another one)
August 9th, 2012
12:36 pm
I never saw that Brandon Smith pled guilty to drugs.
I did see that the bag found in the car had less than an ounce, and Smith passed both a UGA and a Court administered drug test. Nothing has been said about the passenger, probably because he doesn’t play for UGA.
The rancor and lies on this website are unbelieveable. When they get picked up and repeated as the truth “according to the AJC” it makes the AJC look bad as well.
OconeeDawg
August 9th, 2012
12:37 pm
I like seeing Theus in the first team squad! It might look like we have a little bit of depth! I did say LITTLE BIT.
Cdpridg
August 9th, 2012
12:37 pm
Bitter…there is no lighten up on opposing rivals. Especially ones the caliber of Gt bob. The only sympathy these folks will receive is when they gett off a blog they have no business on to begin with…
7576DAWG
August 9th, 2012
12:40 pm
CMR is trying to establish a #1 and #2 Tailback-Fullback combination that will not fall off in talent. Richt wants to let one play and then change up and let the other play the next series . When games start Samuels and Marshall will be the starters but will take turns with Gurley and Hicks the entire game. The other combination of Hall and Malcome will get mop up duty or a lot of playing time against the cupcakes.
In the LSU’s game and they keep throwing fresh backs against us in the second half. Richt see’s the importance of DEPTH, now and is trying to get at least two deep at every position without any drop off in talent.
Spanky
August 9th, 2012
12:41 pm
Red, it also looks as if Samuel will be back at FB to block for Marshall and Gurley…that should be nice! However, a year ago today, I was excited about Bruce Figgins and his move to FB…not worth the hype!
kingdaddy
August 9th, 2012
12:47 pm
Spanky
Samuel loves the contact. He will be a great lead-blocker with his speed, we should be able to get outside. I want to see some smash-mouth football this year…
Paddy
August 9th, 2012
12:53 pm
Matt….Zander is still a fullback, he just got passed up by more talented folks. Lets not give up on him, he still may see the field a little this season.
CHDawg
August 9th, 2012
12:57 pm
Spanky, just a fan here, but I am excited about Samuel at FB for several reasons. One is that he has TB capabilities–speed, running, and pass catching skills. So, a lot of FBs can almost be ignored. Not so with RS! I could see him getting 5-10 handoffs in a game, and he gives opposing DCs a lot to worry about. Two is that his weakness, in my view, is protecting his legs. He is incredibly strong, big and tough, but if you can hit his legs he struggles. LBs don’t take on FBs low, they challenge them right at Samuel’s strength. He is tough by LB standards already, so blocking them will be no problem for him, provided he can learn the blocking techniques. Finally, I think his best shot in the NFL might be at FB, and all of us would love to see him succeed at whatever he wants to do after school. We’ll see.
Gary
August 9th, 2012
1:00 pm
Everyone getting bent out of shape at the standings after a few days of practice. You don’t know who they lined up against and who made the hole they got through. Just cause a kid got a carry does not always mean he did anything well other than follow the assigment and get in the hole. The coaches (I will call them coaches you can call them what ever you want) watch the tapes and analyse the technique and the ability to learn the process. If the coach says Gurley’s third team the kids got work to do. I know I am not there watching, pretty sure neither are you. How many SEC’s have all of our monday morning quarterbacks trolls won us. The answer is zero.
Dawg Fan24
August 9th, 2012
1:02 pm
BC- ESPN never reported that Ealey transferred because he didn’t want to be rotated in a platoon. Ealey transferring was a mutual decision. Basically he couldn’t deal with the rules. Later interviews with Ealey have revealed that he had some growing up to do. Not all players grow up fast enough to do things the Georgia way and end up having to move on. This is going to happen when you have a program that actually punishes players for mistakes and doesn’t just cover them up.
http://espn.go.com/blog/ncfnation/post/_/id/41794/reaction-to-ealeys-departure
Spanky
August 9th, 2012
1:07 pm
King & CHDawg, Absolutely!! He does present alot of options!…kinda forgot that he had a few passes last year! Go Dawgs!
mercerdawg
August 9th, 2012
1:09 pm
Couldve swore Pollock was an All American defensive end, not linebacker at UGA lol
BC
August 9th, 2012
1:12 pm
Here’s Ealey’s quote from an ESPN article:
“I’m a person where I want to be a premier back,” Ealey said. “If I was to play here, I would have had to share the backfield with Caleb and Carlton also. Then they were going to try to give the freshman, Isaiah, his chance. He probably was going to get some carries at the beginning of the year, too. I just felt like I didn’t want to be in that mix of things anymore.”
Do your homework rookie.
