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ATHENS — Kentavious Caldwell-Pope and Nemanja Djurisic each scored 17 points and Georgia overcame 25 turnovers as the Bulldogs defeated George Washington 52-41 Friday night at Stegeman Coliseum.

The win was the fourth in a row for the Bulldogs (6-7), who open SEC play on Wednesday at No. 13 Florida (9-2).

“That’s a good win,” Georgia coach Mark Fox said. “We hold them to 20 percent (shooting). I don’t think they made a 3. We win the rebounding battle (39 to 31). We shoot 48 percent from the field. There’s some good-looking things on that stat sheet. Then you look down and you see the turnover column, in which we have 25.

“I was telling my wife, I think our team needs school to start … as poorly as we were thinking out there tonight.”

The Colonials (6-7) did fail to make a 3-point basket. In fact, they were 0-for-12 from behind the arc. The last time Georgia held on opponent without a 3-pointer was 261 games ago when it hosted Nevada in 2004. The coach of the Wolfpack …

Continue reading Bulldogs overcome 25 turnovers to beat George Washington 52-41 »

ORLANDO, Fla. – Give Alec Ogletree credit. He doesn’t dilly-dally on the football field, nor with important decisions. The Bulldogs’ dynamic junior linebacker admitted immediately after Georgia’s 45-31 win over Nebraksa in the Capital One Bowl that he intends to turn enter the NFL draft.

“Yeah, it was my last game,” Ogletree said after his 13-tackle performance Tuesday. “I’m just glad we were able to win because I know what kind of talent is on this team. This was the last game for a lot of guys on this team, a lot of seniors, and we all wanted to go out with a W. It’s tough to have to go out now, but I feel like it was the right decision for me.”

Ogletree goes out with a bang. In addition to his game-high tackle total, Ogletree forced and recovered a critical fumble when the game was tied in the third quarter, registered three tackles for losses and had a sack and two other quarterback hurries.

Despite missing four games of the season for violating UGA’s marijuana-use policy, …

Continue reading Notebook: UGA LB Alec Ogletree makes call to turn pro after 13-tackle performance »

Georgia freshman Todd Gurley ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns against Alabama in the SEC Championship game. (AJC photo)

ORLANDO, Fla. –Considering the monster season he just had, it has been a relatively quiet period for Georgia’s Todd Gurley as the Bulldogs prepared for Tuesday’s Capital One Bowl game against Nebraska. And that’s just the way Gurley likes it.

The quiet-spoken freshman rushed for 1,260 yards and 16 touchdowns this season and he has proven to be the Bulldogs’ most consistent offensive weapon. After his 122-yard, two touchdown performance against Alabama in the SEC Championship game, Gurley enters Tuesday’s game averaging 96.9 yards per game.

But it was only grudgingly that submitted to a recent interview request, and then he was decidedly modest when it came to talking about the season he has had.

“It was a great season but I wanted much more out of it,” said Gurley, whose 17 total touchdowns is the fourth most in school history. “But there ain’t nothing …

Continue reading Notebook: UGA tailback Todd Gurley remains modest about freshman season »

ORLANDO, Fla. — Early in the year, as tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall were ripping off long runs right and left, Georgia coaches were careful to mention what a good job Merritt Hall was doing paving the way for them. But the Bulldogs lost their starting fullback to a severe ankle injury on the first play of the Florida game and the redshirt freshman has played very little since.

But after playing only on the kickoff return ream in the SEC Championship game, Hall now appears set to get back in the rotation in the backfield. He said his ankle is “80 to 90 percent” healthy, but that’s enough for him to help.

“I feel great out there on the practice field,” Hall said. “I feel like I’m getting people out of the hole and I’m able to drive off my ankle well enough to be able to get the job done.”

Hall said he has been rotating with junior Zander Ogletree in practice and expects to do the same in Tuesday’s game.

Outlook poor for Abry Jones

Just a couple …

Continue reading Notebook: Merritt Hall back in rotation at fullback, outlook poor for Abry Jones »

ORLANDO, Fla. — If a recent trend continues, we’ll see more in the passing game out of tight ends Arthur Lynch and Jay Rome in the Capital One Bowl.

