Archive for the ‘Multiple sports’ Category

Georgia led the SEC in representatives on the conference’s spring-sports academic honor roll, which was announced by the league office this week.

Georgia had 128 student-athletes on the list, more than any other school.

UGA athletic director Greg McGarity cheered the news, which he said should not be drowned out by reports of other athletes who have gotten in trouble.

“Here are 128 student-athletes who are doing things the right way, and that is a big deal,” McGarity said Thursday. “They should receive as much attention as those who get in trouble. The fact is, 99 percent of college athletes do things the right way, but the 1 percent who do wrong tend to get more attention.”

To make the SEC’s spring-sports honor roll, athletes in baseball, equestrian, golf, softball, tennis and track and field must have at least a 3.0 grade point average for the preceding academic year or a cumulative 3.0 GPA.

Here are the UGA representatives on the SEC’s spring-sports academic honor roll, …

Continue reading UGA places league-leading 128 on SEC spring honor roll »

ATHENS – I had a brief conversation with Greg McGarity yesterday and it was clear to me that the annual all-sports standings are very important to Georgia’s still relatively new AD.

McGarity

It was revealed earlier this week that the Bulldogs finished 18th in the annual Learfield Sports Directors’ Cup standings (formerly known as Sears Cup), presented by the National Association of Collegiate Directors of Athletics (NACDA). That was up slightly from 20th last year. I honestly didn’t think much of it and McGarity wanted to know if I was going to write anything about it. I told him I planned to mention it in some upcoming notes but hadn’t planned to do much more with it.

Taking a closer look, I saw that Georgia tallied 833.25 points — third among SEC teams (Florida and LSU were ranked ahead) — and produced five top 10 national finishes in women’s swimming (2nd), women’s tennis (5th), men’s tennis (5th), women’s gymnastics (7th) and softball (9th). Stanford was first in the …

Continue reading AD Greg McGarity looking for better overall performance from UGA athletics »

All of the University of Georgia’s sports teams scored well above the NCAA-mandated cutoff in the latest Academic Progress Rate (APR) figures released by the NCAA this afternoon.

A Division I team with an APR score — a four-year measure of the academic eligibility and retention of athletes –  below 930 can face penalties such as reductions in practice time or scholarships if the team also had at least one athlete leave school academically ineligible.  Additionally, a team with a four-year APR score below 900, including 930 or less in the two most recent years included in the calculation, can be declared ineligible for postseason play.

Georgia teams incurred no penalties, all scoring 955 or higher. Two posted perfect scores of 1,000: the men’s golf and women’s gymnastics teams.

The Georgia football team’s four-year APR score was 970, compared to a national average in that sport of 948. The UGA men’s basketball team scored 960, compared to a national average of 950.

Georgia’s …

Continue reading NCAA releases APR figures; here’s how UGA teams scored »

Georgia is expected to step up with more years and more money to keep Mark Richt and Todd Grantham together to lead the Bulldogs' football program.

ATHENS – The Georgia Athletic Association end-of-the-year board meeting is scheduled to get started tomorrow morning at the Ritz Carlton Lodge on Lake Oconee. Actually, current and emeritus members will gather there to socialize tonight, then commence with business first thing in the morning.

And I’m expecting a lot of business to be conducted. UGA so far has offered only a very vague agenda for the meeting, which lists things like “AD’s Report,” “New Projects” and “Financial Update” and the like. But the most important item of business isn’t spelled out there and we all know that it’s going to take place (likely during AD’s report).

Georgia is expected to finally reveal the details of football coach Mark Richt’s new five-year contract. Legal representatives for both Richt and the university have been dickering over the final …

Continue reading Raises coming for UGA football coaches Mark Richt, Todd Grantham »

THE MONDAY REWIND

It was an eventful weekend in Athens and for several Georgia teams. Let’s get caught up:

Men’s Tennis

The men’s tennis team suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of Pepperdine in the NCAA Championships. Playing before a raucous pro-Georgia crowd that filled the stands at Henry Feild Stadium, the No. 2-seeded Bulldogs were upset to the seventh-seeded Wave 4-3. Here’s Ken Sugiura’s MATCH REPORT.