BC
August 9th, 2012
1:15 pm
Here’s the article I referred to:
http://espn.go.com/blog/sec/post/_/id/22578/ealey-georgia-wasnt-right-for-me
Ghost
August 9th, 2012
1:15 pm
BC, You are very misinformed Carlton is still enrolled at UGa scheduled to graduate in the fall.He’s out of football. That’s what Ealey said, you think Ealey is going to come out and say “I’m afraid of competition and I am lazy”.Why no other takers? not even Georgia Southern wanted him.you obviously don’t take the time to know if what your posting about is true.
fan
August 9th, 2012
1:17 pm
BC, yeah Ealey did nothing wrong. He was a perfect athlete at UGA, it was all the coaches fault. It had nothing to do with the key fumbles he had against SC and Miss State that cost UGA the games. Last time I checked, pretty much every team uses multiple backs. Ealey was a cancer and me first player. Oh and if you want to justify his stats from 10′, 5 of his 11 tds came against UK. GFY
BC
August 9th, 2012
1:18 pm
Carlton Thomas said, when he asked for the transfer, he “wanted to make more of an impact on the field”.
http://blogs.ajc.com/uga-sports-blog/2012/03/20/georgia-tailback-carlton-thomas-decides-to-transfer/
You do the math
August 9th, 2012
1:22 pm
UGA mandates that the penalty for athletes who are caught using illegal drugs is to be suspended for a minimum of 10% of the games for their sport. The regular season for football is 12 games. 10% of 12 games equals 1.2 games. When Richt suspends a player for one game, that’s only 8.3%, not 10%. Assuming that UGA plays in a post-season bowl game, it’s only 7.7%.
So how does Marvelous Marky explain that away?
I know it’s UGA, where mathematical skills are limited, but even Richt, who’s not very bright, should be able to handle a calculator.
Never mind, I forgot that Richt is a lowlife, cheating sleazebag. That explains everything.
BC
August 9th, 2012
1:23 pm
Ealey scored more td’s than the rest of the rb’s COMBINED, 11 td’s, on barely 150 carries, I think he had a legit argument to be featured as the premiere back.
fan
August 9th, 2012
1:24 pm
no team in the SEC would want thomas as their starting back, he’s too little. Plus he played a lot last year if you didn’t notice. Are you on acid or something? You sound like your hallucinating. Its funny how you stick up for ealey, in that article you posted, his response has a “Me first” ring to it. Most guys are about the team first and me last. How many me first guys are doing well in the NFL? I m waiting.
BC
August 9th, 2012
1:26 pm
Look at the Richt quote from above:
“Carlton has decided to move on,” Richt said. “He came to me and said he has had discussions with his family and had been thinking it through and praying it through and he summed it up pretty nicely what his intentions are. He wants to move on and try to find a place where he’ll get more playing time. We wish him well.”
“He wants to move on and try to find a place where he’ll get more playing time.”
BC
August 9th, 2012
1:27 pm
You can see CThomas’ frustration. He got 4.95 ypc, Crowell 4.5 ypc, Samuel 2.9 ypc. Yet Crowell got many more carries than Thomas, and Samuel got more carries than Thomas too. Crazy stuff.
Tyler
August 9th, 2012
1:29 pm
Lets have a running back by commitee this year. If one gets tired just bring another one in so our backs are never tired and stay fresh throughout a game and throughout the season.
fan
August 9th, 2012
1:29 pm
you do the math, would you adopt a baby girl from the Ukraine with an extreme facial disorder if you already had two kids and adopt her brother as well? Yeah sleazebags do that all the time. You’re right Mark richt is a horrible person. He gave branden smith a drug test and he passed so he let him play, what a criminal. They should throw him in jail from such a horrible crime. Got some words for you, YOU’RE A FING IDIOT.
Eisendawg
August 9th, 2012
1:31 pm
When Richt granted Ealey’s release, his statement was: ““Washaun and I have had several conversations in recent weeks,” head coach Mark Richt said in the release. “We both have come to the conclusion that a transfer to another institution would be in his best interest.”
Sounds to me that this wasn’t entirely Ealey’s decision. Ironic thing was Ealey said he was leaving the program because he didn’t want to have to share the carries with King and Thomas.
VINCE
August 9th, 2012
1:33 pm
Whats the deal with Bozo and midget running backs.
BC
August 9th, 2012
1:33 pm
Aferr 1st scrimmage, Gurley got 10 yards a carry, Marshall got 1 yard a carry, Samuel got nothing, and Marshall & Samule are still getting more touches than Gurley, it’s like the scrimmage against UGA’s top 5 defense never happened.
Regardless, Gurley performed, just wasn’t rewarded for it. Gurley had a nice game, and his teammates are comparing him to Trent Richardson.