For most of the 2012 season, the primary role of Georgia’s tight ends was to block. But their contributions in the passing game picked up as the season progressed. Lynch and Rome each caught at least one pass in the Bulldogs’ past five games. They combined for 22 catches and 330 yards and a touchdown during that stretch.

Most notably, Rome scored Georgia’s first touchdown in the SEC Championship game against Alabama. And Lynch had the last reception of the season, a 26-yarder down to the 5-yard line where the game eventually ended.

“It’s a lot more fun,” Rome said of being involved in the passing game. “Football is fun whether it’s just blocking or if I get to catch routes. But at the end of the year we started to become a more primary target, and I think it’s great. It’s fun out there catching balls and getting your …

Continue reading Notebook: Tight ends happy to be back in Bulldogs’ plans »

ATHENS — With the Georgia basketball team is clearly in neeed of some help, Jay Rome hasn’t decided yet whether he can offer any.

The 6-foot-6, 265-pound tight end joined the basketball team as a forward and played in seven games last year. He remains undecided about this year.

“Both coaches are still going to allow me to do it if I choose to but I’m not really sure myself if I want to go through with it again this year,” Rome said on Tuesday. “I haven’t made a decision yet. It’s something me and my dad are going to talk about, something I’m going to pray about and talk to Coach Richt and Coach Fox about.”

After redshirting in football last season, Rome played in all 13 games this season with one start. He caught 11 passes for 152 yards and two touchdowns, including a 19-yarder against Alabama in the SEC Championship game. In basketball, Rome  averaged 0.4 points and 2.4 rebounds in 2.4 minutes.

Rome, an all-state basketball player at Valdosta High, has always been …

Continue reading Notebook: Tight end Jay Rome uncertain about basketball future »

ATHENS – Technically it’s just bowl practice. But for Georgia’s offensive lineman, the month of December may seem more like preseason camp.

The Bulldogs’ offensive coaches made a pronouncement regarding the line almost as soon as the SEC Championship game ended: Every position is up for grabs and the starting lineup will be determined during the 15 practices leading up to the Jan. 1 Capital One Bowl.

“That’s how we put it to those guys,” Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo said. “The five that are going to play, we’ll figure out between now and the bowl who’s going to be where. I do think the line played extremely well this year and got better. But there’s always room for improvement, and any time there’s competition that’s good for the group.”

The Bulldogs were seemed stable up front this season. They played just three different starting lineups – including the same for the first nine games – and shuffled it around only because of injuries. The primary lineup included …

Continue reading Notebook: Open competition for starting spots on offensive line »

ATHENS – Because most of his brothers, uncles and cousins left college early to play pro football, most assume Georgia’s Kwame Geathers will follow a similar path.

Not necessarily, Geathers said Friday.

“It’s not right to assume at all,” said Geathers, a 6-foot-6, 355-pound junior from Georgetown, S.C. “They let me make my own decisions, so it’s up to me. Sometimes I feel like, ‘all right, break the tradition.’ They were all in college for three years. I’ve been here for four years already, so I feel like I’m already breaking it a little bit.”

The Bulldogs would definitely appreciate Geathers sticking around. They’re already going to lose John Jenkins and Abry Jones off the line. Junior linebackers Jarvis Jones and Alec Ogletree are expected to turn pro and a total of nine senior starters will be graduating off Georgia’s defense.

That will certainly leave a leadership void for next season.

I’d like to have that leadership role, to be a guy for the younger guys to look up to. . …

Continue reading Notebook: Bulldogs’ Kwame Geathers says don’t count him gone just yet »

Georgia guard Dallas Lee (64) offers a forced smile for a photo with brother Dillon Lee in the minutes immediately after the Bulldogs' 32-28 loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. (Photo by Rob Saye)

ATHENS — Dallas Lee’s parents have begged him to go with them to Miami for the BCS National Championship game. But if Georgia’s starting left guard couldn’t go as a participant, he said he definitely wasn’t going to go as supportive brother.

“I’m still a little upset so I’m not going,” Dallas said. “I’m going to watch it on TV at the house. I’m a little too upset about it to go down there and have fun.”