This was one of those situations where you simply had to tip your cap to the opponent. Pepperdine really played out of its mind and played as good as it possibly could, especially at all the crucial moments.

Here’s what Pepperdine coach Adam Steinberg said about it:

“Incredible. What a great college match. If you know me, I’m not usually at a loss for words, but I’m a little bit. Incredible match against such a great team. I’m so proud of the guys. We’ve never really been in this situation with this team in front of a crowd like that and how they handled that. Coming …

Continue reading Rewind: Eventful weekend in Athens results in two Georgia teams advancing »

ATHENS — I’m over here in the press box at the Dan Magill Tennis Complex watching the No. 6-seeded Georgia women take on 11th-seeded Texas in the first round of the NCAA Tennis Championships. The Lady Bulldogs won the doubles point, so it’s 1-0 and Georgia is up a set at all six singles positions.

Georgia Tech’s women’s team played earlier today and lost to No. 9 California 4-0. That ends the Yellow Jackets’ season at 16-12. The men get underway tomorrow.

Meanwhile, I’ll take this opportunity to catch you up on some other news happening in and around Athens and UGA sports.

I dropped by the UGA Golf Course before here to catch the end of the NCAA Athens Regional. Georgia is hosting 12 other teams in that event, with the top five advancing to nationals. They’ll play 36 more over the next two days to determine which teams advance.

The Bulldogs had a so-so day, closing strong to finish at 4-under as a team and in fourth place. But they were shown up by some visitors, including …

Continue reading NCAA golf and tennis underway at UGA, softball on Friday »

ATHENS – There are some nervous coaches around Georgia’s athletic department these days. That tends to happen when the coach of perennial top 10 program abruptly resigns the week after finishing 11th.

Georgia gymnastics coach Jay Clark offered his resignation shortly after meeting with UGA athletic director Greg McGarity on May 4 and it served as an overture to his staff. Clark had two years remaining on a five-year contract he signed when he succeeded ultra-successful head coach Suzanne Yoculan in 2009.

The Gym Dogs weren’t awful under Clark, not by a long stretch. But they fell well short of the standards set by Yoculan’s teams, which won 10 national championships, including their last five in a row.

“We’re expected to win championships and we wanted to,” Clark said. “We just didn’t get it done.”

It didn’t matter that Clark was part of that run as an assistant coach for Yoculan or that of two of his gymnasts were crowned individual national champions. Three consecutive …

Continue reading Florida influence apparent in management style of UGA’s Greg McGarity »

A long list of Bulldogs graduating at spring commencement on Friday at Sanford Stadium. In fact, 68 UGA student-athletes will receive degrees.

Some of notable football players grabbing their sheepskin include: Quarterback Aaron Murray, wide receiver Tavarres King and offensive lineman Clint Boling. Murray, who has two years of eligibility remaining, got it done in three-and-a-half years. Also of note, the 11 gridiron graduates brings to 222 the number who have received degrees under head coach Mark Richt.

Here’s the whole list:

Baseball

Kevin Ruiz, Finance, Alpharetta, Ga.

Men’s Basketball

Matt Bucklin, Marketing, Marietta, Ga.; Connor Nolte, Masters in Sport Management, Alpharetta, Ga.; Dustin Ware, Sport Management, Powder Springs, Ga.

Women’s Basketball

Brittney Crews, Biology, Jefferson, Ga.

Equestrian

Alex Andes, Broadcast News, Atlanta, Ga.; Kelsey Berry, Marketing, Alpharetta, Ga.; Ali Eidson, Consumer Journalism, Tuscola, Texas; Sarah Gravely, Management Information …

Continue reading Aaron Murray, Tavarres King among 68 Bulldogs graduating Friday »

UGA's athletic facilities saw dramatic improvement during the tenure of Dr. Michael Adams, seen here at the dedication of the expanded football complex in February of 2011. (AJC photo by Curtis Comption)

ATHENS – One of the most successful — and tumultuous — periods in the University of Georgia’s long history will come to an end when Dr. Michael A. Adams officially retires as the school’s president 13 months from now. Adams will make that decision public on Thursday, The AJC has learned.

The question I want to pose is, what will Adams’ legacy be with regard to Georgia’s athletics?