Would hate to lose the No 1 top producing running back because we won’t reward him for his prpductivity.
Robby T
August 9th, 2012
1:36 pm
GTBob -
You said: “If he wants to drop by my office I will be happy to tell him in person the negative ramifications of drug use.:
You meant to say: “If he wants to drop by my office I will be happy to tell him ABOUT MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE and the negative ramifications of drug use.”
Your welcome!
Spanky
August 9th, 2012
1:37 pm
Wow, you guys are digging up old shizz! Also, I think Ealy transferred to Jax State, didn’t he?? Point is,..doesn’t matter now! I’m happy with our stable of stallions!..getting bulls to block for them is the question..
also, a bit off the topic(like most comments on here), but Bradley and Schultzy just wrote columns on Petrino being sorry. Does ANYONE feel sorry for him?……(crickets)…….LOL
BC
August 9th, 2012
1:39 pm
Nothing mutual, it was Ealey’s idea, Richt was trying to cover his end.
“I just feel like, I guess, the University of Georgia wasn’t right for me. I’m just looking out for my family back home and thinking about my future and where I want to be in 10 years. … I just felt like I want to be able to stay focused. For me to be successful, I probably need to go somewhere I can focus.”
Jerry Seinfeld
August 9th, 2012
1:40 pm
Thomas’ numbers were likely inflated from his performances against the weaker teams on our schedule, BC. Samuel and Crowell both played MUCH better in the Florida game than Thomas did. Malcome played much better against LSU and Michigan State than Thomas did. Thomas couldn’t get out of his own way with discipline problems.
sid
August 9th, 2012
1:40 pm
Something is terribly wrong if Brandon Harton gets a single carry outside of mopup duty.
Duh!!!
August 9th, 2012
1:41 pm
Robby, nice try there, buddy!
Jerry Seinfeld
August 9th, 2012
1:43 pm
I feel as sorry for Petrino as I did for Newman when he had fleas…
bucket
August 9th, 2012
1:45 pm
“UGA mandates that the penalty for athletes who are caught using illegal drugs is to be suspended for a minimum of 10% of the games for their sport.” And B Smith took a test immediately after the incident and several since the incident and has not tested positive for using illegal drugs 1 time. So zero positive tests for using illegal drugs should result in how many suspended games for B Smith? YOU DO THE FREAKING MATH!!!
Jerry Seinfeld
August 9th, 2012
1:46 pm
Sid, I don’t expect him to. He only played last season for the most part because of injuries and multiple suspensions.
Eisendawg
August 9th, 2012
1:48 pm
It’s a little premature to award anyone the starting job at TB just yet. Some of these guys just got there, and probably don’t know the playbook yet. They are not playing with the same offense, or against the same defense. I know there are those out there that think we should fire the AD, and all the coaches, put the entire team in prison, and then blow up the campus, but most of the ones that are chirping that stuff either don’t have a clue, or they aren’t Dawg fans in the first place.
AltamahaDawg
August 9th, 2012
1:54 pm
The lesson being…….when you are tired of somebody’s act and want them to go away, just don’t give them the attention that they think they deserve?
Ghost
August 9th, 2012
1:54 pm
Carlton Thomas wanted to get his degree from Georgia and not a FCS school so he has remained enrolled at Georgia. I always liked Carlton, he’s a good kid that just couldn’t get out of his way sometimes. If you rely on the AJC for info you don’t get everything, you should consider some other sources.Most scrimmages are very controlled , trying to discern from a report like this who should be playing where and where they should be slotted is short sighted at best.
bucket
August 9th, 2012
1:57 pm
Is BC related to Ealey and Thomas or something? Just how many chances is a coach supposed to give someone before it becomes obvious that they just can’t be depended on to be ready to play and practice when you need them to? How many times is a coach supposed to let a player lie to his face (Coach I won’t drive anymore) before he tells his position coach to make sure other guys are ready to play? Ealey was the guy that started pouting about Crowell before he ever arrived on campus at UGA and Ealey is the one who decided to shut down on Coach T in the weight room and not work out in the Spring. All Ealey had to do was work out, practice hard, stay out of trouble, control the football, and go to class and he would have been the starting tailback for UGA last year. As the year progressed and injuries and suspensions played out, he would have received the lion’s share of carries. But because CMR would’t anoint a malcontented often in trouble rb as starter for life, he transferred. Again, I hope he has learned his lesson, but to try and blame this one on the UGA staff is revisionist history at best and outright lies at worst.
Jerry Seinfeld
August 9th, 2012
1:59 pm
In Richt’s offense, the running backs have to be ready to pass-block and with a young offensive line that is more important than ever.