Lee’s family was the subject of many profiles heading into the SEC Championship as Dallas and his brother, Alabama linebacker Dillon Lee, were facing off from opposite sidelines. But after that game ended excruciatingly close for the Bulldogs, with time running out on the  at the Crimson Tide 5 in a 32-28 loss, Dallas said he just can’t bring himself to go to …

Continue reading Georgia’s Dallas Lee says ‘no thanks’ to joining his family for BCS game in Miami »

Georgia's Ken "Boo" Malcome does not begrudge the success of Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall but is not happy with getting mainly mop-up duty in Georgia's tailback rotation. (UGA photo)

ATHENS – For Georgia it’s a good problem to have. But for Ken Malcome, it’s more than a little frustrating.

Everybody knows about the successes of freshman tailbacks Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall this season. Gurley was named a Freshman All-American by The Sporting News on Thursday. He became just the second Georgia true freshman to surpass 1,000 yards in a season (1,260 to date) and scored 17 touchdowns, including a 100-yard kickoff return. Marshall emerged as Gurley’s primary backup and ran for 723 yards and 8 scores.

Lost in the smoke of that fire has been Malcome, who actually began the season as the starting tailback. The redshirt sophomore from Decatur has appeared in 10 of the Bulldogs’ 13 games, averaging 27.2 yards and 5 carries in those contests.

As Georgia prepares for its Jan. 1 …

Continue reading Georgia’s Ken Malcome ‘not too happy with situation’ at tailback »

ATHENS – Starting defensive end Abry Jones remained sidelined for Georgia’s first bowl practice on Wednesday. But coach Mark Richt spoke optimistically about the senior making a return in time for the Capital One Bowl.

“I know his intention is to rehab and get ready to play,” Richt said Wednesday. “He was making progress towards that goal. Do I know whether he’ll be ready to or not? I don’t know that. We’ve not counted him out by any means.”

Jones (6-foot-3, 309 pounds) started the first six games of the season — and 26 in his career — before suffering an ankle injury that required surgery. If he returns, it could provide valuable depth for Georgia’s defensive line. Noseguard/ends John Jenkins and Kwame Geathers and defensive end Garrison Smith rotated positions and played nearly every snap against Alabama.

Jones, who averaged nearly 3 tackles per game before the injury, is considered an NFL prospect. He was invited to the Casino Del Sol College All-Star game Jan. 11.

John …

Continue reading Notebook: Bulldogs still hoping former starting DE Abry Jones can return »

In addition to his duties as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, Georgia's Mike Bobo is known as one of the Bulldogs' best recruiters. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS – It’s likely to be a very good Christmas for Mike Bobo and his family.

Not only did Georgia’s offensive coordinator lead the Bulldogs to a record-breaking season that netted 11 wins and another SEC Championship Game bonus, but he’s also in line to have his compensation increased in 2013, either by Georgia or somebody else.

Bobo’s name has surfaced as a head coaching candidate at Southern Miss and, according to his agent, he is drawing interest for other jobs as well. Even if Bobo declines the overtures, it would likely result in an enhanced financial agreement from UGA.

Russ Campbell, the Birmingham-based attorney who acts as Bobo’s agent, confirmed that his client is being considered for jobs but declined to discuss specifics.

“I can tell you that he’s getting some long …

Continue reading UGA’s Mike Bobo ‘getting long overdue consideration’ for coaching jobs, agent says »

Georgia junior outside linebacker Jarvis Jones is consoled by football program coordinator Bryant Gantt after the Bulldogs' 32-28 loss to Alabama in the SEC Championship game. Jones was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year by The AP on Monday. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS – Jarvis Jones was named SEC Defensive Player of the Year by The Associated Press and he and freshman Todd Gurley were the only Bulldogs named first-team All-SEC as the news organization’s annual all-conference team was released on Monday.

Six Bulldogs in all were represented in the All-SEC voting by a panel of sportswriters.

Jones has accumulated 77 tackles, including 22.5 tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks, one interception, seven forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 11 games this season. Jones sat out two games with injuries. He enters the Jan. 1 Capital One Bowl as the NCAA active leader in forced fumbles per game and tackles for loss per game. Jones’ 22.5 tackles …

Continue reading Jarvis Jones named SEC’s defensive player of year; Todd Gurley 1st-team All-SEC »

ATHENS — Georgia athletic director Greg McGarity confirmed Monday the Bulldogs have asked the SEC to review the legality of a hit on Aaron Murray that required him to be helped off the field shortly before halftime in the SEC Championship game. But they need not have bothered; the league office is already looking into it.