Certainly, Georgia’s athletic teams continued to fare well and maybe even improved during his tenure. He took over for Charles Knapp in 1997, which was coach Jim Donnan’s second year as the Bulldogs’ football coach.

It was only a short time later that UGA supporters witnessed Adams’ willingness to weigh in on athletic matters. After Georgia lost to Georgia Tech for the third year in a row in Athens …

Continue reading What will Michael Adams’ legacy be in regard to UGA athletics? »

THE TEN AT 10:

1. Georgia is about to have another change within its strength and conditioning program. Rex Bradberry, who has served in one capacity or another in that department since 2002, is leaving UGA after accepting a position as a strength and conditioning specialist for the U.S. Army. Bradberry, 29, will be training Special Forces troops at Fort Bragg in North Carolina.

Bradberry

“I can’t go into much detail other than I will be handling all their physical training,” said Bradberry, who has already signed a contract but is awaiting security clearance. “I’ll be preparing those teams for battle and hopefully will prevent them from injury and help them save their lives. I’ll also be working with the ‘Wounded Warrior’ project. I’m doing a rehabilitation program for them to help bring them back to a more functioning way of life.”

Bradberry will be a civilian contractor and is not enlisting. He actually signed the contract two weeks ago but was told his security clearance …

Continue reading Ten@10: More changes ahead for UGA’s strength & conditioning, recruiting »

Sophomore cornerback Damian Swann is also a fleet-footed center fielder in baseball and says he would like to go out for Georgia's baseball team next year. (UGA photo)

THE TEN AT 10:

1. Georgia defensive back Damian Swann says he wants to play baseball. The rising sophomore cornerback was an all-star center fielder at Grady High School and played travel ball under his father all his life.

“I talked to Coach Eller about it,” said Swann, referring to baseball assistant coach Jason Eller. “Coach Eller recruited me in baseball the summer before I came [to UGA]. He liked what he saw. He told me if I wanted to play it’d be up to Coach Richt and I could come out and try.”

Swann has yet to have that conversation with the Bulldogs’ coach, and right now football is a high priority for him. The former AJC Super 11 selection played in 10 games as a true freshman and is being counted on to fill the void left by suspended starters Sanders Commings and Branden Smith. Swann said he …

Continue reading Ten@10: CB Damian Swann wants to join UGA’s other dual-sport athletes »

Georgia's Richard Samuel was a force to be reckoned with at tailback in the fourth quarter against Florida last October. (AJC photo by Jason Getz, jgetz@ajc.com)

THE TEN AT 10:

1. There will be white-hot focus on tailbacks Isaiah Crowell and Keith Marshall when Georgia opens its spring football camp later this afternoon. But senior Richard Samuel made it clear he doesn’t plan on shrinking away in the background.

Asked if he felt like those other two are commanding all the attention heading into spring ball, Samuel said: “I feel like they do, but it doesn’t bother me. I feel like my work ethic and what I do on the practice field will carry over to the game field and show that I’m still there.”

Samuel (6-foot-2, 235 pounds) said he considers himself a leader among the running backs and plans on conducting himself that way.

“I feel like I’ll be able to show them what kind of practice and what kind of effort needs to go into preparation every day in order to get better,” he …

Continue reading Ten@10: UGA’s Richard Samuel advises not to forget about him at tailback »

THE TEN AT 10:

1. Georgia Athletic Director Greg McGarity made a point to mention that football coach Mark Richt is not receiving merely a contract extension, but a whole new deal.

To say “extension” is to imply that additional years are simply being added to the the existing contract. That’s not at all the case. And the simple fact that UGA and Richt’s representation — Lonnie Cooper and Mark Carmony of Career Sports & Entertainment, Inc. — have been dickering over the details since the first week of December underscores that.

“It is a different contract,” McGarity said of the five-year deal that will pay Richt through the 2016 season. “In other words, we’re blowing up the old contract. I shouldn’t say blowing up, but we’re basically starting over with new terminology and things like that that will probably make it easier to read, easier to understand.”

The most important “terminology” in the new contract will be the buyout clause. In other words, what will Georgia owe Richt …

Continue reading Ten@10: Buyout, compensation are sticky issues for Mark Richt’s contract »

Sporting a new beard and increased upper-body strength, Georgia tight end Aron White had a strong showing for NFL scouts at UGA Pro Day on Monday. (UGA photo by John Kelley)

THE TEN AT 10

1. One of the Georgia football players who may have significantly helped his cause during UGA’s Pro Day on Monday is tight end Aron White.

White, a fifth-year senior who played the last couple of seasons in the shadow of All-American Orson Charles, performed very well for the 40-something NFL coaches and scouts gathered at Woodruff Practice Fields. He ran the fastest 40 time of the tight ends in the blustery conditions (4.71, according to one scout), looked considerably bigger in his upper body and said he had gained about 10 pounds since the end of the football season while training with “GATA.”

“I feel like I had a really good day out here,” said White, who weighed in at 239 pounds. “I felt very well prepared and I had all the confidence in the world. I felt like I was as prepared or …

Continue reading Ten@10: TE Aron White makes most of opportunity at UGA Pro Day »

Georgia's Jarvis Jones (29) was named the Collegiate Player of the Year by the Atlanta Sports Council on Monday. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

THE TEN AT 10

1. Months after the football season was completed, awards are still rolling in for Georgia’s Jarvis Jones. The latest honor for the Bulldogs’ star outside linebacker came Monday night during the Atlanta Sports Awards ceremony at the Fox Theatre as Jones was named Collegiate Athlete of the Year for the 2011 season. His was one of nine awards presented Monday night by the Atlanta Sports Council to athletes and sports personalities in Georgia.

In his first season with the Bulldogs, Jones led the SEC in sacks (13.5) and tackles for loss (19.5) and recording 70 tackles. The sophomore from Columbus also two forced fumbles, two pass breakups and 49 quarterback pressures. After the season, he was named first-team All-American and All-SEC and won the CFPA Elite Linebacker Trophy. He was also a Butkus Award finalist.

Jones is a …

Continue reading Ten@10: Georgia OLB Jarvis Jones named Collegiate Player of Year »

They didn't come any tougher than "Flatfoot Frankie" Sinkwich, who played seven games of the 1941 season with a broken jaw. (UGA photo)

THE TEN AT 10

1. Upon hearing Monday’s announcement that Georgia coach Mark Richt decided to create annual team awards named for Frank Sinkwich and Charley Trippi, I had two initial thoughts: One, good idea, Coach Richt; and, two, how did the Bulldogs not already have awards named for those guys?

Of course, they’re considered two of the greatest Bulldogs of all time. Sinkwich was the 1942 Heisman Trophy winner and was the star on the Bulldogs’ national championship team of that year. He is famous for playing most of the 1941 season with a broken jaw. And Trippi won the Maxwell Award as the nation’s best back in 1946 and is generally considered one Georgia’s best overall athletes of all time. Appropriately, Richt announced that, starting with this coming season, the Sinkwich Award will be go to “Georgia’s toughest player” while the Trippi …

Continue reading Ten@10: Awards for Frank Sinkwich, Charley Trippi and Keith Marshall »

Willie Martinez coached alongside Mark Richt at Georgia for nine years. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

THE TEN AT 10

1. Looks like Willie Martinez is coming back to the SEC. The former Georgia defensive coordinator, so vilified his last couple of years in Athens, is joining new Auburn defensive coordinator Brian VanGorder as defensive backs coach for the Tigers. Nothing is official yet but there are multiple reports Martinez was in Auburn on Monday, including THIS ONE by Charles Goldberg of The Birmingham News. It will be the fifth time the two men have coached together, including hitches at Boca Raton (Fla.) High School, Central Michigan, Central Florida and Georgia.  Martinez, 48, resigned as defensive backs coach at Oklahoma in January. He was fired as Georgia’s defensive coordinator in December of 2009.

Of course, this means the Bulldogs’ last two D-coordinators will be conspiring against them in November (and on the recruiting trail well before then). That continues …

Continue reading Ten@10: VanGorder, Martinez, UGA’s last two DCs, reunite at Auburn »

ATHENS — Inadvertent telephone communication once again has forced UGA to report secondary NCAA violations to the Southeastern Conference office.