Alabama defensive lineman Quinton Dial hit Murray with a above-the-shoulder, helmet-to-helmet strike after Murray threw an interception at the 1:15 mark of the second quarter. Crimson Tide defensive back Ha-Sean Clinton-Dix was in the midst of a 35-yard return when the 304-pound Dial left his feet and made contact with the side of Murray’s helmet toward the end of the play. Murray was out of the play and not in position to make the tackle.

McGarity said he was “stunned” when he saw the replay of the Dial’s hit — he missed it during live-game-action — and immediately moved to make sure the play was going to be reviewed.

“I actually didn’t see the hit until I …

Continue reading Suspension possible for Bama player for hit on Georgia QB Aaron Murray »

“Thought it was a great football game. Unfortunately, we ended up on the wrong end of the scoreboard. I think Alabama is a great football team, obviously. I think we’re pretty good, too.”

– Georgia coach Mark Richt

“To be (so close) to making probably one of the greatest comebacks in Georgia history, it stinks (to fall short).”

– Georgia quarterback Aaron Murray

“That’s something you dream of as a little kid, to win the game like that. And it’s just (awful) the way it ended, that’s for sure.”

– Murray

“Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to make a smart play. Instinctively, I grabbed the ball when I probably should have let it go.”

– Georgia wide receiver Chris Conley on his catch that ended the game, five yards short of the end zone

“We kind of had that I-would-not-be-denied attitude out there today. I’m not saying we played our best football game of the year in terms of execution, but the way we were able to run the ball, especially in the second half, was probably the difference …

Continue reading What they said after SEC Championship game »

The SEC is “looking forward” to playing its football championship game in Atlanta even beyond the end of the current contract in 2017. And the league is “very supportive” of the city’s bid to host semifinal and final games in college football’s new national playoff as well.

Those were among the points made by SEC commissioner Mike Slive in a wide-ranging interview this week with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Slive also discussed the SEC’s streak of six consecutive football national championships, which he called an exception to the adage that records are made to be broken, and the continuing trend of colleges switching conferences.

Q: Amid all the changes in college football, the SEC Championship game has remained in the same place for 19 years. What has made Atlanta home for it?

SEC commissioner Mike Slive (AP photo)

A: First and foremost, the Georgia Dome has been terrific for us. The facility has been good and the Dome staff is …

Continue reading Q&A with SEC commissioner Mike Slive: ‘Very supportive’ of Atlanta as playoff site »

ATHENS — Georgia’s Jarvis Jones received his first All-America award of the season on Wednesday and second in as many years from the American Football Coaches Association. And that, coach Mark Richt said, is because of how he has played in games like the Bulldogs will play on Saturday.

The No. 3-ranked Bulldogs will face No. 2 Alabama in the SEC Championship game on Saturday. The 4 p.m. CBS broadcast is expected to be one of the most heavily-viewed college football games on television this fall.

That  tends to be when Jones plays his best.

“That’s what has helped him the most; he has played really big in big games,” Richt said Jones’ penchant for attracting national awards. “ He played big in the Missouri game as far as a monster stat day and the Florida game was really almost a whole season in one game as far as statistics go. Plus, he already had a reputation of being a really good football player.”

In the nationally-televised, 41-20 win over Missouri on Sept. 8, Jones …

Continue reading Notebook: SEC Championship is Jarvis Jones’ kind of game »

Georgia offensive coordinator Mike Bobo is one of five finalists for the Frank Broyles assistant coach of the year award. (UGA photo)

ATHENS – We know from talking to Mike Bobo on Tuesday that he and close friend Kirby Smart first met as youngsters when they were ball boys for their fathers, who coached at rival high schools Thomasville and Bainbridge in the 1980s.

Bobo, Georgia’s offensive coordinator, spoke extensively about his relationship with Smart, Alabama’s defensive coordinator, as the best friends prepare to match wits in Saturday’s SEC Championship game.