This time it involves Georgia running backs coach Bryan McClendon. According to Athletic Director Greg McGarity’s Aug. 1 letter to SEC Commissioner Mike Slive, obtained by the AJC via state and federal open records laws, McClendon thought he was calling a friend named Jay Harris when he accidentally called recruiting prospect Drew Harris instead. Harris is a four-star running back prospect from Exton, Penn.

What made this a violation is McClendon’s call was made on May 29, 2011. Fellow UGA assistant coach Scott Lakatos had made a recruiting call to Harris on May 3. Therefore the second call was deemed to be a violation of two NCAA bylaws that restrict telephone contact with recruits.

According to UGA’s report, “Jay Harris” appears right below “Drew Harris” in the speed dial directory in McClendon’s cell phone and he accidently hit …

Continue reading Georgia has to report more secondary violations due to inadvertent calls »

THE TEN AT 10:

1. It looks like Georgia is getting close to wrapping up its investigation into the eligibility issues facing football player Jarvis Jones and basketball player Kentavious Caldwell-Pope. Athletic Director Greg McGarity told reporters covering the Metro Atlanta Bulldog Club on Monday that UGA’s internal inquiry could be completed “before the end of this week.”

That’s the good news. The bad news is the Bulldogs will still have to wait for the NCAA to make a ruling. That tends to take a while. Georgia must first turn over its findings to the SEC office, which then forwards it to the NCAA, which will get back to UGA with a ruling after it has thoroughly reviewed the case.

Nevertheless, the Bulldogs remain hopeful the situation will get resolved before the season opener against Boise State on Sept. 3. Last year’s eligibility issues facing wide receiver A.J. Green did not get resolved until the second week of the season.

There is some hope that Jones can maintain his …

Continue reading Ten@10: McGarity says UGA hopes to wrap up Columbus investigation by end of week »

Joe Tereshinski Jr. and AD Greg McGarity continue to restructure Georgia's strength and conditioning program. (Photo by 247Sports.com)

Cleaning out the notebook . . .

Georgia’s strength and conditioning program was in the news again on Tuesday when it was announced that former Bulldog Tony Gilbert was hired as assistant director. Gilbert became the sixth football letterman to join the strength staff in some capacity since the end of last season. He joins director Joe Tereshinki Jr. (1974-76), full-time assistants John Kasay Sr. (1965-66) and Thomas Brown (2004-07), and Kendrell Bell (1999-2000) and Verron Haynes (2000-01) , NFL veterans who are helping out while they’re taking classes at UGA. (Keith Gray and Rex Bradberry, assistants under former director Dave Van Halanger, also remain on the staff.)

I constantly am being asked how Tereshinski and his staff may be training the Bulldogs differently than before. Tereshinski has declined interviews since spring practice began …

Continue reading Notebook: More strength & conditioning, NBA draft and Dooley on ‘Extreme Makeover’ »

THE MONDAY REWIND:

We have officially entered the dog days of summer as Georgia’s football coaches are trying to squeeze in a little vacation before the grind of recruiting evaluations and preseason preparation cranks up in earnest the first of July.

Georgia coach Mark Richt is putting his words into action this week. (AP photo)

Georgia coach Mark Richt has, in fact, left the country. He and his wife Katharyn have embarked on a Christian mission to Honduras with the World Vision organization. You may recall my report late last month that Richt, after reading the World Vision book “The Hole in the Gospel,” decided to sell his $2 million Lake Hartwell property and use some of the proceeds to help the extremely impoverished. This trip is a result of that decision.

In the meantime, AJC reporter Steve Hummer is following the Richts on their five-day adventure to Central America. Hummer will be filing daily reports that you’ll be able to read here on AJC.com and he will chronicle …

Continue reading Rewind: Mark Richt heads south on mission to Honduras »

THE MONDAY MORNING REWIND:

Or in this case, what happened while I was away on vacation. . . .

Here’s one thing you can be assured of in this business: When you’re out on vacation, news will happen. Usually a lot of news.

So, of course, that was the case when I took off for the beach last week. I left immediately after the SEC Spring Meetings in Destin, Fla. I wrote that the SEC presidents went against the football coaches and voted to reduce the annual signee limit to 25, drove home, took my bags out of one car and put them in another and hit the road for the right coast early the next morning. So unplugged was I that it took me several days to realize that Mike Hamilton was out as AD at Tennessee.

I returned to civilization this past Saturday afternoon and I have gradually tried to get myself back up to speed on all things Georgia, etc. (nice to see the Braves get on a roll, huh?!) So please indulge me as I conduct a brief review of the UGA happenings while I was away and be …

Continue reading Rewind: UGA football recruiting gets kick in pants it needed »

THE MONDAY MORNING REWIND:

The NCAA’s Division I baseball selection show, aka “The Road to Omaha,” will air at noon today on ESPN. Sometime shortly after that the Georgia Bulldogs will learn their postseason fate.

Some might think their overall record — 31-30 — may be cause for concern. But those who have followed this process closely for many years say the Dogs have nothing to worry about today.

Georgia players gather around injured center fielder Jonathan Taylor before Saturday's first game against Florida in the SEC Tournament. (AP photo)

“The Bulldogs are a lock,” said Jim Callis, managing editor of Baseball America and an authority on college baseball. “They have the toughest strength of schedule in the country, the 16th-best RPI and they were the fourth-best team in the SEC, behind three of the top overall teams in the nation. The only thing they had to worry about was finishing over .500, and they pulled out three straight wins to do it. They’ll probably be a No. 3 …

Continue reading Rewind: Diamond Dogs take care of biz in Hoover, await NCAA selection »

St. Simons Island — Unless you’ve been following me on Twitter @ajcuga — and you really should — you haven’t heard much from me this morning. That’s because I’ve been covering the annual spring meetings of the Georgia Athletic Association’s executive and full board all day.

They finally adjourned for lunch and golf. Me? Well, after wolfing down a chicken sandwich I get to sit down and let you know what all happened in the Butler Room at the historic King & Prince Resort.

In two words — nothing historic.

The biggest news of the day was probably the board’s approval of Athletic Director Greg McGarity’s recommendation to increase the price of individual tickets for the annual Georgia-Florida football game in Jacksonville.

Ticket prices — which McGarity points out have been the same for the last five years — were raised from $40 to $60 for regular seats and $70 to $100 for club level seating for the 2012 season. Florida’s athletic board approved the same increase at its fall …

Continue reading UGA athletic board approves ticket price increase for Georgia-Florida game, other stuff »

Mark Richt has been receiving warm welcomes on the annual Bulldog Club tour, which stopped in Albany Tuesday night. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)

THE TEN AT 10:

1. Football coach Mark Richt was speaking again Tuesday night, this time down in Albany on the latest stop of the Bulldog Club tour. Gentry Estes of Dawgs247.com was on the scene and asked Richt about two things specifically: (1) Had he heard the remarks of Florida coach Will Muschamp guaranteeing a Gator victory in Jacksonville in late October? (2) And what’s this stuff about Ken Malcome being listed fourth team behind Caleb King, Carlton Thomas and walkon Brandon Harton on the recently-released post-spring depth chart?

On Question 1, Richt said he was “notified immediately by plenty of people” of Muschamp’s remarks. As for his reaction to it, Estes reports Richt said with a smile, “I thought that was a good thing.”

As for Harton being ahead of Malcome, Richt said: “It’s just the way we saw it. We just laid the …

Continue reading Ten@10: Mark Richt says Will Muschamp’s Florida victory guarantee ‘a good thing’ »

Coach David Perno's Diamond Dogs head to the SEC Tournament needing at least three wins to earn an NCAA regional bid. (AJC photo by Curtis Compton)

THE MONDAY MORNING REWIND

It’s official. The 2011 Georgia Bulldogs are the most gut-wrenching, heartbreaking team in the history of college baseball.

OK, I can’t actually verify that. But suffice it to say these boys have been put through the ringer this season.

Case in point: This weekend’s series against Vanderbilt. Needing to win at least two of three games against the nation’s No. 3-ranked team, the Bulldogs instead lost two to the Commodores. And they did it in the most excruciating manner possible.

On Thursday, Georgia pulled off a stunning come-from-behind 5-4 victory behind the stellar pitching of Michael Palazzone and some gritty work at the plate. That got the Bulldogs two games above .500 and offered hope for an advantageous weekend.