We don’t know much about Smart’s side of the relationship because, well, Alabama coach Nick Saban doesn’t allow him speak to the media. Saban’s ascribes to the Bill Belichick coaching model where he insists on doing all the talking for the team to the exclusion of assistant coaches and all but a handful of players.

“I’m jealous,” joked Bobo, who has twice-a-week media responsibilities to fill with the …

Continue reading Best buddies Mike Bobo and Kirby Smart will match wits in SEC title game »

(Updated 8:30 p.m.)

ATHENS – Georgia coach Mark Richt brushed off comments by two of his defensive players that figured to get a prominent place on the Alabama bulletin board.

Safety Bacarri Rambo told ESPN Radio, in an otherwise tame interview Saturday, that the Bulldogs “have better players” than Alabama “at each position, across the board, especially on defense.” And cornerback Sanders Commings told reporters Monday, “I think we’re the best defense in the country. … Everybody on this defense thinks we are.”

Richt was asked Tuesday about such brash statements.

“You know what? They’re all young and excited, and they say what they want to say sometimes,” Richt replied. “And I don’t think it’s going to matter much what everybody says before the game.

“I think it’s going to matter what happens when we kick it off. So I’m not too worried about that.”

The comments by Georgia’s defensive players have drawn attention because Alabama — the Bulldogs’ opponent in the SEC Championship …

Continue reading Notebook: Richt on players’ boasts; Spurrier on UGA, Bama schedules »

ATHENS — Clearly no memos or warnings were sent from Georgia’s coaches to its players in the wake of Bacarri Rambo’s comments this past weekend.

Rambo caught a lot of flak — from Alabama fans mostly — for espousing this past weekend his belief that the Bulldogs’ defense is even more talented than the Crimson Tide’s. But one of Rambo’s teammates came out and said pretty much the same thing on Monday after Georgia’s practice.

“I think we’re the best defense in the country,” senior cornerback Sanders Commings said. “I thought we were last year and we have 10 out of 11 or 12 players back who are part of the starting rotation. So there’s no reason why we shouldn’t be the top defense. Everybody on this defense thinks we are.”

Never mind that the Crimson Tide can back such a claim statistically. They enter Saturday’s SEC Championship game against Georgia ranked No. 1 in the national in total defense (233.67 yards per game) and No. 1 in points allowed (9.25 ppg).

Georgia is ranked …

Continue reading Notebook: Sanders Commings agrees that Georgia has ‘the best defense in country’ »

Often convoluted and controversial, the Bowl Championship Series standings suddenly are simple and straight-forward.

As ABC sportscaster Brent Musburger said late Saturday: “You don’t need a computer for this one. Notre Dame will play Alabama or Georgia for the national championship.”

Notre Dame remained No. 1, Alabama No. 2 and Georgia No. 3 in the next-to-last BCS standings of the season, released Sunday night. And no plausible scenario exists that would allow any team outside that trio to reach the top two when the final BCS standings are compiled and the national title matchup officially set next weekend.

Notre Dame (12-0) completed its regular season with a victory over USC Saturday and won’t play again until the BCS title game in Miami on Jan. 7. Georgia and Alabama (both 11-1) will meet Saturday in the Georgia Dome in the SEC Championship game, with a berth opposite Notre Dame in the national-title game at stake.

The Georgia and Alabama coaching staffs were deep into …

Continue reading BCS standings set stage for SEC showdown »

Georgia linebacker Alec Ogletree (9) celebrates after the Bulldogs stop Georgia Tech's Vad Lee on fourth down. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS — If linebacker Alec Ogletree played his last game between the hedges on Saturday it was a good one to go out on.

Twenty-one Georgia seniors were honored before the Georgia Tech game Saturday in a 10-minute ceremony shortly before kickoff. And it’s a foregone conclusion that junior outside linebacker Jarvis Jones is playing his last season with the Bulldogs. The Butkus Award finalist and 2011 consensus All-American currently ranks No. 1 on most NFL projected draft boards, including the one ESPN’s well-respected “guru” Mel Kiper.

Then there’s Ogletree. The 6-foot-3, 241-pound junior turned in yet another dominating performance Saturday against the Yellows Jackets. Ogletree, who plays the “Mo” inside linebacker position for the Bulldogs recorded a game-high 15 tackles on Saturday. That gives him team-best 87 tackles on the …

Continue reading Notebook: NFL decision awaits Alec Ogletree, who had 15 tackles vs. Jackets »

ATHENS — Bacarri Rambo saved one of his better games for his last in Sanford Stadium.