On Friday, the Diamond Dogs fell behind early but fought back to trail 4-3 midway …

Continue reading Rewind: Georgia baseball soldiers on to SECs after disappointing weekend »

Isaiah Crowell will have to do more than run the ball well to play extensively as a freshman, coach Mark Richt said. (Photo by The Ledger-Enquirer reprinted with permission)

THE TEN AT 10:

1. Georgia coach Mark Richt, speaking at a UGA Alumni Association event in Gainesville on Tuesday, reiterated that true freshman Isaiah Crowell will likely be a big part of the Bulldogs’ running game this season. But he also cautioned that Crowell will have to compete with Caleb King and the other tailbacks and that his ability to master pass protection would dictate how much he’s able to play.

“Backs have responsibility to protect on certain blitzes,” Richt said. “If one guy doesn’t know how to do it, he’s a liability at that moment. Can you turn and hand the guy the ball or toss it to him on a sweep or throw him a screen? You can do all those things and he doesn’t have to block anybody. But to constantly pull him in and out of the game every time you’re going to throw the ball with a …

Continue reading Ten@10: Richt says Isaiah Crowell must master pass protection to be ‘full-time back’ »

MONDAY MORNING REWIND:

It was a weekend of good news and bad news for the Georgia baseball team. The bad news is it lost two-of-three to Kentucky and watched its ace pitcher get rocked for the second consecutive week. The good news is the Bulldogs managed to pull out a hard-fought 7-6 win on Sunday and qualified for the SEC Tournament in the process.

The berth into the eight-team conference tournament was especially critical, for it is now Georgia’s only realistic path into postseason play. The Bulldogs are 26-26 overall with four regular-season games to play. They still have a relatively strong RPI — No. 25, according to Monday morning’s projections — but have to finish at least a game above .500 to be considered by the NCAA selection committee. Now at least there is always the chance of getting on a roll in Hoover.

“I’m very proud of the team, I’ve never felt better about winning just one game in a series, but we had to have this one for a lot of reasons including clinching …

Continue reading Rewind: Diamond Dogs drop two but slip into SEC Tournament »

Marcus Lattimore ran behind an experienced offensive line as a freshman at South Carolina last season. (AP photo)

THE TEN AT 10:

1. With Washaun Ealey’s departure, the inevitable questions about whether Isaiah Crowell can match the freshman performances of last year’s star SEC tailbacks are in full force. But while Crowell’s high school accolades — nation’s No. 1-rated running back, 10-plus yards per carry — are similar to South Carolina’s Marcus Lattimore and Auburn’s Michael Dyer, they had something Crowell will not have: An experienced and intact offensive line.

Auburn had the best offensive line in the country, starting four seniors and a junior, including All-American tackle Lee Ziemba. They paved the way for Dyer (1,093 yards) and run-first quarterback Cam Newton (1,473). South Carolina brought back four returning starters last season when Lattimore came in and rushed for 1,197 yards and 17 touchdowns.

Georgia’s offensive line this season will be a comparative …

Continue reading Ten@10: Freshman TB Isaiah Crowell won’t inherit experienced O-line like Dyer, Lattimore »

MONDAY MORNING REWIND

Athens — Russell Henley did something Sunday that has been done only one other time in the history of the Nationwide Tour. The University of Georgia senior beat a field full of professional golfers to win the Stadion Classic at UGA golf tournament.

Henley shot a 3-under-par 68 — his third consecutive round in the 60s on the University of Georgia golf course — to best pro Troy Kelly by two strokes and take home the first-place trophy.

He did not, however, take home the $99,000 first prize. Playing as an amateur, he wasn’t eligible for it. In fact, with his 16th-place finish in the U.S. Open last year, that’s at least $213,480 in professional prize money

With the win, Henley does have 60 days to decide if he wants to join the Nationwide Tour and play under “tournament winner” status for the remainder 2011 season. To that Henley also said no thanks.

“They talk about how much money you can make playing pro golf, but I’ve never played golf to win money,” …

Continue reading UGA golfer Russell Henley beats the pros, passes on the bucks »