“I have a lot of great memories here between the hedges,” Rambo said after Georgia’s 42-10 victory over rival Georgia Tech on Saturday. “I’m going to miss this place. It’s very emotional, knowing it’s my last time playing here.”

Georgia’s senior safety made the most of the occasion, helping the Bulldogs assume fast and firm control of the game by twice taking the ball away from Tech deep in UGA territory in the first half.

On Tech’s first possession, already down 7-0, the Yellow Jackets were threatening to tie the game when Rambo stripped the ball from Robert Godhigh after the Tech A-back ran 19 yards to the Georgia 1. Rambo rambled 49 yards with the fumble recovery to mid-field, giving Georgia excellent field position to launch its second touchdown drive.

“It was huge,” Georgia coach Mark Richt said of Rambo’s forced/recovered/returned fumble.

“It was deja vu,” Tech coach Paul Johnson said. …

Continue reading UGA’s Rambo makes big plays in his Sanford Stadium finale »

THREE STORYLINES

1. Can the Dogs stop the spread option (again)? Georgia did a pretty good job against Georgia Southern’s spread option last Saturday, limiting the Eagles to 14 points and 318 total yards. But while Georgia Tech runs the same offense, the Yellow Jackets run it on a whole different level. They’re averaging 47.6 points over the last three games and play behind an offensive line averaging just under 300 pounds. The Bulldogs rank fourth in the nation in three-and-outs with an average 5.4 per game. They’ll be hard-pressed to get half of that against these guys.

2. What about Georgia’s offense? The Bulldogs are on pace to establish school records for scoring (37.6 points per game at this point) and total offense (471.4 yards per game). That’s because they have quarterback Aaron Murray, who has the nation’s highest quarterback rating (173.4) and leads the FBS in pass efficiency, and a pair of freshman tailbacks in Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall, who have …

Continue reading UGA storylines: Stopping option (again), staying hot on offense and playing for it all »

Georgia flanker Chris Conley takes off up field en route to a 33-yard touchdown sprung by the block of fellow receiver Rantavious Wooten. (AJC photo by Brant Sanderlin)

ATHENS – It wasn’t as easy as it may look on the scoreboard.

No. 5 Georgia beat Georgia Southern 45-14 at Sanford Stadium on Saturday. But for one half at least, the Eagles had the Bulldogs worried.

The teams had played to a tie at 7 through the first 23 minutes and the Bulldogs were clinging to a 10-7 lead inside the final two minutes of the first half with Georgia Southern threatening to score a go-ahead touchdown. But the last 90 seconds of the half changed the course of the game.

Georgia Southern’s Trevor McBurnett was called for a personal foul for a chop block on noseguard Kwame Geathers on a run that would have made it first-and-goal inside the 5. Instead, the penalty backed up the Eagles to the 22 and kicker Alex Hanks missed the 37-yard field goal attempt.

Aaron Murray made the Eagles pay. …

Continue reading No. 5 Bulldogs take care of business, dispatch Georgia Southern 45-14 »

Say this for WSB Channel 2: The Atlanta television giant likes its Bulldogs

Not only did the station step up to broadcast Georgia’s 1:30 p.m.  game today against Georgia Southern — SEC guidelines allow members to produce one game per year outside the league’s contracts with CBS and ESPN — but it also will be providing UGA content throughout the day Saturday.

• At 10 a.m., coverage begins with “Bulldogs Gameday,” WSB’s regular, weekly, hour-long program dedicated to the coverage of UGA athletics.
• At 12:30 p.m., the station will air a special edition of “SportsZone,” which will provide pregame coverage up until the 1:30 p.m kickoff. The show will be anchored by Channel 2 sports director Zach Klein. He will be joined by Channel 2 Action News anchors Jovita Moore and Fred Blankenship, and former Georgia quarterback D.J. Shockley will provide his insight and analysis
• At 1:30 p.m., game coverage begins at 1:30 p.m.. Veteran sportscaster Bob Neal and former Georgia player DJ Jones …

Continue reading Channel 2 excited to bring UGA-Georgia Southern game to TV viewers »

Quarterback Aaron Murray and wide receiver Tavarres King (12) are excited about the Bulldogs' offensive possibilities against Georgia Southern. (UGA photo by Perry McIntyre, Jr.)

UGA FOOTBALL NOTEBOOK

ATHENS – To date, most of the conversation regarding Georgia’s game against Georgia Southern on Saturday has been about the Eagles’ triple-option offense. That hasn’t gone unnoticed by the Bulldogs’ offensive players, who would like it to be known they can advance the football a little themselves.

Wide receiver Tavarres King’s eyes lit up like he was wide open on a go-route when asked if he thought Georgia might have some big-play opportunities against their FCS visitors this Saturday.

“Well, I think so,” he said, grinning wide. “We’re pretty strong out wide and at the quarterback position. We should have a good time out there on Saturday.”

The reality is, Georgia’s needs its offense to have a big day. Again, because of the ball-hogging style of offense that Georgia …

Continue reading Notebook: Bulldogs’ offense needs to stay hot vs. Georgia Southern »

By the way, Wednesday was the first day of the early signing period for NCAA basketball. And the Georgia Bulldogs took full advantage.

Bulldogs coach Mark Fox on Wednesday announced the signing of JJ Frazier, a point guard from Glennville, and Juwan Parker, a shooting guard from Tulsa, Okla. Both will help address Georgia’s backcourt needs after it loses seniors Sherrard Brantley and Vincent Williams after this season. CLICK HERE to read more about the the newest Hoop Dogs.

Frazier is beginning his senior season at Faith Baptist Christian Academy in Ludowici. He averaged 26.2 points, 4.9 assists, 5.4 rebounds and 3.1 steals per game last season for the Crusaders, who won 33 games in 2012. The 5-9, 160-pound guard is considered the state’s top prospect at his position in the Class of 2013.

Parker is currently a senior at Booker T. Washington High School in Tulsa. He averaged 20.5 points and 9.4 rebounds as a junior at Washington, which won Oklahoma 5A state championships in …

Continue reading Georgia basketball addresses backcourt needs by signing JJ Frazier, Juwan Parker »

ATHENS – You’ll get no wishy-washy answers from Georgia’s defensive players when asked how they feel about playing Georgia Southern and its vaunted triple-option attack this Saturday. Cornerback Sanders Commings probably summarized their sentiments most succinctly.

“It sucks, to be honest,” said the senior from Augusta.

Now add in the fact that the Bulldogs will be facing this exact scheme for two consecutive weeks. The Eagles run the same “spread option” system that Georgia Tech has perfected under coach Paul Johnson. Jeff Monken, Georgia Southern’s head the last three years, worked for Johnson at Georgia Southern, Navy and Georgia Tech going back to 1997.

So the good news is facing the Eagles in Game 11 should prepare Georgia well for facing the Yellow Jackets in Game 12. But the bad news is while the Bulldogs will be deeply mired in the intricacies of reading and reacting to the “counter trey” for the next two weeks, they’ll do so knowing they’ll face nothing of the sort in …

Continue reading Back-to-back triple options ‘probably not ideal’ preparation for SEC Championship »

Tackle Mark Beard (79) celebrates with Keith Marshall after helping spring the freshman tailaback for a 62-yard touchdown run against Auburn. (UGA photo by Wes Blankenship)

By Ryan Black
For the AJC

ATHENS — Mark Beard’s most difficult assignment against Auburn on Saturday had nothing to do with blocking oncoming defenders.

The Georgia left tackle’s biggest issue didn’t even occur in the game itself: He had to figure out how to distribute tickets prior to kickoff. With his cousin, LaDarius Owens, playing for the Tigers, the pair had to figure out which family member would use what ticket. They wound up splitting their allotment evenly.

Beard made it a memorable experience for his family, as the Alabama native made the first start of his Georgia career against his favorite team from childhood.

“You can never be perfect,” he said after Monday’s practice. “I messed up a couple of times, but I think I played a pretty good game.”

Beard and Owens shared a brief conversation on the …

Continue reading LT Mark Beard’s performance in first start ‘beyond good,’ coaches and teammates say »